Bill K.
Yelp
Grossman's Deli
So, I've challenged myself to try Fish and Chips at every place in the county that serves it. I've exhausted all the "Fish and Chips" places, and I've moved on to other restaurants that happen to have in on the menu. Which is how I ended up here for lunch. After dropping a dollar into the parking meter, I went in.
The place is clearly popular! Every table was filled, and the noise was already at "Hardly hear yourself think" levels. I was pleased to be sat on the patio. Quieter, except when a loud vehicle roars by. It's right on busy Wilson Street, and when the Harleys rumble by, it's annoyingly loud. And smelly...
I researched the menu before hand to check the price for their F&C meal with Cole slaw and chips... $26 dollars. Ouch! But as it turns out this is just the stated price. Read on.
The napkins are cloth and the menu doubles as your place mat. If you are gluten free, you will be happy here. My food arrived quickly, and looked pretty good. Three good sized pieces of fish, lots of fries, sauce and slaw. The portion amount was good, but not outstanding. For $26 bucks, I was hoping to see a plate piled high enough to make my pupils dilate. I was hoping for the "I'm not sure I can eat all this" pile of fish I often see at these high-end places. Four pieces is what I expect at this price point. It was adequate... but I had no trouble eating it all. Could have been more fish, IMHO. Usually, I'm taking half the fries home after gorging on the fish at this type of place!
The fish was very good though: Fresh tasting, high quality, delicious. The crust was good and well prepared. The sauce complemented the fish well, and there was plenty of it. I usually end up asking for a second portion of tarter, but this was a good supply.
The fries are little flat slices, a shape I've never seen, that might have been baked? They were good. But I did note some of what tasted to me like a light dusting of MSG... Beware if you are sensitive to it.
The slaw was very plain and light. Not much more than cabbage with a hint of vinegarette. Fresh and crunchy. Good but nothing special.
Now, time to pay the tab... and what do you know, I see 3% has been added on. Huh? First place I've been to that does this. So, my $26 meal is really $26.78. I made a note to reduce the tip appropriately to compensate for this "fee". To be fair, it probably said this was coming somewhere on the menu, but it surprised me. Seems like they should just state the price as $26.78 on the menu.
My server must have been newish, because they made two rookie mistakes during the meal. First, they never returned after the food was served to see how things were going. Second, they brought back a $10 bill as change, as I had paid in cash. Every server knows: Bring back change that encourages the customer to leave a tip. I was definitely not going to leave $10 on a 30 dollar lunch tab. She should have returned me a 5 dollar bill and 5 ones so I could tip a reasonable amount of my choice. I wasn't feeling super generous, what with the 3% surprise surcharge, and I had just three singles in my wallet so that's what I left.
So, it's $26 dollars for fish and chips... plus 3%... plus tax... plus a dollar for the meter. I passed on the $14 (and up) cocktails and the $5 (+) coffee/drinks and stuck with water. It would be really easy to have a $50 lunch here! But none of my fellow diners seem to be concerned about that. Like I said, it was pretty crowded inside, with 20 minute wait, and the patio was half full on a Tuesday at noon. Prices are not deterring the crowds, obviously.
It was a fun and tasty splurge... but I'm probably not going to do it again soon. Too rich for my blood.