Byzantium's Shores: chronicling the misadventures of an overalls-clad hippie

Last night we indulged in something of a Buffalo delicacy/tradition: a Friday night fish fry. This is exactly what it sounds like. Fish fry is a very popular thing in Western NY, owing to the large Catholic population. It can be had in many restaurants year-round, but during Lent it obviously spikes in popularity, with restaurants that don't normally offer it sticking it on the menu just for that season. It's almost always the same, no matter where you go: an immense filet of haddock, beer-battered and deep fried, served on top of a pile of fries with a side of cole slaw and tartar sauce. The fish is always the same, no matter where you go, so the variations occur in the fries -- some places do the "thin" fries, others serve thicker "steak fries" -- and in the slaw, which can taste different depending on where you go. Some places will also throw in potato salad, as well.

Of course, the implications on health are a bit, shall we say, troubling in a city where the big culinary staples are deep-fried fish, deep-fried chicken wings, beef-on-weck sandwiches (roast beef piled onto a salted roll), and beer.