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| Courtesy of mikelinnigsrestaurant.com/ |
Touting "Famous Seafood Since 1925", Mike Linnig's is a family grown empire in the southwestern corner of Louisville, Kentucky. With humble beginnings, "Mike's Place", as it was originally known grew from a roadside sandwich stand into a sprawling group of buildings, outdoor picnic tables, small screened in cabanas with a table for private dining, a playground and originally a square dancing floor and baseball diamond, the latter 2 which was destroyed by fire in 1937.
Part of the draw of Linnig's is the open air feel. When we arrived, the separate parking lot was jam packed. After finding a spot, we walked up to the front facade. While you can go into the main restaurant and eat, the majority of patrons choose to sit outdoors. After grabbing a menu and standing in line, you come to a kiosk with an attendant where you place your order. From there, you find a table and then walk up to a separate building to purchase your drinks. After a wait of 30-45 minutes your name will be called over the outdoor intercom and you then walk inside the main building to the kitchen to pick up your order.
On this particular occasion, I ordered the "Fish Plate". At $12.25, your order comes with shoestring fries, cole slaw and a cup of Linnig's homemade tartar sauce. For a few moments I contemplated what seemed to be a bit steep price for a fish sandwich...I walked the children swinging, men meandering about with sweating longneck bottles of beer and took in the admittedly loud and a bit annoying constant crackle of the overhead speaker barking out order numbers, birthday wishes and calls to staff needed in the kitchen. After about 30 minutes my order was called and I went to retrieve my tray of deep fried goodness. I had substituted hush puppies for fries and was anxious to see what this meal would provide.
What I received was a gluttonously piled high tray of various deep fried glistening food stuffs. It became immediately clear that at $12.25 I had certainly got my money's worth. Not one but 2 giant fillets of fish that laid side by side would have covered the entire tray by themselves. A generous cup of homemade slaw was positioned next to that on the foam plate and in a separate paper tray, 5 racquet ball sized hush puppies! I watched others exiting the kitchen to see if I had ordered the "Super Glutton" meal to soon find that all the portioned this way. Men struggled to carry trays stacked a foot high with onion rings, fish, shrimp, crab cakes and even alligator. Clearly one of Mike's "portions" would be sufficient to feed a whole family.
Bun: So close to over the top perfection I looked around my plate for 2 foot long hoagie rolls to wield this giant beast of a sandwich only to find 2 slices of white bread. I was a little stunned, clearly angered and I had to contemplate again for a moment why anyone would serve potential greatness on a slice of failure. It would be like ordering the best hamburger ever assembled only to find it was served on a Saltine cracker. Clearly a no-no in my book, I had to press on.
Batter: Golden brown, not too greasy and the dredged bread crumb batter was clearly fresh and not cross contaminated by other deep fried food.
Fry: I have to say it was deep fried to perfection and retained a nice moisture and a evenly browned consistency. It was not curled or rolled in anyway. The only complaint I have is it was hot! That baby came straight from the fryer to the plate, which is a good thing, but I didn't want to wait any longer on top of the 30 minutes already passed to begin eating my meal.
Toppings: Pretty much just tartar sauce. I didn't ask for lettuce or tomato on the side so do not know if it is available.
Portion: A bit over the top. I cut my fillet in half to fit in on the bread and that along with 2 bull testicle sized hush puppies was about all I could finish. I ate the hush puppies for breakfast the next morning and had a half portion fish sammich for the next 3 days!
Service: Apart from the kiosk help to take your order there are no real waiters/waitresses, only those who come and clear your table for you after you are through eating. The people you come into contact with are friendly, including the drink stand workers who also accept tips for their quick service.
Ambiance: Mike's is clearly oriented to a family dining experience. The outdoor seating are well kept concrete picnic tables and the landscaping is vibrant and well maintained.
Wait: Upwards of 30-45 minutes during our Saturday evening visit, but with good company and weather the time passed rather quickly.
Bottom Line: A solid fish sammich! While the portions are a bit too large ( I would have been satisfied with a $6.50 one fillet portion), the outdoors and bustling family atmosphere makes the experience a fun package deal. It's a little like a family reunion picnic where you don't know any of the cousins or aunts and uncles.
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