Today's Case

Goeden's Fish Market, Madison, WI Re: Goeden's Fish Market, Madison, WI From: Dale Date: 2/2/2023, 9:13 AM To: Phaedrus On 2/1/2023 8:04 PM, Dale wrote: Hi, Dale here. In the 1960s and 70s I went to the University of Wisconsin, Madison, Wisconsin and many times walked by a little hole in the wall fish market, and wondered why so many students were sitting around on the steps or on the sidewalk eating fish and chips.  One cooler Friday afternoon with a couple bucks in my pocket I decided to find out.  They had what seemed to be fresh fish on ice, along with pails of freshly cubed fish of all sorts.  Whitefish, whatever that was, was the cheapest and I asked for an order of that and fries. The guy working the fryer grabbed a handful of the fish pieces, cubed about 3/4" on the side, and tossed them into some light breading, with what must have been flour and cornmeal.  Then into the deep fryer.  What came out and was served with a handful of fries and maybe a dash of vinegar if you wanted, was the absolutely lightest breading on fish I've ever seen and was delightful.  It was so thin you could see the streaking of the fish through it. Whenever I could scrape up the dough, I'd head down to enjoy every single piece of their delightful offering.  With expansion of the campus and support buildings, they lost their lease and moved a bit more towards the Capitol, into an old laundromat, where they actually had seating inside.  When I had family we would hit the joint whenever we had a chance to return to Madison.  Sadly on one visit we found that location gone, too, and asking about I learned that they had decided to close. I've written several times to the food column editor of the State Journal newspaper, and she said she, too, was in awe of the fish from their fryers, and asked about looking for anyone who may have worked there or knew any of the recipes.  None surfaced, but others in the food scene said that when Goeden retired he was going to present the recipe for the breading and how to make stuff openly as a thank you for all the decades people supported him, but sadly no one ever received a copy nor did any notes or recipes show up in the mainstream press or any of the various campus newspapers. Have you got any leads on Goeden's from Madison, WI, now going back a long ways, or have some ideas on a very very light flour and perhaps a wee bit of cornmeal and some salt and pepper and who knows what other seasonings might go into a very thin, light but definitely rave-worthy breading? Dale. Hello Dale, There is a copy of  the Goeden's Fish Market menu here: Wisconsin History There is an item here from the UW Alumni Association that says all of the Goeden's Fish Market recipes were lost in a move years ago and that's why the promise to reveal them was never kept: UWAlumni Dale, I could not recommend a breading recipe unless it said "this tastes like Goeden's" in so many words. I am a researcher more than I am a cook and I never had Goeden's fish and chips. I have no idea of a breading recipe that might be similar to Goeden's. I will post this for my readers to see. Maybe one of them can help. You might have some success if you post your request for the breading recipe on the "Lost Madison Wisconsin" Facebook page. There is already a lot of discussion about Goeden's Fish Market on that page. See: Lost Madison Wisconsin Facebook Page Phaed