French Fry Diary 671: Yorkshire County Fish Shop 2015

Ever since I visited this place a few years back I have wanted to return. Considered a quick service on the Disney Dining Plan, this tiny little counter tucked away in the United Kingdom section of EPCOT's World Showcase is indeed a little treasure. And their outside dining area is the perfect place to see Illuminations, or just chill and listen the Brit Invasion bands across the way.

So I got my chips and sat down, as seating was at a premium I sat at a table with a couple from Wales. They immediately wanted to know why I was taking pictures of my chips with my phone. I explained about the blog, and we had a nice conversation about accents, and chips, and fries. The gentleman called up French Fry Diary on his phone and was reading some of the entries. It's true, he had notes for me.

These chips at Yorkshire, or Cookes of Dublin or Raglan Road for that matter, aren't authentic. They are just what Americans think British chips are. I'm the victim of a tourism conspiracy. Real chips come from chip trucks or holes in the walls. And as far as fish for fish and chips, real fish is cod or haddock. As I was getting schooled, an older Scottish couple joined us at the table. This is what is so great about Walt Disney World - you can make friends quickly.

The conversation turned to accents and language again, and the two couples teased me by speaking real Welsh and Scottish, proving that neither is anything like what Americans would call English. The new couple agreed about the chips, not authentic at all - quite good, mind you, but inauthentic. Next we talked about American food - what is American food anyway? It's all stolen from other countries. We have good bacon, of that everyone was in agreement, but let's face it, bacon is Canadian.

I had a wonderful afternoon eating chips and chatting with new friends. This was great. So if you want to talk authentic chips, the Yorkshire County Fish Shop is the place to be.

French Fry Diary 622: Smith's Bacon Fries

These are not at all what they sound. The full name of the product is Smith's Bacon Flavour Fries, and it's a 'bacon flavour cereal snack,' which I've been told is a breakfast snack. These come from a stash my big sister Bobbie got for me from the UK by way of friend Kelly from Toronto. Thank you, Bobbie and Kelly!

We've talked about Smith's Potato Crisps here before, but this isn't first opportunity to actually try one of their products. The bags are tiny, about the size you get cookies in at Wawa, holding 24 grams, which is roughly .8 ounces - not a lot. Airlines feed you better. The ingredients indicate bacon flavoring as opposed to bacon, and the packaging advises they be eaten immediately after opening, and that they're 'ideal with all types of drinks.' Well, color me intrigued.

Upon opening, they had a very smokey aroma, not pleasant, but not all that unpleasant either. The thick inch long strips are formed and seasoned to appear like bacon. The Bride (yeah, she played guinea pig again) said they tasted very artificial, but with a good crispy bacon taste. I didn't think they were that bad. I ate more than a few.

I can definitely say I get the crispy (extra crispy) vibe in the aftertaste. And the aftertaste is the problem. They kinda have that same thing going on that a lot of the 'meat chips' have, plus a little bit of the whole processed potato (although notably there's no potato here) taste in there as well. Good in small amounts.

French Fry Diary 381: A Battered Tartan

I have been dying to come here to A Battered Tartan since I first heard about it. First, it's quite small, a quaint storefront off the beaten track on Mill Street which is right off Main Street in Moorestown. Four tables and a counter, thats it, but it was enough. Not what I expected at all, the British Chip Shop in Haddonfield, this is not, but it is authentic and heartfelt.

As we ordered the man behind the counter wrote our order down and brought out some fresh cut potatoes, drying them. This told me right there and then he knew what he was doing when it came to the favorite fried food. We watched as he made our order from scratch, battering the cod, wrapping the cheesesteak spring rolls, dropping the chips, etc., all in plain view. Oooh, the magic of cooked to order.

While we sat, The Bride and I perused the menu, so many options and possibilities for a next trip, and we knew there would be a next trip. I got an orange Irn Bru (very sweet) and The Bride got a Diet Coke despite the fair selection of UK soft drinks. There were also Flake bars and Mars bars on the counter as well.

The Bride's cod was very good, as was the tartar sauce, and the batter was perfect. The cheesesteak spring roll was even better. Great start. I love this place. There is some contention on their menu in that "we're British & we don't serve fries," I might argue that. While cooked exquisitely, these were natural cut fries. Very hot, very good, served on brown wax paper, and wonderful with the Heinz Gourmet Malt Vinegar on the counter - but let's be kind, these are chips in name and attitude only. And notably, these were not the regular cuts depicted on their website either.

