For our birthdays, and especially our anniversary, The Bride and I planned a Disney vacation - a week long Disney cruise on board the Fantasy, bookended with shorter stays in the area and at the parks. Therefore we weren't really going to do anything big for our anniversary this year, which was the night before we left for vacation.
After getting an email saying they were open again (we were unaware they had been closed) we joked about an anniversary dinner at
A Battered Tartan. It had started as a joke because when we had gone
before, the thing that had struck us most was how small it was. But the more we thought about it, the more we actually
did want to go. We wanted to go so much in fact, we went earlier than our anniversary, on the weekend before.
We should have called, as they actually
do suggest on their website. Of course the reason suggested for calling first is to make sure they haven't run out of food, not because they were power washing their kitchen. Yep, that was what the sign that greeted us at their door said when we drove all the way out to Moorestown. We
really wanted something edible from that realm, we were off to the
British Chip Shop in Haddonfield.
They
were open, no problems there, and they were happy to have us. As an appetizer, The Bride got Curry Cheese Chips. These were the near perfect chips (that's French fries for us Americans) that BCS always has, but slathered in curry and cheese. The cheese was Irish cheddar as is only right, and the curry was more in a BBQ sauce vibe, and overpowered the cheese, and the chips were awesome. I'm not one for putting stuff over fries, but this was delicious.
For my entrée, I got my
British Chip Shop usual, Chicken and Chips. They were golden brown to perfection. As I said on
The GAR! Podcast recently, when I used to be asked who has the best fries ever, I would always say
Cookes of Dublin in Downtown Disney, but the quality has gone down the last few times we've had it. Now if you ask, it's the British Chip Shop hands down.
These chips are near perfect, if not perfect. Golden brown crispy shell on the outside and soft and hot, almost mashed potato-ey on the inside. Not too greasy, if at all, always hot, these thicker than usual regular cut natural cuts are the gold standard for fries as far as I'm concerned. The chicken was also terrific: battered, crispy, and succulent. To wash it down, not only has BCS added Coca-Cola products, but also RC Cola, which is what I ordered.
I really have to remember to come to the British Chip Shop more often, it's the best.
I picked them up at the English Gardener Gift Shop, right across the street from the British Chip Shop in Haddonfield NJ, along with other wonderful stuff from across the pond like fudge, boxty, and The Bride's favorite, Ribena. Seriously, when you go to the Chip Shop, don't forget to cross the street afterward.
