Fish and Chips

[Ericandblueboy]

15 hours ago, DonRocks said:

The sad news.

I will be going there one more time as a gesture of respect. ABC Canteen will be retired, strongly, in Italic, as perhaps the greatest fish-and-chips restaurant the Washington, DC area has ever known (with an equal amount of respect to Ferhat Yalcin and Fishnet, and a nod to Ford's Fish Shack and Eddie Moran at Fish Taco).

For posterity:

Better than Eamonn's at its best?  Too bad I’m in Athens.  I’ve never been there.

[DonRocks]

5 hours ago, Ericandblueboy said:

Better than Eammon’s at its best?  Too bad I’m in Athens.  I’ve never been there.

No! Eamonn's too! In fact, when Eamonn's first opened, and before they changed their batter, it may have been the best pure fish-and-chips restaurant of all (I still cannot urge people enough to dip their french fries in their curry sauce).

[BookGuy]

I am not a complete expert on fish and chips but I do recommend a fairly new bar in Rosslyn, Quinn's on the Corner, located at the corner of Quinn Street and Wilson Boulevard in Rosslyn.  I would you could call the batter fluffy and it certainly not dried out like the fist is in many other places.  The only negative I can give to Quinn's is that the chairs are high.

[DonRocks]

58 minutes ago, BookGuy said:

I am not a complete expert on fish and chips but I do recommend a fairly new bar in Rosslyn, Quinn's on the Corner, located at the corner of Quinn Street and Wilson Boulevard in Rosslyn.  I would you could call the batter fluffy and it certainly not dried out like the fist is in many other places.  The only negative I can give to Quinn's is that the chairs are high.

Better the chairs than the prices.

[BookGuy]

The price of the dish is eighteen dollars.  If I remember correctly (I also had two Black and Tans), there were three large pieces of fish plus the fries.

[DaveO]

6 hours ago, BookGuy said:

I am not a complete expert on fish and chips but I do recommend a fairly new bar in Rosslyn, Quinn's on the Corner, located at the corner of Quinn Street and Wilson Boulevard in Rosslyn.  I would you could call the batter fluffy and it certainly not dried out like the fist is in many other places.  The only negative I can give to Quinn's is that the chairs are high.

 

5 hours ago, BookGuy said:

The price of the dish is eighteen dollars.  If I remember correctly (I also had two Black and Tans), there were three large pieces of fish plus the fries.

I haven't eaten fish and chips for a very long time.  Probably didn't have good versions.  Quinn's is a place I've stopped at several times due to convenience.  Among dishes the Irish Lamb dip (suggested by staff) was tasty.  Its like roast beef au jus.    I will probably stop by some more.

Isn't $18 for fish and chips expensive compared to alternatives?  I acknowledge being entirely ignorant on the topic.

[Ericandblueboy]

40 minutes ago, DaveO said:

Isn't $18 for fish and chips expensive compared to alternatives?  I acknowledge being entirely ignorant on the topic.

For counter service, yes.  For table service, pretty normal. 

[DaveO]

3 minutes ago, Ericandblueboy said:

For counter service, yes.  For table service, pretty normal. 

Thanks.  I think I'll give it a shot.  Probably been a couple of decades since I've had it in any environment

[DaveO]

Having had fish and chips at Quinn's on the Corner in Arlington it was a possible reminder why I hadn't had the dish in ages.  Its boring food imho.  The serving at Quinn's was nice as @BookGuy referenced above.  The fish was moist.  Not dry.  So critical for fish in general.  The batter was light.  It was tasty.  The dish was $18 as stated above.  My serving was two nice sized pieces of fish, ample so so fries and a small tin of mediocre cole slaw plus tarter dipping sauce.  Pretty much bar food.  But the condition of the fish and batter were good.

It doesn't grab me.  Perhaps a visit to Eamon's with diverse and creative dipping sauces might be more appealing. 

Just my opinion simply based on one short long ago visit to Ireland and way too much time in Irish bars;  its a good thing there is a lot of beer and whiskey in Ireland; I never found the food inspiring.

[mtureck]

On 11/29/2017 at 11:28 AM, DaveO said:

Just my opinion simply based on one short long ago visit to Ireland and way too much time in Irish bars;  its a good thing there is a lot of beer and whiskey in Ireland; I never found the food inspiring.

Complete opposite experience for me.

The fish and chips at pretty much every hole in the wall chipper I ate at in Ireland was miles better than anything I've had here.

I suspect it had something to do with ages-old frying oil that probably would have led to the stores being shut down in the US.

[DaveO]

13 minutes ago, mtureck said:

Complete opposite experience for me.

The fish and chips at pretty much every hole in the wall chipper I ate at in Ireland was miles better than anything I've had here.

I suspect it had something to do with ages-old frying oil that probably would have led to the stores being shut down in the US.

My comments above were nothing more than opinion.  At this stage I'm not sure why I have had zero interest in fish and chips for a long long time.  Were they bad portions or I always thought it uninteresting?  Frankly I don't recall.  With the wonderful accolades for ABC Canteen, I had zero interest in ever visiting.  Not a big fan of tacos either, (excepting the tongue tacos at the now closed Fuego) but I certainly eat them.

And Ireland.  Must confess its been decades since I was there.  I was drunk a significant portion of the visit.  Food would never have made an impression.  Alas.

It was a strong opinion on my part, but nothing more than an opinion.  Why doesn't someone cook them up with batter that tastes like Bon Chon Chicken or Popeye's or something else that is spicy and flavorful??? (the dang Brits--they conquered and controlled parts of the world that spanned the globe with incredible variety of cuisine and spice...and they couldn't spice up fish and chips!!!!

[mtureck]

1 minute ago, DaveO said:

It was a strong opinion on my part, but nothing more than an opinion.  Why doesn't someone cook them up with batter that tastes like Bon Chon Chicken or Popeye's or something else that is spicy and flavorful??? 

Actually, I quite like Popeye's fried fish.

[DaveO]

1 minute ago, mtureck said:

Actually, I quite like Popeye's fried fish.

thanks.  I've never tried it. 

[DonRocks]

If anyone is ever in Vancouver, try Go Fish - served from a trailer near the docks. *Huge* lines form, so go early or late. It was probably the best fried fish I'd ever eaten, until I went here:

I don't think you can call it "fish and chips," but Ricky Moore's Saltbox Seafood Joint in Raleigh, NC is the best fried-fish meal I've ever had.