Category: Fish Fry Friday

Fish Fry #3 2024: Chelo’s Kitchen and St. Vladimir Orthodox Ukrainian Church

It’s Lent. That means fish on Fridays. Not because I’m Catholic and don’t eat meat on Fridays, but because I love fish and can indulge most everywhere.

A week ago someone posted the Friday specials at Chelo’s Kitchen on the Facebook food group I am on. I have been on a tuna melt kick, and their tuna melt lunch special looked amazing. I had already had lunch when it got posted, but I needed the tuna melt in my life. I looked forward to it all week. It was just as good – if not better – than it looked. Their tuna melt features tuna, grilled onions, and American and Swiss cheese on seeded rye bread. It was amazing!!! I’m going back again before the season is out. Chelo’s Kitchen is a traditional American breakfast and lunch place with some South American options (the owners are from Uruguay). It’s only open until 2pm every day except during Lent, when they have dinner specials from 3:30-7:00 pm on Friday night (they call it Fish Frenzy Friday). It took over the space that used to be Kalie’s Restaurant on the corner of Mayfield Road and South Green in South Euclid. I’ve been meaning to try it and I will definitely be back! The servers were fantastic and really friendly. The hashbrowns look amazing. I have a new place to put on my rotation even after Lent.

But you are here for the Fish Fry. I chose to return to St. Vladimir’s Orthodox Ukrainian Church for my first Friday Fish Fry of the season. I took someone who just moved to Cleveland from Los Angeles 5 months ago and had never been to or even heard of a fish fry. I chose St. Vladimir because it’s on State Road (near St. Josaphat’s and St. Francis de Sales, so you know they have to offer their A game). It offers five seafood dinners (baked cod, salmon, fried perch, fried whitefish and fried shrimp) and seven sides (french fries, pierogi, potato pancake, redskin potatoes, steamed vegetables, cabbage and noodles, and mac n cheese) to choose from, and some of the best pierogis in the city. We were lucky enough to get a spot really close to the front door. As we walked in we passed the bar, so I got a Ukrainian lager to enjoy during my wait in line. I wasn’t driving, so I was able to enjoy it during the wait and during my meal.

They have six dinners to choose from – baked salmon (1 pc), baked cod (1 pc), fried perch – aka Captain Gene’s dinner (3 pc), fried whitefish (2 pc), fried shrimp (6 pc) and potato pierogi (6 pc). And they also have a kid’s dinner with a slice of pizza, french fries and applesauce. All dinners include cole slaw or applesauce, a dinner roll, coffee and a cookie – and your choice of one side. The choice of sides include french fries, 2 pierogi, 1 potato pancake, redskin potatoes, steamed vegetables, cabbage and noodles, and mac n cheese.

Last year one of the parishioners suggested I order the cod next time, so I went with his suggestion and ordered the baked cod dinner to dine in and a pierogi dinner to go. The cod was perfectly baked and had an herbacious crumb crust. I ordered the cabbage and noodle to go with it, which was tasty. But the pierogi are still my number one! The helper who carried my tray for me suggested the potato pancake as my side for my pierogi dinner, which, as I said, I got to go and will eat for the next few days. I ate half of the cod, roll, and cabbage and noodles and put the other half in the to go box holding the pierogi dinner.

My friend ordered the Captain Gene’s dinner, because I urged her to get the perch. She chose a potato pancake for her side. She also really enjoyed everything – including the cole slaw, which was nice and creamy. I really enjoyed the cole slaw too. It’s delicious. She definitely enjoyed her first Cleveland fish fry.

Contact info:

Chelo’s Kitchen
4446 Mayfield Road
South Euclid, OH 44121
(216) 382-4490

St. Vladimir Ukrainian Orthodox Cathedral
5913 State Road
Cleveland, OH 44134
(440) 886-3223

Fish Fry #2 2024: Ice or Rice Cafe

I’m trying something different with the photos today since they aren’t displaying properly on my end (pushing to the left and overlapping the text). I promise I am working on finding a solution!

No fried fish for me this Friday! Despite my best intentions a fish fry was not in the cards for me. Work came in the way, and I had too much on my desk to be able to clear an hour or two for a fish fry. Luckily I had made plans with a friend for lunch, and we were meeting at Ice or Rice Cafe to introduce her to the place (she lived in Japan for many years, so she needed to try it). So I still had fish, but it was raw instead of fried.

