---Fish fry review---…read more
Given the frigidity of the weather in PGH today and the fact that my friend called off due to having a stomach bug, I opted to make the next stop on my tour of PGH fish fries somewhere relatively close to home. After checking out the infamous PGH fish fry map, I decided on St. Maria Goretti because it was slightly closer and more easily integrated into my normal Fri. evening errand run than Sacred Heart in Shadyside.
*Note:* the fish fry is held at the school on Friendship instead of the church on Liberty--they're only two blocks apart, but there's no signage at the church mentioning this. As per usual, I phoned in my order ahead of time to avoid waiting in line and ensure efficient service. Upon arriving at the cafeteria and mentioning my advance order, the people working the food line looked at me and then each other with blank stares. Fortunately, they were good-humored and apologetic about the mix-up and served an order up for me pronto, so after paying for my fried fish dinner ($10), I was still able to beat a relatively hasty exit.
Before describing the food, I should note that the packaging for my take out order could have been better. It was served in the standard foam carton and wasn't secured with tape or anything else, so it slid around somewhat in my subsequent travels. Additionally, unlike most other fish fries I've been to, the fish was just plopped on the bun instead of wrapped properly in foil. I realize that these oversights may have been due to the rushed fulfillment of my order, but they're more important to me than to most due to not having a convenient means of transportation at my disposal, so they're worth a mention.
I was finally able to eat the food about an hour and a half afterward due to running errands--unsurprisingly, it required brief nuking to get it up to optimal temperature prior to consumption. Fortunately, I didn't feel that this took away from it at all. The fish was generous in portion, meaty, and had a nice crispy (cornmeal?) coating, and the bun stood up to it pretty well. The sides (mac and cheese and green beans) were better in quality than sides I've had at other local fish fries--the beans were well cooked and the mac was tender. My only criticism was that the mac was kind of dry at the time of consumption, but I noticed that a decent amount of the sauce leaked out of the takeout container, so I imagine it would have been a lot moister if I'd eaten it on the spot (it certainly looked that way at the time of serving).
Overall, I found St. Maria Goretti's fish fry to be pretty good by PGH standards. The food was decent and reasonably priced, and although there was a decent crowd, it wasn't crazy busy like some others I've been to. As I mentioned, it's held at the school, so unsurprisingly, there were several young children there (though not as many as at St. Raphael's). For those seeking a child-free fish fry, I recommend Epiphany uptown, which seems to serve mainly a young professional clientele. Bon appetit!