Almost Time for Fish Fry Fridays 2018

Just three weeks to get myself healed up enough to hit the fish fry circuit.

Lent begins on Wednesday, February 14, 2018 and continues through Holy Thursday on Thursday, March 29, 2018. That’s six Fridays plus Good Friday and Shrove Tuesday.

Here’s how it works. We visit a different fish fry each week. The location is determined first by proximity to the Northside because of Ledcat’s job. She works until at least 5 PM and most fish fries wrap up between 6 and 7. We can occasionally get across a bridge and up the road, but for the most part – we stay north of the City. We recommend you check out the Fish Fry Map on Facebook for suggestions and check out The Incline’s 2018 Ultimate Fish Fry Bracket.

In review, the factors we assess include:

Location/directions/parking/signage
Atmosphere/Volunteer Friendliness/Engagement
Accessibility
Menu: variety, portions, taste and price
LGBTQ cultural competency
Ecofactors such as reusable/disposable items, recycling, etc

Now, I cannot reasonably follow-up a total hysterectomy with 7 weeks of fried fish & shrimp, etc or I’ll definitely get ill. So this year we will actively be looking for healthier options or simply options to vary things up a bit. We may skip a few weeks.

We’ve been doing this for several years. Consistently, the two most significant things that could be improved at ALL of the fish fries – community engagement and environmental stewardship. No one does either of these well. Someday, a future society will think our fish fries involved the consumption of styrofoam containers, a side of condiment packets, and sporks. ‘What sort of strange fish were these?’ they’ll say. Or gurgle because their lungs no longer function.

Here’s the outcomes from 2017 and I can’t stress enough how much opportunity there is for an enterprising church or community group to bring the fish fry into the 21st century. I think the leap to vegan fish tacos paired with craft wines is a bit much, but there’s a lot of room in-between.

Here’s where we’ve been in years past:

2017

Shrove Tuesday February 28 – Shrove Tuesday Pancake Dinner Calvary United Methodist Church (Northside)

Friday, March 3 – Fish Fry Friday: Return to Church of the Assumption (Bellevue)

Friday, March 10 – Fish Fry Friday: St. Peter & Our Lady Queen of Peace on #NorthsidePgh

Friday, March 25 – Fish Fry Friday: St. Teresa of Avila (Perrysville)

Friday, March 31 – Fish Fry Friday: Judah Fellowship (Hill District)

Friday, April 7 – Fish Fry Friday: St. Maximilian Kolbe (Homestead)

Friday, April 14 – Fish Fry Friday: Elks Lodge 339 (Northside)

In 2016, we visited:

Friday, March 26 – Fish Fry Friday: The Elks Lodge on Pittsburgh’s Northside

Friday, March 12 – Fish Fry Friday: St. Sebastian Catholic Church in Ross Township