Lucky Fish Deli - Deep Fried Goodness in Highwood

Upon the recommendation of my Esteemed Colleague - WillG, a few of us had lunch here yesterday. First off, a bit of history. Lucky Fish is in the former location of Maria's Bakery. The space has been completely gutted/redone/remodeled. High ceilings, exposed brick walls, big windows. It's in the rear of the same building as The Mean Wiener - same owner. You can walk through one spot to get to the other. There's a large cooler displaying fresh fish.

Food-wise, three members of group ordered a variety of "PO’BOYS" - all were quite ample and quite tasty. Sides consist of a choice of Kettle Chips, Hushpuppies or Broccoli Slaw. My hushpuppies were tasty. With Mardi Gras on the horizon, they had a gumbo soup special which was quite tasty with a fair amount of heat. They also do a variety of fried fish by the half pound or pound.

Service was good. Food came out timely. Lucky Fish Deli has been officially added to my lunch rotation.

Lucky Fish Deli
530 Sheridan Rd
Highwood, IL 60040
(847) 291-1411
Menu - http://onceuponabagel.com/menus/LuckyFi ... W_Menu.pdf

I only found out about this place a couple of weeks ago, but apparently it has been open for 2 months. This was my 3rd visit, and they have a lot of things other than the fried stuff. They have a good ceviche, and the oysters on the half shell were very fresh, if not the most flavorful I have ever had. I am not an expert, but a friend who grew up on the east coast said the lobster roll (mayo not butter) was the best he has had outside of Maine. I liked both the fried oyster po'boy I had as well as the fried perch one, but I prefer a southern style with cornmeal breading.....these are more of a beer batter style, and they were good and crispy.

They say they will prepare any of the fish in any style you want, and on my next visit I want to try a blackened catfish po'boy, which is not on the menu.

-Will

This place's menu does look appealing. One little complaint: I looked at this menu and all the other Once Upon a Bagel menus on the OUAB website, and the menu for The Mean Weiner in Highwood was the only one that listed any drinks (soft drinks and horchatas, $1.75, milk shakes, $2.59). I am a little suspicious of places that don't put drinks and their prices on the menus.

Today Wife Number One & I had a late lunch at Lucky Fish. The space is modest sized (15 four-tops) with lots of exposed brick. I think it would be pretty noisy when full, but there were only 5 parties at 1:30 and we had no problem with conversation.

They had a soup special of bouillabaisse which I ordered. The cup was $4.00. I'd call it a seafood soup rather than bouillabaisse as the broth was a bit thinner than most I've had, though still quite flavorful. Also, it was fairly peppery which I didn't expect. There were plenty of veggies, but the only seafood was mussels. It came in a stoneware bowl and the broth was still boiling strongly as the waiter set it down. Obviously the mussels had been dropped in shortly before bringing to us as they were properly cooked once it cooled down enough to eat. It was accompanied by two nice-sized rolls, but no rouille. In all, a good soup but not really bouillabaisse.

For the main Wife Number One ordered the lobster roll ($13.00) which she loved. It had plenty of large pieces of lobster with a tasty mayo dressing. (I was allowed a taste.) There was enough left over for her to have for lunch tomorrow.

I had the oyster Po' Boy ($8.00) which was a good sandwich. I'm no expert on Po' Boys -- it's been years since I last had one -- but I enjoyed it. The oysters were fried properly; the breading was not too oily and the oysters were tender.

Both sandwiches came on a grilled roll. We both had the broccoli slaw as a side. It's a good slaw with carrots and raisins.

There's a modest beer list with the usual suspects -- Stella Artois, Modelo Negro, a couple of Coronas, Bud, etc.

The waitstaff was pleasant and efficient except for one odd lapse. After we finished our meal we turned invisible for about ten minutes even though the restaurant was only 1/3 full. After I waved someone down to get a box for the lobster roll everything was back on track.

In all a good meal for a fair price. We shall return.

Missed this when I was in Highwood three weeks ago.

Apparently I am not the only one as we Yelped for lunch suggestions, and this did not appear.
Thanks for posting, I will definitely check it out as Highwood is always a
drive worth making.

I was hoping to make the LTH lunch today but had to head back to work. I did however get an oyster po boy to go and was munching it shortly after getting in the car (so it didn't sit & steam/get mushy).

I enjoyed the sandwich, oysters still had moisture/flavor. I guess I wasn't thrilled with the breading as it was oily.

Sweet Willie wrote:I enjoyed the sandwich, oysters still had moisture/flavor. I guess I wasn't thrilled with the breading as it was oily.

We felt the same way about the fried perch that we had at lunch. There was a bit too much of a greasy flavor/texture to it. Also, the "breading" was more of a beer batter than a light flour dredging, and as a result, the balance was a little off, i.e. too much breading in relation to the amount of fish. However, what you could taste of the perch was fresh and tasty.

The other things we had varied. The crab cakes were okay. The steamed mussels were excellent. The lobster roll was okay, with the lobster chunks overwhelmed by the dressing on them. The hush puppies were not good at all - too dense on the inside, insufficiently crispy on the outside, and not that hot; perhaps they had been prepared in advance, whereas the rest of the food was prepared to order.

Had a really nice and inexpensive meal here tonight with my family. First time visitor. When I walked in i felt like I had been in the restaurant before. After a moment i realized that it reminded me of the Crab Cooker in Newport Beach. This felt like a good omen. On to the food:

The mussel preparation was heavenly. The broth was absolutely perfect. I could have drank the dregs afterward.