So much to eat, we took some home, and were even told how to reheat it for later. An excellent and enjoyable experience and meal. Also very very reasonably priced. Highly recommended.

Traditional Fish and Chips

Recipe courtesy Grant MacNaughton, Mac's Fish and Chip Shop

Show: Diners, Drive-ins and Dives Episode: Global Traditions

Prep Time:30 min
Inactive Prep Time:8 hr 0 min
Cook Time:40 min
Level:Easy
Serves:6 servings.

Authentic British fish and chips consist of a high-quality flaky white fish deep-fried in a thin, crispy batter served on a bed of large, twice-cooked chips (think fat fries). The key to avoiding an overly greasy product is to use a fry pot large enough that the addition of the fish doesn't reduce the oil temperature too much. Realistically, in a home environment, this will mean cooking each fish individually, but the results will be well worth the staggered serving required. Remember, never leave oil unattended and never fill any cooking vessel more than halfway with oil. Use any oil with a high smoke point and relatively neutral flavor such as canola, vegetable or soybean.

Ingredients

Twice-Cooked Chips:
12 large russet potatoes
Enough canola oil to half fill your largest cooking pot or deep-fat fryer

Dry Dredge:
2 cups all-purpose flour
3 teaspoons kosher salt
1 tablespoon freshly ground black pepper

Beer Batter:
3 cups all-purpose flour
3 tablespoons paprika
3 tablespoons kosher salt
One 12-ounce bottle lager beer (the lighter and fizzier, the better)

Fish:
3 pounds skinless, boneless large-flake white fish (we use wild Alaskan cod because of its quality and sustainability)
Enough canola oil to half fill your largest cooking pot or deep-fat fryer
Kosher salt
Good-quality malt vinegar, for serving

Directions

For the chips: Peel the potatoes and cut them into approximately 5/8-inch-thick chips (i.e. 5/8-by-5/8-inch-by-potato length). Store them in water.

Heat the oil to 275 degrees F. Thoroughly drain the chips and add them to the oil. Work in batches to avoid overcrowding the pan. Fry the chips until they are soft to squeeze but not yet browned, about 10 minutes.

Once all the chips have been blanched, spread them on a sheet tray and store them in the fridge overnight.

For service, heat the oil to 375 degrees F and fry the blanched chips, in batches if necessary, until golden brown and crispy on the outside whilst still fluffy on the inside, about 5 minutes.

For the dry dredge: Mix the flour, salt and black pepper in a large bowl and set aside.

For the beer batter: Thoroughly mix the flour, paprika and salt in a large bowl. Whilst constantly whisking, add enough beer to stiffen up the mix. Whilst still continuing to whisk, add cold water until the batter resembles heavy cream consistency and contains no lumps.

For the fish: Heat the oil to 375 degrees F. Fillet the fish into six 8-ounce portions, removing any bones, skin or blood lines that are present.

Dip the fish into the seasoned flour, tapping off any excess. Dip the fish into the batter, briefly allow the batter to drain off, and then gently place the fish into the oil, allowing the fish to float away from you. Cook in batches if necessary. The fish is ready once golden brown and trying to float, 5 to 7 minutes.

Remove the fish from the oil with a spatula and allow to drain on a cooling rack before serving on a bed of chips with lashings of kosher salt and malt vinegar.

This recipe was provided by a chef, restaurant or culinary professional and may have been scaled down from a bulk recipe. The Food Network Kitchens chefs have not tested this recipe, in the proportions indicated, and therefore, we cannot make any representation as to the results.

French Fry Diary 246: French Fries and Curry

As seems to be the rule with movies with the word 'fries' in the title (see Freedom Fries and Home Fries) this film has very little to do with the favorite fried food.

While it's not really a Bollywood film, I really wish French Fries and Curry did follow the formula, I mean, the DVD even comes with a Bollywood style music video as a special feature. The movie, the first (and I hope the last) feature from English filmmaker Sarmishtha Parida, follows three women as they look for their Mr. Rights. Oddly writer/director Parida chose to film it on videotape, which at first seems cheap, and a bit disorienting, but you get used to it - except for all the freeze frames.

The title comes from the fact that one of the girls likes Indian food, and one of the others has a French fry addiction. We never learn what the other woman likes to eat. There are many restaurant and eating scenes but no fries. Talk about false advertising...

