LETTERS From CAMP Rehoboth |
EATING Out |
by Marion McGrath |
Looking for Great Seafood? Go Fish!
If you walked into Go Fish! looking for great fish and chips you'd certainly be in the right place, but then you'd be overlooking other dishes on the menu that are just as tasty and offer a tremendous variety. Fish and chips places in England usually have just a chair or two and usually don't offer sit down service. Not so hereGo Fish! is a cheery, fun place decorated with red, white and blue touches (remember they were the colors on the British flag first!) with round London tube stop signs adorning the walls. We were seated by owner Alison Blyth and handed our menus by a handsome, blue-eyed blonde named Jeff Armstrong. And what a great menu it is. More about that later, but let me say up front that yes, Go Fish! is predominately a seafood restaurant, but there are dishes for folks who like their meal on the hoof or wing. We had a wonderful pre-dinner chat with owner Alison Blyth and learned that she is London born and raised. Ask her to show you just where and she'll happily point it out on your placemat. Alison was one of the original owners of La La Land, which opened in 1988, she opened YumYum in 1998, and started Go Fish! in 2002, originally as a take-out place only, and expanded it to the jewel of a restaurant it is today in 2003. She wanted to memorialize those accomplishments for her four-year-old son by buying one of the stone markers that are part of the Rehoboth streetscape and having it engraved, "Alison Blyth, Restaurateur," but ran into restrictions. The plaques are limited to three lines, and can feature only the name of a person or business. So, Alison put on her thinking cap and came up with the three lines that will surely make her son proud when he reads them. The plaque simply reads: LaLa Land; Yum Yum; Go Fish!. When you see it, remember that Alison Blyth is the person responsible for bringing three memorable eating establishments to Rehoboth. There are some good beers to be found here, and Susan started off with a Theakston's Old Peculiar, a hearty English brew. I thought about a glass of wine but decided to save the calories for what was to follow, and settled for a diet coke. Everything on the menu looked good to us, so we decided to put ourselves in Alison's capable hands. That may be one of the best decisions I'll make this year. Wow! Now I want you to read slowly because you may not believe what we ateI can hardly believe it, and it was all in front of me. The top of the menu lists five fried entrees. Before you cringe about that be aware that everything here not only is made with the freshest seafood available, but all fried foods are cooked in zero trans fat vegetable oil, and the vegetables are fresh steamed. So you can relax and so can your arteries. Of the five fried entrees, all of which are crispy and delicious, the star has to be the beer battered Fish & Chips. Alison has put a lot of time and energy into finding the perfect fish for this dish, and says she has really built the name and the business on this most incredible Iceland cod. With deserved pride she says that she has invested in the supplier to insure deliveries and that no one else in town can get this particular fish. The beer batter is, as you would suspect, a secret recipe. From the kitchen of chef John Tatler, here, in order, is what we sampled. Absolutely perfectly seasoned Maryland crab soup, followed by a Caesar salad and one of organic field greens. Next was on order of steamed mussels in a garlic-sherry broth; then came Ultimate Jumbo Shrimp, shrimp craftily stuffed with baked scallops and crab imperial; coconut shrimp coated in Malibu rum flavor and coconut; spicy chicken wings accompanied with bleu cheese dressing and celery. We took a short breather, then tucked into the beer battered medley: soft shell crab; shrimp; sausage; and that praiseworthy Iceland cod with the prerequisite coleslaw and chips. Do I have a great job here or what? On to other things we happily ate. Flounder stuffed with Crab Imperial; wonderful crab cakes; horseradish crusted seared salmon; macadamia crusted Mahi Mahi; honey glazed salmon; shepherd's pie. We must have our vegetables and did with servings of rice, broccoli and cauliflower. Whew! Everything was marvelous and each of these dishes deserves to be tried and savored. Trust me, Henry the Eighth never had it so good. I don't know why, but we did look at the dessert menu (where does gourmet end and gluttony begin?). We didn't have time to take a pass on sweet endings, before, count 'em, four desserts appeared as if by magic. I thought I'd died and gone to piggy heaven! We led off with a chocolate brownie topped with whipped cream, caramel and chocolate sauces, followed by tastes of tart/sweet key lime pie. Next was a dessert that Alison, whose mother was a baker, says you'd have to travel 3,500 miles to get: her mum's homemade English Sticky Toffee/date Pudding. It would be worth the trip, but lucky us, it's right here. Last, but far from least, came the Beer Battered Creamy Devon Cheesecake served with raspberry sauce. Yes, you read that rightbeer battered, i.e. fried. It is as fabulous as it is unusual. Before we left we took the time to browse through the comment book and came across some of the following remarks: "Reminds me of home"West Kensington; and simply, "Awesome," "It's the bombdiggity do," and, "About time something English came here." I couldn't agree more, but you need to go see for yourself. Go Fish!, 24 Rehoboth Avenue, is open daily for lunch and dinner. |
LETTERS From CAMP Rehoboth, Vol. 16, No. 8 June 30, 2006 |