I was greeted like a regular by the owner and waited for my friend to arrive. We ordered at the counter and sat there chatting as our food was being prepared. I noticed they had several new onigiri on the menu – a crab salad and a raw tuna, so I definitely had to order them. I love onigiri, and Ice or Rice is the only place that serves them here in Cleveland. They are a must for me. Onigiri (おにぎり) are Japanese rice balls made of steamed rice that you compress into a triangular, ball, or cylinder shape and are usually wrapped in a nori seaweed sheet. The filling here is very generous – with lots of crab salad and a really nice chunk of tuna. They are individually packaged to keep them fresh, and they were still slightly warm when I enjoyed them. They were both delicious.

I was tempted to order the Seared Salmon roll again, but I wanted to try something new. I ordered a Rainbow Roll, because I am trying to eat through the sushi menu. The roll was smaller than most Rainbow Rolls in a sushi restaurant (just six cuts instead of eight), but it suited me just fine because I ordered enough for two meals as it was. A Rainbow Roll is a roll that is filled with imitation crab, cucumber, and avocado, and topped with salmon, tuna, and yellowtail. Their Rainbow Roll was fresh and tightly wrapped, draped with thin slices of raw salmon, tuna and avocado. They don’t have yellowtail on the menu so they use what they have, but I didn’t miss it. It was a tasty roll. I had half (3 pieces) in the restaurant and put the lid on the other half to take home for later. It was just as good later as a snack/light dinner instead of the fish fry.

If you want something tasty and hot (but not fried), order the shrimp okonomiyaki. Okonomiyaki is a savory pancake dish consisting of wheat flour batter and other ingredients cooked on a teppan grill and topped with okonomiyaki sauce, mayo, powdered seaweed, scallion and bonito flakes. My friend ordered the pork belly okonomiyaki and loved it. She used to make it all the time for herself and her kids, and she really liked this version. She lamented it didn’t have pickled ginger, but she really enjoyed the flavor of the cabbage, scallions, batter, pork belly, and toppings. I’ve had the shrimp version before and loved it. I enjoyed the bite she shared with me.

I ordered the lychee kumquat sparkling lemonade, which was really refreshing and had a couple full-size lychees and kumquat zest and juice in it. My friend very much enjoyed her iced boba matcha. I ordered one for myself to go and even though I don’t like boba all that much I enjoyed the flavor of the brown sugar boba they use.

If you haven’t given Ice or Rice Cafe a try, be sure to check them out! I’m looking forward to next Friday when I will be enjoying a tuna melt at Chelo’s for lunch and a fish fry! Have a great week.

Contact info:

Ice or Rice Cafe
3713 Payne Avenue
Cleveland, OH 44114
(216) 539-9092

Fish Fry #1 2024: Mom’s Pierogies

The Lenten season is upon us, and in Cleveland that means the start of Fish Fry Season. Ash Wednesday fell on Valentine’s Day this year. I knew there was no way I was going to even try to dine in at a restaurant on one of the busiest days in the restaurant industry, and most of the churches don’t offer fish fries on Ash Wednesday since they have church services. So I decided to do carryout, and Mom’s Pierogies posted their carryout fish fry on my Facebook group so it was fate. I placed my order online and headed out to pick it up before most people even got off work. My order was ready when I arrived, and I was greeted by the friendly staff and given my order. I handed the employee who retrieved my order a couple bucks for a tip and went happily on my way. It smelled divine despite all of the containers (and the can of Pepsi) being wrapped in plastic wrap. And the fish was wrapped in foil inside the styrofoam (you can see it peeking out of the side below). No chance of leakage here!

After following Waze’s convoluted driving directions and driving on streets I’ve never driven on before, I located Mom’s Pierogies on Memphis Avenue. Getting home was also fairly convoluted and took me through a speed trap in Linndale and had me going south on I-71 before exiting and reentering to go north again, but all in all the drive was about 20-25 minutes there and back. It is located next to Aldo’s and very close to the Memphis Kiddie Park, which I had been to once with my nieces when they were younger. So I *kind of* recognized the area, but most of the streets were fairly new to me despite being a lifelong Clevelander and living on the west side for 23 years.

There is no seating available. It is strictly carryout. Mom’s Pierogies started in the early 2000s when the owner Janet Vedda was inspired to use her mother’s recipes to make and sell pierogies to family and friends during the holidays. She then branched out to selling pierogi at farmer’s markets and supplying many restaurants. Mom’s Pierogies opened as a brick-and-mortar shop in August 2018. They sell frozen pierogi in bulk – a dozen or 1/2 dozen at a time. The menu boasts around 20 flavors, and they always keep about a dozen of the traditional, most popular flavors on hand. I think I need their breakfast pierogi (featuring sausage, egg and cheddar cheese) in my life and freezer. They make the pierogi by hand every day.

