2016 Year In Review

Less Travel, More Cod, Revisiting the Past
If you are a regular follower of Friday Night Fish, you know we do our darnest to travel throughout the region to go to fish fries.  We go to Illinois, north county, south county, west county, St. Charles, we go everywhere....except this year.   This year we stayed close to home.   Just too many activities have burnt us out on wanting to travel far on a Friday night for fried Cod.  However, not traveling did give us an opportunity to revisit some fish fries we haven't been to in a while.  We revisited Holy Trinity, Holy Redeemer, and Immaculate Conception (first visit back since 2009).

Our 2016 List of Fish Fries:
2/10 - St. Josephs, Clayton (Takeout)
2/12 - St. John Lalande, Blue Springs, MO
2/19 - St. Gabriel, St. Louis
2/26 - Holy Trinity Serbian, St. Louis
3/4 - Holy Redeemer, Webster Groves
3/11 - Little Flower, Richmond Heights
3/18 - Immaculate Conception, Maplewood
3/25 - American Legion BKZ Post 422 in Soulard

Going Green
Several fish fries have made huge strides in going green.   Saint Stephen Protomartyr and Holy Redeemer both switch to compostable plates.  We didn't visit Saint Stephens this year, but Holy Redeemer not only had compostable plates, but they had two full time volunteers helping attendees recycle.  Holy Redeemer shot up into the top five for wayfinding/greening.  Are we at Friday Night Fish responsible for this wave of greening?  We like to think so...

Best Cod of 2016
So much good Cod this year.  St. Gabriel, Little Flower, Holy Redeemer, and the American Legion all had excellent Cod.  Hard to choose, but I say St. Gabriel's Cod is still some of the best.

Best Atmosphere of 2016

Live Music Created a Festive Atmosphere at Holy Redeemer

Holy Redeemer not only made great strides in wayfinding and greening, but they also improved in atmosphere.  Holy Redeemer had live music in the hallway (a lively trio) for folks waiting in line.  Plus, Holy Redeemer had some great decorations - I mistakenly thought they were abstract chinese laterns, but they were fish bobbers!

Best Craft Beer

$3 Drafts of Urban Chestnut
at Little Flower

2nd Place -  Holy Trinity Serbian had Jelen Serbian Beer.  First place - Little Flower in Richmond Heights had $3 drafts of Urban Chestnut and Square One.  Great!

Best Volunteers
Everywhere!  True - every fish fry we went confirms our belief that fish fries are more than just fundraisers - they are about building community.  Friendly volunteers were at every fish fry welcoming us, taking out plates, or just saying hello.  Some above and beyond service included:
The beer guy passing out beers to the long line at St. Gabriel.
The fried mac-n-cheese girls passing out fried mac-n-cheese balls to the long line at Little Flower.

Another great year for Fish Fries!  See you in 2017!!