Well, the arbitrary time of year where people eat a lot more fish than they normally do is here, bookended by when people get ashes on their heads and the arrival of the Easter bunny. My family’s strict Catholicism meant I encountered my fair share of fish fries in a part of the country where they are everywhere, even when Lent is not going on.
It was also probably my least favorite part of this time of year because of that. I understand it has to deal with fasting and the personal sacrifice Lent is all about, but I would prefer just eating vegetables as my meal instead.
I have gone to my fair share of church fish fries over the years, even if I was not that enthused with sitting down with my parents in the church rec hall eating out of a Styrofoam container and surrounded by old people I hardly knew. It was a time I could not wait to get out of there and move on to more interesting things.
Like fried, the only appealing thing about fish fries to me was the battered covering I know was not good for me. You cannot beat a good crunch when biting into food like that because it makes up for the rest of the food.
Once you bite past that crispy batter, you are just left with another fish that has some aftertaste of the lake plants the fish swam through. I would never get enough ketchup packets to use for both the fish and fries, so I would try to squeeze out every last bit of ketchup because there was no way I would try any of the tartar sauce given. And I could never stand how mayonnaise tasted, so whatever salad it came with was accompanied by me smooshing my mouth to try and taste as least of it as possible.
Needless to say I would hardly ever finish mine because I could not stand the taste. The same could be said for when I go to a pub that has fish and chips on the menu.
So when I have gone to restaurants for fish fries, more often than not lately I will either order a different seafood option like shrimp scampi or a freshly prepared salmon or whatever veggie meat options are available. Veggie burgers are a lot more common now, so I would not be surprised if more people try those during Lent. I even prepare some fish meals of my own at home, but they are also of those aforementioned kinds of fish.
Maybe my taste buds are not properly attuned to take in the fish, but maybe they will be burnt out by every other flavor I can try with fish. That will be a long time before that happens.
Robert Creenan is a staff writer for the Huron Daily Tribune. He can be reached at robert.creenan@hearst.com.
March 10, 2021 at 06:13PM
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Fish fries: a tradition I don't look forward to - Huron Daily Tribune
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