I am so glad I chose Mom’s Pierogies, which I had never heard of before their post (social media works, folks!). In my opinion, an excellent fish fry always includes pierogi (plural: pierogi or pierogies or pierogis, but I prefer without an s – it’s the language geek in me). For the uninitiated, pierogi are small, semi-circular ‘dumplings’ made of dough and filled with a range of ingredients, which can be sweet, savory or spicy. They are a staple in Cleveland, and some would argue that these little pockets of deliciousness are also the national dish of Northeast Ohio. Mom’s Pierogies specializes in gourmet Polish pierogies, and you should not sleep on these pierogies. Although they were smaller and not as filled as I prefer the dough was so delightfully soft and almost melted in my mouth. These were stellar pierogies! Anyway, I digress… We are here for the fish fry.

Every single component of this meal was outstanding – there was not a miss in the styrofoam container. Even the little details like the tartar sauce, carmelized onions and butter, and garlic sour cream (!!!!) were outstanding. The fish is a 9 oz. pollock. It was lightly breaded and perfectly fried. The fish itself was moist and flaky and simply delectable. The housemade tartar sauce was an excellent addition, but it was even tasty without it. I ordered an extra pierogi for $2 and should have ordered more. These pierogi were so good! Most pierogi dough is a little thick and chewy. These were thinner and soft and pillowy – and had a tasty potato filling. The pierogi have been handed down from the owner’s Polish mother’s recipe. I can see why. These are the softest pierogi I have ever enjoyed. The garlic sour cream was ethereally good. You can choose between regular or garlic. Get the garlic! It isn’t overpowering and just gilds the lily. I wished I had ordered more extra pierogi, because I only had one left for lunch the next day and you can eat them in a couple bites even if you are savoring them. I would drive all the way back for a pierogi dinner, but they also serve stuffed cabbage that looks right up my alley, so…

I also added a side of cucumber salad, because it never hurts to have a veggies to balance the fried food. LOL The cucumbers are small and sliced razor thin. They are drenched in a sour cream and onion dressing that I really enjoyed. This was a quality cucumber salad. It is also available in 1 and 2 lb portions. Even cole slaw was a revelation. I definitely detected a heavier pepper presence, which I enjoyed, but there is an herb mix that I can’t quite place (dill? thyme?). The mayo-based cole slaw was delicious, and I enjoyed every forkful of it as well.

All in all, this was an excellent start to Fish Fry Season 2024. I’ve already planned which churches and restaurants I want to try this season (St Mary’s Church in Collinwood, Gesu Catholic (catered by EDWINS), St. Agnes / Our Lady of Fatima and Voodoo Brewery are new to the list and I plan to revisit St. Joseph’s Parish and St. Vladimir as well as Benedictine High School to give them another chance after a less than stellar review pre-COVID). I have lunch plans at Ice or Rice Cafe tomorrow, so we’ll see if I am hungry at fish fry time. There may or may not be two reviews tomorrow. So see you tomorrow (or Saturday whenever I get the post written)!

They also sell t-shirts if anyone wants to get me one 🙂 The photo above is just one of the choices on their website (follow the link). Mom’s Pierogies has apparently been in business since 2003. They are closed on Sunday and Monday and open from 11-7 on Tuesday, Wednesday and Friday, 11-5 on Thursday and 11-4 on Saturday. Be sure to check them out – and don’t forget the garlic sour cream!!!

Contact info:

Mom’s Pierogies
8467 Memphis Avenue
Brooklyn, OH 44144
(216) 309-1570

The Lobster Pot

I appreciate and regularly crave good seafood. Unfortunately that is not easy to satisfy in northeast Ohio. Red Lobster is okay in a pinch, but I prefer an independent to ensure that the quality is there. My favorite seafood restaurant in the Cleveland area used to be The Lobster Trap on Ravenna Road in Twinsburg. They used to serve a special featuring two whole lobsters, green beans and rice. My parents and I were regulars when I lived near there, but unfortunately they soon went out of business. The Lobster Pot in Willoughby is a good successor. Apparently it used to be in South Euclid and moved to Willoughby Hills in 2017. It is located near the intersection of SOM Center and Chardon Roads.

The restaurant is loosely modeled after a traditional New England-style lobster house. The space is decorated with nautical artifacts like wooden buoys and floats, fishing nets, and the namesake lobster pots, and there is a wooden dory suspended above the dining room. There are also tanks filled with live lobsters and fish. There is a bar with a casual atmosphere as well as a dining room that features white tableclothes and cloth napkins. The patio is also tucked next to the building away from the street and is a great place to relax when the weather is nice

The first time I went there I was craving lobster roll. They have an entree with two lobster rolls on the menu. The rolls were authentic, and the lobster was succullent, with big chunks of tail and claw meat. They were not too heavy on the mayo and had a perfectly buttery taste.

