Fish Fry reviews: St. Gabriel's in South City

α α α α Four Mackerels

My fellow Mackerel Snappers,

As you know, each year I attend three of the same fish frydays. They are: Sta. Cecilia’s, St. Gabriel’s, and St. Pius’. This past week we ventured out to the south city to visit St. Gabe’s. We were not disappointed. Now, I know I complained about Sta. Cecilia’s long line however, St. Gabe’s line was long as well. The difference was the efficiency of getting you through the line. And, of course, the free beer while waiting, helped with the mood. I was told by a parishioner that they had been averaging over 1000 servings of fish dinners each Fryday of Lent thus far. I don’t know how that compares to Sta. Cecilia’s, but that’s a lot of people to get through the door and fed. I noticed too, that like Sta. Cecilia’s, St. Gabe’s has “branded” their fish fry and are selling t-shirts. If I were re-branding Sta. Cecilia’s, I would print a t-shirt that said: “I survived the long line at the “original Mexican Fish Fry””. St. Gabe’s just says: “Fish Fry/St. Gabe’s”. The message is simple and to the point. Just like the meal.

As you can see from my photos, the meal was ample and of good value at $8/person including the free beer. It tasted great. I had the catfish, slaw and pastas. Each item is home made. I sampled two desserts since Teka is on a weight loss diet. Everything was delicious. It is served on school “china” (though, complimentary drinks are served in Styrofoam cups). And, the cafeteria is not a dungeon. All of that adds up to four solid mackerels.

Still missing from any Southside fish fries: hot sauce. I am not sure why they don’t get it, but Cholula goes with everything and especially with fish!

Keep up the great work, St. Gabe’s. See you next year.  On to St. Pius.

Peace,

Mike Baldwin

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Fish Fry reviews: Sta. Cecilia's

ααα and a shrimp ≈ three and a half Mackerels

My kindred mackerel snappers,

I apologize profusely. In the Lenten tradition, mea culpa. It just occurred to me, on the eve of another Friday night Fish Fry, that I had not yet posted my review from last week. I know you are waiting every week for this review so you can choose your next fish fry. It may have been due to exhaustion and overeating, that I neglected my responsibility to my two readers. Exhaustion from standing in line for so long (nearly 2 hours) and, overeating (well, that’s obvious).

Since I first discovered Sta. Cecilia’s “original Mexican fish Fry”(the new marketing brand they added this year) three years ago, I have always rated it very highly. They have great food. My favorite: the Chili Relleno. They have a festive atmosphere that includes dancing and mariachi. They have beer available in-line. They gave out samples of their fried shrimp this year to those waiting in line, as well. They have a friendly and energetic crew. They have it all, except for “sustainable” tableware. They continue to use Styrofoam and plastic and throw everything in the trash. In the past, the ethnic atmosphere and great menu made up a point for the one lost due to Styrofoam. This year, however, my fellow diners agree, that the Styrofoam could not be overcome by atmosphere alone, especially since much of the atmosphere was absorbed waiting nearly two hours in line. In fact, I had planned to attend “another” Mexican fish fry—Our Lady of Guadalupe (which I had heard was very good and had a shorter line), but was talked into going to Sta. Cecilia’s by a friend who ditched us once she saw the line.

So, this year I am awarding the Sta. Cecilia’s fish fry three and a half mackerels. I hope they will be motivated to make the line shorter and to use sustainable tableware in the future. 

I think more ethnic parishes could follow the lead of sta. Cecilia’s by serving ethnic foods and providing a little entertainment. For instance those parishes which still have a high percentage of Irish—fish and chips and some music and dance. Ethnically Asian parishes could really wow us with some exotic foods and cultural symbols. Just sayin’  

Peace,

Mike Baldwin

My grading system:

·         Food quality and selection

·         Value

·         Sustainable practices

·         Atmosphere

·        

Extra points for things like ethnic food and/or entertainment or Free Beer in long lines (hint)…

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Fish Fry reviews: Saint Elizabeth Mother of John the Baptist

αααα (four mackerels)

My Fellow Mackerel Snappers,

For my first Fish Fry in Saint Louis in 2010, I went to Saint Elizabeth Mother of John the Baptist, 4330 Shreve Ave. Due to a recommendation by Delores, who said it was “hoppin’” .

The big surprise was that Chef Calvin and the crew from L’École Culinaire, did the cooking. The offering was an herb crusted salmon with sides of greens, corn on the cob and mac and cheese. The salmon was beautiful and perfectly cooked. The sides were a paired nicely. The portion was ample, but not sinful. J By far the most expertly prepared food of any fish fry. I topped my dinner with a piece of sinfully delicious chocolate layer cake. I understand they have a different menu each week. Be sure to check this one out. Worth the trouble finding your way to the back door.

They seemed to do a pretty steady take-out business using recycled cardboard containers (not Styrofoam). Eat-in was served on school cafeteria “china”. The only drawback was the cafeteria is like a nicely painted dungeon. My advice: more outdoor signage to find the rear entrance and spruce up the space to look more like a restaurant. Some curtains would be nice, for instance. I know that most inner city parishes use the basement of the church or school as the cafeteria, but they can still be more cozy with a little effort. The best part of the ambience was being seated with a Cecilia, a beautiful, cheerful child and her parents, who attend the parish. They were so friendly!

Unfortunately, the Pastor, Jeff Vomund was not available to give greetings.

Peace,

Mike Baldwin, mackerel snapper

See and download the full gallery on posterous

Posted via email from michaelbaldwin

Fish Fry reviews: Saint Elizabeth Mother of John the Baptist

αααα (four mackerels)

My Fellow Mackerel Snappers,

For my first Fish Fry in Saint Louis in 2010, I went to Saint Elizabeth Mother of John the Baptist, 4330 Shreve Ave. Due to a recommendation by Delores, who said it was “hoppin’” .

The big surprise was that Chef Calvin and the crew from L’École Culinaire, did the cooking. The offering was an herb crusted salmon with sides of greens, corn on the cob and mac and cheese. The salmon was beautiful and perfectly cooked. The sides were a paired nicely. The portion was ample, but not sinful. J By far the most expertly prepared food of any fish fry. I topped my dinner with a piece of sinfully delicious chocolate layer cake. I understand they have a different menu each week. Be sure to check this one out. Worth the trouble finding your way to the back door.

They seemed to do a pretty steady take-out business using recycled cardboard containers (not Styrofoam). Eat-in was served on school cafeteria “china”. The only drawback was the cafeteria is like a nicely painted dungeon. My advice: more outdoor signage to find the rear entrance and spruce up the space to look more like a restaurant. Some curtains would be nice, for instance. I know that most inner city parishes use the basement of the church or school as the cafeteria, but they can still be more cozy with a little effort. The best part of the ambience was being seated with a Cecilia, a beautiful, cheerful child and her parents, who attend the parish. They were so friendly!

Unfortunately, the Pastor, Jeff Vomund was not available to give greetings.

Peace,

Mike Baldwin, mackerel snapper

Posted via email from michaelbaldwin