Cory Morse | MLive.com
Consider my trust in my editor tested.
His bright idea? Ranking every fast food fried fish sandwich I could find in New Jersey, in honor of Lent during which Christians abstain from eating meat but can eat fish.
Now, I have made plenty of questionable food decisions in my life. But fast-food fish was one I've always avoided. Deep fried white fish from a drive-thru window? Typically covered in tartar sauce. What is tartar sauce, anyway? Some sort of fancy fish mayo? I still don't know. I don't think I want to know.
But hey, I did it. I tried 18 different fish sandwiches, and you know what? Some sandwiches were surprisingly good! Then again, some will have you questioning your religion.
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Jeremy Schneider | NJ Advance Media for NJ.com
18. Roy Rogers Wild Pacific Cod Sandwich
18. Roy Rogers Wild Pacific Cod Sandwich
Roy Rogers is still a thing? Apparently. I drove to the Molly Pitcher Travel Plaza in Cranbury to find one (The rest stop near the Pennsylvania Northeast Extension's Lehigh Valley interchange also has one.), and regretted it immediately. Whoda thunk a fish sandwich from a rest stop wouldn't be good?!?!(laughs turn to sobs) It tasted like those crappy fish sticks you used to get at the school cafeteria. Stick to curly fries, Roy.
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Jeremy Schneider | NJ Advance Media for NJ.com
17. Popeyes Fish Po'boy
Love that chicken from Popeyes! Hate that fish. A po' excuse for a po'boy, with a sinfully bad tartar sauce. C'mon, who orders fish from Popeyes, anyway?Oh yeah, me.
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Jeremy Schneider | NJ Advance Media for NJ.com
16. Popeyes Shrimp Po'boy
Slightly better than the fish version from the same store, but the shrimp tasted more like popcorn chicken than shrimp. The tartar sauce was just as nasty.
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Jeremy Schneider | NJ Advance Media for NJ.com
15. Arthur Treacher's Fried Fish Sandwich
There are only a handful of Arthur Treacher's franchises left in the United States. I somehow ended up at two of them in one day. Who says journalism isn't glamorous?You'd think a fried fish sandwich from a place that specializes in fish would be great, but it wasn't. I tasted more fried batter than fried fish. Sorry, Arthur.
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Jeremy Schneider | NJ Advance Media for NJ.com
14. McDonald's Filet-O-Fish
I was most excited for this one! If there's such thing as a "famous" fish sandwich, this is it, baby! It even had a catchy commercial! The sandwich is also at the center of a running bit for comedians Desus and Mero! There's some spicy language in that video, fair warning. But there's nothing spicy about the sandwich. And there's nothing flavorful. I was really, really disappointed. Give you back that Filet-O-Fish? Sure. You can keep it.
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Jeremy Schneider | NJ Advance Media for NJ.com
13. White Castle Fish Slider
I hate how much I love White Castle. Those tiny cheeseburgers are one of life's great guilty pleasures. This? This is an abomination. A bastardization of a sacred sandwich. It sure as hell ain't "beef" on their cheeseburger, so what are they passing off as fish?
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Jeremy Schneider | NJ Advance Media for NJ.com
12. Long John Silver's Classic Fish Sandwich
It isn't about the sandwiches, it's about the friends we made along the way. Long John Silver's is apparently still around, even though it was hard for me to find one all the way down in Howell, N.J., and their social media account became my new best friend on my fishy journey. Unfortunately, the sandwich was pretty unmemorable and kind of cold.
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Jeremy Schneider | NJ Advance Media for NJ.com
11. Sonic Premium Fish Sandwich
I'm racking my brain to remember what this one tasted like — that's how memorable it was. It was fine. I tasted more pickle than fish, which just might be a positive.
