Trolling for a fish fry?

Lent means local restaurants and bars are big into fish fries.

Restaurants, bars troll for business with fish fries

Shoals of seafood specials are surfacing, and a flotilla of fish fries has emerged. It's Lent, the season of the fish.

Oh, the finny creatures aren't doing anything special -- cod is in season and halibut is about to start -- but now's the time of highest demand, at least on Fridays, when Roman Catholics, some 2.5 million strong here in the Chicago area, and some other Christians seek out seafood because of the 40-day, pre-Easter period of abstinence.

Deep-fryers are going full tilt at local restaurants and bars to feed the demand.

"It's not that Catholics have to eat fish," says Todd Williamson, director of the Archdiocese of Chicago's Office for Divine Worship. "Catholics are to abstain from eating meat on Fridays during Lent."

So Friday supper could be cheese pizza or tofu, but it's often fish, since "meat" in the church's definition applies only to the flesh of warm-blooded animals.

Lenten Fridays remained meat-free after the church abolished the rule of year-round meatless Fridays that existed until 1966. The directive applies to any Catholic over age 14, Williamson says. Some other denominations also practice Lenten abstinence.

"Historically, the church always looked at Friday as a day of penance, because that's the day when the Lord was crucified," Williamson says. "Meat was considered a luxury food, so you did without the luxury."

"It sharpens your awareness of the gifts in your midst," says the Rev. James Halstead, chairman of the Department of Religious Studies at DePaul University, who notes that in the Middle Ages some penitents fasted on bread and water throughout Lent.

Today, devotion more likely sends parishioners to an all-you-can-eat fish fry.

Williamson, who says his own Friday Lenten meals tend to be something light, like a salad, admits there's a certain incongruity in a sacrifice that involves eating your way through a vast buffet of fried fish and sides.

"Having said that, my favorite would be macaroni and cheese."

"The fish fries make great sense," says Halstead.

"But I think tartar sauce is an abomination," he says, tongue firmly in cheek. "At the very least, you could eat your fish plain."

Go fishing for fried perch, cod, haddock or cheese pizza at these spots

Alumni Club, 871 E. Algonquin Road, Schaumburg, (847) 397-3100, www.alumniclubchicago.com. 11 a.m. to 11 p.m. Fridays, year round. Fried lake perch with coleslaw and your choice of fries or tater tots, $6.99.

Chevy Chase Country Club, Gable Room, 1000 N. Milwaukee Ave., Wheeling, (847) 465-2311, www.chevychasecountryclub.com/Fishfry.php. 5 to 9 p.m. Fridays through March 21. All-you-can-eat fried Boston whitefish, garlic-roasted red potatoes, coleslaw, dinner roll and beverage, $10.95; kids' whitefish or chicken tenders with chips and a beverage, $5.95.

Dick's River Roadhouse, 702 N. River Road, Mount Prospect, (847) 298-7200, www.dicksriverroadhouse.com. 7 a.m. to 3 a.m. Fridays, year round. Fried lake perch with fresh-made coleslaw and fries, $7.99 ($8.99 carryout), includes a second helping.

Finn McCool's, 1941 E. Algonquin Road, Schaumburg, (847) 303-5100, www.finnmccoolschicago.com. 11 a.m. to 11 p.m. Fridays, year-round. Fried lake perch with fries, $8.99.

Lamplighter Inn Tavern & Grille, 60 N. Bothwell St., Palatine, (847) 991-2420, www.lamplighters.com. All day Fridays, year round. Hand beer-battered cod filets with coleslaw and choice of chicken soup, waffle fries or salad, $7.25 to $11.75.

St. Mary of Vernon Men's Club, Vernon Hills Golf Course, 291 Evergreen Drive, Vernon Hills, (847) 816-0896. 5:30 to 8 p.m. Fridays through March 14. All-you-can-eat fried and baked fish, fried shrimp, fresh-cut chips and fries, macaroni and cheese, baked mostaccioli, coleslaw and desserts, $10 adults, $6 children, $9 seniors, $32 family. A cash bar is available.

Sam Houston's Charhouse, 1175 W. Lake St., Bartlett, (630) 830-7200. 4 to 11 p.m. Fridays, year round. Fried Canadian lake perch with coleslaw and choice of ranch fries or tater tots, $8.99. Half-off wine bottles on Fridays.

Steitz's Resort, 25400 W. Bluff Lane, Antioch, (847) 395-4050, www.steitzs.com. 4:30 to 10 p.m. Fridays and Saturdays, 4:30 to 9 p.m. Thursdays and Sundays, year round. Fried Canadian perch, boiled haddock, fried or broiled walleye, hand-breaded bluegill and many other options, with soup, salad bar and choice of baked potato, potato pancakes or fries, $11.95 to $17.95.

Steeple Chase Golf Club, 200 N. La Vista Drive, Mundelein, (847) 949-8900, www.mundeleinparks.org/steeplechasegc. 5 to 8 p.m. Fridays, March 21 through November. All-you-can-eat beer battered cod, coleslaw and fries plus other entrees and weekly specials. Call for price.

Village Grill & Tavern, 48 Raupp Blvd., Buffalo Grove, (847) 459-5522. All day Wednesdays and Fridays through March 21. All-you-can-eat fried cod, with sides, $9.99.