The Fish Fry Chronicles began early this year with an impromptu trip to Grayson County, Kentucky, about 75 miles southwest of Louisville, to the Fr. Carroll White Knights of Columbus Council Fish Fry.

Having never been to rural central Kentucky for a fish fry, I was excited to see how this fish fry would compare to fish fries both in Louisville, as well as fish fries in my native central Wisconsin. From the time I entered the hall to the time I left, I was not disappointed at all.

The setup is a fairly simple one:  $9 for adults, all you can eat buffet, including desserts and drinks.  There is no need to decide among the different sides.  For carryouts, it’s “Take all you can eat, and eat all that you take.”  There is no need to decide among the different sides or fish options, which makes set up very easy, as well as keeps the line moving.

The sides included everything from the traditional French fries and cole slaw to Southern favorite, hush puppies. (For those not familiar with hush puppies:  these are basically pieces of fried corn bread shaped like donut holes.  Almost every fish fry in the South will have hush puppies).  New to me among fish fries were tater tots, which were made very well.  The fish was a hearty piece of tilapia that came in regular and Cajun seasoning.  The Cajun seasoning was especially good, not too spicy but enough to give a kick.

One thing to note that was different from this fish fry to every other fish fry I’ve been:  no alcohol.  Grayson County is a dry county.  As such, the options for drinks are slightly more limited.  Nonetheless, since this is the South, sweet tea was available and definitely a requirement for this meal.

Not pictured above are the wonderful homemade desserts that is made by the wives of the Grayson County Knights, which included, among others, chocolate cake, strawberry cake, and butterscotch pudding.

As with other fish fries, it’s not just about the food.  The Knights were also holding a raffle to be drawn at their last fish fry in March.  The 1st prize?  This guy right here:

What really drew me to this fish fry the most was the hospitality of the workers at the fish fry.  You will be hard pressed to find a friendlier and more hardworking group of people.  The fish fry that I attended was the 6th fish fry they had hosted in 2016; yes, that means that the Knights hosted a fish fry on New Year’s Day and have continued every Friday up to now and will until Good Friday.  Every worker welcomed you as if they’ve known you for a long time, and they definitely enjoyed working at the fish fry.  It does not surprise me that this non-Lenten fish fry would be so successful; Lent will indeed be a very good season for them.

Below is the Fr. Carroll White Knights of Columbus, their family members who helped at the fish fry, and members of the St. Louis Bertrand Knights of Columbus who came down from Louisville to attend the fish fry.

To say the least, this was the perfect fish fry to kick off the season.  It will be hard to beat this one!

Link to Fr. Carroll White Council’s Facebook Page:  https://www.facebook.com/KofC-6743-Father-Carroll-White-Council-116979471696715/