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Jeremy Schneider | NJ Advance Media for NJ.com
10. Arthur Treacher's Grouper Sandwich
The classiest of the fish sandwiches, Grouper is very popular and a cut above the cod and whitefish offerings that most fast food joints serve. It definitely had the best texture of any of these sandwiches, but the flavor was still pretty meh.
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Jeremy Schneider | NJ Advance Media for NJ.com
9. Arby's Cajun Fish Sandwich
Arby's doesn't just have the meats, it has the fish! Three fish sandwiches! The fish is indeed bigger than the bun, as the commercials brag. It's a solid sandwich, though the cajun remoulade was a bit off-putting.
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Jeremy Schneider | NJ Advance Media for NJ.com
8. Burger King's Big Fish
Tastes like chicken! No, for real, had you told me this was just a chicken sandwich I probably would have believed you. Which is a good thing.
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Jeremy Schneider | NJ Advance Media for NJ.com
7. Wendy's North Pacific Cod Sandwich
Wendy's does just about everything right, so it comes as no surprise that their fish sandwich is pretty solid. A nice flaky texture combined with a fresh-tasting fish makes for one of the most palatable sandwiches on the list.
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Jeremy Schneider | NJ Advance Media for NJ.com
6. Arby's King's Hawaiian Fish Deluxe
A sweet King's Hawaiian bun? Wild-caught Alaskan Pollock? Arby's really brought it with this one. Color me impressed. The bun wasn't as sweet or soft as I was expecting, but the fish was hot and fresh.
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Jeremy Schneider | NJ Advance Media for NJ.com
5. Arby's Crispy Fish Sandwich
I know this isn't as fancy as the King's Hawaiian Fish Deluxe, but it somehow tasted better. Maybe simplicity is the way to go with fish sandwiches? The tartar sauce really shined through with this one, and the fish was nice and crispy.
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Jeremy Schneider | NJ Advance Media for NJ.com
4. Checkers Crispy Fish Sandwich
This sandwich had the best tartar sauce of all the sandwiches, and that was the dominant taste. The fish was hot and surprisingly fresh-tasting. Fish from Checkers is good? Fish from Checkers is good.
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Jeremy Schneider | NJ Advance Media for NJ.com
3. Dairy Queen Crispy Fish Sandwich
This was the last sandwich I ate, and maybe the sheer excitement of knowing that my torturous aquatic journey was nearing an end sent me into a fish-fried state of delirium. But this was good! The fish itself had a nice crunch and a pleasant fish flavor. The soft serve twist I chased this with was still better than the fish, but this was a solid way to close out.
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Jeremy Schneider | NJ Advance Media for NJ.com
2. Arthur Treacher's Fried Clam Sandwich
Fried clams are just better than fried fish, no matter what kind of fish you're frying. Frying clams is the best method for cooking them, and they're surprisingly hard to mess up. My parents let me order the fried clams from Tick Tock Diner in Clifton as a child, and I turned out just fine! This sandwich kind of fell apart as I ate it, but the clams that stayed on the bun were flavorful, with the right kind of chewy texture while still being crunchy. I'm almost embarrassed at how much I liked this sandwich.
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Jeremy Schneider | NJ Advance Media for NJ.com
1. Chick-fil-A Fish Sandwich
I'm yet to be disappointed by a food item at Chick-fil-A. Their chicken sandwiches and nuggets are obviously amazing, as are their french fries, milkshakes and drinks. So I guess it really shouldn't be all that surprising that their fish sandwich is really good as well. The lettuce, tomato, pickle and cheese were a nice touch, and the bun was warm and buttered. The tartar sauce came in packets, so you had to put it on yourself, but it was good once I got it on the sandwich. The fish was hot, crispy and flavorful. If you douse it in Chick-fil-A sauce (the greatest condiment known to man) you might be able to trick yourself into thinking you're eating one of their chicken sandwiches.
Jeremy Schneider may be reached at jschneider@njadvancemedia.com. Follow him on Twitter @J_Schneider. Find NJ.com on Facebook
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