Like Italian beef and Morris BBQ, I miss Friday fish fry. When we moved away from the Midwest we were surprised that local bars and restaurants did not regularly serve fish fry on Fridays — at least not like back home. We either had to make do with fish and chips or make it at home.
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Cedar Waxwing's 365 
Okay, definitions, please. What’s the difference between fish fry, and fish and chips?
Friday fish and chips is a tradition in NZ too. Probably started with the Catholic fish on Fridays thing, but is now an end-of-the-week celebration.
It’s surprisingly hard to define. When I said fish and chips in my post I meant the “trying but failing to make authentic British fish and chips” that some American restaurants have on their menus. This works if you are hungry for fried fish.
Friday fish fry is a whole experience, in a way. There are restaurants that offer “all you can eat” for example. It did stem from Catholics not eating meat on Friday and sounds like NZ has something similar.
Ours had coleslaw, choice of potato, sometimes a salad bar. Fish was usually either haddock or perch. No vinegar was involved.
I know everywhere is very Catholic, but Chicago and ‘burbs are VERY Catholic.
I grew up in a very (not VERY) Catholic part of Queens, and of course there was that two-year period I spent in convent school. So I remember well the fish-on-Fridays thing. But not a fish fry.
Upstate, western NY has fish fries, everywhere, every Friday. The best are often served by VFWs or American Legions, where the same old men have been working the fryers for years. When we lived in a steel town west of Pittsburgh, we could get them on Friday’s as well. And the fish portions were ridiculously large. In Scranton you can find them, but only during Lent. (Are you sure we aren’t related??)
I am beginning to think we are related. Your childhood photos look like some of mine.
Oh my god, I am so craving fries right now.
Unfortunately there were few vegetarian options on fish fry nights. But the fries were usually good.