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Sampling Sidetrack's award-winning fish fry
Posted: 04.15.2011 at 10:46 PM
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Sidetracks in Cooks wins FOX UP's Top Choice Season IV

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COOKS -- If you haven't heard, Sidetracks, in the town of Cooks, serves the best Friday Fish Fry in the Upper Peninsula, as decided by you, the viewer.

Friday evening, I made the trip to Schoolcraft County to try the award-winning fish. 

My reaction?  Wow!

The tantalizing smell of frying fish fills the air in the town of Cooks.  There are about 600 people that live there.  My non-scientific estimate is that 580 of them dine at Sidetracks on a Friday night.

Sidetracks has been serving up their Friday Fish Fry the same way since they opened 14 years ago.  Now, they've got a plaque to prove how good it really is.

"I'm humbled by it, really.  It took the people to get on and vote, and obviously they have faith in us to be here," says the restaurant's owner, Mona Nelson.

"We've got several other restaurants that serve Friday nights, but this is far superior," says Ralph Ellis, who's been eating at Sidetracks as long as he can remember.

$13.95 gets you all the whitefish you can eat, plus as many trips to their equally-famous salad bar.

Mona credits her Top Choice victory to two things:  her awesome staff and the power of the Internet.

"Social networking is a good thing.  Definitely social networking."

Her customers feel at home at Sidetracks.

"We come here so often, we don't even tell the waitress what we want," says Donald Smith, another Sidetracks regular.

"They don't even take menus," Mona confirms.  "We know what they're going to eat, what they're going to drink."

So here's to you, Sidetracks, FOX UP's Top Choice for that Friday night fish fry.

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