You're Fishing For Trouble (My Rules For Fish and Chips)

I love a good batch of fish and chips, but there's one thing I hate, and that's a bad batch of fish and chips. So many things can go wrong with fish and chips, bad batter, burnt batter, nasty fish, these are all common problems I've come across.  The thing for me is if I'm handed a bad batch of fish and chips my reaction is completely polarizing from how I react to a good batch.  I can't eat bad fish and chips, I just can't get them down my throat, and after one bad bite I've been know to lose my appetite completely.  Some foods I can manage if they’re not perfect, but fish and chips have to be just right.

So that brings up the important question, how does one know if the place you're getting your fish and chips are up to scratch.  Without taste testing the fish you're really running the risk of biting into something horrible.  I have two basic rules that I've found to work, helping me find the perfect fish and chips.  After you read these rules you'll realize that I don't really eat fish and chips that often.  I don't always need both of the rules to be fulfilled at the same time, however if they are, it's almost always a sure thing.

Rule 1:  The word "fish" must be in the name of the restaurant making fish and chips.  If the word chips appears and not fish, then I'll just order fries. It may seem like a silly rule, but the way I see it if a place is willing to put "fish" in their name they're banking on their fish.  This rule can apply to other sorts of cuisine as well, but I really find that it works well for fish and chips places.  Don't get me wrong; I'm sure there are plenty of fine fish and chips places without the word "fish" in their name. However my experience has shown me that there are very few bad fish and chips places with the word fish in their name, but plenty of bad fish and chips places without it.

Rule 2: If I'm in an English pub near the sea, I'll give them a try.  When I say English pub, I mean a pub in the country of England, not just and English themed pub in another country.  For some reason when I travel to any English coast I get a craving for fish and chips, and I have yet to find one pub that's let me down.  I have on the other hand tasted bad fish and chips in English pubs in central England, and I've had a lot of bad fish and chips in pubs outside of England.

A good recommendation is fine, but if I don't get either of these two criteria met as well, I'm most likely going to order a club sandwich instead.

CC