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I had two nice chip experiences in two different settings this week. For the sake of brevity, I will call them The Chippenings?. Apparently chips are all gourmet and s**t now (as is swearing in restaurant reviews).
The first Chippening? was at Fish Shop (the fish ?n? chip/wine bar location on Benburb Street) where chips, and a rotating battered fish of the day, are pretty much all the food options available. And that’s no bad thing. Practice makes perfect an’ all. I had a beautiful piece of haddock, exalted – as opposed to soggily vanquished – by a primo beer batter (don’t bother asking what the secret to their batter is, they aren’t telling). And then the chips – also lovely: not too hard, not too soft, good temperature, took to the vinegar like a pair of Ugg boots to the floor of the Dundrum Town Centre. Lovely as well: staff, decor and a wine list filled with interesting things you should get to know, including a very interesting sherry section, yes, sherry, it’s time you made friends with it. All decent value: €12.50 for the dish, a wrinkly fiver for a glass of the steely house white.
The second Chippening? occurred at?Charlotte Quay, which I am belatedly discovering. Believe it or not, typically it’s better to let a restaurant bed in for a few weeks before visiting (it doesn’t actually matter that someone you’ve a vague, inexplicable food rivalry with on social media got there first, those are silly games, for silly billys). So let a place rest for a while, like a nice fore rib of beef, it will only enhance the experience. I dropped into Charlotte Quay for their Sunday brunch and had the hanger steak and chips special. After a bit of a wait (must have been the resting) which I didn’t mind because it’s a handsome room with airy views, it came out and was a fortifying dish. A different style of chip, skinnier, but no less satisfying, nicely crisped exterior and a cloud-fluffy interior … little smashers. The hangar steak rocked too, beautifully flipped, gorgeously charred on the outside, pink velvet soft within. Reasonable at the €20 (-ish) price tag too. So there you have it, The Chippenings? … enjoy yizzer bank holiday.
Ps, a soundtrack to this review may be found?here.