Fry by Night

Fish and fellowship are on order at St. Sebastian's Church.

It says something when a church fish fry consistently draws from beyond the parish borders. St. Sebastian’s (aka St. Seb’s) is just such a place, partly because of its reputation for serving a tasty fry and also for making the whole experience fun.

Since the early 1960s, this Catholic church in Washington Heights has been offering an homage to Wisconsin tradition. From October to May, the fry is held the first Friday of the month, but during Lent, the fryers fire up weekly. Hello, crowds! Cars pack the parking lot and neighboring streets; fry-goers hop into long lines to hook up with a meal. Take yours home and it’s dinner. Stay for the communal sit-down experience in the school cafeteria and you have something more – a dynamic gathering for the collective worship of fried fish.

Once you’ve got your seat, the first stop is the salad bar, which has typical greens and toppings, plus coleslaw and rye bread. “Fry kids” (St. Seb’s grade school students), in neon-green shirts, are your waitstaff. It’s not fancy, but you’re not eating out of Styrofoam, either. Tables are set with red paper placemats, napkins and silverware. The fry kids serve family-style, plunking down bowls of cod – baked or hand-battered and fried – and hot thin-cut fries that hands eagerly reach out for. Smaller bowls hold the tartar sauce and ketchup. Drink carts make the rounds, and they’ve even got a table with assorted homemade desserts.

The fried fish, encased in a light, crispy batter and not too greasy, is the star here, making up for the fairly average sides. Plus, the scene – 700 to 800 meals are served in a typical Friday – makes everything better. You might come in an introvert and leave anything but.

Unlike a typical restaurant dining experience, “you get to make friends with the people you’re eating with,” says longtime volunteer Mark Krier, one of the 50 or so adults who help make sure each fry comes off without a hitch. Tack on 30 fry kids, too, and this is a machine. Krier’s in charge of ordering the food but has worked many other roles and thinks one reason St. Seb’s fry is successful is they don’t need to twist any arms to get volunteers – many of them are regulars. “We have slots for each [position], and people go in and sign up. And it’s full right away. The kitchen is crowded, it’s noisy, it’s hot, but it’s fun,” he says. Nobody gets paid – it’s a fundraising effort for the parish and school – but the fry kids often get tips. Those are all pooled together, and at the end of the year, some of it is donated to a local charity of the kids’ choosing.

Over 60 years serving fish fries pretty much clinches its status as an institution. “A lot of [church] events have faded away,” says Krier. “It’s nice to keep a Milwaukee tradition intact.”