So, it's Lent and I owed my parents a dinner on the town, so I took them to our local Irish-American Club for fish. As I was sitting there at our "group" dining experience (that is: you get your food and are crammed at large tables with anybody and everybody), a thought occurred to me that this whole idea of going out to fish fries on Friday evening during Lent, to be served sub-standard food at a somewhat reasonable cost in order to observe a totally ridiculous tradition HAD to be a strictly American institution.

So, does this exist anywhere else? Is it a global Catholic thing, or an American institution?

~String

So, it's Lent and I owed my parents a dinner on the town, so I took them to our local Irish-American Club for fish. As I was sitting there at our "group" dining experience (that is: you get your food and are crammed at large tables with anybody and everybody), a thought occurred to me that this whole idea of going out to fish fries on Friday evening during Lent, to be served sub-standard food at a somewhat reasonable cost in order to observe a totally ridiculous tradition HAD to be a strictly American institution.

So, does this exist anywhere else? Is it a global Catholic thing, or an American institution?

~String

To bad you couldn't take them to Milwaukee, in Wisconsin the Fish Fry is a Friday Night Ritual, and there are many a good restaurant of the Irish and any other nationality that specialize in them, and no, here the food better not be sub standard, it better be good, and it better be plenty, although you will most likely be fed family style, everybody's a cousin at the Friday Night Fish Fry, and here it's 52 weeks a year.

To bad you couldn't take them to Milwaukee, in Wisconsin the Fish Fry is a Friday Night Ritual, and there are many a good restaurant of the Irish and any other nationality that specialize in them, and no, here the food better not be sub standard, it better be good, and it better be plenty, although you will most likely be fed family style, everybody's a cousin at the Friday Night Fish Fry, and here it's 52 weeks a year.

Cleveland isn't all that different than Milwaukee. In fact, I think of Cleveland, Milwaukee and Pittsburgh as the three most similar cities in the USA. Huge Irigh, German and Slavic communities. Lot's of local pubs and ethnic European eateries. A predominately blue-collar culture that is humbled by the titanic shift in the way heavy industry has moved out of the city and is now replace by more service inclined industries.

~String

String can you please explaine what your talking about???????

http://www.floydthefoodguy.com/images/blog/fish_fry.jpg

So your talking about going out for fish and chips? If so then yes its a tradition in lots of countries even if they dont know WHY they always have fish and chips on fridays

I would think the UK would have been big on fish fries.

So your talking about going out for fish and chips? If so then yes its a tradition in lots of countries even if they dont know WHY they always have fish and chips on fridays

<sigh> Because during lent you can't eat meat on Fridays. Fish (for some odd reason) isn't considered meat.
My kids school always has mac and cheese or fish sticks on Friday

A lot of restaurants have all you can eat fish fries (not the same as fish and fries) on Friday. The VFW, Moose Lodge, etc do it too.
I had forgotten, thanks String!

your telling an ex catholic why the tradition arose

I said lots of NON catholics still do the fish and chips on friday (because it used to be EVERY friday not just lent) and have no idea where it comes from

Yeah they do. Its from those anal rule loving Catholics who think fish isn't meat. We grew up with them in school. We know why.

I got no problem with it, fish is good for you. Full of essential fatty acids:

I got no problem with it, fish is good for you. Full of essential fatty acids:

yeah but deep fried with a large scoop of mayonnaise-rich coleslaw isn't really that healthy anymore.

deep-fried means it has a lot of triglycerides

True, we should all be eating rare or raw samon and lots of shell fish:)

Mmmm oysters, crayfish:D
God im hungry now:(

yeah but deep fried with a large scoop of mayonnaise-rich coleslaw isn't really that healthy anymore.

yyyuuuuummmmm. With fries and lots of tarter sauce. :cheers:

...God im hungry now:(

I know!!!! And today is Friday and I missed it! :bawl:

shashimi with wasabi mayo (freshly made of corse):D

True, we should all be eating rare or raw samon and lots of shell fish:)

Mmmm oysters, crayfish:D
God im hungry now:(

me 2, I am going to go eat my fish cake, Korean made.

True, we should all be eating rare or raw samon and lots of shell fish:)

Mmmm oysters, crayfish:D
God im hungry now:(

O. M.G. i miss vegas sushi!!!

not sushi, shashmi:D

Raw samon and tuna ect with lemon juice and wasabi mayo:D

yyyuuuuummmmm. With fries and lots of tarter sauce. :cheers:

And you got that right cold beer!!!

your telling an ex catholic why the tradition arose

I said lots of NON catholics still do the fish and chips on friday (because it used to be EVERY friday not just lent) and have no idea where it comes from


Wednesdays and Fridays are still days of penance in most Eastern Catholic Churches (and among the Orthodox), but in the Roman Church, only Fridays, as memorials to the day our Lord was crucified, remain as weekly penitential days on which abstinence from meat and other forms of penance are expected as the norm.

not sushi, shashmi:D

Raw samon and tuna ect with lemon juice and wasabi mayo:D

yeah i havn't graduated to sashimi yet.. a little to much raw in one bite.. gotta work my way up. hehe

The deal with Fish Fries is that it's usually a non-profit org (like the local Irish American Club, German American Club, Polish American Club, Catholic Church, Orthodox Church, Lutheran Church, VFW [Veterans of Foreign Wars Clubs], etc.) that makes fish staples (crab cakes, fried cod, grilled salmon, bakes scrod, fried shrimp, etc) and you go in and pay for your plate and eat the food on large tables that usually seat 10-12 people (usually unknown to you). The money usually goes towards some project that the club/organization is working on. You dine in a large hall and it's very large and crowded. Sometimes fun if you go to a place that is frequented by many people you know. In the case of my community, the local VFW, GAC and IAC are frequented by people and the families of people I grew up with, so it's sort of like a reunion... a time to catch up. My parents see people they've known for years, and I get to hobnob with guys I went to high school with.

~String