The Best Fish and Chips --- yes, another food thread

[Mikey]

One of the reasons I like Friendly's fish so much is it's very very mild (not fishy at all)

I'm guessing they use pollock as McDonalds does in their filet o fish

A little smear of tartar is all it needs to be perfect.

The coating is really thick but airy - almost like a croissant

Good stuff - especially for peeps who don't want their fish too fishy

[Hector]

Usually fishy tasting fish means it's not that fresh. If you get really fresh fish, almost right out of the ocean fresh, most will not have that fishy taste.

But, they do vastly vary in taste and texture, that's for sure.

I'm not crazy about bottom feeders like catfish, it just tastes funky to me, plus I don't like its texture.

Not crazy about talapia either.

But the fishes I do like are red snapper, cod, salmon, bass, trout.

Shark is also a good meaty fish, very underrated.

But my top three favorite fish in the world are tuna, swordfish, and halibut, I don't buy them often because they are crazy expensive, but oh my, they are fantastic, the ocean equivalent of ribeye, porterhouse, and filet mignon, lol.

[Hector]

BTW, since the thread is about fish n chips, which is a fried fish dish...I also highly recommend Mexican Baja style fish tacos, they are not that readily available here in the States...Ensenada is the birthplace of the fish taco, they are the best. You can't even find them in the typical taco trucks here. But slowly they are emerging. Eateries like the small chain Rubio's has them (there's one right next to Emeryville's Bay 16 movie theaters). If the idea of a fried battered fish filet on corn tortilla with shredded cabbage, salsa, and sour cream appeals to you, you wil love a Baja style fish taco.

As I said, slowly becoming popular in the good ol USA...

http://www.bestfishtacoinensenada.com/?page_id=173

[enyawd72]

Yes! The local place I was talking about has great fresh perch and pickerel from Lake Erie. And I've had it at Erie Beach hotel too, great stuff!



Oh god, on our trip to the Frazetta museum last weekend, Ed and I stumbled upon a Long John Silvers. We were excited because neither of us had been to one in years, I didn't even know the chain still existed. I only had the fried shrimp but it was terrible, didn't like the batter at all. And the service was so inept that I somehow ended up with two shrimp meals instead of one. Normally I would be a happy with a mistake like this but I ended throwing the extra meal in the trash.

Oh, I've had good LJS, and I've had really, really bad LJS. It all depends on location and who's cooking. The one I eat at is always fresh and just to die for.

[megoat]

By "fresh" do you mean straight from the freezer right into the fryer? lol

[Hector]

By "fresh" do you mean straight from the freezer right into the fryer? lol

It's all good...I have it like that many times too, lol.

Nothing beats super fresh, but it's not always available, but freezing it as quick as possible is more than acceptable, the Japanese freeze their prized tunas after all, they must, or it will spoil quickly...it's not like crab or lobster where you can keep it alive in water on the boat...can't do that with big and large commercial caught fish.

[SentientApe]

The best fish and chips I have ever had was from a kiosk on the beaches of Brighton. But it was more about walking on the British seacoast that sold me on the flavor; admittedly, it was rather greasy and soaked through the newspaper faster than expected.

On THIS side of the pond, the Irish pub The Claddagh serves the consistently best fish & chips.

[Hector]

BTW, on small boned fish like trout...I like the entire thing, meaning head and tail...you deep fry that sucker to a crisp, the head and tail are the crunchiest and best part...it literally becomes like a potato chip in texture, and it literally tastes like pork rinds, it might sound gross and weird to some, but it's delicious, lol.

[cjefferys]

I just can't do the head and tail thing, hell, I have to take the backbone out of sardines! I'm really picky about food textures. But I do love trout though!

[cjefferys]

Oh, I've had good LJS, and I've had really, really bad LJS. It all depends on location and who's cooking. The one I eat at is always fresh and just to die for.

Ok, let's just say don't go to the one near Scranton, PA.

[samurainoir]

Oh god, on our trip to the Frazetta museum last weekend, Ed and I stumbled upon a Long John Silvers. We were excited because neither of us had been to one in years, I didn't even know the chain still existed. I only had the fried shrimp but it was terrible, didn't like the batter at all. And the service was so inept that I somehow ended up with two shrimp meals instead of one. Normally I would be a happy with a mistake like this but I ended throwing the extra meal in the trash.

Yeah, it's bizarre how we were both sucked into it by the childhood memories of the place. It might be that particular franchisee sucked, but at this point I'm not willing to try my luck again. for me what was most telling was the fact that I got an assorted basket and couldn't tell the chicken from the fish!

we should have gone for italian as Frazetta Jr suggested! (plus side was we discovered a great slice as a result of missing a turn somewhere along the way)

[samurainoir]

The One that Got Away, located on trendy King st w in Toronto.

[cjefferys]

Yeah, it's bizarre how we were both sucked into it by the childhood memories of the place. It might be that particular franchisee sucked, but at this point I'm not willing to try my luck again. for me what was most telling was the fact that I got an assorted basket and couldn't tell the chicken from the fish!

we should have gone for italian as Frazetta Jr suggested! (plus side was we discovered a great slice as a result of missing a turn somewhere along the way)

Ha, that's right, the fried chicken and fish looked identical. At least the pizza we had for lunch and the place in Syracuse we went for lunch the next day made up for the crappiness that was Long John Silvers

[Earth 2 Chris]

Anyone remember Druther's? We had one in town that started out nice, but ended up with more roaches than a Raid hotel. But during that good period, they had fish n' chips...and they were awesome. As good as LJS, or better.

I like Captain D's southern style corn-breaded fish better than their battered, LJS style. I haven't had LJS in a few years, it actually sounds pretty good right now.

Chris

[PNGwynne]

Our LJS is inconsistent--sometimes perfectly fried, sometimes very greasy.