French Fries and Curry is ponderously written, filmed and acted, not to mention having values that are scarily prehistoric for being made in 2004. Even the voiceovers exhibit bad acting. This is bad, even worse than the worst student film you've seen, sooo slow and sometimes painful to watch.

This is a truly terrible, terrible, movie, probably one of the worst I've ever seen - and that's saying a lot. And to top it off, no fries. Boooo...

French Fry Diary 240: Cool Dog Cafe's New Dipping Sauces

Just when you think a good thing can't get any better, it does. The folks at the Cool Dog Café in Cherry Hill are always thinking of ways to make their already great food and service better. If they're not making terrific weekly specials, they are making leaps and bounds with their fabulous fries.

Thus week, it's the latter, as they have added some spectacular dipping sauces for their "Belgian Frites." Here in the States, it's all about ketchup and maybe barbeque sauce for French fries. The British like their malt vinegar (which Cool Dog has on their tables, by the way), but in Europe, it's all about the dipping sauces, mostly of a mayo base, and about the varieties.

Now Cool Dog is trying to bring a little bit of that European magic to Cherry Hill. They've introduced four unique, homemade, mayo-based sauces: Dijon mayo, curry mayo, Mexi-ketchup and kaboom sauce. We got brave and ordered the curry mayo. This had an interesting taste that contrasted the fries and you can really feel the curry. The in-laws got the Dijon mayo, which was very mustardy, as it should be. While they were good, we decided we preferred ketchup and malt vinegar. Not a knock, just a preference.

After hearing from owner Ira what was in the other two sauces, I wish we had tried them. I did come back on another trip to try the kaboom sauce. Wow. Let's just say the kaboom sauce has a long fuse. At first taste, it's pretty good, an excellent dipping sauce. A few seconds go by and the sizzle starts - ka-boom. Oh yeah, that's some kind of special hot. Only for the brave who like that kind of stuff, it's good, but just too hot for me.

I'm still waiting for them to add the Jack Daniels glaze to the dipping sauces or other barbeque flavors - then I'm on board. In meantime these are still very good, get on over to the Cool Dog and try 'em out.

French Fry Diary 166: Animator's Palate, Disney Wonder 2010

Just when I thought that after a dozen or so visits to this fun but gimmicky Disney Cruise Line restaurant, I have been surprised. Animator's Palate has black and white images and animations all over the walls that slowly as the meal progresses begin to gain color until the entire restaurant is alive with vibrant full color and music. It's a great trick the first time, and fun a few times after that but after a while it becomes old hat. This time however, was as good as the first time, and the best meal of our Disney trip so far.

Much of this goes to our serving team Stafford and Myriam who were fabulous taking care of us. And with the Disney Cruise, your serving team stays with you throughout your cruise, following you from restaurant to restaurant, so I foresee a wonderful carefree few days ahead of me. I require very little usually on these cruises. Don't give me a look when I ask for French fries, and keep my Coke filled. I got aces from these two, and their end of trip tip will show that.

The side order of fries that came with my beef tenderloins were without peer, and easily the best I've had on this entire trip so far. These were thick steak fries both in width and girth and shape, very similar to the British chips I would have gotten at Cookes of Dublin or Yorkshire County Fish and Chips, had I gotten there this trip. These fries were seriously damn good, baked and not deep-fried, golden brown, crisp outside and soft and hot on the inside. Near perfection, baby.

French Fry Diary 150: The British Chip Shop, Haddonfield NJ

My mom-in-law hipped me to this place after an afternoon of shopping in Haddonfield with the girls. Haddonfield is a fairly upscale historical and pleasant town nearby that caters to walking traffic and a small town atmosphere. And the girls had lunch at what the mom-in-law called an authentic fish and chip shop.

My ears immediately perked up. A what where? I hit the interwebs and discovered that yes, it was true. The British Chip Shop had opened in July with an official grand opening on October 1st. Perusing the online menu .pdf, I found a place that resembled Cookes of Dublin, and it was right here in New Jersey.

Besides the obvious, fish and chips, they also had a variety of other distinctly Brit fare like bangers and mash, Welsh rarebit, tea sandwiches, fried Mars bars, scones, black pudding, beans on toast, curries and crumpets. Yes, all that, but disturbingly, no Coca-Cola. I guess they can be forgiven for that omission, as long as the chips are good. So we planned to return that evening for dinner.

