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In this era of healthier eating, you'd think that restaurants would have gotten rid of deep-fried fish and chips. Well, think again. A recent sampling of area restaurants found fish and chips on many menus.
Fish and chips are a great way to get your kids to eat fish. And what's better than everyone eating with their fingers?
The Tribune sampled 13 plates of fish and chips at Wasatch Front restaurants. The one thing we discovered is that fresh fish is always better than frozen. And, despite a few places telling us fresh fish wasn't available because, ahem, "we're in Utah," I'm happy to report there are plenty of restaurants forking out the extra money for quality fresh halibut and cod. Here's what we found:
Bohemian Brewery: At Bohemian Brewery, fresh halibut ($15) is dipped in a pilsener beer batter. Three rectangular pieces of fish were crispy on the outside but overcooked on the inside. A crock of tartar sauce was overloaded with capers, despite its nice consistency. The garlic fries were outstanding, as was the mayo-based coleslaw, replete with shredded white and red cabbage and carrots.
Bohemian Brewery & Grill, 94 E. Fort Union Blvd., Midvale; 801-566-5474; http://www.bohemianbrewery.com.
Hopper's: This Fort Union eatery is owned by the same folks who own Red Robin, Ruby River and Sizzler, and we have nothing but good things to say about its version of fish and chips. Dill livens up the orange-honey-wheat beer batter and tartar sauce. Fresh cod (lunch, $7.99; dinner, $9.99) and halibut (lunch, $10.99; dinner, $11.99) come with crispy skin-on fries. The breading crackled to the bite, revealing moist, delicious fish.
Hoppers Seafood & Grill, 890 E. Fort Union Blvd., Midvale; 801-566-0424; www. hoppersbrewpub.com.
MacCool's: MacCool's is a neighborhood hangout that's usually packed on weekends, and dishes like the house fish and chips ($11.99) show why. It's made with fresh cod, bathed in a batter flavored with Tetley's English ale (served on draft), and quickly fried until it's beautifully brown and crisp outside, but not greasy, and moist and tender within. A generous portion of cottage fries, which more resemble what Americans know as potato chips, accompany the four rectangular pieces of fish in a paper-lined metal basket.
MacCool's Public House, 1400 S. Foothill Drive, Salt Lake City; 801-582-3111; other locations in Layton and South Jordan.
McGrath's Fish House: One would expect the fish to be fresh at a place with "fish" in its name and McGrath's didn't disappoint there. Fresh cod or halibut (four-piece lunch, $8.99, $11.49; five-piece dinner, $10.99, $13.99) comes with a green salad or coleslaw and French fries. But while the fish was moist, it needed salt. The breading was soggy in spots and the coleslaw was overly sweet. The crunchy fries and tartar sauce were the best parts of the meal.
McGrath's Fish House, 190 S. 400 West, Salt Lake City; 801-456-7891; www.mcgraths fishhouse.com; other locations in Sandy, Layton and Orem.
Piccadilly Fish and Chips: Didn't there used to be a gazillion Piccadillys? Well, there's only one left and it's in Salt Lake. And I can't say I'm sad about it. Frozen cod and halibut were underseasoned. The breading was greasy, but at least the aftertaste was clean. Piccadilly's rectangular fries sport ridges, but they tasted a bit of sawdust. Still, the place gets points for offering malt vinegar and playing "Rock Me Amadeus," "Little Red Corvette" and "Safety Dance." One piece, $2.95; 2 pieces, $4.75; 3 pieces, $5.95.
Piccadilly Fish and Chips, 1446 S. State St., Salt Lake City; 801-484-2831.
Porcupine Pub & Grille: Porcupine batters up great-tasting, fresh Alaskan halibut to accompany their "chips." French fries, tartar sauce and three pieces of fish come at lunch ($11.99), four at dinner ($14.99). The fish's breading - from a Hefeweizen beer batter - was overly thick and lacking real crunch - it was bumpy and had a bit too much puff. The fries also were slightly limp. In addition to malt vinegar, we dipped our fish in a killer tartar sauce brimming with capers and pickles. Another plus: Microbrew samplers are 35 cents.
