Why so many fish sandwiches?
Photo courtesy jeffreyw / Flickr
Howard and I were sitting around watching TV the other night when a fast food commercial came on. I can’t remember exactly which restaurant it was, but they were advertising their new premium battered fish sandwich. I turned to Howard and said, “Do you know why so many restaurants advertise their fish sandwiches this time of year?” He pondered a bit. Then he said, “I don’t know, are fish prices down or something?”
Well, it wasn’t a bad guess. But it wasn’t the answer. Can you guess?
The reason, at least according to one interesting email I received recently, is Lent. During the Lenten season (Feb. 22 through April 7 in 2012), when Catholics do not eat the meat of mammals and birds on Fridays, the sales of fish, pizza and other meatless items reportedly skyrocket.
The email from 919 Marketing in North Carolina was sent on behalf of one of their clients, Blimpie, which is pushing tuna subs and melts for the Lenten season. But 919 Marketing had some interesting information about other restaurants:
- Jack in the Box – traditionally promotes new fish sandwich
- Popeye’s Louisiana Kitchen- typically offers deals on shrimp menu items
- Wendy’s usually brings out a Lent- season- only Premium Fish Fillet
- Kentucky Fried Chicken brings out it’s Fish Snacker
- Arby’s typically offers a fish sandwich
- Taco Bell typically offers a marinated shrimp taco
- Five Guys pushes it’s grilled cheese sandwich
- McDonalds pushes the famous Filet-O-Fish sandwich
Also, according to this group, pizza sales can increase by as much as 50 percent and seafood restaurants such as Long John Silver’s see a spike in sales. It makes sense, but it’s still rather interesting to me.
I remember my dad telling me that when he was a school student, the cafeteria always served fish on Fridays, no matter what time of year it was, and that it stemmed from the Catholic tradition. What do schools do now?
Do you give up meat on Fridays for Lent, or do a meatless day once a week for some other reason? If so, what is your family’s favorite meatless meal?
Happy Friday! Have a great weekend.
P.S. I added that recipe I promised to the “Cookbook winner” blog entry below. It’s for Buffalo Chip Cookies, which contain all kinds of goodness, including chocolate, oats and cornflakes!
February 10, 2012 - 6:13 AM
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Five Guys, grilled cheese? Why are grilled cheese sandwiches priced so high, it’s only two pieces of bread and one piece of cheese? They seem high everywhere they are sold.
I have never seen a Five Guys grilled cheese, so I went searching and found this review from SeriousEats.com: “The best parts of a real grilled cheese are the golden brown, just-greasy-enough toasted bread and the totally molten cheesey core, and Five Guys does both right. They turn the bun inside-out so there’s maximum white, spongy surface to get griddled; and the ample American gets totally melty, nothing still semi-solid. What’s more, almost all of Five Guys’s toppings are free, some of which can contribute an awful lot to a sandwich. My recommendation: grilled onions and grilled mushrooms. Embedded in a pool of melted American between two halves up a griddled-up bun, they make for a pretty tasty sandwich—especially for under three bucks.”
Now, grilled veggies would definitely take a grilled cheese to a new level. If it’s just two pieces of white or wheat bread and a slice or two of American cheese, then it should be very inexpensive, I totally agree. I still haven’t found a basic grilled cheese that even comes close to the ones I fix at home. That and my scrambled eggs – I never order those dishes out because I’ll always be disappointed.
See, don’t get me started on grilled cheese, David. Hahaha!
How do you make your scrambled eggs special? I’ve heard of putting a little water in them or a little milk. Onion salt, too?
I do give up meat on Fridays, not just during Lent, but throughout the year. I have to rely on fast food at work, so I generally opt for the Subway tuna sub or the hidden-gem Burger King veggie Whopper.
But since I’ve recently had the luxury of having Fridays off, I’ve been using it as an opportunity to expand my culinary repertoire. Tonight, I’ll be having a broiled tuna steak with puttanesca sauce over penne. Next week, I’m going to try my hand at cioppino. Maybe some Singapore spicy crab. The possibilities are endless.
On a moderately interesting side note, I did not grow up Catholic, I came to Anglican Catholicism in my mid-twenties. But my mother was raised in a coal camp in West Virginia that contained a heavy Italian, and Roman Catholic, influence. So we always ate fish on Friday just because it’s how things were done when she was growing up.
I am Catholic, we always had fish on Friday. I work in a public school. Our (awesome) cafeteria manager always accomodated me during Lent and served fish sandwiches on Friday. But that was many years ago.
I grew up in a very Catholic-heavy area in New Jersey, and they served cheese pizza on Fridays. Pizza parlors were always busy on Friday nights, too!
Thank you for chiming in, Jeff, Lisa and Laura. No matter what your religion, eating fish once a week is a great idea!
David, I make my scrambled eggs with milk, salt and pepper. It isn’t so much what I put in them as how I cook them. I just stand over them and constantly scrape the pan so there are no crunchy things, and I take them off when they are perfectly soft and fluffy without being wet. I hate dry scrambled eggs.
Off topic but went to R.T. Smith’s Fine Delicatessen this afternoon for lunch and YUM! Best sandwiches I’ve had in Roanoke, hand’s down, and the only TRUE deli in the area. I was so impressed with everything there… decor, service, selection. I will go back again & again.
I tried a Slow Cooked Scrambled Eggs once and it took so long, I was in the mood for lunch by the time they were done. Never again. However, growing up, my Mom used a bit of cream cheese in the scrambled eggs mixture, then cooked them. DELISH! Some crispy bacon and homemade pecan sticky buns was our go to Christmas Breakfast.
Grilled cheese sandwiches with tomato slices are yummy! I sometimes add a little mustard with the tomatoes and that seems to blend so well with the melted cheese. I bet grilled mushrooms w/the tomatoes would be awesome!
I’m going to attempt making scrambled eggs sous vide in the next few days; soft-boiled eggs come out great. Wife bought me a sous vide machine for Christmas and have tried all sorts of goodies in it … mostly quite successful, some not so. I’ll let you know how it works out. Last night had a chuck steak/roast that cooked for 48 hours at 132ºF and it looked and tasted like a filet; I’m loving this new machine.
After reading your blog I got hungry. I asked my wife if she wanted to go out for lunch–the Roanoker or the Peaks of Otter? She picked the Peaks and we headed down a nearly empty Parkway. We each had a farm raised catfish sandwith–one with slaw side and the other fries. A very good lunch and an almost empty dining room overlooking the lake and the peaks. Thanks for the push.
@Katy, I’m usually only scrambling eggs for one or two people so it doesn’t take too long.
I use a flexible spatula so I can get all the egg from the corners of the pan.
@Harold, that sounds awesome. I would love to hear how they turn out.
@Roy, I’m glad I inspired you guys to do something different for lunch. The sandwiches sound great.