Cheese Heads ’n’ Fish Heads

[December 19th, 2007]

No, not those Phish-heads—though the Hawthorne Fish House (4343 SE Hawthorne Blvd., 548-4434) is within spitting distance of head shops like the Third Eye—actual fish heads. See, owners Greg and Dana Boyce are originally from Green Bay, Wis., where football and fried fish go hand in hand. And though their seafood haven isn’t exactly a club , it does have a full bar, 20-ounce pints of microbrews (only five bucks!) and more Packers football—they show every game on two flat-screens—and paraphernalia than you can shake a deep-fried cheese curd ($6.50 for a basket) at. The service is friendly for the sake of being friendly (’tenders seem more proud of the jalapeño tartar than they do money-hungry), and the maritime decor is classier than that of many beach houses. Sure, there’s a family or two in attendance, but the fish is varied (yellow lake perch is true to the Boyces’ roots), and happy hour includes wells and mini-plates at $2.95 a pop. In short: This quaint spot’s got all the rural charm of those Midwestern family restaurants where grandparents tie one on and pick up the tab—minus the smoke.