I was reading the comments from last week's fish during Lent post and cringed at commenter (and fellow blogger) Chimpo's mention that Hardee's was selling fish and chips for Lent.
Fish and chips happens to be something very close to my heart. When done right, it's one of the best dishes in the world. Unfortunately, it's almost never done right. Every bar and grill puts it on their menu but few actually craft their own fish batter or fry the cod to the exact crispness.
But since I've made it my goal to try fish and chips at every restaurant I can, I went to Hardee's Saturday night to pick up an order and test it on friends.
The
first lesson I learned is never, ever get fish and chips to go. Even
though the temperature was in the low teens Saturday night, I drove
with my car windows open due to the stench. The second lesson I learned
is don't describe to friends just how bad the dish smelled before
asking them to eat it.
As a fish and chips snob, there are lots
of things I am looking for: crispy batter, flaky soft yet thick fish
with a hint of spice, and thick fries to absorb the salt and malt. The
fish is always cod or haddock. I prefer haddock
but Hardee's uses cod. In reality, it's hard to tell the difference at
many places because of the batter.
The first thing we noticed
about Hardee's was not the fish nor the chips but the huge amount of tartar
sauce that came with the order. "I think you should go back and ask
for more," my friend joked. The order consisted of two fish
pieces, and even if I had covered each with tartar
sauce, I wouldn't have used it all. To make matters worse, there were no malt vinegar or
salt packages in the bag.
"Definitely fast food fish but it's not bad," one friend said. The
other friend was less impressed. "I would never ever order fish and
chips from Hardee's, but it's not the worst one I've ever had." The
batter was soft and thin without any spice. The
fish though was thick enough to flake and the smell that had been so bad
alone turned into an enticing aroma in the presence of malt vinegar.
(Which we had to scrounge from a pantry.)
The true test of fish
and chips is how much malt vinegar they require. The more malt, the
worse the fish. I've had some versions that required a good half-bottle
of Heinz's malt to make them palatable. Hardee's ranked somewhere in
the middle.
As for the chips, the drive with the windows down had made them
cold by the time I got to the house. We threw them away
half-eaten.
Hardee's version -- selling for $5.29 through April 10 -- is not
as bad as one would imagine, but the search for the perfect fish and chips goes on. For a while there was a Kansas City blog devoted solely to the topic that reached no consensus. I'll keep looking.
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I've heard good things about the record bar's food and will definitely check that out.
You're right Faith that Blue Moose has the same fish and chips recipe but last time I was there I only saw one version of it on the menu-- or maybe that's all the waitress offered-- do they have more variety?
I'm a fan of the fish and chips from the Blue Moose in PV. They're the same as the ones they serve at 75th Street, but since I trust the kitchen at the Moose more than 75h Street, I've only eaten them there.
Then again, I might be biased...they're the only fish and chips I've eaten since I was a kid.
If I get back out to Free State in Lawrence any time soon, I'm gonna check them out there.
Tooting my own horn but you really need to try the Fish & Chips at recordBar. It is the Molloy Brother's Family recipe that we held over. Damn tasty.
Oh and Chimpo and Bullevard- I have blocked those terrible GAF fish and chips from my memory. Those things were truly awful. I can honestly say Hardee's had better and anytime Hardee's is beating you on an Irish dish when you're a friggin Irish bar, well that's the time to change recipes.
My favorite fish and chips in town have been:
1. Free State in Lawrence-- hands down the best
2. McCoy's old recipe-- the last two times I've been disappointed. Could be off nights but tasted like different batter.
3. 75th Street Brewery-- I've only had these drunk but they've been good.
My experience with fried clams in Kansas City has been limited to Jefferson's Grill in Lawrence and at a now-defunct bar in Johnson County. Both times they were not good. I've had amazing fried clams though at Phillips' Seafood in Baltimore. (I've noticed you can get Phillips' clam chowder here in Kansas City at grocery stores but they really should be sending in their crab seasoning and frozen fried clams.
Any suggestions on where to get good fried clams in town?
Well, we seem to have awakened the fish and chips legions of KC. Good, I say.
I wouldn't even think of ordering from Hardees. Are you nuts? The last fast food fish and chips I tried was 20 years ago at Captain D-minus. Never again.
City Tavern had good fish and chips, but I think it is off the menu since they revamped. I've never had a decent order since. I'll have to try Tomfooleries, as another reader suggested, though in the past I found their food OK, not great.
My ONLY great fish and chips came from the long gone Hi Tide in Earl's Court, London, UK. It was so good, I ate there 4 or 5 times during my week in London, back in '71. They set the bar way too high, I guess.
You are absolutely right: the quality of the fish is in inverse proportion to the amount of salt and malt vinegar required.
Now, just to up the ante here, do any of you have experience with fried clams? (Not clam strips, heaven forbid.) If someone opens a really good fish n chips and fried Ipswich clam emporium, I promise to personally keep it profitable, until I die from clogged arteries.
Ha, I had totally forgotten about Owen's phallic fish & chips at the Gaf.
Getting Hardee's to go is never a good idea. You should have seen if they would up your combo to the chili fries.
Bistro 303 on Westport Road has tremendous fish 'n handcut chips. Actually, everything they serve here is close to spectacular. And no, you don't have to have your 'gay card' on you to go in.
Best fish and chips I had was in New Zealand. It was a kind of shark and required no malt vinegar. Also, they have pineapple fritters...
I can't believe you ate fish and chips from Hardee's. Hardees is probably the last place I'd order fish and chips. We'll maybe second to some kind of convenience store or maybe a prisoner of war camp.
I can't believe you're not dead. Yet.
You and Chimpo make fun, but the fish and chips at Tomfooleries really is the best I've had in town. I also enjoyed the fish and chips at Paddy O'Quigley's one day. I've had fish and chips 20 other times in the past year and those are the two most memorable. I need to try Long John Silvers.
Those fish and chips you had at the Gaf really almost ruined my meal as much as the Belcher in Quizno's.
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