The lobster bisque was ok, but (unlike the lobster rolls) did not contain a lot of lobster. It had a nice creaminess to it. They serve Manhatten clam chowder on the regular menu, but I prefer New England chowder. The New England clam chowder accompanied the clambake. It was a decent chowder. It’s not the worst, but also not the best I’ve had. A decent chowder is still a plus in my book.

The salad was very fresh and was a nice mesculun mix with a couple slices of cucumber, a couple cherry tomatoes and slivers of carrot. I also enjoyed the warm bread was served before meal.

The oysters are super fresh. You can order them raw, baked or as oysters Rockefeller. There is a minimum three per order. I have had them raw and Rockefeller. I have thoroughly enjoyed them every time.

The Lobster and Shrimp Newburg is made with fresh lobster meat and shrimp sautéed with shallots, celery, mushroom, tomatoes, garlic, finished with a lobster cognac cream sauce with a choice of one side. It can be served over rice or pasta. I chose pasta, and it was quite filling. It reheated nicely the next day. I really enjoyed it, despite being made with angel hair pasta, which is not my favorite.

This is a great place to enjoy the clambake or fish fry. I have enjoyed the clambake both inside in the dining room and outside on the patio. I love pairing it with a chardonnay. The clambake comes with a dozen clams, drawn butter, corn on the cob, red skin potatoes and cole slaw. Since I’m a sucker for lobster I usually add the whole lobster. Everything is always perfectly cooked and super tasty. I even enjoy the red skin potatoes.

I also really enjoy the Admiral’s Platter, which features a half pound of snow crab, one lobster til, two jumbo scampi and is served with your choice of two sides. It usually scratches my itch for fresh seafood. If you are craving fried fish, the Fisherman’s Platter is for you. It comes with breaded and fried haddock, shrimp, hush puppies, fries and coleslaw.

Overall, it is a good representation of a seafood restaurant. The parking is convenient. They have great happy hour (Haffey Hour) specials at the bar on Wednesdays and Thursdays from 4-6 pm. The Happy Hour menu features a nice assortment of dishes (calamari, firecracker shrimp, fish or shrimp tacos, shrimp bruschetta, and mussels plus a few non-seafood options) at $7 each, oysters are $2 each and shrimp are $1 each.  They also offer discounts on drinks and wine. The food and service are consistently great. You are greeted warmly when you walk in and I’ve never had a bad server. They have always been attentive and responsive to my needs.

Contact info:

The Lobster Pot
2749 Som Center Road
Willoughby Hills, OH 44094
(440) 569-1634

Choukouya Resto-Bar

If you’re looking for traditional African fare, this restaurant features dishes from the Ivory Coast and additional West African nations. I have not eaten a lot of food from Africa, so I was intrigued when I heard it had opened in the former Nazca Bar & Grill location at the corner of Richmond Road and Emory. It is on the exact opposite end from Cafe Avalaun.

I initially scheduled a dinner with my dining out group there. We arrived at 6:30 PM on a Tuesday and were the only diners there. We were greeted by a friendly server who it turns out was also bartending. We were also entertained by a group of ladies in a line dancing class. One of my friends joined the class.

We were given a plate of grilled bread, and several of us ordered appetizers. I ordered the Meat pie, which is stuffed with meat and vegetables and deep-fried like an empanada. The African flavor really made it stand out from an empanada. It was quite tasty. A vegetarian version of the meat pie is also available.

To start off, I ordered the Chi Chi Watermelon – “five different rums with watermelon and pineapple juice served inside a watermelon fish bowl. (To Be Shared)” Oops. I didn’t share. I drank the whole thing and enjoyed every drop. The watermelon and pineapple juices were very refreshing. That said, they either served me a non-alcoholic version or I have a hella tolerance because I was not tipsy or buzzed after drinking it. It doesn’t appear to be on the menu anymore.

There are a wide variety of dishes to choose from – from soups and appetizers, to salads, stews, chicken (quarters or thighs), beef, lamb (rack of lamb or lamb shanks), steak (ribeye or t-bone), rabbit, fish (catfish, red snapper, or salmon) or seafood (scallops, shrimp, or lobster tail) to vegetable side dishes, FuFu and rice dishes to desserts. The choice of FuFu includes Eba (“gari” stirred in hot water and slowly cooked in plastic wrap – see photo to the left along with Egussi), pounded yam, pounded banana plantain, steamed rice, Jollof rice (rice cooked in a tomato sauce), Wake rice (rice steamed with black eyed beans) or Riz mosaique (rice mixed with vegetables). Other sides include Attieke (cassava (manioc) couscous), couscous (Moroccan couscous steamed in a tomato sauce) or mashed potatoes as well as starchy or vegetable sides such as Pomme lyonnaise (listed under Appetizers, but it’s fried African potatoes mixed with sautéed onion and choukouya seasoning), sweet potatoes, French fries, banana plantains, green beans, broccoli, asparagus, grilled zucchini, sauteed mushrooms and sauteed spinach.

