Restaurants
Somethin's Fishy in Kensington Market
I love fish & chips. Some nights, I swear, no other meal will do. It's definitely a deep fried weakness of mine along with... well, pretty much anything else that's been deep fried. Some readers might already know this after a recent review I did of Harbord Fish & Chips, which was a VERY positive one by the way. But there's a new game in town kids, and it's even CLOSER to my house than Harbord! Right at the corner of Denison and Augusta facing the park now stands Somethin's Fishy Fish & Chips... a rather unfortunate choice of name, but the food could still be good, right?
Only about 2 weeks old now, this small chippie joint offers all the standard fare you'd expect from such an establishment... Halibut, Haddock, Cod, Salmon, Shrimp and even Talapia, all served over a healthy pile of Belgian style fries. Nothing wrong so far... but how does it taste?
Well, I went straight for the Halibut (as per usual) and I have to say that it was some of the tastiest and freshest fried fish I've had in this city. Meaty, moist, and perfectly cooked, with a tasty batter to top it off. Not quite as crispy as I usually like it, but you can't win 'em all, right? Oh, and the fries: simply wonderful. Somewhat thinner than I'm used to, but with great flavour and a nice little spice to them. Dip them into a little bit of their homemade tartar sauce, and you'll find there's really nothing you can complain about. Simple and delicious.
I suppose this image speaks for itself really. Having been open for only two weeks, I was expecting far less quality and a bit of insanity to be honest... but they dish out a great meal already. And as time goes on, I'm sure they'll only get better. Now about that name...
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Of course there's no arguing with those fries. Those are some mighty tasty fries.
I suppose if you have $8.50 to drop for a single piece of fish and a small-medium size portion of delicious fries (and tartar sauce) then it's worth a try. But she doesn't deserve your business - ask her for anything other than to take your money and you'll understand.
We hope you have a chance to stop in for a meal.
Sincerely,
Somethin's Fishy
(Lisa)
Chips must be thick cut along the grain from Russet Burbank potatoes (please no chintzy Yukon Gold or other inferior potatoes). They must be soaked in water until they're curled, preferably overnight. They must be fried only until limp in not-too-hot (320F) beef renderings (never ever use vegetable oil) and then allowed to cool completely to room temperature before being finished in hotter (380F) beef fat.
Fries are served in styrofoam. Chips are served in newspaper or paper cones. Fries are oily and flavorless. Chips are rich and full of beefy potato flavor and fat residue on your plate after eating solidifies upon cooling.
Sorry if I sound old-fashioned but I still remember the 1950s when there were a half dozen fish-and-chips shops in every neighborhood of Toronto and anyone serving previously frozen halibut or French/Belgian fries would be out of business really soon. Re-formed pollock portions and fries are not fish and chips.
This rant is NOT aimed at any chip shop but rather at the reviewer who perpetuates a misnomer by referring to chips as "fries" a revisionist Americanism. Oh well, at least they're not calling fries chips.