CINCINNATI — Over the next two months, millions of Roman Catholics across the globe will remove meat from their diet on Fridays as part of the Christian season known as Lent.
While abstaining from meat is rooted in religious practice, in communities across the United States, it has led to a cultural celebration known as the Friday fish fry.
Among cities with large Catholic populations, Cincinnati is no different. Over the next seven weeks, churches, community organizations and restaurants will host weekly seafood dinners or specials until, and sometimes through, Good Friday.
“When Catholics are called ‘fish eaters,’ it’s not necessarily a compliment. But Catholics don’t usually take offense,” said Father David Endres, a priest and church historian within the Archdiocese of Cincinnati. “It’s something that sets Catholics apart from others. Not eating meat on Fridays was one of the markers of Catholic practice.”
What You Need To Know
- Fish fries developed in Cincinnati, other Catholic cities as way to provide dinners to faithful during Lent
- Catholics cannot eat meat on Friday during Lent
- Over the years, the Lenten tradition has affected other elements of Cincinnati life, including menus at restaurants
- Today, there are dozens of local fish fries every week at churches and community organizations
Before the mid-1960s, Catholics didn’t eat meat on Friday throughout the year as a “small way of joining in the sacrifice of Jesus on Good Friday,” Endres said. Since then, it’s limited to Fridays in Lent, the 40 days between Ash Wednesday and sundown on Holy Thursday. It marks a period of preparation to celebrate the resurrection of Jesus Christ on Easter.
Churches created the fish fry concept to provide non-meat dinner options, Endres said.
A fish fry menu can vary from place-to-place. Some serve fried cod or shrimp on a plate, while others stack a piece of fish on a bun of some sort coated in tartar sauce. Sides can range from more traditional items, such as coleslaw and French fries, to macaroni and cheese.
“Now, it’s not just fish filets, but fried shrimp and cheese pizza. Sometimes parish fish fries have a spiritual component, too — with a devotion such as Stations of the Cross, which commemorates Jesus’s death, held at the conclusion,” Endres said.
While each fish fry differs slightly, there’s a common theme amongst those who attend them: Everyone seems to think their fish fry is the best.
That’s the case for Tom Ramstetter, who’s worked the weekly fish fry at St. Aloysius Gonzaga Catholic Church for the past five years. Long before that, he worked at this fish fry as a St. Al’s student in the early 1990s.
“I was a St. Al’s parishioner most of my life and went to school there for eight years,” Ramstetter said. “My son has been a student there since second grade and is now in sixth. He looks forward to the fish fry every year.”
Ramstetter has strong, even if biased, feelings that the fish fry that church on Bridgetown Road is the best on Cincinnati’s west side. The drive-thru operation is open from 4:30 to 7 p.m. every Friday through Good Friday.
“At St. Al’s, the fried and baked fish are top-notch,” Ramstetter said. For $12 dinner, you also get bakery-fresh bread, homemade-quality mac and cheese made from a decades-old recipe, green beans, coleslaw and a couple hush puppies. A diner can also get a shrimp dinner, or a fish-and-chips meal for the same price.
Cincinnati’s rich Catholic heritage led several food businesses — national chains even — to incorporate more fish into their menus, especially during the Lenten season.
In fact, McDonald’s Filet-o-Fish sandwich resulted from a franchise owner, Lou Groen, a Catholic, struggling to sell burgers on Fridays at his restaurant on North Bend Road.
Sensing the need to expand his menu, Groen came up with a halibut fish sandwich around 1962, according to the Catholic Telegraph. The article says that sandwich, and its more famous successor the Filet-o-Fish, became the first additions to McDonalds’ original 10-item menu.
While not as famous internationally as the Golden Arches, Frisch’s Big Boy’s Original Fish Sandwich has been a hit in Cincinnati since debuting in 1947. A considerable number of people living in the region were Catholic at the time Frisch’s developed the sandwich, according to James Walker, the restaurant’s CEO.
“It became a Friday night tradition for friends and family to gather for fish sandwiches during Lent at Frisch’s,” he added.
Frisch’s added a double-decker fish sandwich last year, and on Fridays they offer a seafood bar. But the Original Fish sandwich remains a staple on its menu today, and continues to be a top-seller, especially during Lent, Walker said.
He noted the restaurant sold about 1.5 million fish sandwiches last year.
“It has truly stood the test of time,” Walker said.
Over the years, Fish fries have become more than just a religious tradition. They’ve become a part of Cincinnati life.
Endres described fish fries as taking on a communal — even festive — atmosphere, he added.
One of the biggest fish fries of the year takes place on the Friday of the annual Bockfest Parade in Over-the-Rhine. There are sandwiches, sides and drinks, including beer. All proceeds benefit Old St. Mary’s.
Nikki Underwood, of St. Bernard, described herself as “not being religious at all,” but she’s still a regular at St. William Church in West Price Hill on Fridays during Lent.
Underwood described it as her favorite in the city.
“We really enjoy it,” she said. “It’s drive-thru only, so we usually pull over and eat before we get home because it’s so much better and fresh, and we can’t wait.”
Beyond being a major social gathering, the annual fish fry is one of St. Al’s biggest fundraisers of the year. Ramstetter, who’s president of the St. Al’s Athletics Association, said they make enough money during the seven weeks to keep athletics fees low for students while also supporting other programs like a local Girl Scout troop.
“The people that work this fish fry are committed to making great things happen for the kids,” he added. “We also just have a lot of fun doing it.”