lawrence fisheries -- man, that was a mistake

Sometimes I drive by a place and think to myself -- that place looks good, wonder why I haven't heard much about it. Lawrence Fisheries on the edge of Chinatown is that kind of place. It's been there forever. It's attractively located on a scruffy stretch of the Chicago River. It looks well kept but not mannered or calculated or corporate. How bad could it be? So tonight we (mostly I) rejected the idea of trying Grace O'Malley's (which, frankly, looks, on the surface, to embody everything I hate in a bar, a restaurant, Chicago, (that is another discussion) but Kasia thinks might have good burgers) and tried LF.

Inside it certainly is clean enough and handsome enough but, boy, it's not good. We ordered the fish chips and shrimp dinners. Each comes with fries and a roll. They coat the shrimp and fish in the thickest, sludgiest cornmeal batter I have ever experienced. Like deep-fried cornmeal gum. And not well-spiced. Just bland and thick and more mealy than corny. This may work as a booze sponge (LF is open 24 hours) but it fails as food. (Kasia resorted to removing the coating and eating the shrimp/fish smothered inside. The fish bits and shrimp, unbreaded weren't absolutely horrible.) The cocktail sauce a little catsup-heavy and horseradish-light for my taste. The bouquet of hot sauce bore a disturbing resemblence to that of the complimentary (and well-appreciated) handi-wipe. The fries (frozen, crinkle cut, Sysco (I suspect), slightly uncrisp, utterly unsalted) were bad too. Even 17 month old Buzzy, usually a fried food maven, was unimpressed. We came home and ate fruit.

Lawrence Fisheries
Cermak and Canal

edk wrote:So tonight we (mostly I) rejected the idea of trying Grace O'Malley's (which, frankly, looks, on the surface, to embody everything I hate in a bar, a restaurant, Chicago, (that is another discussion) but Kasia thinks might have good burgers)

As I reported in another forum, Grace O'Malley's ain't exactly bad. The physical layout is actually quite well done (dramatic bar room, cozy back dining room) and some of the food is pretty good. The peanut butter bread pudding is fantastic and unique in my experience. Certainly, you would have been better off there than the miserable experience you report at LF!

I live around the corner from LF, and it only took one visit for me to swear never to go back. I don't even think it's "house battered" shrimp/fish. It all looks and tastes like it came out of the deep freeze and was tossed into a deep fryer. And removing the thick, gummy coating (which I tried, as well) only reveals the sickly small crustacean within. So, so sad.

HI,

Ann Fisher was pleased with her breakfast of fried smelt at Lawrence Fisheries. While she did acknowledge the heavy coating, she said the smelts were much larger than at other locations with a lighter coating.

Regards,

Cathy2 wrote:she said the smelts were much larger than at other locations with a lighter coating.

Maybe they were alewives

Seriously, I understand the problem, LF standsout in that stretch as a place you should like, but it isn't.

I have only been there once

pd

"Breakfast of fried smelt." Damn. That truely is a higher school of driving. (Also a good name for a band.)

edk wrote:They coat the shrimp and fish in the thickest, sludgiest cornmeal batter I have ever experienced. Like deep-fried cornmeal gum. And not well-spiced. Just bland and thick and more mealy than corny.

EDK,

I had fried shrimp from Lawrence Fisheries once, about 4-5 years ago and remember thinking the batter was the hardest, thickest and densest I'd ever tried to eat. These shrimp rocks might be best used as weapons as lunch.

Maybe I should have the Ann Fisher breakfast, fried smelt.

By the way, portion size is pretty good for those keeping score.

Enjoy,
Gary

The other night we had our 15 year old niece along and she wanted fried shrimp. I had heard of a place on 26th street that was famous for fried shrimp. Had to call and ask a guy where it was but it was worth the search. It's called Troha's and it's at 4151 W 26th Street (26th and Keeler). Best fried shrimp I have ever had. Big, juicy,lightly breaded the dinner comes with a 1/2 pound of shrimp, coleslaw or potato salad for $9.95. This place has been in business since 1920.....really good. Look forward to trying their other fish offerings next time I need a fried fix.

I went to Lawrence probably about 20 years ago. It's been there forever. I stopped on the way to a Sox game. The shrimp was just as awful back then. It doesn't sound like anything has changed.

Yet the place stays in business. So maybe something else there is really good and we just don't know. It could just be that there's not a lot else around there. Either way, I live close to Hagens

If it's any consolation, good came of your ill-fated visit. I've been driving by it on my way to Chinatown, and had been considering dropping in to give it a try. So think of it as less of a mistake and more of a noble sacrifice... like falling on a live grenade in the middle of the barracks.

Incidentally, regarding the fact that they're still in business, I had occasion recently to drive by there very late on a Saturday night (after Triple Crown had closed, so... about 2:00 AM?) and they were absolutely PACKED, with a good dozen cars in the lot and a sea of heads visible through the windows. This leads me to conclude that the "booze sponge" hypothesis probably has some merit.

By all means, Midas, if you're going to Comiskey, hits Southside Shrimp House as an alternative. As one who grew up on the southeastern coast, I'm pretty picky about deep fried shrimp and seafood about and pretty critical of what I eat at Chicago shrimp houses.

The coating at Southside is light, crispy and designed to let you taste the shrimp. Back before the Sox became the Baqseball belle of the ball here, I could walk into the park with a bag of Southside's shrimp or deep fried lobster tucked discretely under my arm to enjoy in the first two innings.

The shrimp are imported and thus don't have that great shrimpiness that Louisiana Browns of Georgia Whites do. I refer to go for the smaller one versus the jumbos. They have more flavor it seems to me and are better suited to being popped in your mouth like popcorn between gulps of a good beer.

I must admit, DukesDad has peaked my interest.

My wife used to like going there, only because it was fried seafood... until the day we found Goose Island Seafood, located on Division right by the Restaurant Depot. Their shrimp, scallop, fish, and anythign esle you want is a nice size and coated with a crispy tasty batter. In my opinion of of the best fried seafood joints in the Chicago area... Try it out and see for yourself...

Wow, I dodged a bullet. I went by LF last week and thought, 'Hmm, that place looks promising.' Glad I decided to check it out here before making the drive back.