Review
Fish & Chips
Fish and chips shops aren’t that easy to find in New Jersey these days, so it was an easy decision to try Westfield’s Cod Almighty Chippery (great name!) after my daughter’s recent soccer game in nearby Scotch Plains.
Cod Almighty has been open a little over a year. It’s a tiny storefront in a shopping center on South Avenue. Six tables and a small counter fill the nautically-adorned space. From the counter, you have a perfect view of the all-important deep friers.
Prepping the Mahi Mahi Sandwich
Fried food is the name of the game here – fish (cod, whiting or basa (Vietnamese catfish)), chips, clams, chicken strips, zucchini, mushrooms, and even pickles. The chips are quite good. The batter on the fish we tried was a little on the dark and greasy side, not as crisp and flaky as some I’ve tried in England, but a solid version much better than what’s on the menu at many Irish pubs around Jersey. I do not recommend the fried pickles, beyond the novelty value. They end up as heated pickles from a jar, inevitably sliding entirely out of the batter when you bite one. If you want to say you’ve eaten fried pickles, eat them whole to keep the pickle and the batter together. Make sure they’ve cooled down a bit before you do it. The menu includes a few non-fried sandwiches, salads, a seafood chowder and steamers. I do recommend the deep fried Oreos. Pop one of those in your mouth and brace yourself for a steaming burst of Oreo-flavored soufflé. Not an authentically British use of the deep fryer, but very satisfying.
Links
The Gastronome and the Chowhound
The New York Times
You Don’t Know Jersey
