Hooligan’s holds down East Side with happy hour drinks, walleye fish fry

Caleb Westphal hasn’t missed a Friday fish fry since 2013. Follow his never-ending adventures HERE. This week: fish fry #645, at Hooligan’s in Milwaukee, Wisconsin.

I look out a window. I see fireflies dancing in the trees. I see my grandparents pulling up in their red Corvette. I see my dad coming home from work. I see a neighbor walking by with his dog and smoking his pipe. I see children younger than me playing in the parking lot. I see my great-grandma waving goodbye out her window. I see my grandpa waving out his. I wave back. Time passes. I look out the windows. Everything has changed. Even most of the windows are gone.

I look out a window. I see myself walking inside G-Daddy’s BBC for a burger. I see myself walking inside Hacienda Beer Co. for a fish fry. I see Alkaline Trio standing out front of the Globe East before their show. I see Macauley Culkin standing outside of Hotel Foster after his show with The Pizza Underground. I see myself drinking a beer on the Hotel Foster balcony. Time passes. I look out the window. Everything has changed.

The window I’m looking out of is on the second floor of Hooligan’s (2017 E. North Ave.; 414-273-5230). In an ever-evolving East Side landscape, Hooligan’s has remained an enduring institution, connected to the past yet full of vigor and in the present. They put their start year at 1936, and so do most articles, although Bobby Tanzilo’s Urban Spelunking article places it at 1941. Being that the oldest newspaper articles I found referencing Hooligan’s also date to 1941, my money is on Tanzilo. There actually were two Hooligan’s—or Hooligan’s Super Bars. The other location, Hooligan’s West on W. Fond du Lac Avenue, opened shortly before Hooligan’s East, but closed in the early 1970s.

I’ve had a fish fry at Hooligan’s a number of times. I had one there twice in 2014 and once in 2015. I may have had one or more there in 2012 or 2013, before I started keeping records. There’s even a photo of me, beardless and in my 20s, eating fish fry #39 on the patio at Hooligan’s on Friday, September 26, 2014. A lot has changed since then, on the East Side and the world over, but Hooligan’s remains, and so does their Friday fish fry.

My wife and I arrived with our daughter and I asked if we could sit upstairs. The first floor was humming, while the second floor was empty. (It was shortly after 5 p.m. and a few tables upstairs did fill up during our time there.) Hooligan’s has a concise yet varied Friday fish fry section on their menu. They offer a half pound of breaded walleye ($22), a half pound of Riverwest Stein battered cod ($23), and a half pound of Red Hook battered shrimp ($18). Fish sandwiches are also available. Each dinner comes with a choice of potato pancake, fries, a side salad, or a bag of chips, or tater tots or waffle fries for an extra dollar. I asked about clam chowder and learned it was available, and ordered a cup ($7) along with the walleye and pancake.

Thoughtfully, the server asked if I wanted the chowder brought out first, and of course I did. It was smooth and seasoned with an abundance of fresh green herbs—at least they had been fresh before the chowder had its way with them. Clams, celery, and large potato chunks cozied up with the herbs. The chowder went down quickly, but its memory reverberated beyond its short stay, and it portended well for the fish fry.

Just over 10 minutes after the chowder came, I had the fish fry. The rye bread and slaw were ordinary. Light and dark rye contrasted with each other in the crusty slice of bread. With bright green cabbage and squares of carrot, the coleslaw was sharp. Smashed as flat as Wile E. Coyote, the potato pancake had fresh cuts of green onion and a good chew. Of the three, the potato pancake took the gold.

But it was the walleye that ultimately made this fish fry worthwhile. There were two almost identical fillets, with a breading that was seasoned and thin. The fillets went from thick to lean from end to end, but at every part they had a meaty texture and a full-bodied flavor. I’ve had better walleye, but that doesn’t mean this walleye wasn’t top notch. The tartar was strong and tangy, almost sour, and while it wasn’t my favorite tartar—and this walleye was good enough that it didn’t need tartar anyway—it paired decently enough with the fish.

It’s been more than a decade since I’ve had a fish fry at Hooligan’s, and there’s no knowing when I’ll be back for one again. But as I travel through time, looking out of windows at the world as it keeps changing into something new, I will remember Hooligan’s and its walleye, and assume they are still there keeping people satisfied.

Takeaways: Smooth and well-seasoned chowder; ordinary bread and slaw; a pancake as flat as Wile E. Coyote, but much tastier; meaty walleye with a full-bodied flavor covered with an aptly seasoned and thin breading.

Want more Caleb? Hire him for all your 100%-vinyl DJ needs and follow him on Patreon.

RELATED ARTICLES