Caleb Westphal hasn’t missed a Friday fish fry since 2013. Follow his never-ending adventures HERE. This week: fish fry #647, at The Copper Dock in Hubertus, Wisconsin.
Having to stand in a cramped space for a long wait seemed probable as my friend and I made our way to The Copper Dock in Hubertus (1474 E. Friess Lake Dr.; 262-628-3718). This seemed even more likely after I saw all the vehicles parked outside. But indoors there was no cramped space or need to stand, and the wait wasn’t even that long. Instead, what I found was a mood. It was relaxed yet not without vigor, laid-back yet running smoothly. It was the sound of Ellington and Coltrane playing “In A Sentimental Mood.” It was Willie Nelson singing slightly behind the beat. It was a swan floating gracefully on Friess Lake as the Sun is going down.
Over the course of its near century of existence, the building on the southeast shores of Friess Lake has had three eras. From the 1930s through the mid-1970s it was owned by the Friess family and known as the Friess Lake Resort, from the mid-1970s through 2002 it was owned by the Anderson family and known (for most of the time) as Anderson’s on the Lake, and from 2002 until present it was been owned Tim and Heather Leffler and known as The Copper Dock. The mood that permeates The Copper Dock today is what drew the Leffler’s to it from the start: when they were looking at the property they were enamored by the Sun setting over the lake, and they named the restaurant after that experience.
We were greeted warmly at the host stand and told the wait would be about a half hour. A nearby bar table with stools was open. From it the bar was a few steps away and I could catch glimpses of the two dining rooms. The salad bar was in one of them, and an unmatched view of Friess Lake through windows that span most of the wall was found in the other. While I had hoped to be seated in a dining room near the salad bar at the Phoenix in Hartland earlier this month, this time I hoped to be in the dining room overlooking the lake. The bar and dining rooms were close to full, but were not crowded. There was space to settle into the mood.
Less than 30 minutes later we were seated in the dining room with the lake view. On Fridays, The Copper Dock offers three-piece beer-battered or breaded cod ($17.95), baked cod ($19.95), and fried lake perch ($26.95). Fried bluegill ($26.95) wasn’t listed on the menu but was also available, and there also was a fish special of blackened walleye. Each fish fry comes with a choice of baked potato, mashed potatoes, potato pancake, or french fries. The soup and salad bar comes with all the fish frys except the cod dinners, but can be added to the cod for $7.95. I ordered the perch with the potato pancake, and promptly headed to the salad bar.
The Copper Dock boasts a substantial salad bar, one that is too large to get what you need from it in one trip, and too large to capture with one photo. So I went to the soup section first, where there were two kettles of clam chowder. I ladled up a bowl, and when I got back to my seat, there was a basket of rye bread on the table. Visually, there was an abundance of huge skin-on potato chunks, carrots, and celery, and a lesser amount of smaller clams in the chowder. Flavor-wise, onion played a prominent role, although I would have been hard-pressed to spot any. The rye bread was cut thin, slightly toasted, and still warm.
Every time I saw the salad bar, people were at it, but the line was moving smoothly, aligning with the overall mood of the restaurant. Five minutes after I had gotten the soup, I was back at the salads. I found all the fixings for lettuce salad, a warmer with housemade hot bacon dressing and German potato salad, and another cart that held cowboy caviar, taco salad, ramen slaw pasta salad, and pickles. I took a little bit of most items, and none of them disappointed. The soup and salad bar can also be purchased on its own for $18.95. While I can’t imagine why someone would order it without a fish fry or instead of one, it was a satisfactory salad bar.
We had been asked if we wanted another bread basket, and a basket of Italian bread with sesame seeds arrived moments before I finished the salad plate. Moments later, the perch plate arrived. My friend had ordered the bluegill and I snapped a picture of it because it looked just as appetizing, if not more so, and maybe the plate was fuller with fish, although mine did come with five medium-sized fillets.
The coleslaw was light towards its top, and while “bottom of the barrel” might have an unfavorable connotation, the farther down I got this barrel of slaw, the juicier it got. Still, overall it was a lighter slaw, and there wasn’t anything remarkable about it. The potato pancake was soft and moderately thick. There were a fair amount of pieces of onion. Not being completely softened and retaining an element of crispness, they stood out in contrast to the softness of the pancake. They provided the predominant flavor too, although they didn’t overwhelm the pancake, having more of an effect texturally. Overall, the potato pancake was original enough to capture my attention, and familiar enough to keep me comfortable.
The five pieces of perch were covered with a uniform breading that appeared cornmeal based. It was sturdy, not in a tough, offputting way, but in a way that brought a mild, delightful chew. The perch had a compelling yet moderate flavor that partnered well with the breading. The tartar looked and felt commonplace, being somewhat thin with an ordinary amount of relish, but it outperformed its appearance, bringing an indefatigable burst of sweetness and tanginess.
The combination of the stellar food with the mood ensures the memory of the Friday fish fry at The Copper Dock will endure far beyond the hour and a half I was there, beyond how long a mood is supposed to last. The salad bar, the potato pancake, the perch and tartar, the view of the lake, the rest of the pleasant physical environment, and the relaxed yet efficient pace everything moves at makes the fish fry at The Copper Dock a keeper.
Takeaways: A relaxed mood that’s still has vigor; lake view; large and satisfactory soup and salad bar; endless rye and Italian bread; potato pancake with onions that make it original yet familiar; top-notch perch and tartar; decent price given the salad bar comes with the perch—I’ve had perch fish frys without a salad bar that were about the same price.
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