Diners can choose from a variety of meats and vegetables and even two pasta dishes for the less adventurous. There are three African stews that are the focal point of the menu. They can be served with your choice of meat (lamb, goat, fish, chicken, or beef) or with none at all (vegetarian or vegan) and come with one side. The Peanut Sauce is made with groundnut (peanuts) cooked in a mild tomato soup with garlic and black pepper. There are 10 levels of spiciness to choose from. Egussi features West African melon seed cooked with fresh cut spinach in a spicy (or not spicy) broth with palm oil. Sauce feuille (see above photo with Wake rice) is made with well-seasoned fresh cut spinach and collard greens cooked in a red sauce with palm oil.

The shrimpy sauce (left) is delicious and the same sauce is used with the scallops. It seems to be a tomato-cream sauce that is simply scrumptious. I ordered the steamed rice (to truly enjoy the sauce) and a side of asparagus for a nice meal that I will also enjoy the next day. The asparagus was nicely grilled and tasty as well.

Thiebou Dienn is a popular dish from Senegal that is only available on the weekends. Served with fish, chicken or lamb, it is cooked in a red tomato sauce that is well-seasoned with a lot of veggies including cassava, carrots, eggplants, and other vegetables and served with its own rice.

I chose the Fruit de mer (above), which steams shrimp, scallops, and salmon together with organic leek, peas, mushroom and carrot in parchment paper. When the paper is opened, the seafood and vegetables are perfectly cooked and very delicious. I ordered the Riz mosaique with it, which was tasty. The dish is pricy, but definitely worth it!

One of my friends ordered the red snapper (Poisson braise), which is available either grilled (25 min) or fried (10 min) with some fragrant spices and topped with a salsa of vegetables. You can order it as a fillet, headless or with the head. My friend chose a grilled, headless red snapper with a side of Jollof rice and a side of banana plantains. The snapper and salsa was extremely fresh and delicious. I would definitely order it again.

One of my less adventurous friends ordered the Poulet Roti, which features a rotisserie chicken quarter with flavorful seasoning served atop a sauce of sautéed mushrooms and white garlic. It comes with a brick of its own rice. I can imagine ordering this myself for the mushroom and garlic sauce alone!

The service was a little slow, but I have a feeling it was because she was the only one there. Things got better once another employee arrived. We enjoyed the vibe and loved the food. It is worth noting that the food takes a little bit of time to prepare, but the times are stated on the menu and you expect a bit longer if they are busy, but the wait is worth it.

Contact info:

Choukouya Resto-Bar
4620 Richmond Road, Suite 292
Cleveland, OH 44128 (Beachwood)
(216) 245-6660

St. Barnabas in Northfield

Did I save the best fish fry for last? I enjoyed an outstanding fish fry at St. Barnabas in Northfield tonight. It was one of the few churches offering a fish fry on Good Friday. Most pull back to focus on the Good Friday services, but this fish fry is put on by the Cub Scouts and Boy Scouts and hosted by the church. They serve from 4:30 to 7 PM every Friday. The new priest arrived at the same time I did and was asked by the guy holding the door open for guests how the service went.

Finding it was pretty easy. My GPS brought me straight to the parking lot and the signs pointed me where to go. The fish fry was being held in the gymnasium. It was easy enough to find, and there wasn’t a line at all. They had two cash registers taking the orders, and I was able to pay with my debit card, which was nice because I had just spent my cash earlier today at State Meats getting the fresh kielbasa and lamb butter for our Easter dinner. I ordered a little bit of this and a little bit of that, so it added up.

The gymnasium/cafeteria was a good choice for it. The food was being served out of the kitchen at the back wall, and the drinks and cake were along the right wall. The Boy Scouts were conscientiously roaming the room with rolling carts, collecting trays, empty dirty plates and running to grab condiments as needed.