The British Chip Shop is a beautiful place, very authentic and nicely decorated. There's rugby playing on the big screen TV, distinctly British pop music overhead, HP sauce and Sarson's malt vinegar on the tables and union jacks everywhere. I loved the pub atmosphere, and especially the "Mind the Gap" sign. We hadn't even ordered and I was psyched.

For an appetizer we got the homemade crisps (potato chips) with horse radish sauce. They were scalloped potatoes thickly sliced, but not too crispy and hot in a good way, and served in a small paper bag, traditional style. I loved these, but could have gone for a bit more crisp and seasoning. Could have been hotter, but they were still very tasty, and heads above anyone else out there making these babies. Almost as good as those at the Hot Potato Café, and that's a serious compliment.

Our other appetizer was the deep fried green beans, which like the crisps are not on the menu, so make sure you ask for these terrific treats. These non-potato fries were very tasty, more battered and fried than those at T.G.I. Friday's. Both appetizers are recommended, so make sure you get them.

The beverages were all Brit authentic. I got the Barritts Bermuda Stone Ginger Beer, the in-laws got a Scottish soda called Irn Bru, and The Bride, an Anglophile from way back, got something she's been itching for since her last trip overseas, Ribena. The Ginger Beer wasn't Coke, but it was quite good, sort of like ginger ale, but with an extra kick.

Finally the food came, and while it was a wait, no one minded as it was all cooked to order. I had gotten the chicken and chips. The chicken was quite good and very hot and crispy, and sort of reminded me of what I had at Monk's Café in the city. But now on to the main event, the favorite fried food…

The chips are the extra thick steak fry cuts that characterize real English chips, hot and soft in the center and crispy outside. They are almost perfect, and begging for vinegar like a good English chip should. These chips are really fabulous. When I am asked what the best fries I've had are, I usually answer unwaveringly Cookes of Dublin in Orlando - but The British Chip Shop right here in New Jersey gives them serious competition. I might be changing my ranking. These are damn good fries. I am impressed.

Also, much like Cookes of Dublin, they offer the deep-fried candy bar as a dessert. I was amazed I still had room after this wonderful filling meal, some of which I took home, but the four of us split a deep-fried Mars bar anyway. Yummm… it was luscious, heaven in a mouthful.

All told, this was a terrific meal experience at a very reasonable price. The British Chip Shop is highly recommended by French Fry Diary, and I can't wait to back again. Please check them out tomorrow for their official grand opening and ribbon cutting. This place rocks!

150 Years of Fish and Chips

Good Friday seems as appropriate day as any to post about this one.

The year 2010 is the 150th anniversary of the wonderfulness that is fish and chips. This website, click here, sent to me by friend Terry, contains an amazing 150 fun facts about the UK treat, including:

1 The UK has an estimated 10,500 fish and chip shops.

2 On any Friday, one in five takeaways are from the chippy.

3 They have a third fewer calories than other popular takeaways.

4 A portion contains 30 per cent of a female's recommended daily calorie intake and 23 per cent for a man.

5 Lancastrians claim the first chip shop – John Lees in Mossley, near Oldham in 1863.

6 Cockneys beg to differ, pointing to Joseph Malin's shop set up in Cleveland Street in London's East End in 1860.

7 In 1838 Charles Dickens wrote about fried fish warehouses in Oliver Twist. The warehouses were forerunners to the fish and chip shop.

For the other one hundred and forty-odd facts, check out the article here. Happy anniversary, and happy holidays!

French Fry Diary 50: Cookes of Dublin 2009

When we were planning our latest trip to Disney World, we had to make a stop at Cookes of Dublin in Downtown Disney to get a serving of (so far) the world’s best French fries. I had been there more than a few times before, reviewing it once from my 2005 trip. This return journey was two-fold – getting some more of those fries/chips, and trying those fabulous doh-bars for dessert.

The fries/chips were as good as ever. I’m a traditionalist, so I got the chicken and chips, again – fourth time in a row, although the chicken was not on a stick this time. The Bride was brave and got something different, and dangerous – a battered and deep-fried burger which she pronounced as very good. As I said, she’s braver than me. This time we also tried the ‘doh-bars’ – deep-fried Snickers bars on sticks. OMG. Food of the gods.

Cookes of Dublin remains a must stop destination on any Disney trip, and it’s still the champion of fries/chips.

You Say Potatoe…

Nita has some things to say about how things are said, and one of the biggies is the favorite fried food. Check it out here.

Cool stuff, huh? Just remember wherever you are, and whatever you call the favorite fried food, it’ll be, in most cases, tasty.

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