Porcupine Pub & Grille, 3698 E. Fort Union Blvd., Cottonwood Heights; 801-942-5555; http://www.porcupinepub.com.
Red Rock Brewing Co.: Red Rock's fresh three-piece halibut (lunch, $14.49; dinner, $15.49) gets a dunk in beer batter and is fried until it's shatteringly crisp, greaseless and moist on the inside. Choose from malt vinegar, tangy tartar sauce or a squirt of fresh lemon. The French fries, however, could have been crispier and the vinegar-based coleslaw was a tad oily. Microbrew samplers are 50 cents.
Red Rock Brewing Co., 254 S. 200 West, Salt Lake City; 801-521-7446; www.redrock brewing.com.
Roosters Brewing Co.: At Roosters, three generous squares of fresh cod - which are dipped in the pub's homemade beer batter and then deep-fried - arrived golden, crispy and low on the grease meter. The French fries, which initially looked promising, were good, but didn't have the same crunch. The entree (lunch, $9.95; dinner, $10.95) comes with a choice of soup or salad as well as tartar sauce and malt vinegar.
Roosters Brewing Co., 748 W. Heritage Park Blvd., Layton; 801-774-9330; www.roosters brewingco.com; another location in Ogden.
Skippers Seafood & Chowder House: Skippers makes Piccadilly look good. The frozen cod was worse than Van de Kamp's. The breading was soggy, the fish lacked any flavor and old oil gave it a bad aftertaste. The tartar sauce was too sweet, the coleslaw was forgettable and the French fries were limp. The only upside to such a disappointment are the prices: two pieces, $5.99; three pieces, $6.99; four pieces, $7.99.
Skippers Seafood & Chowder House, 880 E. 5600 South, Murray; 801-263-3643; other locations in West Valley City, Ogden and Orem.
Squatters Pub Brewery's fish and chips plate arrives piping hot, so take a moment to admire the toasty, amber color of the three thick pieces of fresh Alaskan cod that have been deep-fried in a Hefeweizen batter ($12). Get impatient and you're likely to burn your tongue, ultimately missing out on this crunchy classic and the thick pub fries that come with it.
Squatters Pub Brewery, 147 W. 300 South, Salt Lake City; 801-363-2739; http://www.squatters.com; Squatters Roadhouse Grill in Park City.
Summerhay's Halibut & Chips: Even though the signage still says "Neil's Halibut 'N' Chips," this eatery is morphing into Summerhay's. The place offers cod and, of course, halibut. Prices range from $7.25 to $11.50, which isn't cheap considering the fish is previously frozen. The fries were perfectly crispy on the outside and fluffy on the inside. The flavorless fish, though crunchy, was greasy. The worst part of the meal was the unappealing neon green dressing that was drizzled atop shredded cabbage. The best part, besides the fries, was the tartar sauce with a nice pickle tang.
Summerhay's Halibut & Chips, 4870 S. Highland Drive, Salt Lake City; 801-424-9000.
Virg's hasn't missed a beat since moving to this location about seven months ago. Fresh and moist on the inside, cod or halibut can be had in two-, three- or four-piece versions ($4.99 to $10). Mayonnaise-based coleslaw will cost you an extra 85 cents. Though fries were lukewarm and over-fried, we'd go back for the crunchy, greaseless fish.
Virg's Fish and Chips, 5770 S. Redwood Road, Taylorsville; 801-968-7180.
Wasatch Brew Pub & Brewery: Four pieces of previously frozen Pacific cod, dipped in a Wasatch beer batter, with pub fries and cole slaw make up an order of Wasatch's fish and chips ($10.50). Both the fish and chips needed salt and the fish was greasy and soggy in spots. Capered tartar sauce and malt vinegar helped give the fish some flavor.
Wasatch Brew Pub & Brewery, 250 Main St., Park City; 435-649-0900; www.wasatch beers.com.
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* LESLI J. NEILSON is a Tribune restaurant reviewer. E-mail her at lneilson@sltrib.com. To comment on this column, write livingeditor@sltrib.com. Kathy Stephenson and Anne Wilson contributed to this report.