Jessica Mathews / news@whmi.com


The Lenten season has arrived and local fish fry Fridays are aplenty.

Local churches and other organizations will be hard at work for the next few weeks.

One is St. Pat’s in Brighton, where Knights of Columbus Council 7304 will sponsor a Fish Fry for the first time in the council’s history, featuring craft beer on draft from Eternity Brewing in Howell.

Beer is $3.00, and wine is $5.00. The menu features Fried Cod, Butter Garlic Salmon, Fried Shrimp, and choice of French Fries, Baked Potato or Mac-N-Cheese as a side.

The Knights of Columbus 7304 is taking orders from 4pm-8pm every Friday during Lent, with dine-in and drive-thru available at St. Patrick Parish Life Center on Ricket Road.

Knights of Columbus Council 7586, operates out of St. Joseph Catholic Church in South Lyon and puts on a fish fry every year.

Grand Knight Jim Chuck told WHMI they have a nice menu featuring baked or hand beer-battered fish with various sides and beverages on Fridays from 4 to 7pm at the church at 830 S. Lafayette/Pontiac Trail.

He said they try to be affordable for people and are very reasonably priced, noting any profits are donated to different charities and back to the community to help people in need.

Chuck noted they are busy and do anywhere from 300 to 400 dinners a night – adding for a three-hour stretch, they feel they do a pretty good job and by the end of the five weeks, they’ve served a lot of dinners. He said there is always a need for volunteers but they have a very strong core group of men and women "who always find a way".

Chuck said they host the fish fry dinners through Friday, April 11th - with the exception of Good Friday as they’re closed – and everyone is welcome. All forms of payment are accepted – cash, credit, and check and carry-out is available.

Over in the Pinckney area, the fish fry at St. Mary Catholic Parish off Dexter-Pinckney Road is a big affair every year and people come from both far and near.

It’s sponsored by the St. Mary Knights of Columbus and features a large dine-in, all-you-can-eat menu, as well as other options for those who might not care for fish. In addition to baked or beer-battered fried fish, there are lots of sides, a pasta station, and new this year is an ice-cream sundae bar. It also runs from 4 to 7pm, with carry-out available, during the Lenten season.

Retired local pharmacist Bob Phipps and his wife Cathy have been organizing the fish fry for years. He said they’re very proud of the fact that people come great distances to their event, some from as far as Canada and even England, and people look forward to it throughout the year. Phipps said they are very reasonably priced and also offer a family plan that maxes out at $50.

Phipps said proceeds help support St. Mary School and fund a scholarship program every year between the fish dinners and their breakfast events. He said it’s a lot of work but a labor of love, and as a bonus he gets to see a lot of people from back in his pharmacy days – adding they take a lot of pride in the dinners and their parish.

Ironwood Golf Course also offers Fish Fry Fridays from 4pm-8pm, with dinners starting at $14.99. Ironwood is located two miles west of US 23 on M-59 in Howell.

A bevy of fish fry events can be found across the WHMI listening area, with many listed in the events section of our website.