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| Dining on cod in Rye |
One of the iconic culinary experiences of England must surely be Fish and Chips. In several episodes of the “Lovejoy” TV series, the title
character buys fish in newspaper and walks outside the shop to eat it. In the latest novel by Jonathan Gash, Faces
in the Pool, Lovejoy again extolls the virtues of fish in newspaper, this
time taking it to his friend’s house in Manchester, where the two share it with
mugs of hot tea. Before we traveled there, I was curious as to
how England fish compared to what we ate in the United States. So far, on both our travels there, we’ve been
able to sample it several times.
Last year, we walked up to the counter of a restaurant and
looked at the menu posted on the wall.
They offered several types of fish.
I tried asking the staff what the different varieties tasted like, but
their attempts at answering me only led to deeper confusion. A large gentleman leaned over the
counter. “Are you from America?” he asked with a gruff voice. “Yes,” I answered. He asked what kind of fish we were used to. As
neither of us are big fish eaters, all I could tell him was that we purchased
it in the frozen section, or ate it at Long John Silvers.
When I told him we planned to eat in the restaurant, he
waved us inside. “Just
sit down wherever you like," he said in his deep voice, "and tell the waiter that I’m bringing you two nice
pieces of cod.” This, of course, wasn’t
enough information for the waiter, and led to more confusion. Nevertheless, the waiter eventually brought us two small portions of cod far larger than we usually received at home. We found the flavor mild and pleasant, and bought cod
and chips once more during that vacation.
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| Dining on haddock in Wales |
This year, we shared an order of cod and chips one evening
in Holmfirth, but it wasn’t worth writing home about. Literally.
It wasn’t until we reached Wales, toward the end of our vacation, that
we had another great fish experience.
With a greater experience of fish (Ha!), I asked how the different
varieties they served compared with cod.
Again, their attempts at answers only led to greater confusion. So Linda opted for cod, while I decided to
try the haddock. I found that I enjoyed
the flavor of haddock more than cod, which, believe it or not, reminded me of
white-meat chicken. We enjoyed
our dinner outside, on one of the benches lining the restaurant, and
under the careful scrutiny of the sea gulls.
Perhaps it’s my imagination, but since we’ve returned from
England this year, we’ve traveled to Long John Silvers more than usual. While some may claim it’s not the greatest
fried fish ever, we enjoy the way they serve (what I’ve since learned is)
Alaskan Pollock. It’s as if traveling to
England, and eating those different kinds of fish, have given us a greater
appreciation of what we have locally.
Visiting Long John Silvers is no easy task: the nearest restaurant, a
combination Long John Silvers & Kentucky Fried Chicken, involves a
forty-five minute drive each way. Yet,
it’s something we love, and whether others share our preferences or not, we’re
willing to sacrifice the time and expense to travel there. Each meal thus becomes an event, a reminder
of those experiences in England with cod and haddock, as well as a celebration
of the Alaskan pollock we apparently love best.
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| Dining on pollock back home. |
By the way, did I mention the fried clams, which, while not
unique to Long John Silvers in the United States, we’ve yet to find served in
England?
Mmm-mmm,
Dragon Dave
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