Every year just before Lent begins a faded movie replays in my memory, a movie that’s been on repeat like a thousand episodes of “Law & Order” during a TNT marathon. There’s a distinct scene in which I'm sitting on a bench at a long table at one of the area VFWs (or was it the American Legion?) with my family some time in the late ‘70s.

I recall a big metal drum either full of beer or loaded with freshly fried whitefish. Either way, the scene – and all the sensory recollections that accompany it, including the cacophony of a hundred happy conversations and the blur of old men and little children and new friends – continue to replay to this day.

Catholicism is so deeply rooted in the area that non-South Siders don’t believe me when I tell them that we introduce each other as members of the local parish (St. Cajetan, St. Christina, St. Barnabas) rather what neighborhood we're from (Morgan Park, Mount Greenwood, Beverly). You are, after all, defined by your parish.

And what’s always gone hand-in-hand with Lenten Fridays is the trusted old fish fry. That night back in the late ‘70s was my first, and I remember it well.

I recall long tables, friendly strangers, cigarette smoke, the smell of beer and grease. And I remember feeling right at home.

And that tradition of the Lenten fish fry thrives to this day throughout the area, where countless mom-and-pop operations and local churches offer great deals on delicious all-you-can-stuff-yourself-with juicy battered cod and perch and pollock, homemade cole slaw, steamin’ hot baked beans, crunchy french fries and a cold, refreshing brew.

Although most restaurants and bars graduated from perch to cod several years ago, the parish basement affairs tend to stick to the basics. For example the popular St. Christina fish fry, which serves hundreds of Mount Greenwood families each week during Lent, is in its 15th year, but dozens of volunteers spend every Friday during the penitential season still serve up the old standby – perch – alongside spaghetti and grilled cheese.

In true South Side, get-to-the-point fashion, the fish fry remains a hardy tradition – but one whose origins are rarely discussed. Some say it stems from the Catholic custom of abstaining from meat on Fridays, but these days diners of various denominations pack local restaurants and bars and American Legion halls for a cheap end-of-the-week supper during the cold, dark days of late winter. Some of the more popular fish fries turn over customers four or five times a night every Friday.

Many of them retain their signature carnival-like atmosphere – noisy, crowded and a feast for the senses. And that’s the way we like it.

So as we begin the 2011 Lenten season, let’s agree that as long as there’s a fish fry – with its friendly strangers, long tables, the sweet smell of beer and, of course, deep-fried fish – we’ll be there.

There’s more than one fish (fry) around. Check out these within a 15-minute drive:

St. Cajetan Parish, Memorial Hall
2445 W. 112th St.
(773) 238-4100
5 p.m.-7:30 p.m. March 11 & 25
$8 adults, $5 seniors or $25 per family
Sponsored by the Men’s Club
Extras: Plenty of room for the kids to run off that energy

St. Bernadette Church, O’Brien Hall
9343 S. Francisco Ave., Evergreen Park
(708) 422-8995
5 p.m.-7:30 p.m. April 15
Sponsored by the Holy Name Society

Stony Creek Golf Course Clubhouse
5850 W. 103rd St., Oak Lawn
(708) 857-2433
5 p.m.-8 p.m. Fridays
$10.99 adults, $5.99 children ages 10 and younger
Extras: It's all-you-can-eat

St. Christina School basement
11005 S. Homan Ave., Chicago
(773) 779-7181
4:30 p.m.-8 p.m. every Friday during Lent
$9 adults, $6 for children ages 5 to 12
Sponsored by the Holy Name Society
Extras: Cheap pitchers of beer

St. Benedict Church
2339 York St., Blue Island
(708) 385-8510
11 a.m.-1:30 p.m. and 4 p.m.-7:30 p.m. every Friday during Lent
$8 adults, $3 children ages 3 to 12 and $1 younger children
Extras: Full cash bar

St. Albert the Great Parish
5555 W. State Road, Burbank
(708) 423-0321
$9 per person
4 p.m. – 7:30 p.m. every Friday during Lent

Midlothian VFW Hall
14817 S. Pulaski Road, Midlothian
(708) 371-5227
5 p.m.-8 p.m. every Friday during Lent
$8 adults, $4 children ages 12 and younger

View Thank cod it's fry-day in a larger map