Choose your fish
Fish frying is a Friday tradition with deep roots here, and nobody agrees where it started, only where it is best. The menu is a short, serious document. Cod is the safe choice, the fish equivalent of a firm handshake. Perch is the local favorite, small and sweet and ordered by people who have been here before. Walleye is the premium pick, and it will cost you. Bluegill is the humble option, best when someone has caught them that morning and is telling you about it.
There is no wrong answer, except asking whether the fish is "fresh." It is Friday. The fish is exactly as fresh as it needs to be.
The sides are not optional
A proper plate arrives with rye bread, coleslaw, tartar sauce, and either french fries or potato pancakes with applesauce. The rye bread is for the fish, the coleslaw is for the plate, and the applesauce is for the potato pancakes. The pancakes are the correct choice. Fries are what you order when you are being watched by someone from out of state.
Wash it down with an old fashioned, sweet, with the cherry. You may also have a local lager. Nobody at the table will say anything, but they will notice which one you picked first.
Where to eat it
The church basement fry is the most honest: long tables, volunteers, and a dessert table that will end your diet. The supper club fry is the fancy one, with a relish tray and a hostess who knows your name and your parents. The tavern fry is the loudest, with a game on and a line out the door.
- Church basement: cash, a friendly volunteer, and pie you did not order but will finish.
- Supper club: reservations, patience, and a very long bar visit first.
- The tavern: arrive early, order fast, and do not stand near the fryer door.
The wait, and the Poontoon rule
You will wait. The wait is part of the meal. Order a drink, talk to the strangers next to you, and accept a table when it is offered. Complaining about the wait is how you learn who the regulars are.
The Poontoon runs on one firm rule: Friday is a state of mind. The fish fry galley serves a fry on Tuesday, on Sunday, and once on a Wednesday in a snowstorm. The Captain will not be corrected.
Captain's tip
If the place has a line out the door and a parking lot full of pickup trucks, you are in the right spot. Trust the trucks.