Whiskey's Lounge

Where: Whiskey's Lounge, 27 Portland Street, Dartmouth
When: March 17th (that's right, St. Patrick's Day)
What: 1 piece fish and chips, $5.95+tax

I don't have a whole lot to say about this place. I ended up there with some friends on Saint Patrick's Day and decided to get the 1 piece fish & chips. The fries were not hand cut, pretty dry, and just generally tasteless. The fish was greasy and really hot (I burned my mouth pretty badly).

The wait staff were not very friendly, the music was way too loud, and the cover band (two guys really) didn't play any Irish tunes. The only good thing I can say is that it was cheap and not crowded like every other bar in town early on Saint Patrick's day. It wasn't on my list of places to try, and I don't plan on going back.

I give Whiskey's Lounge 2 little fishies out of 5.

Jamieson's Irish House & Grill

Where: Jamieson's Irish House & Grill, 5 Cumberland Drive, Cole Harbour
When: Friday, March 9th
What: Two piece fish & chips, $8.95+tax

On March 9th I visited Jamieson's Irish House & Grill in Cole Harbour with my friend Laurena. Of course I had to try the beer battered fish. It's been a few weeks now, so I'll do my best to remember the details (it was a bit dark in there and hard to write notes).

The two piece fish and chips was $8.95 and came with a nice helping of hand cut fries. The pieces of fish were really small though, so I don't feel like I got my money's worth as far as the fish goes. The fries however, were delicious. Hand cut, fresh, hot and crispy. The fish, made with a Smithwicks batter, was pretty tasty, but I don't remember it being outstanding. For garnish I got a lemon wedge and parsley flakes (big fan of parsley flakes). There was also two kinds of vinegar on the table. My dinner companion did like the tartar sauce, and she said it was probably homemade.

I really like the atmosphere in this place. The staff were very friendly, and it had a cosy feel to it. Leather chairs were set up near the entrance, so you could wait there for a table, have a few drinks, or eat your meal in that corner. Our table ended up being on stage, so I felt a little self-conscious trying to take pictures. As most of the light was by candle, my pictures didn't turn out very great (no flash). The picture of the fish and chips was unusable, but I did catch a few good shots of the other treats.

The beer paddle. From left to right: JAMIESON’S IPA - Irish Pale Ale, Garrison Raspberry Wheat Ale, JAMIESON’S Special Dark Ale (I think), Smithwicks (not a fan of the Smithwicks).

Bailey's with frangelico.

I give Jamieson's Irish House & Grill 4.5 little fishies out of 5.

Phil's Seafood

Where: Phil’s Seafood, 6285 Quinpool Road, Halifax NS
When: Wednesday, March 7th, 2007
What: Two piece fish & chips, $7.95+tax

I stopped by Phil’s Seafood with my good friend Rhia this past Wednesday. It was freezing out, I had a bad headache and was all drugged up on pain killers, so I'm not sure how accurate my recollections of the food are. In any event, here is my first official fish & chips review.

We each ordered the two piece fish and chips which came garnished with coleslaw and a lemon wedge. The fish pieces were generous and the fries handcut. The fish batter was very crispy as they use breadcrumbs which I liked, the fish was fresh and moist. I didn’t find the batter very flavourful though, but the fish was good and hot. Disappointing were the fries. They weren't very crispy and not as plentiful as I've seen elsewhere. On the other hand, there's nothing worse than having so many fries on the plate that you can't eat them all!

Extras on table were ketchup, white vinegar, salt, pepper, and homemade tartar sauce. I don't actually like tartar sauce or coleslaw so I can't comment on those. Overall it was pretty good, but if I go back I'll probably have something else on their menu.

I give Phil's Seafood four little fishies out of five.

Tonight I'm going out to Cole Harbour to stay over at a friend's house. Lets see if I can convince her to go out for fish & chips. I'll let you know how it turns out.

First Post

I had my first fish & chips last night after deciding to start this blog. Hopefully I'll get the review up some time later today. Over the next few days I'll try to dress up the blog a bit, fix the design and such, so stay tuned!