This is not an April Fools post, despite how closely it follows yesterdays post. I really did go to Chipshop in Park Slope, Brooklyn, today to sample the deep-fried offerings.
My original plan was to go to A Salt & Battery in the West Village, but when I mentioned this plan to a friend she strongly recommended Chipshop instead. Aha, I thought, the plot thickens, or perhaps thats just my arteries? After some consultation with my husband we decided to venture to Brooklyn first, and then if I felt up to it I would head for the Village. Of course when we came up with that plan I didnt think wed have the full lunch menu, but by the time we arrived we were too hungry not to go for a meal.
I also meant to try the deep-fried Mars bar, since thats what Id heard of some time ago. But Chipshop has far more to offer than that. And luckily for us, its Restaurant Week in Brooklyn, which means we were able to take advantage of a discounted special menu.
For starters we had a green saladproof that not everything available at the place is deep-friedand the deep-fried macaroni and cheese.
The macaroni and cheese was really tasty. The outside was crunchy, and the inside oozed with cheese sauce. The batter went well with the cheesy taste. I was very glad we got that as an appetizer and not a main course. The salad was good too, but it could not save us.
For the main course we opted for fish and chips.
If your doctor has been after you to eat more fish, this is not what she has in mind. The crispy batter surrounded flaky, moist fish. We liberally applied malt vinegar and squirts of fresh lemon. The chips were good too; Im a crispy-french-fry gal, and these were a bit softer, but they tasted well of potato and were a good complement to the fish. I didnt make much of a dent in my serving, though.
And for dessert, the Restaurant Week special menu options included deep-fried Twinkie and deep-fried Snickers bar. I decided that a Snickers bar was similar enough to a Mars bar for my investigative purposes. We also got a deep-fried Cadbury Crème Egg, which turned out to be the best of the lot.
The Twinkie:
The Snickers bar:
The Cadbury Crème Egg:
All three together:
The Twinkie was a bit disappointing; the batter was competing with the sponge cake rather than complementing it. This is no slam on the batter; the Twinkies own taste is just not interesting enough to live up to its part of the bargain. The creamy filling was a bit better, but only a bit. Its served with a berry sauce, but that didnt offset the essential blandness of the cake.
The Snickers bar was wonderful. The frying set off the chocolate and the nuts beautifully.
Scott shot video of me trying the Cadbury Crème Egg.
It was really too good. I did not need to know about that.
We could not finish our portions. I thought about finishing the Snickers bar, and then realized that it would be a v.v. bad idea.
The other fun surprise for me was the availability of fizzy lemonade that tasted just like the kind I used to drink when I was in London in 1987. The less fun surprise (after Id drunk quite a bit) was that it contains saccharine. Though I suppose it was a little late for me to start worrying about the virtue of the ingredients in my meal.
Chipshop also stocks a number of British canned goods and candy.
The shop is pleasant and our server could not have been nicer or more friendly. She was really amused at the camera and delighted that we were taking pictures.
Hermione Granger also recommends the fish and chips.
It was a tasty meal, but heavy. I cant do that again any time soon; I think I may need to eat nothing but broccoli and Tabasco sauce for a few days. I told Scott that A Salt & Battery will have to wait for another day; he said, “I think I’ve already been assaulted and battered.”
I’m a vegetarian, so I don’t eat fish, but the mac and cheese and the desserts sound delectable! (I think my mouth just watered all over my keyboard.) and the shop sounds interesting and fun — and was that a DAVID BOWIE poster in the background? (I am a mad fan of the musical stylings of that particular gentleman and have every studio recording he ever cut, from his first one to his most recent, plus some performance recordings and comps too, stored on my computer)