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FeedThursday, April 24, 2008
Who Has the Metro’s Best Fish & Chips?
After my post on Sea Salt, a reader wrote in wondering if I had ever considered comparing local versions of fish & chips. Well, shucks—that’s a very good question. But which places should I compare? Off the top of my head, I would say: Brit’s, the Local, Mac’s Fish & Chips, the Groveland Tap, and the Highland Grill, though those last two are owned by the same company, so, hmmm.After some readers raved about the fish & chips at the northeast Minneapolis market that gets their stuff straight from Alaska, I tried it, but I wasn't too impressed: The fish was tilapia and I thought it was flavorless.
Speaking of northeast, I adore the fried smelts at Red Stag Supperclub: They’re crisp as potato chips, crunchy and glossy with their little eyes and fins and bones—a glorious regional treasure. And the fried walleye at Jean-Georges Vongerichten’s Chambers Kitchen is nothing short of wonderful: frothy as bath bubbles, but light and clean as vapor. However, I’m not sure that either fried smelt or Jean-Georges’s walleye count as fish & chips. Actually, I do know: They don’t count.
I tried the fish & chips at Harry’s on Washington Avenue, but… nothing to see there, so move along. I’ve never had the Friday fish fry at the Groveland Tap, though I do know you can get an all-you-can eat basket of fish, chips, and tartar sauce for $9.25, and add a pint of Summit for another $1.50.
There was someplace else that I had fish & chips recently, but I am completely drawing a blank as to where it was. They offered the option of getting them wrapped in a bundle, British style, or open-basket, as they serve them in the rest of the world. The paper the fish came in was silly wax faux-newspaper, and the whole thing tasted like wet bread. Where was that? I can’t even remember if it was in Minnesota. The fish & chips were nothing to recommend. That much I do remember.
Well, that’s a pathetic anecdote to close with, but if anyone does have any hot fish & chips tips, I’m all ears!
Posted on Thursday, April 24, 2008 in Permalink
Comments may be edited for length, clarity, or appropriateness.
Reader Comments:
Great question, wish I knew. Might have to go to Wisconsin. I can tell you it's not any that you mentioned, also it's not Glockenspiel or St. Clair Broiler. The challenge might be to find the best combo - sometimes the fish is okay but the "chips" are not - or v.v. IMO, fresh-cut fries must be included. Oh, and there must be beer. Haven't been there in awhile but Mac's on Larpenteur had great fried halibut but I would not recommend the chips. Or the dining room. Really if you want the best, go to Coastal Seafoods during halibut season and fry it up with my grandma's beer batter. Maybe I'll open a F&C place...
I like the F&C at Town Hall--nice and crispy, with good jalapeno tartar sauce. Can't say I have any basis for comparison, since I've not had F&C anywhere else in the cities.
I would have to say that I love fish and chips and Mac's is my favorite. Talk about a dive, but the fish is delish, the fries are OK, but if you ask them to fry them extra crispy they are awesome! I personally think that the Groveland Tap's fish and chips have gone down hill, they switched the batter or something, but it is not as good. Stella's has some pretty good fish and chips also.
Since I am commenting not on a restaurant or even a to-go joint which regularly offers fish and chips, I will apologize ahead of time for the uselessness of this information--but the Surdyk's deli did an amazing Guinness-battered f & c on Fridays during Lent this year.
Wow, if the Surdyk's deli managed to do great fish and chips, I'm impressed, because they were served cold? Nice.
Okay, obviously there is a hole in this market. Now I'm really wondering: Are there no great stand-alone fish and chips places in Minneapolis because there's no demand, or because fish is so expensive the margins don't work?
Also for the imponderable file: I've always wondered why someone doesn't stick a Belgian frites place somewhere in one of the bar districts -- downtown, Uptown, on Lyndale, something. The costs, especially the food costs, have to be minimal, and this is the French-fry craziest town I know. Plus, we have so, so, so many French fry and pizza vegetarians...
I'm now noticing that Buster's on 28th has a beer battered fish and chips ($12) that they say is cod, and since their fries are heavenly, I'm putting that on the top of the list.
Thanks for all the good ideas!
McCornmick and Schmick has a perfect fish n' chips item on the menu from time to time. They use a True Cod fillet that's firm and holds the batter just right. Their chips are the traditional English style too - nice and chunky, big potato flavor. Unfortunately, the True Cod has been absent from the menu the last few trips I made and the back-up is a so-so halibut.
I certainly agree with you, Dara, about the absence of a frites place or even a simple brasserie/café or in the downtown/NE area. Brasserie Zinc did not put out a consistent enough product to last, but the atmosphere was great. Vincént is not casual enough. Barbette does a very nice job as a pseudo-brasserie in Uptown, but we need a little frites/café further North.
Re Buster's on 28th: I had an unhappy experience with the F&C (or was it the walleye sandwich?) at lunch, on Good Friday already, something like a frozen fillet (including the frozen-on cornmeal breading) that was left in a panini press over someone's break. I haven't been back, which is not to say that I wouldn't go back.
I will happily and regularly give money to anyone who can get the F&C thing right.
Your 'where were they served' sounds like the F&C at Merlin's Rest, a nice pub on Lake St where you can get a decent pint and conversation without eighty tv's running showing sports updates.
I'm a Surdyk's regular and they do make a mean fish and chip-and it's hot! They have lots of hot fresh-cooked lunch-type stuff, soups, sandwiches, some other main dish. Nothing makes me look forward to Lent like those fish and chips. Crispy beer batter, thin potato slices with some crunchy and some soft. Yes! I'll have to try Buster's, I've never been there.
What about Tavern on Grand? Don't they have some excellent F&C? Or maybe I'm thinking of their delicious fried walleye ...