Fish fry: Bellevue Vets

Once again, our grand plan to make a certain fish fry was disrupted. This time our backup plan was Bellevue Vets in Bellevue KY. We made it with little time to spare.

I'd been to Vets before, so I had an idea of what to expect. I was right, no major changes from last year.

If you don't already know, Bellevue Vets (properly Bellevue Veterans Club) is a military veteran's club that sponsors and coordinates youth and community sports. They have a facility with sports fields, a bar and grille, and a meeting hall.

The fish fry is held in the meeting hall, separately from the bar. Don't worry, there is a door that provides easy access, so you can step over for a drink or a smoke if you're so inclined. You can bring your drinks back to the fish fry, and there is no smoking in the hall during the fish fry. So if either of things are of concern to you, relax. It may be worth noting that the beer prices are typical neighborhood pub prices, not the super cheap prices you've come to enjoy at other fish fry events.

The menu is not atypical: fish setups, mac and cheese, fries, slaw, etc. There are a couple of "fancy" options, though: Chicken nuggets, cheese sticks, shrimp, and onion chips! We took a 5 person team to the table this time, so we opened up and tried some of the additional menu options. The kids went with chicken nuggets and mac & cheese (after some teeth gnashing), but I took a chance on the shrimp, and Karen the onion chips. We ordered up at the front table, and I headed over to the bar to conduct some business while the rest of the gang posted up at one of the many banquet tables.

So how did it all taste? Well, the shrimp was fair. I've had worse and I've had better. It must have been dumped from a frozen bag. I almost wished I had ordered the fish instead, but I took a bite of it and realized the grass is not always greener. The fish was a bit greasy. The onion chips were decent, though. I'm not usually an onion chip fan, but I was OK with these. One daughter reports that the nuggets were not great, but the mac & cheese was. I think she's right about that. While not the reference standard of mac & cheese, it was pretty good.

All in all, I think the Vets is in the middle of the pack. Points earned for the bar, though. If you like to end your fish fry with a night of drinking, this might be your one-stop shop!