CLUB REVIEW : The Dancing Starts After the Fish Fry in Gardena

Although clubland as we know it is a world that exists primarily for youth, the young at heart also need a place to boogie.

For more than a decade, Gardena’s Elks Lodge has been hosting a popular affair called the Fish Fry, which offers a chance for folks to dine, mingle and swing till midnight. “Sometimes we even go later,” says a 67-year-old regular. Lodge No. 1919, which hosts the Fish Fry every second and fourth Friday of the month, regularly draws between 150 and 250 guests, most of whom are well over 50.

Although some seniors just come out for the fish (chicken and steak are also available), the majority opt to stay for the dancing, which begins promptly at 8 p.m. A variety of live bands perform at each event, from lounge trios to 14-piece swing bands. Although the most popular requests are for the fox trot, waltz and cha-cha-cha, country line dancing is also becoming a staple.

According to an Elks Lodge spokesman, the Fish Fry is the hottest event the Gardena Lodge hosts. But would-be fryers need to seek out a sponsor or sign up with Lodge 1919, which recently merged with the Hawthorne Lodge, because the Elks is a private club. They don’t let just anyone in the door. In clubland, some things are universal.

* Fish Fry at the Elks Lodge, 1735 W. 162nd St., Gardena. All ages, $6 cover for members, $8 for non-members. (310) 327-1919.