… and Chips

I had a memory bubble up in my head earlier today, one which would be a continuation of the previous blog, Fish.

The fish shown at the top of that blog (as well as the top of this continuation) were quite delicious “Beer Battered Cod” obtained in a recent trip to Costco. They were served with “Chips,” what the British call “French Fried Potatoes.” I consider myself as much a connoisseur of Fish and Chips as the people on the Aleutian Key were connoisseurs of catfish.

The memory released was one of a trip I made with my children to visit the first wife while she was working in London (England, not Kentucky, Ohio, or Ontario). On our first night there, we decided to go to a nearby fish and chips chop just down the street (or up the street) from the hotel.

The place was best described as a “Hole in the Wall.” It was small, crowded, and not at all like one would find at a restaurant here in the States. There were no pretenses. We sat down at a table with some of the locals and had a choice of what type of fish we could have with our home-made chips.

Our server was a small woman – at most, four-foot-five and maybe ninety pounds soaking wet – who took our order and our money, returning with what I recall was the best (or at least the most authentic) fish and chips I had ever had. Period. Bar none. I was also introduced to “Shandy” and recall seeing a British Television game show called “The Weakest Link.” (Has possibilities, I thought. Sure enough, the show was transplanted here to the U.S. within just a few months)

Up to that point, my favorite fish and chips came from a small chain called “Alfie’s.” One of the few Alfie’s was in Chillicothe Ohio – not too far from where my parents lived. One of the people working for that Alfie’s was a woman I knew from high school. I still keep up with her and occasionally bring up the fact that there’s still an Alfie’s in Lompoc California. The rest of the chain went by the wayside long before the start of the millennium.

Since the trip to London, the best fish and chips I’ve had in the Metromess was in a place named “The Londoner.” They seemed to understand how to properly do cod and chips – and when the local branch changed hands (It’s now named “The Celt”) the recipe transferred to the new owners.

Here in my little corner of the DFW Metromess, we have “Big Spray,” a brew pub with a decent cod and chips. The owner is an avid water skier and transplant from Indiana, hence the name. (I’d mention that he also offers Pork Tenderloin Sandwiches, but since this blog is about fish and chips, I won’t bother to mention it.)

And regarding Long John Silver’s, on occasion, usually when I’m on the road and there’s not a Whataburger nearby. For the record, there is, or at least was, a Long John Silver’s in London. Kentucky.

Be Seeing You!

(Products and/or services mentioned on this blog are not mentioned in exchange for goods, services, or hard, cold cash.)