When Lent started we talked on The Food Show about the phenomenon of the Lenten Fish Fry, a long-standing Catholic Parish tradition in New Orleans. The Fish Fry is a cultural staple each Friday in the spring. They started out so simple: fried fish and fries for $5, or so. Now they range on average from $12 to $15, with $10 on the low end and $20 plus on the other, depending on how elaborate they are. And how elaborate some have become! These are an anomaly, but a wonderful exception.
Based on lists I have seen, 98% of Fish Fry menus are simple. The original menus of fish and fries has expanded to include fried shrimp as well, either as a separate plate or as part of a combo. Sides have become a bit more varied in recent years too, usually offering mac’n’cheese as an option, as well as string beans. But coleslaw is also a frequent side, and sometimes green peas.
We have done a lot of Lenten Fish Fries in the past, at St. Clement of Rome, Mary Queen of Peace, Our Lady of the Lake, St. Peter, and St. Jane de Chantal, to name a few. While all of these may offer different items for different prices, they all have the same similarities. The food is pretty boring, and the camaraderie is special.
This year we stayed closer to home and went first to St. Benedict, a rural parish nearby. The St. Benedict version was as simple as it gets these days. Fried fish or shrimp, mac’and’cheese, green beans, a roll, and two pieces of fish or a pile of shrimp. This was all very ordinary but quite fine for what it was. The price was right as well, at $12. Dessert and a drink were a dollar extra each.
The following week we went with the famous one, St. Anselm on the north shore in Madisonville. It has been the legendary one on the north shore for a few years, being one of the first to offer a drive-thru option. When it came up on the Food Show at the same time Patty was rhapsodizing about the one in St. Bernard, we went the following Friday. It is a bit of a madhouse in terms of business, but they are pros and seem to have it all well organized.
You drive into the parking lot and are greeted by people with clipboards like the drive-thru at Chick fil A or In-N-Out Burger. You drive around into the parking lot and park, and someone delivers your order in minutes. They even offer your doggie rider a dog biscuit, though they are not as good at keeping track of this. My doggie didn’t mind at all. He enjoyed his second biscuit.
This exploding plate came with piles of catfish, piles of shrimp, hushpuppies, a fried Buster softshell crab, and a “crabcake” that was clearly a frozen crab stuffing. (Not that I would expect anything else in this Catholic school Fish Fry.) Fries and coleslaw were the sides here, and a piece of French bread with a pat of butter was included. This was all really quite good and definitely enough for two at $20. I see why everyone is talking about this one.
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We dropped in at Mater Dolorosa in New Orleans because we talked about that one on the show as well. This was quite charming. Set into the “backyard” of the church, which is lush with trees, grass, and flowers, tables were set with white paper “tablecloths” and a lot of neighborhood people milled around. These tables were mostly filled with people, some of whom had brought coolers with their own libations, settling in for an evening of socializing.
The $17 plate of two pieces of fish with mac’n’cheese and coleslaw was the least good of all we tried, and also a little skimpy on the sides. Still, in keeping with my ambiance obsession, I would do this one for that reason alone. Not a single one of these others comes close to the environment here. The Knights of Columbus had a sort of open kitchen set-up in the garage and kids played everywhere. Very nice.
It was our intention in these waning weeks of Lent to make it to the one in St. Bernard at St. Bernard church. It offers seafood gumbo, fried fish, fried shrimp, stuffed crab, shrimp jambalaya, shrimp fettuccine, white beans and shrimp, crawfish pie, baked mac’n’cheese, green bean casserole, potato salad, and coleslaw, all of which can add up to $28. I just had to see this.
So after the show on Friday, we headed that way. I had no idea how far it actually was. We should have left earlier, because by the time we got down there, way past MeMe’s and down to what I consider the ends of the earth, where Wow Cafe and Wingery is, I realized it was still 11 miles. Dusk was setting in and I decided to abort the plan because I didn’t want to take Tom through the neighborhood heading back into the city at night.
But now I know why the offerings at St. Bernard Catholic church are what they are. They have to do something drastic to bring people in. This particular fish fry has almost achieved mythical status to me. Maybe next year we can leave earlier and see what is really happening every Lenten Friday there.
