Caleb Westphal hasn’t missed a Friday fish fry since 2013. Follow his never-ending adventures HERE. This week: fish fry #640, at Matty’s Bar & Grille in New Berlin, Wisconsin.
Meriwether Lewis, William Clark, and the Corps of Discovery set out from the outskirts of St. Louis in May 1804 in search of the fabled Northwest Passage and to explore the Pacific Northwest, including the area recently acquired by the United States with the Louisiana Purchase. They traveled by water in keelboat, pirogue, and canoe, and traversed sometimes treacherous terrain by foot and on horseback. They faced illness and injuries over the 8,000 mile trip that brought them back to St. Louis on September 23, 1806.
While Lewis and Clark faced a number of challenges as they completed one of the most important voyages in American history, I was faced with my own geographical challenge this past Friday. I, too, was in St. Louis, on the last day of a family roadtrip. I didn’t need to cross any mountains or portage any boats. I just needed to get back home to Wisconsin to get a Good Friday fish fry before the end of the day.
The drive back proved easy and uneventful. There were no illnesses or injuries. We didn’t discover or name any new species. We didn’t miss any turns. We didn’t have to spend the winter in a fort. No, we made it back by early afternoon with plenty of time to spare, with plenty of time for me to decide where to get the night’s fish fry.
I’d been to Matty’s Bar & Grille (14460 College Ave.; 414-427-3838) for a Friday fish fry once before, on March 3, 2016, but don’t remember much of it, to the point that I had to look up if I’d actually been there before. Located in New Berlin and owned by Matt Anderson, Matty’s has been open since 1997. Coming down the road towards it at around 4:45 p.m., the parking lot out front looked full, but that was just the start. I turned into the driveway and drove past the front series of buildings and the side parking lot, past additional buildings in the Matty’s family behind them, until I was in the nearly full back parking lot that is more than six times the size of the front lot. Oh boy. Welcome to Good Friday in Wisconsin.
One of my stepsons had joined me and we walked inside to a full house, with the long bar to the left already two or more deep and a line formed to the host stand ahead of us. A flurry of action swirled around us as patrons shuffled about and workers near the host stand spoke into two-way radios, communicating with workers in the dining areas that were somewhere beyond. We stood in line and then I put our name in. I was told it may be about 45 minutes for a table.
It took a few minutes, but I was able to order two kiddie cocktails ($3.50) at the bar. We went out front to drink them, getting away from the crowd. I checked my phone and saw there were 20 parties ahead of us and 28 parties waiting in total. It was just after 5.
We were about to check out the fire pit in the back, which was lit for the evening and had some people hanging by it, when it started to rain and we went back inside. The number of parties behind us ballooned into the 30s, but the number of parties in front of us went down quickly. Moments after I saw it was at 6, I got an alert that our table was ready. It had been less than half an hour, impressive given how packed it was. Although, we never did see one of the main dining areas; we were seated at one of the few tables up front, not far from the door.
The Friday menu at Matty’s lists Blue Moon battered cod ($16.99), baked cod ($17.99), and hand breaded perch ($16.99), each coming with a choice of mashed potatoes, a potato pancake, or fries. A fish sandwich with fries ($14.99) and fish tacos ($15.99) are also on the Friday menu. I ordered the perch and pancake and inquired if they had clam chowder. Upon finding out they did, I ordered a cup ($4.99).
The chowder came out almost immediately. Clams, celery, and red potatoes, mainly with red skin still hanging on, formed the base. While these all felt predictable and typical, there was something particular about the flavor, I assume from the seasoning, that set it apart from most chowders. The flavor wasn’t off-putting, but it was somewhat confounding.
The wait between getting the chowder and the fish fry was about a half hour, perhaps making it longer than the wait for the table. Given how busy the restaurant was, on this, the busiest of all fish fry holidays—maybe even a busier holiday than Friday Fish Fry Day—it wasn’t unexpected. The fish fry arrived at 6 on the dot.
Two half slices of moderately thick and slightly swirled rye delivered. The slaw was saucy yet crunchy, and consistent throughout, with celery seeds holding court in the cup. The menu had said potato pancake—singular, not plural—but I was unsure what I’d end up with, and even when looking down at the tray was unsure if I had one or two. It was one, but could have passed for two compared to some on account of its thickness. The taste of onion was noticeable, for sure, although not overpowering. The pancake had a dense, packed together strut to it; there were some strands of shredded potato floating around inside, but it was mainly solid. It was a little extra browned on the bottom, but not to the point of sullying it. All in all, the pancake was a few notches above the middle of the pack of all the potato pancakes of the world.
There were four mid-sized fillets of perch. Three out of four of them fired on all cylinders, with one falling slightly behind, it being hard to tell if it was overdone or if the fish itself wasn’t as good. But it still largely passed the muster. The other three were almost identical, with a light, flexible breading that didn’t overwhelm the fish. The breading was slightly salty with the other seasonings being even lighter. The breading proved to be secondary, and that’s not a slight—it was still quite exemplary. But the perch below it came through well, just as it should, and was satisfying in both taste and texture, being the most consequential of the two.
The perch didn’t need the tartar, and the tartar was sturdy enough that it didn’t need the perch either, but I brought them together anyway. The cup matched the one of slaw in size. The tartar was mainly a thick white sea of dressing, with seemingly nothing nearby, but then a berg of pickle would be hit, exploding with a crunch. It was a tartar that would have gone exceptionally well with the beer battered cod. Since there were only four pieces of perch, I left some tartar in the cup: a rarity. It would have drowned them if I had used it all.
Maybe the only real drawback to the perch fish fry at Matty’s Bar & Grille is that it comes with only four fillets. I could have gone for eight, and would have gladly paid for it. Perhaps I could have ordered extra ones off-menu, but I want tiers of perch on the menu! But let’s focus on what was there, not what wasn’t. The perch and tartar both were well put together, as was the potato pancake. Neither the coleslaw nor the rye bread were throwaways, either.
Lewis and Clark may have left St. Louis, traveled 8,000 miles, and then made it back, completing a voyage that looms large in American history, but I’m fine not being them. I’m fine being the guy who ate a Friday fish fry for 639 weeks straight and then left St. Louis on a Friday morning and traveled some 300 and some miles back to Wisconsin to eat Friday fish fry number number 640. Not everyone is destined for everlasting glory like Lewis and Clark. Some of us are just living for Fridays. Places like Matty’s Bar & Grille help make this possible.
Takeaways: Celery seed slaw; one pancake with a packed together strut; breading that does its job right so the perch can do its job too; endless thick sea of tartar with pickle bergs.
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