Mealtime Magic: Culver's Seafood

Are you giving up meat for Lent - or eating fish on Fridays? Many people, especially Catholics, are right now, and many restaurants have specials that provide them more options - and are also great options for seafood lovers of all backgrounds. Here's how Culver's makes their fish options - Northwoods Walleye and North Atlantic Cod, among others - so delicious:

1. It starts with fresh fish of course! Culver’s Northwoods Walleye is available during Lent only, delivered fresh from crystal clear Canadian waters to each restaurant twice weekly. Available year round, Culver’s North Atlantic Cod is wild caught in the pristine Barent Sea. Experience the mild, flaky freshness with every bite.
2. Batter can make or break a delectable fish fry. Culver’s uses a homemade batter that doesn’t even touch the fish until after the order is placed. Then, each filet is hand-battered and golden fried to perfection.
3. Perfectly fried fish is made even tastier with homestyle sides! The North Atlantic Cod and Northwoods Walleye dinners include Culver’s own cole slaw, Crinkle Cut Fries and a warm roll.

My daughter enjoying her milk at Culver's!

4. A perfectly balanced tartar sauce completes the fish fry experience. Guests crave the hints of sweet and dill relish, capers and finely chopped green olives found in Culver’s signature recipe tartar sauce.

I got to try this out - and really liked the North Atlantic Cod value basket. What I loved the best is that the cheese tastes like real cheese, it's not just the over-processed stuff. It was delicious. The table next to us had the walleye meal, and I'm going to have to make a return trip for that, since it also looked very tasty.

I had the opportunity to ask Culver's chef Jim Doak a few questions about the meals:

My tasty fish meal!

First of all, I had no idea there were capers in the tartar sauce until I read the info. How do you come up with the ideas to use ingredients like that? The tartar sauce recipe stems from when the Culver family was in the supper club business. Friday fish fries were a mainstay in the supper club days and you needed to have points of difference. Adding capers to the sauce added a little zing to the flavor and was something guests didn't get anywhere else.

Other than the Walleye and Cod, are there other Lent options for those who choose to give up meat for some or all days? Other great Lent options include Culver's Butterfly Jumbo Shrimp Dinner and fresh salads like the Cherry Pecan Salad or Garden Fresco Salad (without chicken). The Butterfly Jumbo Shrimp Dinner is available with six or 10 jumbo shrimp and comes with a choice of two sides and a warm dinner roll. We also have a number of daily features (availability may vary by Culver's location). Daily features include our Tuna Sourdough Melt and two additional versions of the North Atlantic Cod Filet Sandwich: the Cod Rueben and the Asian Crispy Cod. We also have our Grilled Cheese Sandwich and the following meatless soups: Boston Clam Chowder, Broccoli Cheese with Florets, Cream of Broccoli, French Onion, Mushroom Medley and Tomato Basil Ravioletti. Soup availability may also vary by restaurant and the day you are visiting. Please check with your local Culver's for daily feature and soup availability.

What is a typical length of time from catching the fish to the time it ends up being served? The timing may vary slightly based on the Culver's location, as we're spread throughout 19 states across the country. We are constantly receiving new North Atlantic Cod as the fishing season extends over several months.

The fish certainly sounds fresh; what about the sides? Freshly warmed rolls are served with each hand-battered, golden-crispy fish Dinner. Guests have their choice of two sides to go along with their Dinner: A freshly prepared Side Salad; Culver's own family-recipe Cole Slaw, made fresh daily in restaurants; Culver's unique Crinkle Cut Fries featuring a crispy outside and a mild, naturally tender inside; Seasoned Green Beans sprinkled with salt, pepper, Wisconsin butter and finely chopped onions; or Mashed Potatoes & Gravy—made with genuine U.S. potatoes, mashed ’til they are perfectly light and fluffy served with savory homestyle gravy.

Want to try it for yourself? You can play the Catch of the Day game of Facebook to "reel in" in a free North Atlantic Cod Filet, a $1 off a Value Basket or a $1 off a Dinner. You can try up to three times a day.

Disclosure: I received complimentary value baskets to facilitate this review.