MEDINA, Ohio — In Northeast Ohio, Friday fish fries have become as much of a cultural phenomenon as a Lenten custom. From church halls to dive bars to high-end restaurants, the battered and fried filets come in various flavor combinations served with a plethora of sides.
A Medina County father-daughter team has taken the annual tradition to a new level, bringing their love of fish fries and local businesses to a growing audience.
“My wife is allergic to fish, and her brothers didn’t care for it. So it was our thing,” said Dan Brown, who told us it started when his daughter Megan was about 8 years old. “It’s just grown into something we do on Fridays.”
Over the years, the pair refined their tastes and grew to recognize what they loved about each meal.
“We started taking notes - just on the back of the napkin at the restaurant. And I said, ‘Why don’t we do a scorecard and kind of rate our fish fries from here on out?’” Megan Crum recalled.
They formalized the scorecard in 2009, ranking their meals based on value, service and flavor. A large binder features 16 years of meticulously documented experiences, including grease marks where they test the filets for how much oil they leave behind.
“The five things we look for are fish, coleslaw, french fries, tartar sauce, and dad is a big proponent of bread,” Megan explained.
Dan laughed, “I need a piece of bread with my fish fry.”
As more family and friends recognized their fish fry expertise and sought recommendations, they decided to give their reviews in real time. Since 2014, they’ve been making “Frydays with Daddy” Facebook live videos explaining their favorite parts of each stop.
“It’s more or less not saying who’s the best, but saying, ‘Here’s all the greatness that Northeast Ohio has to offer,” said Megan, explaining they’re never too critical of any business.
“Frydays with Daddy” now gets 10,000-12,000 weekly views. The father-daughter team said they never anticipated their hobby to turn them into fish fry influencers.
“We’ll get stopped at a restaurant: ‘You’re those fish fry people,’” laughed Megan.
They said they’ve enjoyed exploring new restaurants and connecting with online viewers, but the annual tradition has also been a bonding opportunity.
“Our fish fries have as much to do about fish as Field of Dreams has to do with baseball. It’s more of our relationship,” Dan said.
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