Get breaded bluegill at Jordan’s Big 10 Pub and walk to Bascom Hill

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 #607, at Jordan’s Big 10 Pub in Madison, Wisconsin.

I was headed to Madison for the night to spin 45s at Lola’s and thought I’d make it a twofer and wrap a fish fry into the trip. The plan was to go to Toby’s Supper Club, a place I’d twice had a Friday fish fry at, but I had to pivot day-of when I saw they were closed for the weekend. My brother, who lives in the Madison area and was going to be joining me, suggested we go to Jordan’s Big 10 Pub (1330 Regent St.; 608-251-6375), a place he’d got a fish fry at eight or 10 times and his favorite place for a fish fry in Madison. That was good enough for me.

I pulled into the Big 10 Pub’s small lot, and met my brother who had already secured a booth. It was shortly before 4:30 p.m. and the pub was nowhere close to being busy. Quick seating turned into quick service and a quick fish fry. During my 50-or-so minutes at Jordan’s Big 10 Pub, I was left with two main takeaways. First, Jordan’s Big 10 Pub serves up a unique fish fry, almost across the board, and they aren’t slacking on any of the fish fry components. Second, it’s not entirely clear how much the fish frys cost and what all comes with them, to the point of it being entertaining.

The fish fry menu listed the Friday entrees as grilled walleye (lemon pepper or Cajun), lightly breaded perch, lightly breaded bluegill, beer battered cod, and Cajun dusted popcorn shrimp. Prices were not listed. The menu said all entrees come with house-made coleslaw, tartar, a slice of thick rye, a lemon wedge, and a side. The sides were not listed—on the fish fry menu at least; I later found most of them online on the regular menu. The fish fry menu also listed Trevor’s Catch of the Day, which was Salmon Fra Diavolo on this Friday.

We soon ordered. My brother went first, and after he ordered the perch, he was asked if he’d like soup or salad. Previously he had told me that the pub didn’t advertise it but they used to offer soup or salad with their fish frys, but he said they hadn’t offered it to him the last few times he went. The implication from the server was that the soup or salad option was back on! I ordered the bluegill and had the server go through the list of sides, which they had started telling my brother but stopped when he had picked onion rings. The side options were sweet potato fries, wedge fries, onion rings, french fries, potato pancakes, Cajun chips, and Cajun fries. I went for the potato pancakes and picked the clam chowder over the salad.

As hoped, the chowder preceded the fish fry. Appearing in shades of gray rather than being creamy white, it was like a stew. It had huge chunks of carrots and potatoes, and was well-seasoned, which gave it boldness.

The fish fry wasn’t far behind. Rye bread slices are often soft and thick, but not many could top this slice. The coating on the slaw was light, an oily covering that benefited the slaw in flavor and presentation; it didn’t pool or run, allowing the slaw to snug up next to the bread without drowning it.

The potato pancakes were the size of silver dollars, with some being more the size of a Morgan dollar, while others were closer to the size of a Sacajawea dollar. Most were uniform in shape, although some were jagged like a Susan B. Anthony dollar. No matter their dollar type, they were soft, thin, and oniony. I counted my dollars and there were eight of them. Cha-ching! And for those of you who go for applesauce with your pancakes, this sauce was a standout, being spiced with cinnamon, having chunks of apple, and being slightly warmed.

Most of the seven bluegill fillets were relatively small and mild, not hitting hard with the archetypically recognizable bluegill flavor, although the largest of the lot came through rather strongly. They were covered with a light breading that floated between crispy and soft, providing variation on each piece that as a whole produced a satisfying mouthfeel. The flavor complemented both the fish and the tartar.

It was difficult to identify exactly where the sweetness in the tartar came from, but my hunch is it was from the garden of vegetables that was mixed in, which not only had relish and a bevy of herbs, but what I think was red bell pepper. The bulk and crunchiness of the garden contrasted with the thinness of the base, but that’s just an observation, not a knock, and on the whole the tartar was unique but also fulfilling—just as could also be said (more or less) for the bread, coleslaw, potato pancakes, applesauce, and bluegill.

When we got the bills, the bluegill was $17.50, while the perch was $17.00. There was a $3 upcharge on both the potato pancakes and onion rings, which the fish fry menu didn’t specify and which we weren’t made aware of, although the online menu I looked at later did mention the upcharge for the onion rings, so the regular menu at the restaurant likely said the same.

Owned by Kelly Jordan, Jordan’s Big 10 Pub has been running since 1999. They serve their Friday fish fry all day, and they also serve a fish fry on Wednesdays. Located a few blocks from Camp Randall Stadium, the Big 10 Pub is likely not an easy place to get a seat—or a fish fry—on days the Badgers play football. But none of the games fall on a Friday this year, so if you go, you’ll likely be in and out in less than an hour.

That was the case when I went, with my visit leaving me plenty of time to walk to Greenbush Bakery for a doughnut, around the outside of Camp Randall Stadium and under its historic arch, past Bascom Hill—from which I could see the statue of Abraham Lincoln in front of Bascom Hall—over to the Memorial Union Terrace to take down a Michelob ULTRA Zero, and back to to my vehicle with plenty of time to spare before I needed to be at Lola’s for my DJ set. The fish fry at Jordan’s Big 10 Pub is a solid one, and a great one to have before doing the above or any other Madison excursion.

Takeaways: Top-of-the-line rye bread; lightly coated slaw; silver dollar potato pancakes; light breading on mild bluegill; vegetable garden tartar; some sides may have an upcharge; who knows what price of each fish fry is; speedy service leaving plenty of time to walk around and explore Madison.