Where Are All the Friday Fish Fry Nights In Philadelphia?

The fried fish hoagie at Northeast Philly’s Jordan Johnson Seafood, where they are giving away 100 of the sandwiches in honor of National Fish Fry Day.

I rarely pay attention to press releases and I almost completely ignore those National [Insert Food Here] Day alerts. You know. National Buffet Day (January 2nd). National Raspberry Popover Day (May 3rd). And who can forget National Roast Pheasant Day (October 15th)? FFS. Who comes up with these things?

But a press release alerting me to a Philly chef giving away 100 fried fish hoagies on Friday in honor of what turns out to be National Fish Fry Day did catch my attention. No, not because I care that this Friday is National Fish Fry Day. But because the press release reminded me of something I’ve lamented time and time again: Philadelphia has a strange absence of Friday fish fry nights.

If you’ve lived in the Philadelphia area all of your life, you may not be familiar with the phrase Friday fish fry. But if you go to places like Buffalo and Milwaukee, a hardcore Friday fish fry culture exists. And not just during Lent, when Catholics aren’t supposed to eat meat on Fridays.

These cities do Friday fish fries year round. And having traveled to Milwaukee four (yes four) times, I feel confident in saying that it’s downright difficult to find a Milwaukee restaurant that does not do a fry on Friday nights. And during Lent, fuhgeddaboudit. Milwaukee goes downright Friday fish fry crazy. Lots of churches and social clubs get in on the action, too. If you’re a Milwaukee media outlet, you necessarily publish a list of fish fry locations. And, yes, there is a Facebook group devoted completely to Milwaukee’s obsession with these things.

A sign at a Friday night fish fry in Milwaukee at Fritz’s Pub, which has since closed (photo courtesy Caleb Westphal)

All of which makes me wonder why I never hear anything about Friday night fish fries in the Philadelphia region. Like Buffalo and Milwaukee, Philadelphia is a gritty food-loving town that’s home to lots of Catholics. And who among us, other than vegetarians, of course, doesn’t love a good piece of fried fish with a side of cole slaw, a traditional accompaniment for a fish fry?

Don’t get me wrong: There are plenty of restaurants in the Philadelphia region that will serve you a great fried fish platter every night of the week. My personal favorite happens to be at the Clam Tavern in Delco. But that’s different. Friday fish fries are a “thing” that Philadelphia just doesn’t seem to have in its blood. And I’m not OK with that. We need to adopt this.

As for that fried fish hoagie giveaway on Friday… Jordan Johnson Seafood, which is located at 6716 Frankford Avenue, is giving away fried fish hoagies to the first one hundred guests. (The restaurant opens at 11 a.m.) As for the rest of the sales that day, owner Jordan Johnson, who grew up in foster care, is donating all proceeds to the local non-profit Marvin’s Home, which provides aid to people who grew up in the foster care system.