In St. Lawrence County, two Friday night fish fries hit the spot
Friday night fish fries are a big deal in the north country, it seems.
We explored two different St. Lawrence County eateries offering the Friday night favorite, one on the outskirts of Potsdam and one on Route 56 between Massena and Raymondville.
Dar’s Place
9355 Route 56
(Massena-Raymondville Road)
Massena
764-5586
How many people go out to eat the day after Thanksgiving? Believe me, I wouldn’t have been out, except for a fast-approaching deadline. And Dar’s Place on the main road between Massena and Raymondville looked like the perfect place for a Friday night fish fry.
Dar’s is set back from the road with lots of parking out front. The building looks like one of those vintage diners, a cross between an old school bus and a passenger car of a train.
It’s actually a lot bigger inside than it looks from the outside. In addition to the typical diner lunch counter with stools screwed to the floor, there’s an entirely separate dining room addition toward the back.
We wanted to be right in the center of the action, so we grabbed two stools at the counter, decked out for the holidays with appropriate Christmas paraphernalia.
(The counter, not us…)
A very friendly waitress explained the fish fry deal. There’s haddock or perch, deep-fried or broiled. Either comes with a cup of New England clam chowder. For a side of starch there’s mashed or french fries or mac and cheese. You can also get a house salad, coleslaw or cottage cheese.
Skip that broiled stuff; we were here for the fish FRY.
White, cream-like New England clam chowder arrived first. It tasted a little as if it was synthetically thickened, but was nonetheless enjoyable with noticeable chunks of potato and stringy pieces of clam.
Both the perch ($12.95) and the haddock ($11.95) dinners were lightly hand-breaded and seasoned, then deep-fried. The coating was tasty, not crunchy, and definitely did not smother the flavor of the fish.
Very enjoyable coleslaw is homemade by Darlene (aka Dar), the owner and also the dessert maker. Mashed potatoes were good and real (a few lumps gave them away) and covered with a nice brown gravy. Mac and cheese was just OK, and there was lots of it on the plate.
They even went to the trouble of garnishing the plates with wedges of lemon and orange and a small leaf of purple kale.
There were at least a dozen of Dar’s delicious homemade pies to choose from. It was a tough decision, but we decided on chocolate cream pie and cheesecake ($2.95 each) — both to go. There was just no room left after our generously portioned meals.
Our server offered to top my cheesecake with strawberries, but I opted for whipped cream instead. Yummy good, as was the chocolate pie, also covered with whipped cream. If it wasn’t the real thing, it was the closest thing to it we’ve had in a while.
Fish fry dinner for two with desserts came to $35.
Dar’s Place is open from 11 a.m. to 8 p.m. Wednesday through Sunday with a complete diner/restaurant menu. In addition to the Friday fish fry, prime rib is served on Friday as well as Saturday.
Sarah & Cheryl’s
Outer Elm Street (Route 11B)
Potsdam
265-0375
We called Sarah & Cheryl’s to find out what time they began serving their fish fry.
“Should be ready around 10:30,” a female voice told us.
10:30 IN THE MORNING?
Yep, it’s an all-day affair at this folksy little diner next to the airport on the outskirts of Potsdam.
I’d never been there before, and neither had my two guests — and they both work in Potsdam. But by the time we finished our late lunch, they were already making plans to return.
Sarah and Cheryl are sisters. Enthusiastic sisters. They love their work, it appears, alternately waiting tables, doing the cooking, smiling and chatting with customers on a first-name basis.
It’s a postage stamp of a place, with the prerequisite lunch counter that accommodates about eight and several small tables for four.
As the lunch crowd regulars filtered out, we grabbed an available table. Sarah was there in a flash (or was it Cheryl?), asking us if we needed menus. No doubt the regulars have it memorized.
We took a quick look — all the usual diner stuff — but we were on a fish fry mission. We wanted to make sure we weren’t going to get one of those prefab pieces of haddock that look like the end of a hockey stick.
“Fresh today, caught it ourselves,” our friendly waitress told us. “Done up in our own beer batter.”
When we kiddingly asked what kind of beer they use, she came right back with “Labatt’s Blue — my brand.”
I like this place.
Moments later we heard our fish bubbling in the fryer behind the counter, and lickety-split our meals were at our table.
Fish fry dinner ($10.95) came with excellent coleslaw, good mac and cheese and an outstanding filet of haddock surrounded with a superb crisp crust that just barely clung to the flaky fish. The huge plateful required a to-go box.
The sandwich version was a half-portion of haddock on a bun for $7.95 with the same great beer-battered haddock and accompaniments.
There was the usual long list of homemade desserts, a signature of these little local eateries. Chocolate cake with peanut butter icing was sugary and sinful.
The “Christmas cake,” a white cake with buttercream icing and fine red and green sprinkles on top, was equally good, sweet enough to make your teeth rattle.
Bread pudding was warm and comforting and cost $2.49 — 50 cents more than the cakes. All were very generous portions.
A great down-home dining experience for three came to $38. The atmosphere is family-friendly — like going to eat at grandma’s house. We’ll be back again, next time with empty tummies.
Sarah & Cheryl’s is open from 6 a.m. to 2 p.m. Monday through Saturday— except Friday, when they stay open to 7 p.m. for their fish fry. They’re closed on Sunday.
TIDBITS
Here’s a fish fry of a different sort.
At Café Mira in Adams, Lori and Lisa have introduced “Not Just Another Fish Fry Friday.” They’re serving a panko- and potato chip-crusted red snapper with a spicy and sweet chili aïoli, accompanied by either sweet potato fries or purple potato chips fresh fried with roasted garlic mayo.
View their complete menu at www.cafemira.com.
You can contact Walter E. Siebel via e-mail: wsiebel@wdt.net.
