British Fish and Chips

[Captain Oates 910]

Went to the 'British Fish and Chip shop' in Wenatchee, Washington State - it flies the Union flag

What did I get ? The usual frozen breaded triangles with french fries that's what

I asked them if they ever used dripping

What ?

Told em it was beef fat - blank look

No bread and butter, no mushy peas, no cup of tea

Ask em what kind of fish it was - blank look

Nearest curry is 150 miles away in Seattle I am told - 300 mile round trip for a ruby ?

Anyway the 6 jars of Branston arrived from Amazon - teeny weeny size 6 dollars each plus shipping - a bargain and a lifeline

When I lived in Florida I drove 70 miles for a piece of Cheshire cheese - haven't seen any here in the Pacific North West

Anyone found any real fish and chips on this continent ?

ps - if Larry King calls it Wimbleton again I will scream ! He was interviewing Venus and she said Wimbledon and the caption said Wimbledon but 99% of Americans call in Wimbleton and cannot change...

'Don' is original British for 'hill' as in Doncaster/ Yeadon /Baildon /Rawdon /Wimbledon/Swindon/Basildon

I digress

[NickyMcMillan 0]

There are actually a couple places in Chicago that do a mighty fine fish n chips. Not quite as good as back home. I lived on a coastal town, so I was always used to the very best.

Have yet to find anywhere that does fried pizza yet. So I'm going to make my own this weekend, will see how that goes. \

The only real chippy in the US I know of, is in NYC. Saw it on a tv show, its run by an ex-pat who missed British take-away food.

The worst case is those so called cadburys chocolate bars you get here in the winter. I was so pissed when I bought them to find out its just yucky hershey's wrapped with a cadburys wrapper. Talk about False advertising!!

[Trompe le Monde 1,107]

Alan - when did you move to Washington? On the plus side, the weather should remind you of home.

[*julez* 124]

Nice to see our resident curmudgeon, Alan!! I guess you've been busy moving from Fl to WA. Sorry to hear about your fish and chips experience. Real fish and chips seem to be rarer than rocking horse manure here in the US. Good luck in your quest!

[no name 1]

Plenty here in LA!

Good cheese - Trader Joe's.

Branston - may be at World Market?

[*JG* 2]

There are actually a couple places in Chicago that do a mighty fine fish n chips. Not quite as good as back home. I lived on a coastal town, so I was always used to the very best.

Have yet to find anywhere that does fried pizza yet. So I'm going to make my own this weekend, will see how that goes. \

The only real chippy in the US I know of, is in NYC. Saw it on a tv show, its run by an ex-pat who missed British take-away food.

The worst case is those so called cadburys chocolate bars you get here in the winter. I was so pissed when I bought them to find out its just yucky hershey's wrapped with a cadburys wrapper. Talk about False advertising!!

Where in Chicago? We are going there in November. Might try to find one.

[*julez* 124]

We had some fantastic fish n chips at the Elephant & Castle in Chicago. Almost as good as Old Blighty, but not quite!

[Trompe le Monde 1,107]

It's been a few years since I've been in Chicago but the Duke of Perth on Clark St used to do very fine fish and chips (all you can eat Friday!)

[VisaJourneyLady 33]

Alan, I don't know if I've ever read a post of yours that didn't make me laugh.

I hope apart from the bad Fish and Chip experience, your new home is treating you well (What happened to Florida?)

[NickyMcMillan 0]

It's been a few years since I've been in Chicago but the Duke of Perth on Clark St used to do very fine fish and chips (all you can eat Friday!)

Yes that's one of the places that does good fish n chips in Chicago. Further up on Clark st, you've also got Johnny O'Hagan's an Irish bar that does a good fish n chips and the best shepherds pie I've had in the states yet.

[boohbah 0]

I miss fish & chips! My fiance is going to miss it so much when he moves here. We're going to talk to the owner of this one shop & see if he'll give us the exact recipe for all his food. Greasy goodness!

[cdneh 3,112]

I quite liked Eamonn's in Alexandria, close to Washington ...you can read the menu there...mushy peas and all.

http://www.eamonnsdublinchipper.com/

[Brad and Vika 129]

There are actually a couple places in Chicago that do a mighty fine fish n chips. Not quite as good as back home. I lived on a coastal town, so I was always used to the very best.

Have yet to find anywhere that does fried pizza yet. So I'm going to make my own this weekend, will see how that goes. \

The only real chippy in the US I know of, is in NYC. Saw it on a tv show, its run by an ex-pat who missed British take-away food.

The worst case is those so called cadburys chocolate bars you get here in the winter. I was so pissed when I bought them to find out its just yucky hershey's wrapped with a cadburys wrapper. Talk about False advertising!!

My couisin runs a marina in Cornwall (retired Royal Navy), and introduced me to REAL fish n chips in Penzance on my last visit. Mushy peas too. My stomach churns at the mere thought of Long John Silvers now. And I was really surprised at the different, and better, taste of Cadburys. You have got to be missing it.

[Mags 112]

When I went back to the UK in June I actually filmed the bag of chips I bought, so hubby could see a PROPER chip. The footage consisted of me introducing the bag of chips and then followed by lots of "NOM NOM NOM" noises whilst I scoffed it down.

Edited July 18, 2008 by Mags

[ginger1981 0]

Real fish and chips seem to be rarer than rocking horse manure here in the US. Good luck in your quest!

LMAO! "Rarer than rocking horse sh*t"...I actually spit out my Mountain Dew! That is a great one...I'm going to have to use that line in the future.

Chicago isn't bad for fish and chips, but no proper chippys which surprises me with all the Irish/British expats that live around here. I imagine in the right location they would get insane business.

Places I reccomend for fish n' chips in the Windy City

Johnny O'Hagan's - This is where we had our wedding reception. And let me tell you....they were beyond fantastic. The food was delicious, the bartender was a good ole' Galway boy and the ambiance just all around great. But the manager and staff went above and beyond to make our wedding reception special. Plus, the fish n' chips are great to boot. Oh, and look out for the waiter who is a dead ringer for a young Roger Daltrey.

Duke of Perth This restaurant goes on a Scottish theme. Their menu is fairly small but it's pretty good. The decor is a bit more authentic than some of the other Irish/Scottish bars I've been to in Chicago.

Abbey Pub We've never been to the restaurant but we've had their fish n' chips at the Taste of Chicago and at the IAHC Irish Fest last weekend. This is as close to a proper chippy type meal as we have got so far. Oddly enough they used the fish triangles at the taste but a more proper cod type fish at Irish Fest...maybe they thought at Irish Fest they ought to be more authentic?

Wilde's This is an upscale type Irish Restaurant/Pub...so expect to pay a bit more. But the food is amazing and the ambiance is classy without being intimidating. My favorite thing about this place is the "library" area where you can sit with a pint and read the works of the great Irish authors like Joyce, Wilde, and Beckett.