Restaurant website available here

There are a lot of memories associated with the specific location that these fish and chips came from. It didn’t used to be owned by a chain but has existed, in the old cinema, for such a very long time. I sat in those booths with family, so many different family members including several which are not with us any more.

I remember having well cooked succulent flaky fish, lightly coated in a well seasoned batter that when it hit that deep fryer became a crispy with that real crunch but drained or patted off in a way that meant it didn’t suck up or hold it in little wells. Sitting alongside chips that were fluffy on the inside but golden brown on the outside and again not at all greasy. The curry sauce always had that little bit of a kick mixed through the thick sauce but it was never lumpy in a bad way or overpowering to whichever type of fish you selected.

Back in the USA I always mentioned wanting proper fish and chips and how it was something I missed, they certainly exist, but in the middle of North Carolina not quite so much. It wasn’t just me either when I went to Atlanta to get my emergency passport the guy helping me said to have some fish and chips for him because he missed them a lot. And sure enough not long after coming back from the USA it was time. Time for the return of the great Fish and Chips. But what if they weren’t what I wanted them to be and getting them through the drive-thru of a place holding such nostalgia to me wasn’t the same as it used to be; Had I spent all this time putting something so highly on a pedestal to just end up not enjoying it? As anticipation of it got closer and closer it became more important to keep my hopes and expectations in check.

But dang. That fish and chips tasted good. It was another Toby Carvery moment. For that brief first bite it brought a little bit of a twinkle to my eye. The texture was there, the warmth, the perfectly cooked fish beyond that initial knife cut of the batter. Dipping it into the curry sauce and it all just becoming one of those joyful smile moments and mouth feels. The chips could have enjoyed an extra minute or two in the hot bubbly oil to get the outside textural contrast and additional colour versus the fluffy inside but they certainly were not bad at all. Oh yes. Fish and chips were back in my life for sure.

The thing about not having something for so long also makes me appreciate it so much more. Fish Friday is still a staple for so many people or fish and chips are just grabbed as a ‘too tired to cook’ treat and for me over time it will become something that I start to treat myself to again but it will remain as exactly that. It will not become a once every week or month dish but it will be a treat. I want to enjoy every bite of it and savour it like I did eating this meal, out of the polystyrene to go container (I did miss rustling the paper around that they replaced newspapers with though) in front of the TV or at a dining table to make it feel that little bit more special again, because it is a tradition and an experience and a memory creating plate of food and I really want to appreciate that and take it with me through life. It may be some simple fish and chips but it reminds me to enjoy food for every moment and with purpose, to appreciate it for what it is and the ingredients involved however simple or fancy it may seem.

Next time though I might go somewhere that has a battered sausage, mushy peas and chips to have along with a side of curry sauce because c’mon a battered sausage is a whole thing in itself too. OH AND SCRAPS. Give me a box of scraps please.