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 #582: The Saucy Swine (inside Redbar) in St. Francis, Wisconsin.
Laurel and Hardy. Simon and Garfunkel. Sam and Dave. Johnny and June. Hall and Oates. Laverne and Shirley. In St. Francis there’s another iconic duo, The Saucy Swine and Redbar, a barbecue restaurant inside of a neighborhood bar (2245 E. St Francis Ave.; 414-509-5390).
According to Nojoshing, the St. Francis Historical Society newsletter, the solid red building that houses the businesses, located a block west of Kinnickinnic Avenue, was built in 1925 by Isadore Brlek, who then ran the St. Francis Ice Cream Parlor on the building’s west side, while the east side became St. Francis Dry Goods. In the 1940s and ’50s, Laketown Cocktail Lounge was within the building’s walls (they served fish, naturally). It became Majdecki’s Inn in the mid-1980s (they also served fish, naturally). Then it became Cool Water Bar and Grill in 2008, until Carrie Wisniewski and Nick Schell painted it red and opened Redbar in August 2012.
The Saucy Swine took over the kitchen inside Redbar in August 2017. Now, I’ve had a fish fry inside Redbar once, almost exactly eight years ago, on February 24, 2017, meaning the fish fry I had was not from The Saucy Swine. The restaurant is owned by Matt Nuetzel, who had been a longtime chef at Meyer’s Restaurant in Greenfield—a place where I got a fish fry in 2019. It has an expansive menu, going well beyond standard barbecue fare, and it also caters, including whole roasted pigs.
In Wisconsin, even a barbecue restaurant has its own Friday fish fry menu, and at The Saucy Swine, it’s not a meager one. Fish fry dinners are available from 4–10 p.m. and are “served with creole coleslaw, tartar, rye bread, butter and house made potato pancakes.” Guests can choose from the three-piece cod ($16), two-piece walleye ($19), perch ($19), bluegill ($18), bacon wrapped shrimp ($18), or Sconnie Fisherman’s Platter ($21), which comes with cod, perch, bluegill, and walleye. There is no table service, so I walked up to the bar, and for the third week in a row I ordered the combo option. After last week’s seafood platter and the fisherman’s platter the week before that, this week I put my chips in for the Sconnie Fisherman’s Platter.
I took a seat at one of the five long tables across from the bar. From my seat I could see about 4 million bobbleheads, some beer and sports related decorations, and a Brett Newski poster. Outside of my view was the back room, with a pool table, dart boards, board games, and additional seating, and Ula’Ula, the upstairs tiki bar that is open on Friday and Saturday nights. The bartender set The Saucy Swine’s six homemade barbecue sauces in front of me. Baffled as to why I would need one barbecue sauce with my fish fry, let alone six, I smirked inside.
The fish fry was out in less than 10 minutes. After glancing again quickly at the barbecue sauces to make sure one of them wasn’t actually a bottle of ketchup, I requested ketchup so I could use it with the potato pancakes. The bartender was not sure if they had any, and went to check. It’s true, America’s most popular red condiment is not available inside what is likely America’s only bar that is both painted red and named Redbar. Also surprising: french fries are nowhere to be found on either the fish fry menu or the regular menu at The Saucy Swine.
There is some humor that last week there was an option for french fries and it didn’t seem like the potato pancakes were homemade, but this week the only potato available was homemade potato pancakes. Cooked to an apt crispness, with a shredded-potato interior, the pancakes gave off the aroma of onions, which was matched by the green onions visible throughout. I contemplated sampling some of the barbecue sauces with the pancakes, but instead went for the applesauce, which was chunky and higher grade than most, not being from the cheap jar.
The rye was one step up from the usual, with a denseness that signaled purposefulness, although it wasn’t artisan by any means. Rather big pieces of cabbage and what appeared in the dim light to be sesame seeds marked the slaw. A mix of seasonings brought heat and pungency, giving the slaw its name while bringing a tinge of barbecue into the fish fry beyond the sauces sitting on the table.
As it should be, the fish was the center of attention. There were six pieces in total: one cod, one walleye, two perch, and two bluegill. All were covered with the same light breading, which was rather neutral in its projection except for a hint of salt. But it allowed the fish to swim out front. For the bluegill and walleye, the effect was particularly satisfying, with both being bold representations of flavor for their respective species. The perch was less distinct, more mild, as was the chunky, white cod. The walleye fillet was large—some places give you only one fillet of walleye with your whole meal, but at The Saucy Swine there are five other pieces of fish with it, with the price still being reasonable. All four kinds of fish were fresh too, like they had recently arrived, not having lingered in a freezer for months. The tartar was thick and dill heavy, with plenty of relish to boot. Taken together it wasn’t exactly my style, but it could be someone’s style.
Simon and Garfunkel may have recently repaired their on-again, off-again friendship, and Hall and Oates might now be on the outs, but from everything I saw this past Friday, the partnership between Redbar and the Saucy Swine is smooth and remains strong. While not a fish fry to holler home about, it isn’t bad for a barbecue joint inside of a bar, and might be worth giving a whirl.
Takeaways: A barbecue restaurant inside of a bar; has six homemade barbecue sauces but no ketchup on premises; does not have french fries, but has homemade potato pancakes; chunky applesauce; seasoned slaw; step up rye; has a reasonably priced platter with “Sconnie” in its name that has four kinds of fresh tasting fish covered with a light breading.
Note: Friday Fish Fry Day is next Friday and you should get a fish fry and then come to the afterparty.
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