Caleb Westphal hasn’t missed a Friday fish fry since 2013. Follow his never-ending adventures—sponsored by Miller High Life—HERE. This week: fish fry #619, at The Foxhole Lounge in Racine, Wisconsin.
Built before the Civil War, and a meeting place for veterans since before World War II, the building at 820 N. Main St. in Racine now houses The Legacy Museum and Veterans Center, where there’s not only a museum and a library, but The Foxhole Lounge. I’ve known they have a fish fry—and have had my eye on their Captain’s Platter—for a few years. Being that it was the Friday before Veterans Day, it felt like an appropriate time to go.
Despite a sign that suggested parking in the rear, I parked out front and came in through the front door. The foyer was dim, being brightened by display cases and also by a glow coming from the next room. Walking towards the light, I stepped into the main dining area. I made my way to the adjacent room, to the bar, which was nearly full and rather lively. I considered asking a bartender about putting my name in, but headed to another doorway leading towards the back of the building, sensing there was more to see.
I headed down a weaving hallway dotted with artifacts dedicated to veterans and U.S. military history, and past a pickup window where fryers were bubbling. To my surprise, I found another full dining area in the far back of the building, one that looked as if it could be from an entirely different restaurant than the other one. It was here my wandering soul was spotted and I was told I could put my name in with the person at the counter in the corner. I did and was told it would be just a few minutes for a table. Never one to sit still, I wandered to the front of the building and back again. Shortly after, I was seated in the smaller of the two rooms in the main dining area, and given a menu.
The fish fry section of the menu lists breaded cod ($14), lake perch ($16), walleye pike ($18), poor man’s lobster ($16), jumbo shrimp ($15), and the Foxhole 2x2x4 Combo ($18), which comes with two pieces of perch, two of cod, and four shrimp. Each dinner comes with a choice of baked potato, french fries, or potato pancakes, along with coleslaw and rye bread. Onion rings can take the place of potatoes for an extra $3. There were two off-menu specials: bluegill ($17), which I was told comes with seven or eight pieces, and the Captain’s Platter ($20), with two pieces of perch, two of cod, two of bluegill, and two pieces of shrimp. I put in an order for the Captain’s Platter with potato pancakes.
During the lull between ordering a fish fry and eating it, I’m usually looking around the room or eating clam chowder. Since there wasn’t any chowder, I was just doing the former. Then I spotted the sign: “NO darts during Friday Night Dinner!” On the opposite side of the room as the sign sat two dart boards. Between the sign and the boards were a few tables. I started chuckling to myself, envisioning darts whizzing over people’s heads as they ate their fish frys, with some darts hitting them, piercing their perch or potato pancakes, or shattering their Old Fashioned glasses. It looked a lot like Dr. Frankenstein (“It’s pronounced Fronk-ens-teen”) playing darts with Inspector Kemp in Young Frankenstein. When my server came by I asked her if they had had issues with people getting hit with darts while eating fish frys. No, it hadn’t been a problem, yet. To make more room to serve people fish frys, they recently replaced a pool table with the dining room tables in this smaller room, and were getting ahead of possible catastrophe. Now, I don’t mind a game of darts, but I’m proud of the importance The Foxhole Lounge places on the safety of their patrons and their fish frys.
I’m unsure if I would have been able to finish a game of cricket in the time I waited for my fish fry anyway—it came out in about 15 minutes. Cold and well-coated, the coleslaw was uniform in appearance, with cabbage cut into small, square chunks. There was seasoning and seeds, and somewhere in the mix a flavor that I couldn’t place. Dare I say that it was reminiscent of the flavor of berry frozen yogurt? Odd, yes, yet somehow not off-putting. When it came to the rye bread, I’ve seen it almost as many times as I’ve sung my daughter Randy Newman’s “You’ve Got A Friend in Me,” meaning it was a basic slice of marbled rye that I’ve encountered a thousand times.
At first glance the potato pancakes didn’t look homemade. But when I looked at them closer, and then flipped them over, I thought they likely were. They were onion heavy, greasy, and savory. Sour cream and applesauce had been offered in advance, and I had them with the sour cream.
I’m happy to report that for once I can say the shrimp were slightly different than all the other great yet exactly-the-same shrimp I have every time I get a fish fry with shrimp. These were noticeably plumper, being big shrimp with big, crisp breading. This breading differed from the breading that was on the cod, perch, and bluegill. The breading on the fish was slightly salty and had lots of visible seasoning, yet didn’t taste as seasoned as I thought it would given how prevalent it was. It hung thicker and sturdier on the cod than on the other two, where it was more malleable. The cod was chunky, yet rather common. The bluegill fillets were small, with only a mild inherent flavor. The perch was consistently meaty, yet again had a more muted flavor. The thick, pickle-chunk tartar sat well on top of all the fish.
Somewhere in the middle of the meal, two different kids asked their parents if they could play darts, and it didn’t seem like the parents had seen the small sign prohibiting darts during dinner on Friday nights. Now this could get interesting, I thought. I was fully prepared for an onslaught of darts from some five-year-olds. But the parents held firm, persuading their kids to abandon the idea and wait for their tables in another room.
After I paid my bill and walked back into the foyer, I stopped at the display cases and saw that many of the contents were dedicated to area veterans and to Veterans Day. I paused momentarily, reading some of the information on display and reflecting on the upcoming holiday, then made my way into the rainy night for the drive back to Milwaukee.
Takeaways: They support the troops and fish frys; NO darts during Friday Night Dinner!; oniony and greasy potato pancakes; noticeably plump shrimp; small and subdued bluegill; mild and meaty perch; add in some cod and make it a Captain’s Platter.
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