04/18/2019
St. Justin the Martyr - 3-29-2019
Overall (4 of 5)
St. Justin’s was a solid, classic Lenten fish fry in St. Louis. Nice work! Great food, great folks, a dedicated group of parish volunteers, a quilt raffle, a separate carry out station, and kids running around all contribute to the character of this fish fry. I’d go there for the food alone. Their hand-breaded cod is up there with the best I’ve had, and the unique, delicious, homemade(!) side dishes were a definite draw. Also, they have BEETS! Not too exciting for most folks, but it is for some! If you’re looking for a place to meetup with other families or friends to enjoy comraderie, fish, desserts and maybe win a quilt, you should go to this fish fry. They don’t have one every week, so schedule your fish frys accordingly! I’d give this one a 5 out of 5, but having two lines and a crowded flow around the room wasn’t the best layout I’ve seen.
Fish and Main Dishes (5 of 5)
VARIETY: Fried Cod, Baked Cod, Fish Tacos, Spaghetti Plate, and a Fish, Spaghetti, or Mac ‘n’ Cheese Plate for the kids. The Boy Scouts (I think) were also selling cheese pizza slices from Papa John’s. Simple selections, delicious fish.
TASTE: The cod was very good. It was hand-breaded and cooked almost to perfection. It was good, and I would get it again.
VALUE: Adult plates are $10 for fried and baked cod with 3 (yes 3) sides, $10 for fish tacos with 2 sides, $5 for a spaghetti plate with 2 sides, or baked or fried cod sandwiches with 1 side. All entrees come with complimentary dessert and beverage. Beverages include coffee, tea, lemonade, or water. I opted for the 3-side plate so I could sample more of the sides, and I thought the value for the amount of food was worthwhile. I could have used bigger pieces of cod, but maybe that’s because it was so good! See the menu in the pictures for more information.
CONDIMENTS: Bottles of ketchup, tartar sauce, and parmesan cheese.
Side Dishes (5 of 5)
VARIETY: Spaghetti, Bob’s Mac ‘n’ Cheese, Green Beans, Kathy’s Beets, Dot’s Slaw, Applesauce.
TASTE: So many delicious sides. I was able to sample all but the applesauce, which, if you’ve read other reviews isn’t a surprise. I don’t usually do the applesauce. Too many other things to taste! All of the side dishes (except the applesauce) were made by parishioners, which is definitely an added bonus. Its great to have devoted people helping out the school and church! Back to the taste… The slaw had crumbled ramen noodles in it, which I really loved. So good. The spaghetti is one of the highlights of the fish fry (or so I’ve been told). I concur with all the hype. It was delicious. The sauce was a little sweet, which is OK with me. The mac and cheese was also very good. It had some sort of crispy topping that was good. Green beans were good too. Then there’s the beets. I’ve never had beets at a fish fry. They had diced onions in them just like Mom used to make! Wow, who ever would have thought that Kathy’s beets would have knocked it out of the park, right? All were good or heavy-sized portions. St. Justin’s does the sides right!
VALUE: All were good or heavy-sized portions, and extra sides are $2 each. Great value for the quality provided!
Beverages and Desserts (5 of 5)
BEVERAGES: Tea, lemonade, water, and coffee were complimentary with dinner. They had a variety of soda, gatorade, and wine & beer available for sale, too. Too many options to list them all. Soda $1, gatorade $2, and the wind and beer said “free will donations,” whatever that means. Surely its not free beer!
DESSERTS: Included with dinner, the desserts had a tremendous amount of options, all wrapped on paper plates. Many of the less-obvious desserts were individually labeled. This never occurred to me, but what a great idea! I’d bet half the time the unknown delicious desserts go uneaten because of the uncertainly of what they’re getting. I know what I’m getting, because I pick something with chocolate 99.9% of the time! Plenty to choose from in that regard, too. I also noticed a section of the dessert table that was “Sugar Free.” Equal opportunity bakers over there!
Atmosphere and Extras (4 of 5)
The atmosphere was your basic gymnasium fish fry feel. Kids echoing around the room, chatter among adults, a line of people, sports banners marking achievements, etc. It was a little crowded trying to navigate around the room. Table were close together, and the whole room was separated by the dessert table. I’d put a gap in the middle of it to allow people to walk thru without disturbing people sitting at the tables. That’s one of my only complaints though. They were raffling off a couple of gorgeous quilts, too. I love seeing stuff like that, especially when the kids are involved. Lastly, they did have a carry out area in one corner of the gym. I’m assuming those people were being served much faster than the “dine-in” line.
Signage, Flow, and Line (2 of 5)
There was a sign out front indicating fish fry, and it was pretty clear where it was being held once you entered the parking lot. The flow started out great…down the hallway, in the backside doors to the gym, up to the cashier. The line moved FAST! Then I realized that was only to pay. After paying, you had to walk thru a bunch of crowded tables across the gym to wait in another line. That’s my other complaint. I thought it was awkward. The condiments were at the end of the line (as they should be), and the concession stand behind that was selling the extra beverages…perfect, except we needed additional hands to be able to carry all of that. The second line seemed to move a lot slower, but hey, you get 3 sides with your dinner, so that extra side takes a little bit longer. Maybe it was the rambunctious toddler who couldn’t sit still that made the line seem like it was moving slower than it should have….probably was.
