We have finally reached Fridays in Lent, and for the first Friday in Lent, the fish fry crew went to St. Joseph’s Catholic Church in the Butchertown neighborhood of Louisville.

This was actually my second trip in the day to St. Joseph’s Catholic Church, as they host not only a fish fry dinner, but also a fish fry lunch, one of the few in the downtown Louisville area.  Because of this, Lenten Fridays are crucial for St. Joe’s in obtaining their goal for repairing the roof.

The menu at the fry has had the most variety of the 3 fish fries I’ve attended so far this year:

As you can see, the traditional fare for a fish fry is on the menu:  baked and fried fish, French fries, cole slaw.  Two items to make particular note of on the menu, though, may be unfamiliar to some readers of this blog, as they are traditional to Louisville.  First are the rolled oysters, which is a hidden food gem in Louisville.  Invented in downtown Louisville by Phillip Mazzoni, rolled oysters calls for oysters, rolled into the size of a baseball and then deep-fried in a cornbread batter.  The original cafe where this native Louisville treat was invented is now gone, but the food still lives in both the bar scene and the fish fry scene in Louisville.  Personally, this sounds like a great recipe to try.

The second food on the list that may draw your attention is the stewed tomatoes.  The recipe used for the stewed tomatoes at this fry included bread within the tomatoes.  This style was made popular in the Louisville area by the famous Cunningham’s restaurant.  Unfortunately, the downtown Cunningham’s closed early in 2015, but there remains a location in nearby Prospect (More Info On Cunningham’s).

While these foods looked appetizing, I kept it simple and instead stuck with the classic fried fish sandwich and baked potato, along with a delicious frosted white cake and Bud Light:

As mentioned before, this was my second meal of the day.  I did not take pictures of my lunch, taken to-go, but it included the fish sandwich, creamy cole slaw, and macaroni cheese, all very delicious.

The night was capped with a concert at the church by the Louisville Civic Orchestra.  The name of the concert?  Le Poisson et L’Amour.  Translated from French, it means….

“Fish and Love.”

How appropriate.

I didn’t take photos of the concert and the church, but a follower of this blog sent the photos below, which do a great job showcasing the beauty of the church.  The Roamin’ Catholic also recently posted a photograph of the high altar with its wonderful golden splendor.