An old Cincy restaurant chain - Squire Jacks Fish & Chips

[kjbrill]

Originally Posted by Sarah Perry

People are more concerned about eating a lot of that deep-fried breading now, too, no matter how tasty it is. And the fast food environment isn't an ideal one for serving fish prepared in less calorific ways. I keep intending to try one of the newer broiled fish offerings, but I never do, probably because it's so easy to make at home.

With all the talk about the ills of fried foods, I still prefer a fried fish dinner over the others, If well prepared and delivered it definitely surpasses the others.

We have a pub/restaurant here in Mason called Fox & Hound. Originally I really liked their fried slab of fish on light-rye bread, with tartar sauce and other accompaniments. While I was still working, I would go there occasionally for lunch, very satisfying. But it seems with time everything changes. My last few times there, nowhere near either the quantity or the quality of the fish sandwich. Seems like some fast/casual food restaurants just can't track what made them popular in the first place and stick with it.

I don't fry fish at home, basically because my friers are a PIA to operate. Too much oil required. So the majority of my fish cooked at home is Cod, in a baking dish and cooked in the oven. I also like moist fish. So I will bake it in a baking dish with Campbell's Cream of Mushroom, Cream of Celery, or Cream of Anything soup in the dish. We all have our differences in taste.

[Ohioan58]

Originally Posted by Sarah Perry

People are more concerned about eating a lot of that deep-fried breading now, too, no matter how tasty it is. And the fast food environment isn't an ideal one for serving fish prepared in less calorific ways. I keep intending to try one of the newer broiled fish offerings, but I never do, probably because it's so easy to make at home.

Back in the 70s Long John's would dump a couple of cups (easily) of fried batter leavings into your take out bag, and you could ask for more if you wanted.

Mmmmmm, crunchy and delicious and oily. Artery blockage never tasted so good.

A friend who worked at Long John's in Xenia told me about what it was like to prepare the fish for frying. He said they had to cut many worms out of the fish.

Mmmmmm yummy....

[kjbrill]

Originally Posted by Ohioan58

Back in the 70s Long John's would dump a couple of cups (easily) of fried batter leavings into your take out bag, and you could ask for more if you wanted.

Mmmmmm, crunchy and delicious and oily. Artery blockage never tasted so good.

A friend who worked at Long John's in Xenia told me about what it was like to prepare the fish for frying. He said they had to cut many worms out of the fish.

Mmmmmm yummy....

Worms in the fish Heeh? Sounds like good bundle of conflab to me. Unfortunately the food preparers in fast food joints want to embellish their position by less than truthful claims.

[Ohioan58]

This guy was a sh-muck without much imagination who had no apparent reason to embellish anything. Yes, they would receive shipments of raw fish filets and there would occasionally be visible worms right under the skin that the guys had to cut out with a knife. He maintained that even with that, their fish was top notch in the time period in question (70s.)

[Sarah Perry]

Originally Posted by Ohioan58

This guy was a sh-muck without much imagination who had no apparent reason to embellish anything. Yes, they would receive shipments of raw fish filets and there would occasionally be visible worms right under the skin that the guys had to cut out with a knife. He maintained that even with that, their fish was top notch in the time period in question (70s.)

No expert, but I have the impression worms in raw fish are pretty common. Has nothing to do specifically with a restaurant chain, or even a particular species of fish.

[kjbrill]

Originally Posted by Sarah Perry

No expert, but I have the impression worms in raw fish are pretty common. Has nothing to do specifically with a restaurant chain, or even a particular species of fish.

Something I am not particularly familiar with. But if you say worms are a common experience in fish prepared for restaurants, what is the problem if they are adequately taken care of? My question is why would not the wholesaler be epected to take care of the worms before shipping?

[Ohioan58]

It's a raw material, like a side of beef that has to be trimmed up, or a bag of potatoes, some of which have bad spots. No big deal.

[goyguy]

What are fish so often caught with, anyway?

[kjbrill]

Originally Posted by goyguy

What are fish so often caught with, anyway?

Fish sold commercially are usually caught with nets, not rod and reels with worms on a hook.

[dmperrin]

I worked at both Squire Jack's Fish & Chips and Arthur Treacher's Fish & Chips in the 1970's. Both were much better tasting than LJS. ATFC didn't seem to cut the mustard in this region and I believe SJFC just couldn't compete well with LJS. I worked at various locations for both chains: Ferguson Road in Western Hills (ATFC), West 8th Street in Price Hill, Colerain Avenue in Grosbeck, Reading Road in Bond Hill (ATFC), Winton Road at Galbraith in Finneytown, Montgomery Road in Pleasant Ridge. SJFC not only had delicious fish, shrimp, clams, scallops and oysters (not my fav), but they had a great tasting Chicken that I think was better than KFC! ATFC had preformed chicken patties that weren't very appealing. SJFC also used broken fish pieces to make fish cakes....those were yummy too! Great job to have as a teenager for a few years (ended up as a store manager). Too bad they couldn't stay in business. S/O to all the kids that worked with me over the years!