I also ordered a half pound of lake perch which were served blackened. Also delicious. I liked the option of ordering 1/2 or full pound portions of their very fresh seafood. I think in the future I will be doing a lot of mix and matching here.

I also had a half dozen very fresh oysters.

The prices are outstanding. The lobster roll is $15. The oysters are around $10 per half dozen. All of the half pound fish orders were around $10 with full pounds in the neighborhood of $15-18. I left feeling that I got a great value for the dollar. We will be back.

Consider yourself lucky if you manage to never eat here. Much of what we had was prepared carelessly, bad-tasting and/or way too sweet. The fried oyster po boy was dressed with something so cloying that it completely ruined the sandwich. The bread, described on their menu as "fresh baked baguette," was soggy, soft and flavorless. The lobster in the lobster roll was as tough and stringy as lobster jerky, and the roll was burnt. Copper River salmon (a special) was so overcooked it could have been used as a doorstop. Coctel a la Mexicana was so sweet, it tasted like it had been made with ketchup. An order of grilled calamari showed up as fried instead. Aside from all that, the space is cramped, loud and uncomfortable. And $1.95 for a club soda?! Wtf is this world coming to?

If you're willing to accept food like this, you'll never be "lucky" enough to have anything better.

=R=

ronnie_suburban wrote: Coctel a la Mexicana was so sweet, it tasted like it had been made with ketchup.
=R=

Hi,

I moved to Houston in 1983, and have worked alongside Mexican cooks for almost 35 years now. I was surprised to see that ketchup was used for their seafood cocktails, but it seems to be a universal ingredient in this dish. The cooks at The Standard Club and Casino Club all use ketchup, as did all of the hotel cooks I worked with in Dallas and Tucson.

http://www.rickbayless.com/recipe/acapu ... -cocktail/

http://www.seriouseats.com/recipes/2015 ... ecipe.html

Evil Ronnie wrote:

ronnie_suburban wrote: Coctel a la Mexicana was so sweet, it tasted like it had been made with ketchup.
=R=

Hi,

I moved to Houston in 1983, and have worked alongside Mexican cooks for almost 35 years now. I was surprised to see that ketchup was used for their seafood cocktails, but it seems to be a universal ingredient in this dish. The cooks at The Standard Club and Casino Club all use ketchup, as did all of the hotel cooks I worked with in Dallas and Tucson.

http://www.rickbayless.com/recipe/acapu ... -cocktail/

http://www.seriouseats.com/recipes/2015 ... ecipe.html

I should have been more specific . . . only ketchup. I've had this dish dozens of times and this was, by far, the sweetest, nastiest version I can remember ever having. Should you ever be lucky enough to end up at this place, you should order it. I'd be very curious to know your opinion of it.

=R=

At least large portion sizes, I hope?

Kman wrote:At least large portion sizes, I hope?

LOL, yes. My mother raved about how enormous and filling her salad was.

=R=

ronnie_suburban wrote:

Evil Ronnie wrote:

ronnie_suburban wrote: Coctel a la Mexicana was so sweet, it tasted like it had been made with ketchup.
=R=

Hi,

I moved to Houston in 1983, and have worked alongside Mexican cooks for almost 35 years now. I was surprised to see that ketchup was used for their seafood cocktails, but it seems to be a universal ingredient in this dish. The cooks at The Standard Club and Casino Club all use ketchup, as did all of the hotel cooks I worked with in Dallas and Tucson.

http://www.rickbayless.com/recipe/acapu ... -cocktail/

http://www.seriouseats.com/recipes/2015 ... ecipe.html

I should have been more specific . . . only ketchup. I've had this dish dozens of times and this was, by far, the sweetest, nastiest version I can remember ever having. Should you ever be lucky enough to end up at this place, you should order it. I'd be very curious to know your opinion of it.

=R=

Ronnie,

I don't get up that way very often, but I've had many a "Cocktel" with a unbalanced flavor/ and or overcooked seafood.

My most forgettable version was at Mariscos al Veneno on Ashland a few years ago. It was served warm and enhanced by the aroma on bleach water applied to the floor by a mop during dinner service.

And we had the most heavenly one ever at the original Tino's in P.V, Mexico, that included tiny raw scallops
reminiscent of shellfish flavored jelly beans.

Evil Ronnie wrote:Ronnie,

I don't get up that way very often, but I've had many a "Cocktel" with a unbalanced flavor/ and or overcooked seafood.

My most forgettable version was at Mariscos al Veneno on Ashland a few years ago. It was served warm and enhanced by the aroma on bleach water applied to the floor by a mop during dinner service.

And we had the most heavenly one ever at the original Tino's in P.V, Mexico, that included tiny raw scallops
reminiscent of shellfish flavored jelly beans.

I think we always get spoiled by the great versions we've had. Most recently, I remember an amazing version which was made by Jonathan Zaragoza at a friend's birthday party . . .


Vuelve a La Vida (Shrimp & Octopus in Cocktail Sauce)
@Birrieria Zaragoza, 14.1201

=R=

According to their web site, Lucky Fish is "temporarily closed." https://www.luckyfishrestaurant.com/

A second location in downtown Northbrook closed in November.

AlexG wrote:According to their web site, Lucky Fish is "temporarily closed." https://www.luckyfishrestaurant.com/

A second location in downtown Northbrook closed in November.

According to the Highland Park Landmark, it has closed after five years.

Cathy2 wrote:

AlexG wrote:According to their web site, Lucky Fish is "temporarily closed." https://www.luckyfishrestaurant.com/

A second location in downtown Northbrook closed in November.

According to the Highland Park Landmark, it has closed after five years.

Not a surprise, really.

=R=