Let’s talk about the meal. They advertise the fish fry by talking about serving “pub style” Icelandic cod and fresh squeezed lemonade. They should also emphasize that they have a different special every week. This week they were serving Baja fish tacos. I decided to get a fish dinner with two pieces of fish and a crab cake and pierogi as sides. The Icelandic cod was flaky and moist. I ate one piece and saved the second one for tomorrow. The crab cake was great – served with a special mustard and more crab than breading. The pierogi were probably Mrs. T’s but they were cooked perfectly and had a nice amount of carmelized onions. Even the cole slaw was tasty – fresh veggies with a creamy sauce. But let’s talk about the real star in my eyes – the French fries. The fries were amazing! They are billed as “premium long cut french fries”and were crunchy on the outside but soft on the inside. There was no additional flavoring – just pure potato goodness. They were honestly the best fries I have eaten in a while. I also really enjoyed the fresh squeezed lemonade. It was totally worth the cost.

 If you choose to get your meal as a carryout meal, you can phone in your order starting at 2:00 p.m. each Friday at 330-800-6804 (Note new phone number) or order online at http://www.mkt.com/575fishfry. I asked for a to-go box (biodegradeable!) as soon as I sat down and took half of my meal home for tomorrow. This fish fry is going on the rotation next year for sure. I enjoyed every single item on my tray.

Contact info:

St. Barnabas Catholic Church
9451 Brandywine Road (fish fry is at 9200 Olde 8 Road)
Northfield, OH 4406
(330) 800-6804

Bonus Fish Fry 2023: Ohio City Provisions

I have always been a big fan of Fresh Fork Market, a weekly subscription farm buying club. I was a subscriber for several years until I realized I was throwing out too much produce (even with a small share), so I quit and started shopping at their store in Ohio City – Ohio City Provisions. I get the same products, but I can pick and choose what I need. From meat and cheese to produce and baked goods, the quality of Fresh Fork and Ohio City Provisions is amazing – and so are their special meals. Their sit-down Thanksgiving dinners for subscribers pre-COVID were amazing. I have also ordered special meals from them such as fried chicken or other carryout meals. So I knew a fish fry from OCP would be something special. They serve their fish fry all Lent, from February 24 to April 7. Pre-order required. I ordered it on March 24th for the 31st. Order as soon as you can, because they do sell out. OCP is located on Lorain Road just past St. Ignatius High School (same side of the street). You can park in front of the building or on the side of the building on a side street.

The dinner did not disappoint. The fish dinner was $18. It featured beer-battered Atlantic cod, housemade coleslaw (cabbage, carrots, apples, beets), handcut-russet potato fries topped with a generous sprig of rosemary, and housemade tartar sauce made with mayo, candied jalapenos, fresh dill and chives. I chose the earliest pick-up time so that I could still attend a fish fry in the evening. I had to wait a few minutes while they fried up my dinner. It doesn’t get any fresher than that.

I couldn’t resist and tucked into one of the pieces of fish in the car. It was probably the best battered and fried piece of fish I’ve eaten in a long time. The batter contained a hint of lemon and it puffed around a generous piece of moist and flaky cod. I also had a few fries, which were perfectly cooked as well. I reheated it on Saturday for a nice lunch. It reheated perfectly in the air fryer. You still have one more Friday if you want to try it. Order here.

Contact info:

Ohio City Provisions
3208 Lorain Avenue
Cleveland, OH 44113
(216) 465-2762

Fish Fry Friday #7 2023 – St. Adalbert in Berea

I had been here before COVID and loved it. Any place that serves Dick’s Bakery is Aces in my book. Dick’s Bakery has amazing baked goods, but their Date Nut cake is the thing of legends. My high school graduation cake was a Date Nut sheet cake from Dick’s Bakery. That was way back in 1987, and I still love it. Well, things have changed post-COVID, and now, instead of including a dessert with the fish fry, the youth have a baked goods sales (free with donation) to support the group’s summer retreat to Steubenville. I can totally respect and support that.

Fish fry entrance is on the left; carry out on the right past the overhang.

Even without a dessert you still get a lot of bang for your buck here at St. Adalbert’s fish fry. It costs $13 and is all you can eat. It’s $11 for Seniors 60+ and $7 for kids 3-12. Cash or check only. The dinner includes baked breaded cod, cole slaw, mac n cheese, cabbage and noodles, three kinds of pierogi (kraut, potato and cheese – you can get up to four on your first go-around, then they limit you to two at a time), fresh cut french fries and coffee, water, lemonade or iced tea. I skipped the french fries and got one each of the pierogi. They ask that you limit what you choose, since the money goes to charity. I knew I wouldn’t be partaking in the all-you-can-eat feature, so I wanted to make sure I finished everything I chose. If you do choose to get more you just need to go to the right of the serving tables and they’ll take care of you.

