Fish Fryday 2010 #6: Saint Pius V

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This past Friday, the wife and I went out on my Fish Fry hunt.  Even though the in laws were out of town, I was still hungry for some fish.  This week, we chose to go to a very highly regarded fish fry that’s actually in one of the Grand South Grand neighborhoods, Saint Pius V in Tower Grove East.

Here’s a little background, last year, during Lent I was going to stop by here and get some fish to take home.  My wife was sick and I was picking up some dinner for myself.  My blood sugar was low, and I was cranky.  After nearly getting into about three wrecks in the parking lot, and rushing through the rain trying to find the door to the fish fry, I was in an even worse mood.  Then I find the door and the place is just packed.  The line’s out the door, and hungry as I am, I just wasn’t going to stand in line when I could just go home and eat something right way.

When I saw this sign, I have to admit, that I thought it said “Slinger Hall” and that would have been just too cool.

This is where the line starts.  I had a bit of trepidation as we walked to the door.  Thinking about what happened last time and that I just plain didn’t want to wait in line all night…

So we entered the door, I was very happy to see that the very long line I had encountered last year was not there today.  Let me also say, last year highway forty was still closed and often times I didn’t get home until nearly 6pm.  This day, I left work a bit early and with 40 being open, I get home much faster.

Took a look at the menu.  Pretty decent pricing, especially for being one of the most highly regarded fish frys in the area.

So, we moved through the line very quickly.  When we went to pay, it only ended up costing eight dollars and fifty cents.  My wife never eats the fish, so she just got a pair of sides to go with her nothing.

After paying our tab, we headed into the kitchen where they were serving fish at a pretty good clip.  Aside from a couple folks who had no idea what to do with themselves in terms of their ordering, we stepped right up.

My wife did point something out first though:  No fries.  This always bugs me.  Fries are a staple for this meal.  Right?

Oh well.  So I get three sides and none of them are fries.  I end up choosing green beans, apple sauce, and mac and cheese.  Of course I also got myself a fried cod.  With the size of the fish pieces I was thinking I would get two, like they did at St. Gabriel’s, but just the one.  At which point, I kind of regretted not breaking the cod chain and getting a piece of catfish, which seemed to be much bigger than my cod.

Now, of course no fish fry is completed with a malty beverage to go with it.  Here, at Saint Pius, what really got me is that they have a bar in the basement.  It isn’t exactly stocked to the gills, but a bar?  This is like plus eleventy in coolness right there.  On top of that, it was handled by the Precious Bar Maids.  What more can you really ask for?  Most bars at a Fish Fry are simply an iced bucket of beer.  Not here though.

At the bar they had Bud, Bud Light and Busch for $1.50 and Schlafly products for $2.50.

Not really a very tough decision for me.

After sitting down, I surveyed my last Lenten Fish Fry of the year. One goodly piece of fried cod, mac and cheese, green beans, apple sauce and a Schlafly Pale Ale to wash it down. As per usual, by this time my blood sugar was hitting the floor, so I dug right in!

I’m quite happy to say that I wasn’t disappointed in the quality and flavor of this dish.  The cod wasn’t too tough, and the mac and cheese was rather enjoyable!

So, as we were eating I began taking in this not so little church.  Being as we were not too far from home, I was sort of looking for any of our neighbors, or just anyone in general that I knew.  That search came up empty of course.

I do have to say that, once again, I was caught taking pictures, so, I may be looking for photographer to help me be a little bit more incognito, but I really like taking pictures, so I’m just thinking out loud..sorry..back on point…

Whenever we go to a fish fry, I really try to take in the atmosphere of the parish.  Saint Pius is the only Fish Fry I’ve been to thus far where, they had a live band playing.

The best part about that was that even in God’s house, the musicians need a couple of beers to get through their set.

So, there was mood music while we were enjoying our dinners. At this point I could easily see why they were so well regarded when it came to their fish fry. They were quite efficient, friendly, good beer, live music, but I hadn’t yet come to the very best part of the meal.

The dessert.

Now, dessert at basically every fish fry I’ve been to thus far is an affair that is typically, best left forgotten and not really mentioned.  The cupcake or slice of chocolate cake is usually a nice little treat, but hardly anything to talk about.

I could not wait to eat this.

It was just delightfully awesome.  This right here, is a good enough reason to go to Saint Pius V.  It’s just that good.  Also, the priest was out and about in his robes.  He seemed a nice fellow as he made a small self deprecating joke.

For all my Fish Fry Friends, this is definitely a place to go to, but do your best to get there as early as you can.  When we left, we saw the line starting to fill up.

This is the sixth week of Fish Frydays and this Friday is Good Friday, with Easter to follow.  This entry concludes the Fish Fryday 2010 edition.  Look for this to continue next year for Fish Fryday 2011!

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