The Quaygang Cookbook Fish and Chips Review: Barrel Mountain Brewing

As readers of this intermittant blog know, I have been tasting fish and chips around the Pacific Northwest for a few years as part of a project to find the best of the best. Way back in the late 1990's is I had some salmon fish and chips at a place called the Malahat Mountain Inn near Victoria, British Columbia, that knocked my socks off. That place is sadly no longer with us, but I have been trying to find some that rise to that standard.

A few notable entries in the best of list: 

• Trillium Cafe in Hood River: They used to have dreamy albacore tuna fish and chips. Their new version is still very good, but the albacore was slightly better. I still recommend them. 

• The Salt Hotel and Pub in Ilwaco, Washington: Tender, flaky, and crispy with killer fries. 

• Gracie's Sea Hag in Depoe Bay, Oregon: A little more pedestrian, but still yummy. 

• My favorite used to be the Rose and Thistle in Portland, but new ownership and a different recipe dethroned them as the kings of the craft.  I used to call my rating system "The Rose and Thistle Scale".  They now rate a 4. 
  

Enter Barrel Mountain Brewing in Battle Ground, Washington, with its woodsmoke tinged dining room, and friendly staff. Barrel Mountain Brewing takes fish and chips to a higher level than I've tasted since Malahat Mountain. They use steelhead trout, which is like salmon, but milder. The batter was crispy, not doughy, and with no oil flavor. It stayed crispy through the meal, which is very important. The fish was perfectly cooked, tender and flaky. While the steelhead is slightly less flavorful than salmon, they were not afraid to let is taste like fish. There is nothing worse than fish and chips that have no fish flavor. 

The tartar sauce was savory and herbal, not cloying and sweet. I did not have to doctor it with lemon, salt and pepper like at some places. I've had excellent fish ruined by a sugary tartar sauce.

The coleslaw was not too sweet. It had an unusual flavor, but not in a bad way. I liked it, but it was the weak part of the meal.

The fries were thin and crispy with lots of crunchy bits to savor. They pass the salt test (needing only salt as a flavoring, even as they cool down). Many fries get soggy, need ketchup to mask diminishing flavor.  These fries did not get soggy.  They are using some kind of magic, I'm sure.  

I added nothing that did not come on the plate, not even salt. That's a first.   

The foundations of my fish and chips edifice have been shaken. A new order has emerged. These were the best I've had. Give them a try. Make a pilgrimage if you have to.  

On a different note: I really want to be The Impatient Chef again.  I had a lot of fun with the Schtick I used on this blog as The Impatient Chef, and I noticed that I am not posting as much without the name.  It is used by someone else, but I may have to find out if it has been trademarked.  I few other names I am thinking about:  Sporknado.  Vittle Quest.  Hot Sauce and Cold Feet.  Other ideas are welcome.  

Where the Heck is The Impatient Chef?

Eating Fish & Chips, of course.

     The Impatient Chef is on hiatus while he formulates and plots more culinary adventures.  In the meantime, the Quest for the Best Fish & Chips continues apace.  As readers of this occasional blog know, The Impatient Chef rates fish & chips on the Rose & Thistle Scale, due to that restaurant having the best anywhere.  Well, the Rose & Thistle has changed its recipe.  It is no longer top of the heap.  It’s good, but not a 10 on the Rose & Thistle Scale.  So, the scale needs a new namesake.  

     This brings us to a well-hidden gem in Ilwaco, Washington, at the mouth of the Columbia River.  The Salt Hotel and Pub sits on the Ilwaco Marina, and sports an unassuming exterior, and very few tables on the inside.  

     Ilwaco, Washington abuts Cape Disappointment, named by the 18th century ship's captain John Meares, who was thwarted by the infamous Columbia Bar, which is a mile-long, churning, ship-smashing merger of the Columbia River and the Pacific Ocean.  These bodies of water are not on good terms in the best of weather, but when the tides swell, and the rain pours, even modern container ships get tossed about like toys.  Meares did not make it into the Columbia River in 1788, and was highly disappointed by it, and the name stuck.  

     Down the road from Ilwaco is a place named by Lewis and Clark as "Dismal Nitch." 

 

     'Nuff said.

     Into that rainy, windy, mossy, sluggy, ocean smelly weather, fishing boats sail out into the Columbia from the marina, and bring their catches back, and sell some fish to the Salt Hotel and Pub.  

     The fish at the Salt Hotel and Pub is fresh, and so are the oysters.  The last time The Impatient Chef had oyster shooters that fresh was at the Baltimore Inner Harbor in 1989.  The cocktail sauce could have used more horseradish, but the oysters were sublime.  

     This brings us to the Fish & Chips.  

     The batter was crisp, while the rock fish was moist.  The batter remained crisp through the meal.  It had a slight fryer oil taste, but not enough to indicate old oil.  The tartar sauce was savory, and fabulous.  One thing that The Impatient Chef hates is sweet tartar sauces that are little more than mayo and relish.

     The Fries were likewise crips, thick, and also maintained deliciousness even as they cooled.  

     Is the Salt Hotel and Pub the new Fish and Chips to which all others are compared?  Maybe.  

     This is where the readers of my blog come in.  The Impatient Chef is seeking suggestions for the best Fish & Chips in the Pacific Northwest.  Apologies to readers elsewhere in the US.  Please leave your suggestions in the comments section, and some of them may get featured in future posts, and may even become the namesake for the rating scale.  

     Thanks for reading!

--The Impatient Chef.