Come Fry With Me

March 25, 2022 was a dreary day punctuated by occasional snow showers; even though Daylight Savings Time was in effect the weather was far more wintry than springlike. Nevertheless, with my wife in Hawaii I took advantage of her absence and headed north on a weekend road trip (a separate post is forthcoming).

I'd skipped lunch and by midafternoon was in serious need of some chow, so when I rolled into Plover, WI a few minutes before 4 and passed a legendary establishment I pulled into a parking lot and did a little research. Oh, happy day (and not because Edie has accepted The Egg Man's proposal) - the Sky Club would be open in mere minutes!

Open since 1935, the Sky Club was one of the earliest and quite possibly the first restaurant to feature a salad bar (1950). Like most restaurant/food firsts there are probably some dissenting opinions in other parts of the country, but around here it's the truth.

Even though I was one of the first diners inside the view from my table included other patrons, so I passed on grabbing an interior shot and was forced to console myself with an excellent Old-Fashioned - brandy, sweet of course. Because it's The Law.

Unfortunately the legendary salad bar was still closed because of the pandemic, although I did overhear one of the servers telling another customer that it was expected to reopen soon. Not a big deal as I'm not a salad person; I like to focus on soup and bread before the entree. And being Friday, of course, the soup was an excellent New England Clam Chowder thick with plenty of potatoes and clams. It vanished quickly.

Waiter, there's a paramecium in my soup! I'm at a loss to explain what happened but the defect is right there on the negative, whether it's the result of manufacturing or processing. Oh, well...let's just say that it adds character and move on.

There was never any doubt that I'd be having fish as the main course. Sky Club's version of the Wisconsin Fish Fry features deep-fried cod in a batter made with local beer (Point Amber, and yes, it's good) but my server (seriously, in a supper club that's been around for almost 90 years the woman who brings the food is still a waitress) convinced me to try another not-always-on-the-menu special: pan-fried perch.

Hands-down. Hands-down the best piece of fish I can remember. Remember as in, remember in maybe my whole life. Fresh. Seasoned and prepared so that its delicate flavor was enhanced instead of overpowered. Fried but not greasy. Tremendously, incredibly, insanely good. And that potato pancake there in the background didn't take a back seat to anybody, either. It wasn't too much like hash browns and it wasn't a leaden gut bomb - just creamy, a little toothsome and flavorful.

This was my second visit to the Sky Club and I'm hoping it won't be my last. And <HankHill>I'll tell you what</HankHill>, there might be something to this early bird dining racket. The kitchen's not yet being hammered, the dining room's quiet and peaceful, and eating dinner at 4 leaves room for pizza at 9. But that's for another time.