Monday, December 21, 2009

Stanley's Fish & Chips - Haddock & Chips

Virtually a neighbour to Krispy's Fish & Chips in Brooklin is Stanley's Fish & Chips (67 Baldwin St N).

I dropped by for lunch today and took out an order of Haddock and chips ($8). The filet, is cut very similarly in size and shape to that of Krispy's. The haddock itself was outstanding, fresh and flaky. The batter was very thin, probably the thinnest I've had on any order of fish and chips locally. It was not at all greasy but became soggy very quickly. It was so thin, the piece of fish began falling apart as I ate it. I can't really fault the fish, but, the batter could use a little work. the bits that remaned crisp were quite nice.

The chips were a bit of a let down. They just weren't very impressive. They were cut in store, and double fried, they were just ho-hum, a little dry in texture, pale looking and not all that crisp.

An excellent piece of fish dampened by a weak batter and ho-hum chips.


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4 comments:

Anonymous said...

I am a loyal fan of Stanley's as well as a friend to the owners. I suggest you eat in next time. Anyone taking out fish & chips knows that they sweat inside the box & bag and tend to be less crispy. There is absolutely nothing that can be done about that. Also, anyone knows that fresh cut potatoes change texture & crispiness throughout the year as you have fresh out of the ground crops in the summer & fall & older stored potatoes throughout the winter... These potatoes take on a different texture. That's what happens with fresh cut fries. And you should also know that the fries are not double fried. They are done the proper way as they do in Europe and are "blanched". If this wasn't done in the fast food business, there would be very long lineups waiting for french fries. This is done in virtually every restaurant. And, by the way the owner of Stanley's also used to own Malt 'n Salt F&Chips & the batter, oil & recipes are the same as Stanley's.

eStomach said...

Thank you for the feedback Anonymous. You're telling me the fries are boiled and then fried? This is news to me. A double fry is blanching under low temperature in oil and then a second time in higher temperature oil. Nevertheless, the fries weren't good, plain and simple. Make excuses all you want, selling sub-par product will not win you fans.

I have taken out from Malt-N_Salt every time I've ordered from them (they have no dining area) and have never had the same soggy batter issue. This time I actually broke the package open the parking lot, you can see the pine trees behind Stanley's in the pictures.

Anonymous said...

I am retired from the restaurant business. I know what I'm talking about. No, I didn't suggest they boil their fries. Your "double fry" terminology is not the correct term. "Blanching" in oil at a lower temperature short term and then friying again at higher temperature is standard in the industry. If it wasn't done this way, the time to cook each order would be unacceptable. Each time a new batch of fries is dipped into hot oil, it cools down the oil. Customers would be waiting forever for their fries.

Perhaps you should try their fries/fish periodically to make sure it wasn't a one time occurrence.
The potato changes throughout the year sometimes more starchy depending on how long it has been in storage. Winter potatoes are always different than summer potatoes which is the consequence of serving fresh cut potatoes over frozen.

Malt 'n Salt does the same thing. In fact, as I said previously, they were trained to cook & use the same recipes (batter & all) by the owner of Stanley's.

Anyway, I am still a loyal fan of Stanley's over any other.

eStomach said...

Once again, thank you for your feedback Anonymous.

The double fry terminology is what I use to describe a blanch in low-temperature oil then a second fry in hot oil. I explained this in my previous comment. I also explain it in an earlier post about making Poutine at home.

I am aware potatoes change over time in storage. It's up to the owner of the establishment to decide if the product is fit for selling, not mine.