Yeah, I'm vegetarian. Yeah, I preach about not eating fried food and yeah, I'm a victim to all things tasty and devious- especially fish-n-chips. And when it occurred to me that I had not eaten them, I started to get scared that the UK was going to take away my visa if I did not eat fish-n-chips. I told my friend Julie B . the other day that I had yet to eat fish-n-chips since I've lived in London and I thought my Skype chat was going to explode when she responded, "You need to get on that shit now". And if that was not enough, my friend Carrie basically chastised me the other day for not eating them and demanded I eat them soon. And then I told my boyfriend and he responded similarly and when I explained that I would eat them the next day he simply said, "Alexandra, that's procrastination and I won't stand for it. You need to eat them for dinner". Since it was nearly ten at night I did not venture out for them, but yesterday, with my passport shivering under my bed and my computer eyeing me- reminding me of the intense peer pressure I was under- I vowed I would eat fish-no-chips that day without hesitation.
Yesterday was one of the most, if not the most, lovely day I have seen in London so far. I had the day off school and knew without a doubt I could not stay indoors. I walked into a neighboring little town called Greenwich and walked around the beautiful parks there, saw the Royal Naval College, the Greenwich Observatory and most importantly, I saw flowers. Flowers! I was so shocked and excited to see rows and rows of buttercups that I had to hold myself still to keep from rolling around in them on the spot. And clearly, I was not the only one who felt that way.....
I went into a little place in Greenwich and ordered what they advertised, "The best fish-n-chips in town" for just under five pounds take-away. Would I like salt and vinegar? Yes, please, and lots of it. I took my precious little sack of gold to sit by the River Thames and hung out beside the Cutty Sark. I'm not kidding, it's a real ship, not just some random Scotch at the bar, and it's being renovated after threatening to burn down a while back. The view is amazing and everyone was out with their cameras. People were in such good moods that I started to doubt whether I was still in London! I found a seat right beside the water and proceeded to unwrap my lunch: my redemption.
First off, what were they thinking with this, uh, excuse for a fork? Was I about to unwrap those little single serve ice cream things I ate in kindergarten? I'm sure it's traditional or something....
Anyway, I nearly burnt the insides of my mouth raw trying to shove as many chips into my mouth as possible. They were so delicious! And then to the fish....cooked just right with minimal grease but tons of flavor. It was so light it nearly melted in my mouth but there was a substantial amount of fish so it wasn't like I was just eating fried bater....we all know those too much fried batter situations and how much they suck. Overall I would say it was good, but not the best I've ever had. I would have preferred homemade chips (these were clearly from a frozen bag) and would have liked the skin to have been removed from the fish before it went into the deep fryer. However, the day and view was unbeatable and I would certainly eat them again. There are nearly as many fish-n-chip shops as there are pubs here so I might be posting about this European delicacy many times over. I'll include some other lovely pictures from my day.
Cutty Sark!
Royal Naval College
Atop the Greenwich Observatory
Another treat, a scoop of chocolate and a scoop of rum raisin ice. Look at that double scoop cone will you? Genius!
And my next mission in devious food? I need to eat a pasty. My resistance to them at London Bridge Station is becoming nearly too much to bear.
