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 #580: Magoo’s On The Mound in Milwaukee, Wisconsin.
They’ve got catfish on the table
They’ve got gospel in the air
And Reverend Green be glad to see you
When you haven’t got a prayer
You got a prayer in Memphis
– “Walking In Memphis” as done by Lonestar
Back in 2023, Magoo’s On The Mound (5841 W. Bluemound Rd.; 414-837-6125) won FM 106.1 Milwaukee’s Best Country’s Fish Fry Frenzy, squeaking out a victory over Stolley’s Hogg Alley to be named the “BEST fish fry in the Milwaukee-area.” What radio station was playing all the country pop hits of the past few decades at Magoo’s when I was eating my fish fry there this past Friday? You got it! FM 106.1 Milwaukee’s Best Country!
Did Magoo’s tune the dial to 106.1 after they won the Fish Fry Frenzy and leave it there since, proudly playing the station that awarded them such a prestigious title? Did they have it on for years before the contest, drawing in like-minded country fans who just needed to vote for their favorite fish fry through their favorite radio station’s contest? Or are the employees huge 106.1 fans and voted hard for Magoo’s in the contest? I’m unsure of any of this—I didn’t realize until I got home that the station that was playing was the same one that had the contest—but what I do know is it isn’t surprising that Magoo’s does well in such a contest.
Magoo’s On The Mound opened in June 2021, taking over the space Steve’s On Bluemound called home since 1965. Owner Mark Zierath, who also has ownership in Von Trier, Ella’s Public House in Delafield, and Red Mill Inn & Pizza in Brookfield (which previously was Butch’s Red Mill, where I got a fish fry in 2018), and who owned the now-closed Jackson’s Blue Ribbon Pub in the Brewery District, named this spot after his first bar, Magoo’s, which he opened in 1997, and also in reference to Bluemound Road and to the Brewers’ stadium. I ended up there last Friday because I was looking for a place to dine within Milwaukee’s city limits and because I was intrigued by their fisherman’s platter.
The long bar that runs the west side of the building, with 20 or so seats, was about two-thirds full. I sat down at one of the half dozen tables in its proximity. Behind a dividing wall, on the east side of the building, is another area, with two pool tables, dart boards, more seating, and another bar. Magoo’s is known for running Brewers shuttles, and it wasn’t a stretch to imagine the whole building packed on game day.
Back on the west side, where I was seated, six flat screen TVs were turned to six different channels, with another hooked up to a gambling machine. But it was not the flash of screens that I was seeking, but fish on a menu. I had one in hand quicker than it takes to find a remote, and here is what it said: beer battered cod (two-piece for $14/ three-piece for $17), baked cod ($17), fried cod sandwich ($14), catfish dinner ($17, available daily), shrimp dinner ($17, available daily), catfish or shrimp po’ boy ($16), and the aforementioned fisherman’s platter, which comes with one piece each of beer battered cod, baked cod, and catfish, long with 4 pieces of shrimp ($20). The dinners come with the usual sides and a choice of frys or chips. Potato pancakes or a garden salad can be subbed in for an extra $2. Naturally, clam chowder rounds out the Friday menu, available in a cup ($4) or bowl ($6). I ordered a cup of it as well as the fisherman’s platter with potato pancakes.
“Do you want that out first?” are the magic words asked after tacking clam chowder onto a fish fry, and my server delivered them. This chowder had just the right amount of everything: contents, flavor, and style. Big skin-on red potato chunks, celery, carrot, and clam filled up the stew. The seasoning was heavy, but suited it well, leaving it with the right balance of heat and sweetness. Chopped green onions gave it a fresh crunch and style.
Fourteen minutes passed between the chowder and fish fry. The half slice of light, marbled rye wasn’t especially soft or noteworthy. The coleslaw was missing at first, but I quickly procured some. It was fresh and more particular than the rye, being dressed in sesame oil, with red onion and green pepper hidden below its surface. The potato pancakes were mild, almost to the point of blandness. What flavor they held came from the contrast between the browned outside and moist inside, and I was unable to detect additional seasoning.
What the sides may have lacked was more than made up for with the seafood that the fisherman had hauled ashore. Each of the four components was unique, with four different coatings and four different sauces. It was a real barn burner of a chow down, with the only issue being that as soon as I started to get to know one component, it was gone.
The shrimp was the most predictable and just like fried shrimp everywhere else. And that’s no slight to it. It was great from the first bite to the last! The fried cod was the classic, whipped-up-at-home kind. The lip-smacking batter was spot on—the online menu lists it as being made with Riverwest Stein—and it coated a thick and chunky pearly-white fish. The tartar sauce was packed with pickle relish, which somehow didn’t overwhelm it, but instead thickened up the already thick tartar, and was just as good as the fish. The baked cod had the same heavenly quality as the fried, but was rubbed with a lightly spiced house seasoning and complemented with drawn butter.
Somewhere in the midst of eating the fish (well, at 5:37, to be exact), Lonestar’s 2003 remake of the 1991 Marc Cohn song “Walking in Memphis” came on FM 106.1 Milwaukee’s Best Country. I started thinking of the last time I was in Memphis, when I had a plate of catfish at the Midtown Soul Fish Cafe on a Friday night before walking to see Detroit’s legendary garage rock trio the Gories and some other bands at Gonerfest. Then the line “They’ve got catfish on the table” came over the speakers and I was jarred back to the present, and began pondering such a lyrical coincidence. The catfish on my table was worth the soundtrack. Cornmeal breading, light in texture but rich in flavor, covered the slender but flavorful catfish fillet. It almost exploded when hit with the heat of the spicy remoulade.
As I was finishing up, ESPN Milwaukee 94.5’s street team started setting up on one of the tables. Were they moving in on 106.1’s turf? Will country songs about catfish be replaced with sports talk for future fish frys? It seems unlikely, but what is certain is one doesn’t have to go all the way to Memphis to get catfish. No, they can get it right in Milwaukee. They can get it as part of an eclectic fisherman’s platter, with a fried cod and companion tartar so promising that it’s hard to eat just one piece. For all this, Magoo’s On The Mound is worth sticking in your Milwaukee fish fry quiver. It turns out you got a prayer in Milwaukee, too.
Takeaways: Chowder with the right contents, flavor, and style; eclectic fisherman’s platter; excellent fried cod and tartar; flavorful catfish that almost explodes when spicy remoulade is added; large fish fry menu; reasonable prices for what you get; provides opportunity to watch six television programs at the same time; has an affinity for radio stations.
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