Flannery’s Wilhelm Tell Club

Quite possibly the worst fish fry of my life. Should have known better with the for sale sign and sparse crowd, but had asked a local where to eat, which normally works well. The fried «fish» was graham cracker thin patties and were awful. I literally think they were a bag of frozen fish from the local Piggly Wiggly. The baked fish was rubbery and virtually tasteless. No tartar sauce available to try and drowned the drabness. It takes a lot of guts to charge $ 11.50 for quality less than a Filet O Fish from McDonalds. Oh and I felt terrible the next day and a half. Avoid at all costs!

To sit at the bar at Flannery’s is to experience everything good about sitting at a bar in a small town in Wisconsin. Which to say, everything.
(Ok, so, let me put it to you like this. Flannery’s is the kind of bar where a guy with the same name as you will buy the whole bar a drink while his brother’s band, whose medley of, uh, uninspiringly-​covered Bön Jovi jamz you heard earlier during the band’s soundcheck, and whose tour bus hulked ominously astride an idyllic corner of downtown New Glarus, tinted windows and all, plays across town, and who lets, with a wry smile, the question of his absence from the familial gig hang unanswered as we all throw back shots and eat popcorn from wooden bowls.)
Here’s a hypothesis worthy of testing: the set of everything that is good about sitting at a bar in small-​town Wisconsin is isomorphic with the set of everything that is good as such.

Great food. Cozy atmosphere. Great service. the specials are usually good, and the favorites are as well. Love the fried chicken, or the fish fry. Always get the Rosti potatoes. As you might expect, they always have 2 – 4 New Glarus beers on tap.

Now here is the place to go to relax with a cold New Glarus beer and some great food. We are regular customers here and want to spread the word. You feel like you are at home when you walk in the door. Mike and Ruth Flannery have been running this supper club for more than 20 years. They have a great staff who are very efficient and happy to serve you. The prices are very reasonable and the portions are more than enough! My favorite thing on the menu would have to be the scallops or the pecan salmon. The scallops are the best I have found in the midwest… Sea scallops and more than you can possibly eat. The pecan salmon has a honey dijon pecan topping that makes the salmon very moist and tasty. You also can’t miss the Friday night fish fry. All you can eat BAKED or FRIED, I myself like the baked… but they are both good. Order the roesti or potato pancakes they are both great. I could go on and on. The prime rib is excellant as well as the BBQ ribs. OH and on Tuesday nights they have lobster tails on special, two 5 oz tails for only 26 $! All I can say is you must try this place out…

There were a few things that I really missed while away from Wisconsin: good beer, watching the Packers on TV, good brats, and good fish fry. Sure, they had similar offerings down south, but it wasn’t quite «right.»
The most glaring example of the South’s shortcomings was their inability to offer a decent fish fry. Their idea of «fish fry» is to take some oily, dark meat catfish, bread the heck out of it, and then fry it until it resembles a soggy piece of greasy, gristly shoe leather. Ick — no thanks.
A coworker who knew that I loved fish fry put together a list of «must visit» fish joints, and Flannery’s was near the top of her list. So, after finishing work on Friday, we hopped into the car and made the short 20 minute drive down to New Glarus.
We walked in to Flannery’s, were immediately greeted by the hostess and were promptly seated. Not bad, considering it was approaching 6:00 on a Friday night. The bar was fairly full — appeared as though there were a bunch of regulars sitting around the horseshoe shaped bar drinking their Old Fashioneds and 10oz tap beers. I noticed there were bowls of oil-​popped popcorn around the bar as well.
Flannery’s is set-​up so that you walk through the bar and into a «rear» dining room; a second dining room flanks one side of the bar as well. We were seated in the back dining room, and Doris was our waitress.
My guess is that Doris has probably worked at Flannery’s for quite some time. She knew the menu and offered recommendations. She thought we should pass on the cheese curds in the interest of saivng room for the fish, but we were starving, and little did she know how much food I can pack away.
Within a few minutes, Doris returned with our Spotted Cows, a carafe of water (I really like restaurants that provide you with a pitcher/​carafe of water), and our cheese curds.
The curds were lightly battered; the cheese appeared to be Colby, or a white cheddar. At $ 5 for the order, I would’ve expected more than the few cheese curds that you see in the picture — there were about 15 or so. They were decent, but the curds we had at Ken’s Towne Inn Pizza were better.
Next up came the French Onion Soup. Beefy, oniony, slightly salty — perfect. It was served with large croutons rather than a slice of bread, and there was just the right amount of cheese across the top. I could’ve enjoyed a gallon of the soup — it was really quite good.
And then, right on cue, Doris brought out our fish. Fried Haddock. I chose the Rostis as a side; my better half chose the potato pancakes.
The fish was lightly breaded, mild, flaky and tender, and not the slightest bit greasy. In fact, the plates were completely dry — now that’s a good sign! We wolfed down our first plate and ordered a second plate (Flannery’s fish is all you can eat).
The Rosti wasn’t quite what I had expected, but in all fairness, I’ve never had one before, so they may have been perfect. I thought they were too bland — tasted like a big hashbrown with some swiss cheese goo mixed in.
The potato pancakes were incredible. Perfectly cooked, with a hint of onion, and served with a side of maple-​infused apple sauce. Yummo.
Doris brought us 2 more plates of fish, all of which was as good as the first two plates. We paid our bill and hit the road happy, full, and reminiscing about the wonderful meal.
If you’re looking for a great fish fry, with a good atmosphere, wonderful service, and with some of the freshest Spotted Cow you’ll find, look no further than Flannery’s. We’ll definitely be back — just after we try out the other places on «the list.»