Fish Fry Interlude - Export Moose, February 22, 2023

NOTE: Because Chip and I are fish fry aficionados, my pizza reviews will be interspersed with brief fish fry reviews during Lent. 

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Last year was an absolutely miserable year for fish fries in western Pennsylvania. Although COVID restrictions had loosened, widespread supply chain issues led to the cancellation of most of our favorite fish fries. And of those that were left, most were just doing drive-through or carryout rather than dine-in. 

It's interesting to see that while most of the VFD and social club fish fries have returned for 2023, the church ones have not. Many have permanently cancelled their fish fries, with a few moving to carryout only. There are only two churches on my list of about a dozen that interest us this year, and one is actually a joint church/VFD initiative that was held last year at the VFD and this year at the church (I think it's a cool partnership for other communities to consider).

Only about a third of the participating organizations actually hold a fish fry on Ash Wednesday, so our options for last night were limited. And because Chip had a meeting to attend, we needed to do carryout. So we opted for the closest one: the Export Moose Lodge.

We've been going to the Moose fish fries for at least 10 or 12 years. In addition to the Lenten fish dinners, they sometimes have a monthly fish fry which is also open to the public. They've got great fish, and they're only 7 or 8 minutes down the road which means carryout fish makes it home hot.  

When we got serious about fish fries a decade ago, it seemed like an equal number of places offered breaded fish compared to battered fish. Chip and I like both so we appreciate the variety. But over the last several years I've noticed a shift toward battered fish. The Moose continues to bread theirs, so it's a must-do at least once every season.

Avery ordered a fish sandwich and fries, Chip got a dinner with onion rings and coleslaw, and I ordered a fish sandwich and macaroni and cheese. Other menu offerings included jumbo shrimp, popcorn shrimp, pierogis, and haluski.

Louisville people take note: western PA fish fries do NOT offer their sandwiches on bread, but typically on hoagie rolls. And none of this rye bread foolishness (I don't think there were ever enough German immigrants in this region for that to even be a thing). I grew up with fish sandwiches on bread, but I'll never go back now.

My fish sandwich was incredibly delicious, and huge; I cut off about 40% of the fish that wouldn't fit on the roll for a sandwich for lunch the next day. The fish was thick and meaty, and although it was hard to tell whether it was cod or pollock, it was very tasty. The breading was slightly seasoned and had a perfect consistency. The macaroni and cheese also got a thumbs up - it was clearly homemade and ever so slightly on the dry side, which I prefer to gloppy cheese sauce.

Avery agreed with me about the fish but said that the fries were a little underwhelming, and desperately needed salt. 

The star of the evening was the order of onion rings. The onions were amazingly sweet and the breading stayed on the thick-cut rings when biting into them. There's nothing worse than biting into an onion ring and having the entire onion slide out...but there was no danger of that happening with these rings. They even reheated well for lunch today.

It was a great first fish outing for 2023, and left me really excited about the next six weeks of pescatarian delight!