2696 S. Patterson RoadA few weeks ago I was driving out near Gun Lake and realized there are a lot more restaurants in that area than I realized.
I had some business out near Yankee Springs State Park and when it was time to head back to Kalamazoo, I wasn’t in a hurry so I took the scenic route. I didn’t put anything in the GPS, I just started driving.
Along the way, I passed several restaurants near the lake I wasn’t aware of.
I was back in the area earlier this week and again, didn’t really see the need to rush back to Kalamazoo. It was about lunch time and I remembered seeing a place that I could make a quick stop to pick up food along the way.
Freda’s Fish Fry & More is on Patterson Road near 127th Avenue in Wayland Township. The building, which used to be a salon, sits across the street from Gun Lake but there are houses in the way so you can’t actually see the lake.
I thought the name sounded familiar when I drove by it the first time but I couldn’t figure out why. Turns out Freda’s used to actually be in Wayland. First at the strip mall across from the fire department then around the corner on Main Street. I remember this because of a large, colorful trailer that used to advertise the place…which eventually caused a bit of a problem for the restaurant.
The restaurant isn’t very big and is mostly a carry-out counter service business. There’s a large menu board on the wall with drawings, and colorful decorations keeping with a fish theme all over the place.
There are a couple of tables in the small space as well so dine in is possible if you want to eat your fried foods right out of the fryers.
I don’t like fish. But I do like chicken. I ordered the Chicken Wing basket which comes with a 1/2 lb of both fries and wings and choice of side. I was a little confused because I assumed the fries were the side but there are other options. Slaw, apple sauce, cottage cheese or chocolate pudding. I chose chocolate pudding because…duh…chocolate pudding.
The cost for the meal was a little over $9 which I paid for in cash.
The box was vented with holes on the top to keep everything nice and crispy. I waited until I got back to Kalamazoo to eat because I didn’t want to make a mess although looking back, I probably could have eaten while I drove and been fine.
I started with the fries since they go bad the quickest. The half pound of fries were simple frozen crinkle cuts. Nothing special but filled out the meal nicely.
The chicken wings were breaded like wing dings. There were six wing pieces each breaded and fried golden brown crispy. The chicken was still juicy and tender underneath the layer of breading. The guy who handed me the box offered up some BBQ sauce but since I had decided if I was going to eat in the car or not, I declined. The wings didn’t really need sauce anyway.
The final part of the meal was the side of chocolate pudding. Just a simple chocolate pudding, probably Jell-O or some other kind of instant pudding but it was a chocolaty sweet way to wrap up a greasy lunch.
Freda’s Fish Fry & More is a simple place. The wings and fries were nothing special but they were good and they were very filling. This is a nice little place right off the lake where you can grab a quick meal after a day in the sun.