Lines, lines, everywhere there’s lines…

The fish fry starts at 4:30. I got there shortly before 4, and the parking lot was almost full. I got into line at 4:15, and the line spanned down the hall and into the church foyer. And the line never subsided the whole time I was there. They have some bench seating along the sides, but if you have problems standing that long you may want to skip it or get carry out. One woman almost collapsed from low blood sugar and had to be carried to a bench. She was stubborn and got back into line after a few minutes. Her husband ended up seating her at a table as soon as they entered the hall and continued in the line to get dinners for them both. Because the line wrapped around the back and side of the hall as well.

They opened the hall doors at 4:30, and it took 45 minutes to work our way to the serving tables. It was fun looking at all the old photographs from the history of the church. One photo featured the first baptised baby from the 1830s!

Carry out is open from 4:30 to 6:30 and is in a completely separate area on the right side of the building. The choices include the fish dinner, a pierogi dinner, a fish sandwich and a kids’ meal. You can dine in from 4:30 to 7:30, but I was told they will lock the doors sometimes at 6:30 or 6:45 if they think they are going to run out of food. So the long lines were not just because it was their last fish fry of the year. It’s because the food is EXCELLENT and a total bargain!

Let’s start with the fish. It was delicious. They only serve baked breaded cod, so if you are looking for gluten-free options you are out of luck. But folks, this was one of the tastiest pieces of fish I’ve enjoyed all year – and I really loved St. Joseph’s. I don’t know what made it so tasty, but paired with the tartar sauce each bite was an absolute delight. I ALMOST went back for a second piece, but decided my diet and body wouldn’t appreciate that. I have been taking a semiglutide for the last 3 weeks, which is changing my tastes and what my body can handle. My digestion is slowing, and I will soon be unable to handle fatty, fried foods and sugar. But hey, I’m already down ten pounds.

OK, moving on to the sides. The mac n cheese was really good – not too goopy and not too sweet. The cheese clung to the pasta very well. The cabbage and noodles were great. The cabbage was cut up into small pieces, and the noodles and cabbage were easy to eat with a fork (which is not always the case). I chose one of each of the pierogo choices. The kraut and potato were great – very savory, nicely flavored without too much filling. I saved the cheese pierogi as my dessert, because it was filled with a sweet farmer’s cheese. I can’t say anything about the fries, but the guy sitting next to me enjoyed them a lot. I paired my meal with an Arnold Palmer (half lemonade, half iced tea). I can highly recommend St. Adalbert’s fish fry! Put them on the list for next year.

Contact info:

St. Adalbert Church
66 Adalbert Street
Berea, OH 44017
(440) 234-6830

Fish Fry #6 2023 – St. Sava on Wallings Road

This is a story of two churches. St. Sava Cathedral and St. Sava Church are both Serbian Orthodox churches that are located south of Cleveland. One (the Cathedral) is located at the border of Seven Hills and Parma on Broadview Road, while the other one (St. Sava Church/Hall) is located on Wallings Road in Broadview Heights. You can see where the confusion is almost guaranteed. According to a parishioner we spoke with today, there was a falling out in the church that cleaved them into two churches years ago. Things are better now, but they are still two distinct churches with a similar name.

Last year I went to St. Sava Cathedral’s fish fry on Broadview Road. It was very Orthodox. I didn’t love it and heard the St. Sava Church’s fish fry was very different and better. I wanted to compare the two, so I planned on eating at St. Sava Church this time around. I learned from my mistakes last year and brought butter with me. Because they are very Orthodox and it is Lent, so no dairy is allowed. Although they served sour cream with the pierogi today, so color me confused.

First of all, the church is located on W. Wallings Road about 1 mile past the intersection of Broadview Road and W. Wallings Road. You can’t miss the signs. I got there right at 4:30 and met a friend there. Two other friends planned to meet us a little later on and had no trouble finding us. There were already lots of people coming out carrying take-out containers at 4:30. The fish fry is held in the Main Hall behind the church. Enter through the doors on the right and get in line. I just followed a group from the parking lot. There was already quite a line at 4:30. We chit-chatted a bit until we got to the front of the line. They have it running like a well-oiled machine. Tables are positioned two together so there is a lot of space between you and the person sitting across from you. Long tables with serving chafing dishes line the back wall.

There were signs advertising three different dinners – $12 for 1 piece of fried fish, 6 fried shrimp and 2 sides or 6 pierogi, $14 for 1 piece of fish and 3 shrimp and 2 sides or $15 for baked salmon and 2 sides. All dinners come with coleslaw and a dinner roll. They don’t advertise the sides, because they vary every week. This week we could choose from something called O’Brien potatoes, steamed mixed veggies or pierogi. I chose the potatoes and the pierogi, then opted to get the bean soup ($3) and a Lenten stuffed cabbage roll ($2). The bean soup was really good. I brought it home to eat later.

