The Famous Fish Fracas: How Nied’s Met Our Needs

If you’ve driven down Butler Street in the evening, you’ve probably seen it. Maybe you’re heading from the Highland Park Bridge toward the Strip. Maybe you’ve made a right off Stanton Avenue, and just realized several blocks later that you’d meant to go left. Either way, you’ve seen it. The red lights, bold and glowing like a warm beacon in the cold, unfeeling night, beckoning to you, beckoning…

You may have found yourself wondering: what is this mysterious place? Is their fish sandwich truly famous? Well, we’re here to answer your questions. In fact, we’re here to find the best damn Famous Fish Sandwich in all of Pittsburgh. And Nied’s Hotel is where we begin.

On a quiet night when there’s no band playing, Nied’s feels almost like a diner/bar combo. The extensive menu is posted on a board behind the bar. The night we visited, we had come for the famous fish, but we were quickly tempted into trying more.

Such as the golden cheese balls. Let me tell you, the cook here knows her way around a fryer. The breading had just the right amount of crispness, without being terribly heavy. (And it was cheap!)

We followed up with an order of French fries and a shrimp basket. Once again, the fry job was perfection. The shrimp were nice and hearty, and the fries! Look at their surface, that almost battered texture. These were some of the best fries I’ve had in the last year. (And they were cheap! Seriously, we hadn’t even topped $12 yet on our food order.)

Of course, all of this was but a prelude to the main event: the Famous Fish Sandwich. Above, friends, you will see 1/2 of a famous fish sandwich. Yes, that huge serving of fried cod is only 1/2 of a famous fish sandwich. The fish was flaky and moist, while the breading was again top-notch, and the bun upon which it was served was super fresh. It tasted great with or without the tartar accompaniment. This is a model sandwich that fish fries in this county can only hope to mimic. (And, say it with me, it was cheap! Including our Stoli and sodas, our total bill came to right around 30 bucks.)

So, does the Famous Fish Sandwich at Nied’s deserve fame? To that, we say an emphatic YES! Go there for lunch, go there for dinner — hell, go there for breakfast! (Nied’s opens at 7am Monday – Saturday.) The point is, go there, and then help to spread its fame near and far.