Friday Fish and Chips

Like bad dieters (but good Catholics) we indulged in a treat we’ve been putting off for a while: Friday fish and chips at McCarthy’s Tea Room in Bethlehem. These fish, haddock to be precise, elicit high praise around the area, and locals have on several occasions recommended them as good dinner companions of a week’s end. And thus, with Spring Break (if not spring itself) upon us and in the mood to celebrate, we made our way to McCarthy’s and requested a table for two.

McCarthy’s is attached to the back of a shop (or perhaps more accurately a shoppe) selling strange and expensive Irish wares. Rarely in the market for a knarled walking stick or a tartan (aren’t they Scottish anyway?), this is not precisely our cup of tea. Nevertheless, we have on several occasions navigated our way through the horrors of the shoppe to the pleasant little room at the back, where they do in fact serve cups of precisely that. The menu lists a wide-variety of teas to be brewed in one of the many colorful teapots adorning the wall behind the glass counter, itself adorned with plates of scones and other treats. Unfailingly boring when it comes to tea, we haven’t ventured beyond a fairly ordinary black tea, but rest assured that there are plenty of options for the more adventurous.

In any case, we digress because on Friday nights this room, by day a den of cozily-ensconced tea drinkers, turns into a den of cozily-ensconced fried fish eaters. We had been warned that the portions were more in the American than the British tradition (read generous or gluttonous as you will), and thus decided to split an order, served with a small salad. Like most every small restaurant in this peculiar state, McCarthy’s has a BYOB policy. We have not yet grown accustomed to this oddity and neglected to bring our beverages with us. As a result, we also ordered a round of sparkling Ribena (a blackcurrant flavored drink of British extraction).

The meal progressed as follows:

First the Ribena arrived. Next time I will remember to bring a hip flask - funnily enough, available for sale at the adjoining shoppe. Now if only they could sell the necessary contents.

Then the small salad, accompanied by a small eggcup shaped ramekin of excellent balsamic dressing. P commented that it was almost as good as his dressing (a proud family secret). C responded in a suspiciously cooing voice that it was “mm, sweeter”. Justifiably offended, P ate C’s tomato.

Finally, the haddock. Dipped in delicious beer batter, fried in sizzling oil and served in a paper cone. Batter to fish ratio just about perfect. Fish moist and flaky with perhaps a little more bounce under the tooth than C prefers, but all in all quite wonderful, especially when dunked in the accompanying dill-infused tartar sauce. Underneath, a nest of wedge fries, well salted. Spurned family secrets and stolen tomatoes forgotten, we devoured.

The portion as it turned out wasn’t enormous, and we would certainly have continued gorging had more been available. In an appropriately Lenten spirit, however, we restrained ourselves from ordering seconds and settled our account as an operatic waitress unleashed a remarkable voice.

McCarthy’s Tea Room, 534 Main St., Bethlehem, PA
Price = $11.99 per fish and chips with small side salad.