I didn’t think about the fact that the Lenten stuffed cabbage roll contained no meat. It was essentially rice, tomato sauce and carrot stuffed in a cabbage leaf. It was different, but I don’t think it was worth an extra $2. It would have been a fun and different side. Unless you really love rice and cabbage, save your cabbage.

The salmon looked amazing, but I decided to try the fish and shrimp. They were both moist and tasty. The potatoes were weird. I guess they roast them with  red and green bell peppers and onion until they break down to mush and mix them with some kind of Serbian vegetable paste (?). They were okay, but the baby food consistency turned me off. There is nothing wrong with roasted chunks of potatoes.

The pierogi were decent, but they didn’t strike me as homemade. They were too uniform. I also ordered a cherry strudel, because I remember the strudel last year was magical. It was definitely flaky, but I think it might have been flash-fried. I definitely tasted fried oil. I preferred the Cathedral’s strudel and rolls. I also shelled out another $2 for two cans of pop (you can also buy bottled water). The coffee is free, but I don’t drink coffee this late in the day.

The place was packed from the moment we got there at 4:30 until we left at 6:30. They serve from 4:30 to 7:00 every Friday in Lent from February 24th to April 7th – dine in and carry out. They were also really pushing their Bake Sale on April 8th. It’s supposed to be amazing. I have to say that I am tempted to go to Bingo Night there one Tuesday or Thursday. Just because they take it so seriously. They have a huge light-up board and professional machines to mix the balls. It puts my little metal Bingo spinner and wooden balls from my grandparents to shame.

Contact info:

St. Sava Serbian Orthodox Church
2151 W. Wallings Road
Broadview Heights, OH 44147
(440) 237-2260

Fish Fry #5 2023 – St. Joseph’s in Avon Lake – Visit 2

I made an exception to my rule of no repeat visits on St. Patrick’s Day. Most fish fries were closed, even though a higher up apparently gave the church parishioners a dispensation in order to eat their corned beef and cabbage on a usually meatless Friday. St. Joseph’s in Avon Lake was serving corned beef and cabbage, and I wanted to try the baked cod to complete my tasting of their available items.

I took a friend with me, and it was so nice knowing how things work. We drove around the church and parked close to the entrance shortly before it opened. We had preordered a perch meal for my friend, the baked cod for me and we shared the corned beef and cabbage. I found my friends from the last visit and joined them once again. My friend and I got into line to grab a tray from the soup station and then headed to the food in front of the stage. Since we were splitting a second meal I didn’t order any additional soup.

The first stop was for the corned beef and cabbage – and we were handed an individual homemade Irish soda bread that looked like a fancy cupcake. I really wish I had taken a photo of the soda bread. I found it quite tasty, but my friend was not a fan. More for me! The corned beef and cabbage was exceptional. We got 3 large slices of corned beef (I grabbed the leaner of the three), and it came with cabbage, carrots and potatoes. The carrots were a wee bit underdone, but altogether they tasted great. My friend particularly enjoyed the potatoes and raved about the corned beef. She also enjoyed the green beans once she put salt on them.

The cod was also quite lovely. I ordered a sweet potato to go with it. It was a delicious, low-fat meal. The mango chutney seems to be a doctored Curried Mango Grille Sauce/mango chutney from Stonewall Farms. It was really lovely. The cod as perfectly cooked and flaky, and the chutney really helped it shine (although it was tasty without the chutney as well). I didn’t need any butter or anything on the sweet potato – it was that good.

My friend loved her perch dinner as well and took the rest of the corned beef home for lunch at work. I had also ordered a side of pierogi for her, since she is from cincinnati and hadn’t had a pierogi before she met me. She prefers them a little firmer, but that meant I got her pierogi to take home with my corned beef leftovers. We left with happy, full bellies.

Another successful Friday fish fry visit! I kind of regretted not ordering the salmon, but I’ve been told I can have the recipe for the dill-chardonnay sauce so I can recreate the magic at home. The only criticism I have is that they really need to work on their lemonade and ice tea game (I ordered canned soda last time)! Even though they are free with the meal I expect more than weak watered down beverage. They were just bad. The pitcher of iced water on the table was tastier!

Contact info:

St. Joseph’s Parish
32929 Lake Road
Avon Lake
Fry time: 4:30 to 7 p.m. Fridays Feb. 24 to March 31 (no fish fry on Ash Wednesday or Good Friday).