St. Anne School

4040 Willow Avenue

4-7, Ash Wednesday and Fridays in Lent, except Good Friday

For takeout, call 412-561-0101 from 3:30 to 6:30.

Menu

Our trip to the St. Anne fish fry started with confusion—the large temporary sign told us to turn left where permanent signs instructed, “Do Not Enter.” We skipped the leap of faith and Did Not Enter, instead crossing the T tracks and looping into the parking lot.

It was a windy day, but we were still greeted by the sounds of kids on the playground outside the gym doors. When you step inside the gymnasium, you find drinks to your right and a line of tables to the left. You move left, place your order with one of the nice volunteers, and take a little laminated paper fish showing your order number. We were disappointed that they were out of the homemade potato and cheese pierogies, but forgave them since it was late in the evening. We ordered fried fish sandwiches with fries and coleslaw for $9 and a half-dozen sauerkraut pierogies for $5. Then, we moved to the beverage station, where they serve $2 Yuengling.

When your order is ready, it is brought out by a student volunteer from Saint Anne School. Your number is called over a microphone, you hold up your numbered fish, and you are served with a smile from a teenage girl. This is the most delightful part of the evening, even drawing cheers from some folks as they are served. The fries were warm, delicious and plentiful, proving the best part of the meal. The food comes in generous portions; the pierogies are giant. The fish sandwich is served on a large hoagie bun, so it’s a good thing they have plenty of condiments within reach. We opted to pull the fish from the sandwich and dip it in cocktail sauce after a few bites, but hungrier guests might slather the whole thing in tartar sauce.

As we began to leave, we were helped quickly by volunteers who were eager to take our trash away for us. We bought a couple of large chocolate chip cookies at the dessert table on the way out. Then, we made our exit from the parking lot cautiously, hoping no one was taking that leap of faith.