Fly Fish Flops

When the restaurant was a BBQ joint called Whiskey Sunday, I thought it was uneven. As Fly Fish it is much more even but, sadly, unequivocally bad. After last night's reading at K-Dog, the families of the readers went next door for dinner.

There was almost nothing that wasn't disappointing. Two people ordered the blackened redfish and two, the pan-fried salmon. Not only was the fish subpar, but side dishes that are almost inconceivably easy still managed to come out of the kitchen a shambles.

Both pieces of redfish were small. Mine was so comically small that when I pointed it out to our waitress she gasped and the manager, equally embarrassed, went back to the kitchen and had them make me an adult-sized portion. It was served with buttered white rice so overcooked that it was near as dry as uncooked and string beans that were improperly trimmed and, frankly, sad looking. The "blackening" of fish was not in evidence and in its stead was a green sauce of indistinct flavor.

The salmon portions were fine, and the fish was cooked adequately, but it wasn't much better as a whole dish. The salmon had the same green sauce as the redfish and was served with raw tomatoes (covered in more green sauce) and corn that made the string beans look festive by comparison.

The cheddar biscuits were not served hot, as they were during the Whiskey Sunday days. The new version of mac-and-cheese is more oily than cheesy; you could barely taste any cheese at all and the oil was pooled in the bottom of the ramekin.

To top it off, many of the Whiskey Sunday cocktails are no longer being served and half of the beer list was unavailable last night.

We have no complaints about the service; our waitress was nice and comped us for dessert (a nice hot fudge sundae, but the nut-allergic should know that it comes with pralines) but it didn't make up for the overall lameness of the experience.

A final note about the decor. I liked the rustic roadhouse look of Whiskey Sunday. It was minimalist and charming. The conversion to a bait shack - aqua baseboards, "gone fishing" signs, a marlin - are awful, borderline embarrassing kitsch.

Hopefully the third time will be the charm for this location because I don't see the Fly Fish concept lasting long at all.

Comments

[carrie]

Just to be clear, the concept isn't so much the problem as the kitchen. Whoever made that food should consider a career change. The mac and cheese was inedible. (the mac and cheese!)

[Erica]

This is really disappointing. I love Enduro - ironically, their trout is one of my favorite dishes - and I really want to like the other restaurant and never have. They need to stick to one concept and try a little harder

[gw]

I agree 100% - the portions were abysmal and the mac and cheese - so yummy in fried form at Whiskey Sunday! - was downright inedible. I love Enduro and enjoyed Whiskey Sunday so I'm very disappointed.

[jo]

I love Enduro, and I enjoyed having drinks in Whisky Sunday (had never tried their food, and won't try in Fly Fish). Why don't they just keep the bar?

[brn442]

A classic case of a confused, out of focus establishment. They probably should've seen the BBQ project through, now they're caught between two ideas. My fish and chips was a joke. I couldn't tell if I was eating fish or the box it came in. A big drop off in quality compared to the short lived Ruthland/Flatbush establishment. They should just turn it into a bar and call it a day.

[dt]

I soooo wanted to love this place. We tried it tonight and it was the worst meal I've ever had out. I mean EVER. My corn was rotten, the fish so bland I couldn't believe it and the raw tomatoes it sat on were flavorless. Jim Mamary needs to fire this cook NOW!!