By Myra Myra
It’s been more 10 years since the Rainier Valley has had a real fish & chips spot (Columbia City Ale House does not count!). That all changed on New Year’s Day when the family owned Emerald City Fish & Chips opened its doors, and by the looks of things, they may need to open those doors a little wider for all the people I saw crammed in this joint.
Walking into Emerald City reminded me of those pictures when everyone would try and fit into a phone booth. Every corner stood someone holding their condiments and waiting patiently for a taste of what this place had to offer. The menu offers everything that an Ivar’s or Spud’s would have but at a cheaper price.
I decided on a po boy, as that would determine if this place was really trying to be a heavy hitter in the Rainier Valley culinary scene. Maybe it was my high expectations, but the po boy did not deliver. I live by the ideals of if you’re going to do it, then do it right. They used hot dog bread instead of traditional crispy French bread. The saying in New Orleans is, “If the bread ain’t right then it’s not a po boy”. In addition, they used regular mayonnaise instead of the traditional po boy dressings (ketchup, dill mayonnaise and creole mustard).
They did however have a great batter for the fish, and that’s what matters the most. The batter is seasoned enough to where it doesn’t take over the taste of the fish and it doesn’t come off as bland. When ordering your meal make sure to keep in mind that the homemade tartar sauce is not free (.25 a cup) and to try the garlic malt.
The wait was a little… long. Make sure that you are aware of two things. 1) This isn’t the “ready in a minute” place. Each meal is not prepared until you order it so you have to factor in frying time in addition to all of the orders placed before your meal. 2) Don’t bring the whole family in to eat. Space is small so plan to take it elsewhere for large parties.
Great location, excellent customer service and a slammin’ menu will all attribute to the longevity of Emerald City Fish & Chips. The wait time is canceled out by the friendly staff. You will hear plenty of “Welcome” and “Thank you for your patience”. In the back of your mind you will just hope they speed things up for the upcoming spring/summer season when it’s sure to get real crazy.
Emerald City Fish & Chips - located at 3756 Rainier Avenue South in Mt. Baker - is open every day from 11 am to 8 pm. Call 206-760-FISH for take-out orders.
Myra Myra on the Wall is a semi-regular column written by a hip, Rainier Valley 20-something who seeks to uncover all the fantastic happenings happenings in Southeast Seattle for those of us who don’t necessarily equate going downtown with having a good time. Email Myra with your favorite south-of-I-90 hang-outs, upcoming events or random observations about hidden south-end spots.
Related:
- New Eats: Fish & Chips in Mt. Baker (12/4/09)
Who to know, where to eat & what to do in one of America’s most diverse zip codes!
{ 9 comments }
My S.O. and I dropped by a couple of days ago and ordered up basic cod & chips just to get the gist of the place.
Yep, the wait was looong, but the staff were super friendly and the place is pretty charming. I really want to like this place.
Unfortunately, the fish was overcooked…the breading was almost burned in places and the fish was rather dry. They were relatively small pieces of fish. Why such small portions and why cook them so darn long? When I order a three-piece fish and chips, I expect to not be hungry after the meal!
The chips were very good.
Based on this first experience, I’ll try them again in a month or so and see if they’ve improved.
I had the opposite experience, fish seemed under cooked and could not distinguish what fish was what, I will try them again in a week or two. Good to have a fish and chips place though.
RVP, any chance you can add an address or phone number (or map link) to reviews like this? Not only does it help hungry readers like myself find out where we should be looking for our next meal, but it also helps search engines and review aggregator software tie reviews like this to business listings. You might even want to check out the hreview microformat plugin for WordPress to make it even easier for search engines to identify things as reviews.
I had the oyster po-boy and agree that it bun is weak. They should use bahn mi rolls; they’re available wholesale locally made and cheap. And the sandwich should have more sauce with more flavor. I was really happy with the oysters though.
I’m surprised no one mentioned the house-made potato chips. Seriously great. Next time you go substitute chips for the, er, chips.
@Chris: See end of article for address & phone.
Are you volunteering to help your RVP?
I went there a week ago. The food was decent, but I thought the portions were a bit small for the price. It’s nice to see a fish and chips place in the RV.
Yay Myra! Good to see you back here, girl!
excellent menu, tasty food but was perhaps slightly undercooked, portion was small too when compared to Pacific Fish Fry or the old Stan’s. The dippin sauce was kickin.
Oh, don’t bother trying to call ahead. I’ve tried this twice now and both times was put on eternal hold. Hung up the first time after 10 minutes on hold. Tried a couple days later and hung up after 6 minutes.
Chalking it up to growing pains.
It was packed when I went, and the wait was kind of long–but it was pretty fun. The customers were all pretty relaxed and talking; the staff was sweet and did their best to keep up. I appreciate the smaller portions–five bucks for a nicely cooked two-piece cod, with homemade tartar sauce (free for one cup) and a good side of coleslaw with the fries.
I hope they streamline their menu (who needs a burger at a fish place?), that might help speed things along. Looking forward to trying the ‘crab puppies’ and more of the amazing homemade potato chips.
And if the owners happen to see this: Looks like y’all went with sustainable fish choices. Thank you.
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