"2016-09-29T00:00:00"^^ . "0"^^ . . "2"^^ . . "3"^^ . . "4"^^ . "On a recent Friday night, after a ridiculously difficult week at work, I was in desperate need of a fish fry - walleye, please. So we decided on the Free House.\n\nIt was a gloomy evening, but not actually raining, so we took a table outside. The patio is lovely and the tables have umbrellas big enough that, if it had started sprinkling we wouldn't have gotten drenched.\n\nI ordered a Templeton rye old-fashioned press - which was perfectly made. Bonus points, too, for having Templeton.\n\nFree House offers a choice of grilled or fried walleye - I went with the fried and decided to upgrade (for $1.50) to parmesan garlic fries on the side. Wish I hadn't with the fries - I'm not sure what I expected, but the parmesan and garlic were just shaved over the top. Not even remotely melted, so they just fell off when you picked up a fry. Wasn't really thrilled to eat the cheese and garlic that I paid extra for separately with a fork. And they were served with some kind of dill aioli that both I and my dinner companion mistook for tartar sauce because of the dill. Let me posit that one thing that should NEVER appear in aioli is dill. Yuck.\n\nThe walleye...*sigh*. My favorite fish - but this was not my favorite way to have it prepared. Cornmeal? Really? Cornmeal is for catfish - not walleye. If you're going to do something unorthodox like that, please say it on the menu. The fish, itself, was slightly overcooked, but not ruinously so.\n\nOn the other hand, the cole slaw was excellent. Too bad there was so little of it on the plate.\n\nService was friendly and attentive. And again - that old-fashioned. Yum.\n\nMaybe just drinks next time...\n\nUpdate: So the management says they don't use cornmeal on the walleye. Huh. Well, it looked like cornmeal and chewed like cornmeal. Maybe it's those dried breadcrumbs you can buy in the grocery store. They have a similar look/tooth - and lack of flavor. I still think the method of prep (breaded or battered) should be on the menu."^^ .