It was a tough competition, with two restaurant finalists sitting neck-and-neck most of the race, but in the end Rich's Bar & Restaurant pulled ahead as the readers' choice for Best of Fish Fry in Sussex and Menomonee Falls.

Sussex Inn on Main Street in the village was ahead for parts of the race, but come 9 a.m. Friday morning, Rich's stole the lead. 

In determining the winner, Patch considered a number of items, including poll votes, business listing ratings, article comments and Facebook or Twitter comments.

Sussex Inn and Rich's Bar & Restaurant both generated a similar amount of positive buzz surrounding their fish fry, espeically in the comments on Patch. However, when it came to Patch business listings, Rich's had 11 ratings garnering them about 4.5 stars, while Sussex Inn has no ratings.

And, in the end, the poll votes didn't lie. The final poll numbers when the poll closed at 9 a.m. Friday were (note: this poll is not scientific):

• Rich's Bar & Restaurant had 2,386 votes — or 46 percent;
• Sussex Inn had 1,989 votes — 39 percent; 

Two other contenders that gave it a good run were Boneyard Pub & Grill with 184 votes and TailGators Sports Bar and Grille with 170 votes. 

Congrats to the winner, and sign on to Patch on Monday to vote as we select the Readers' Choice for best day care.

Looking for a good fish fry around the Milwaukee area? Check out what other restaurants won at other Patch locations.