read the UK newspapers at our local fish and chip shop!
It this a service of the fish and chip shop? or do you have to read through the grease?
Fish and chip shops are one of the things i envy -- fish and chip (while no more healthy) is, to me, a better choice than Micky D's.
There used to be a nice little fish and chip shop on City Island-- a little bit of a NE sea port town hidden in Long Island sound and technialy part of the bronx-- but its become more popular, and since its an island-- there is only but so much land, and all of it is getting more expensive. and the rents became to high-- now the store is a fancy boutique.
One of its claims to fame is Oliver Sacks lives there... and scenes in Awakenings where shot there.
Surprisingly, fish and chips as a meal is a healthier choice than McD's. Apparently it has to do with the amount of fat absorbed by the cjhips, as opposed to the shoestring fries used by outlets like McD's, KFC, Burger King, etc. The bigger, thicker chips absorb significantly less fat, something to do with surface area as a proportion of total mass, or summat like dat. Our Ministry of Health published a survey on this last year.
Fish n'Chips one of my favorite English treats! Many food places here offer F n'C but generally lack the nice fat "chips." (French Fries in USA, Pont Neuf style according to my French Chef friend) Finally found one place that comes really close and discovered one of their secrets is malt vinegar as opposed to the usual cider vinegar. wow
Helen of the fryer that burnt a thousand chips, asks It this a service of the fish and chip shop? or do you have to read through the grease?
It's illegal to wrap fish and chips (or any other cooked food) in newspaper these days. All those long-strand polymers in the ink, don'cha know.
It's a service, albeit a very casual one. The grease shop is next door to a dairy which sells magazines. At the end of their shelf life, the magazines are clipped and go next door for the delectation of for those awaiting their golden, crisply fried and totally delicious fish'n chips!
And thinking about it, I'm hungry and I haven't had any lunch yet ...
As a lifelong connoisseur of fish and chips, I can tell you, regardless of any cries of derision from the east of you, that the Brits don't, cannot and never will make fish and chips properly.
I suggest that you go and stand on the beach to await the sounds of overwrought emotion from our pommy friends; they should take about four and a half hours to reach you.
The reasons are simple and repairable if they so desired (but they don't). They cook them at too low a temperature and they use beef dripping. Soggy, soggy, soggy.
We've been contemplating starting a grease shop in London to feed all the starving Australians and New Zealanders living there. I reckon it would take six months at the most before the locals abandoned the dripping mess they normally deposit in their quivering bellies and come a-runnin'!
As a lifelong connoisseur of fish and chips, I can tell you, regardless of any cries of derision from the east of you, that the Brits don't, cannot and never will make fish and chips properly.
Having never had to endure eating UK fushnchups, I can only add that I am left bewildered whenever Pommie friends salivate rapturously as they describe their longing for "real" fish and chips. They actually miss the very blandness and sogginess you describe! (bemused-shuddering-emoticon)
Dear Max: I saw recently on BBC news that there is a serious shortage of the Cod usually used for their so-called delicacy (de gustibus and all that.) I have noticed difference here in the kind of fish used in different places. Not even sure what kind it is that I like best. So, my question is, what kinds of fish are used in your area, and which kind do you like best ?
I can't imagine shark in fish and chips. Fifty years ago a Nisei classmate shared some kamaboko with me, and I had trouble being polite.It reminded me of kidney, which I do not enjoy. The unagi(sliced smoked eel) was delicious, but I have never had any since. Surprising how few Japanese restaurants there are here, compared to Chinese.
i have know idea why these posts inspired me to googlize "sushi"... but i'm glad i did, because i learned something interesting:
In Japan, they have a custom before eating sushi (or presumably any meal):
"They place their hands together in a "praying" position, with the chopsticks crosswise, under the thumbs, and say "Ita-daki-mas", just before tucking into the food. It's not very religious, and young people do it almost ironically with their friends in restaurants or on picnics: "Ita-daki-MAAAS". It just means 'I eat' or 'I partake'.
It seems very much akin to "Bon Appetit", and since i'm a *huge* sushi fan, i've made a mental note to ask about this next time i partake in that fantabulous fare.
I'm curious.. do any of you know of - or use - any other pre-meal expressions, aside from Grace?
and no, "Between the teeth and through the gums, look out stomach 'cuz here it comes" doesn't count.
Very good Bingley - but did you have to look it up?
And if not, here's another - we have a city in the northern part of the Jordan Valley (just south of the Sea of Galilee) called Beit She'an - fabulous excavations - any idea of the Greek/Roman name?
Shoshannah
suzanne pomeranz, tourism consultant
jerusalem, israel - suztours@gmail.com
Bridget96>I'm curious.. do any of you know of - or use - any other pre-meal expressions, aside from Grace?
Well, yes.
Here (and in 'most' Jewish homes around the world - or in restaurants or just walking down the street with a felafel), we say the standard blessings, thus: Baruch atta Adonai Eloheinu, Melech haolam (Blessed art Thou, O Lord, Our G-d, King of the Universe) ... and then the appropriate food, such as hamotzei lechem mein ha'aretz (who brings forth bread from the earth) - this is said over bread IF one is having bread with the meal - and it has to be said FIRST before partaking of any portion of the meal, but AFTER washing of hands (a ceremonial washing during which another prayer is said...).
We also have prayers to be said before partaking of the first fruit of the season and so on and so on...
We do say Grace, as well, but that is AFTER the meal, during which we thank G-d for giving us the food we just ate and for just being G-d who created all things, etc. etc. etc.....
Shoshannah
suzanne pomeranz, tourism consultant
jerusalem, israel - suztours@gmail.com
How about: Good gravy Good meat, Good God! Let's eat!
My mother hated that-- thought it border on sacrilegious... I nearly got the back of her hand when i suggest it wasn't quite true-- the meat was good, (daddy was a butcher!) but the gravy came from the cook... and my mother had a well deserved reputation for not being a good cook.
-- and Bridget-- an other custom is to never stick your chopsticks into a bowl of rice so they "stand up"-- It signifies death-- and yes Ita daki maas is said before every meal, including breakfast, and "lunch on go" from the noodle venders!
My Grandfather, as head of the family, i.e. the oldest male, was asked to say something at a Thanksgiving dinner way back in the 1930s and it became an annual feature at every gathering of family and/or friends. "Thanks be to God for our next meal. We're sure of this one." wow
We use halibut, cod, haddock. In NEW England they do fry 'em in hot fat and it's yummy. Given descriptions of yukky in UK fish shops, I guess I was lucky because the portions I had were crisp and good! wow
Ummmm...describe "cute", please. I'm having trouble visualising it!
At least I didn't say "fishy". "Cute" as in amusing in a sometimes nauseatingly sweet way. "Precious". I know I could have used better punctuation and grammar, but it was late, and, and, and....
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"Cute" as in amusing in a sometimes nauseatingly sweet way. "Precious". I know I could have used better punctuation and grammar, but it was late, and, and, and....
