Long John Silver's

Where: Long John Silver's, Lee's Summit, MO

When: August 1st, 2012

What: super sampler, 8-piece panko shrimp platter & crab cakes, $20.65 for everything including tax

I know that this isn't an official fish & chip shop but they sell fried fish and fries.

I was rather impressed by the quality of their food for a fast food chain. And look! No after food tummy ache!

I got a Super Sampler ($7.99), an 8-piece panko shrimp platter ($7.99) and 2 crab cakes ($1.58). The Super Sampler includes a piece of chicken, a piece of fish, 3 butterfly shrimps, popcorn shrimps, hush puppies, coleslaw and fries. The 8-piece panko shrimp platter includes 8 pieces of panko breaded shrimp, a piece of fish, hush puppies, coleslaw and fries.

8-piece panko shrimp platter

Super Sampler Platter

Crab cakes

The assortment of fried shrimps were rather good. I preferred the panko breaded shrimps the most. I was most impressed with their crab cakes. My previous experiences with crab cakes have been mediocre. These were probably the most tasty crab cakes. I've found other crab cakes to be under seasoned. For a fast food chain, I was rather impressed to find real pieces of crab meat in them.

The fish wasn't as crunchy as the other items in the platters. I think it has to do with the fact that I got it all to go and they got less crunchy in transit. The fish was labelled as "whitefish". It was bland, tasteless fast food chain fish. Probably frozen.

As you can see, the fries are pretty run of the mill fast food chain fries. I had 1 and decided that they were best left alone.

I didn't think their tartar sauce was very good but better than ones I've had before. The mayo is not as sweet. The PC Condiments tartar sauce has a Miracle Whip sort of taste. This stuff tasted more like Hellman's. There's a little bitterness to the tartar sauce.

Long John Silver's was surprisingly good for a fast food chain and if I couldn't locate a fish & chips shop, I'd definitely get my fish fix here rather than the fish offered at other fast food chains. It might be one up from a Filet-O-Fish but it's still miles away from a mom and pop fish & chips shop.

I give Long John Silver's a 2 out of 5 wee fishies.

Milton Fish & Chips

Where: Milton Fish & Chips
When: July 27th, 2012
What: Lunch special - haddock and chips

My dad and I took my brother out for lunch at Milton Fish & Chips. (My little brother is doing a summer co-op at a local computer store.)

We all got the lunch special ($6.85) which was haddock with chips. It's not a big place like Heritage Fish & Chips but I would say that their fish and chips are better. The vibe of this place is "hole in the wall".

It seems to be a popular lunch place 'cause when we got there (around 1 o'clock), nearly all the tables were occupied and the chef was frying away.

Melissa says that the piece of fish could be a country. I agree.

The fish was really nice. It tasted really fresh and the batter was crisp and not too thick (pictured below). I like it when the batter isn't too thick. I used to "unbatter" my fish half way 'cause I have a grease "threshold". The chips were standard chips. They were more done than those at Heritage. I was happy that they had the PC Condiments tartar sauce.

I would like to go back and have their halibut and chips in the near future. There's one more fish & chips shop in Milton that I haven't gone to. If I were to choose between this place and Heritage Fish & Chips for lunch, I would pick this place.

I give the lunch special at Milton Fish & Chips 4 wee fishies out of 5.

Heritage Fish & Chips

Where: Heritage Fish & Chips, 840 Main St E, Milton, ON

When: First week of January, 2012

What: Haddock and chips lunch special and fried clams (forgot the price)

After moving to Lees Summit, Missouri, my parents moved back to Canada and settled in Milton, Ontario which is sort of next to Mississauga, where I grew up. I once talked about Heritage Fish & Chips with my friend Denise who said, "I hear they have tea cozies on their teapots."

I have eaten at Heritage Fish & Chips before. It's true that they have tea cozies on their teapots when you order tea. I didn't order tea this time though.

Fredrik and I each had the haddock and chips lunch special and shared an order of fried clams.

The fried clams were pretty good. I don't think I've had enough fried clams to really pass a proper judgement on what is good fried clams. I just know that they're like batter covered elastic bands when they're bad.

It's been a while since I had haddock and chips. It was a pretty good portion for a lunch special. I actually didn't end up finishing it. I've learned that haddock is a bit fishier than halibut. That'll teach me to stray from the usual.

The fish is beer battered but with not too much batter, which I like. The chips are crispy.

The only "downside" is the tartar sauce.

I don't know about you but I have a tartar sauce preference. In fact, I have had conversations about the best tartar sauce. My friends and I find ourselves going back to the ketchup packet packaged tartar sauce (pictured on the right). It doesn't taste like "real" mayo. It's got the right amount of sweetness and tartness. It's just much better than any "homemade" tartar sauce. Heritage Fish & Chips does not have PC Condiments tartar sauce. Most fish and chips places I've eaten at has PC Condiments tartar sauce.

Useless info:

After some research, I found out that my favourite tartar sauce is made by a company that started out making Chinese noodles. The company that makes it is the same company that makes Wing's fortune cookies.

I give the lunch special at Heritage Fish & Chips 3 wee fishies out of 5.

Queen's Fish & Chips

Where: Queen's Fish & Chips, 131 Queen St S, Mississauga (Streetsville), ON
When: Wednesday, December 28, 2011
What: Halibut and chips, $12 +tax

When I was in high school, I would go for fish & chips once a week with 2 of my friends. Queen's Fish & Chips was the local fish and chips place and they had a $5 special, choice of haddock or cod. My first fish and chips were eaten at Queen's Fish and Chips. After we finished our lunch, I often doodled with the ketchup 'cause they came in squeeze bottles.

Since my high school days, more than 10 years ago, Queen's Fish & chips have changed owners on more than one occasion. At one point, Caz's Great Fish took over and changed the name but now it's back to Queen's Fish & Chips.

On our recent Canadian visit, I met up with my 2 previous partners-in-crime for fish and chips. The interior is the same as I remember it. In fact, the chairs are the same chairs from when we were in high school. They still write their specials and deals on brightly coloured bristol board.
Fredrik and I each got halibut and chips with a pop. They still have lunch specials but I forgot how much those are. They weren't so far off from the old $5 price tag.

The fish was beer battered and crispy as always. The chips were a bit lacking but I usually focus on the fish. The ketchup was still in squeeze bottles. I didn't doodle with them as I once did.

It wasn't the best fish and chips experience but it certainly wasn't the worst either. Perhaps it's the nostalgia but I'm going to give Queen's Fish & Chips 4 wee fishies out of 5.