A Tale Of Two Fish....And Chips

Jun 22

Jun 22 A Tale Of Two Fish....And Chips

A.W.

I’m done with pizza, for now, so time to move on to another of the triumvirate of foods I have been eating lately—fried fish (and chips)! I thought I would do a twofer and a little compare and contrast like I did with my banh mi post with a high end and a low-ish end version to see if price really matters. Though in general, Seattle kind of falls into the same vein as SF when it comes to pricing on seafood. For a place so close to the ocean, it can still be kind pricey. As opposed to say when I was back in NC and even in the middle of the state you get a decent fish fry and fixins’ for a little less than $10. Here, the closest you can come to that is down around Pike Market where a number stalls serve it up for maybe $12 (like this place) or so but the portion size is gonna be closer to bite size than handheld dip and eat. They are fine and all that, but I still feel a little hungry after eating.

Have to admit, when I am looking for some fried fish, I find I do tend toward battered and fried with a nice golden brown crispy crust shell outside of some tender flaky fish inside. Cooked to order, fresh out of the fryer and most importantly of all—not greasy. Or at least, not super greasy because there is gonna be some. You just don’t want so much that everything tastes oily and is soggy. Same goes the fries. You want hot and crispy and not have any excess grease from the fried fish sitting on top making the fries underneath limp and soft. I am also hoping for some tasty tartar sauce or interesting variation of that compliments the fish and double bonus, is also good for fry dipping. Can you do it without breaking the wallet? I’ve had some pretty good fried fish at not terrible prices so far in town, let’s see if this continues.

This is your classic fish and chips at Matt’s Fish Basket in Seattle Center by the Space Needle. Two pieces of locally sourced cod dipped in a milk and flour based wet batter then deep fried to order golden brown served with hand cut fries and tartar sauce. It will run you about $19 plus tax. It is exactly what you think of and expect from fish and chips. Crispy outer crust, flakey fish and a large helping of fries. Everything is cook to order so it comes hot, though, my biggest knock would be it was a little on the greasy side. Fish might have needed a tad more time draining? Then they put it right on top of already hot fries which left a portion of them soggy from both the grease and the trapped steam coming off them. I mean, hand cut was nice and they were decently salted, but they were not exactly crisp. The tartar sauce was standard sweet relish stuff and I would have liked maybe an extra side, but it was not on offer. As it was it was fine, though by comparison, I think I liked the one from Pike Place Chowder better. A couple bucks less and the fish pieces were a little bigger. And Bait Shop was also better to me.

On the high end there was the Oh My Cod! two piece with chips and slaw at Duke’s Seafood, a local spot with seven locations. Several of which are scenically located on waterfronts with pleasing views across the water at most every table. But as I have said many times before, ambiance is fine, but I am paying for food, not peripherals. This one will run you $29.90 plus tax (and tip). Comparing, the size of the cod fillets was pretty much the same, these were panko breaded and fried and did come out a less greasy. I have to say, I did like this cod somewhat better, it tasted like it was fresh caught right out of the water and the tartar sauce (plus one!) that came with it had an extra kick of fresh dill in it which I found quite tasty. The rest of what is going on here, the slaw was literally two bites of it. The serving was even smaller than it looks in the picture and honestly, basic in flavor in the plainest of ways. Really could have used some salt and pepper. The potato wedges were not exactly fresh out of the fryer and also lacked crispness and salt. At full count there were a small pittance of 13 wedges which in the end, I kind of did not eat all of even with so few. Ultimately, while I liked the fish with that panko, the rest seemed kind of an afterthought considering the price. Definitely not worth the extra $10, at least to me.

Does price matter? Eh, maybe where the fish is concerned? Dukes cod tasted fresher the panko was a nice twist but the rest was so-so. Matt’s was fine for food court, but I have had better variations of the same thing elsewhere. So, technically, price doesn’t really matter when both are just okay. Though I would rather pay less for okay and save the extra cash for something else. Like dessert…..

….which I feel like I have to give side note special mention to is this extra large cupcake like version of carrot cake with copious amounts of real cream cheese frosting that I had at Dukes. It was $9 but it was a right decent size, moist and mmmm, all that frosting!! While I was moderately blasé about the fish and chips, the dessert was a pleasant surprise and tasty finishing distraction. I think I would even just drop in and get one to go then head down to the dock below the restaurant and nosh on sugary goodness while watching the sunset over the water. Yes, that is my idea of a good time. Well, who am I kidding, any time with dessert is my idea of a good time!!