The sandwich-board sign that we saw standing at the entrance to Prairie Landing Golf Course was relatively new - at least I had not been aware of it on recent trips down Kautz Road.  The sign simply read: "Fish Fry - Friday Nights: $9.95".  Being one who appreciates a good fish fry... and also one who is always looking for a new place to enjoy one, I told Lauren that we should give this one a try.  It was an occasion where I did not expect much more than a simple dinner, because Golf Course dining rooms, unless at private clubs, generally do not do a big dinner business and the menu tends to be simple and contains mostly sandwich items.

The parking lot was almost full, but not with the cars of golfers.  There was a wedding reception taking place, and as we entered the Grill Room we could see the wedding party getting their pictures taken out on the course. There are only about a dozen or so tables in the place, and most of them were either empty or about to become empty.  I noticed only one bus boy and one waitress.  The sign outside the Grill Room mentioned several kinds of fish and it looked like a good selection; it included perch, cod, smelt, and one other that I do not remember... and it was an "all you can eat" fish fry.  What could be better?  Upon ordering, we were told that all of the choices came on a single plate.  I really didn't mind, since I hadn't quite figured out which kind I wanted anyway.

We had ordered two vodkas on the rocks, and as we sipped our drinks and waited for the fish, the place suddenly began to fill up as if a sign had been posted announcing free food.  For the first time I noticed that the only waitress I saw was the only waitress in the place... and she now had eight (perhaps nine?) tables of diners to serve.  I have to say that I felt really sorry for her plight, for even the best of servers will have a difficult time taking care of more than five tables at a time.  One thing that was very obvious was the smile that remained on her face - at least while she was in the dining room.  I have observed many who have simply lost it and run from the room in tears while swearing at every other employee in sight.  She was doing her level best, but it was clear that she was not remembering everything, and we overheard her mention to one table that there was earlier a line out the door waiting for a table.  What a night she must have had!

Our fish dinners were almost as big a disaster: they came with nothing (we finally asked if they came with cole slaw... and received a chili-bowl-sized cup of it to share...) except the waffle-fries and a small paper cup of tarter sauce.  Not even a lemon wedge adorned the plate.  Worse, some of the portion pieces (all were frozen portions - I can't help but wonder why this state has such a difficult time doing a Fish Fry...) were overdone; one was still cold in the center and very oily.    When I mentioned this to our server, she smiled and without hesitation said: "I'll make an adjustment on the bill - that shouldn't be that way."  The bus person did help out in the dining room, as did another employee who appeared, but the Lone Waitress did the lion's share of the work by herself.

I have no idea if there was a single kitchen that was handling both the wedding reception food and the Grill Room dinners.  Although the majority of the plates we saw coming out into the dining room were Fish Fry dinners and therefore supposedly easier in terms of timing, the lack of wait staff and quality of the food led me to believe that the whole place was severely understaffed on that particular Friday; it was also a holiday weekend and that is simply inexcusable.  I didn't even get a look at another menu item - everyone seemed to be ordering fish.  I'll need to revisit to be certain of the rating, but as for the fish fry, this visit did not result in a good experience.  Our server - Dusty - gets Four Zins for her effort, her ever-present smile, and her attempts to make things right.  The Grill Room on the other hand, is only worth Three Zins on this trip.  Even after a round of golf, I believe that I would only stop for a beer, and then get my fish dinner somewhere else.

Ralph Pancetta
reviews@ralphpancetta.com