One man’s response to an online review of fish and chip restaurant Angel Lane Chippie in Penrith, Cumbria has left the public with many questions.
When straight-talking food critic, Grace Dent decided to write a piece in The Guardian on the Cumbrian chippie, she had no idea what would soon ensue in the comments box.
Dent reminisces of her many visits to the restaurant “Each time I visit Angel Lane, its stone floor, stainless-steel cabinets and spam fritters whisk me straight back to British chippies in the 1970s” where the fish “is always curly, firm-fleshed and clogged with extra globs of thick batter”
READ MORE: Got you craving fish and chips? Click here for our perfect recipe
Reading this, one man commented “You. Eat. The. Batter? The batter is there to protect the fish during frying, you peel it off, throw it away, then eat the fish! If you bake a fish (or indeed a vegetable) in a salt crust, do you eat that too?”
The stunned food critic took to twitter saying “This comment has kept me awake. I. I just. What.“
This week’s Guardian restaurant column is about a northern chip shop. This comment has kept me awake. I. I just. What. pic.twitter.com/9mHGb9fvOt
— Grace Dent (@gracedent) February 8, 2020
Responses soon came flooding in with followers referencing The Silence of the Lambs (film, 1991) and comments such as “I highly suspect this individual eats the heated towels at Indian restaurants.”
But is this utter madness or is there some merit in what is being said?
The food critic was certainly confused, questioning things herself when she replied to one tweeter “But he’s sure. He is so so sure. listen to him. ARE WE THE WRONG ONES?”
So, should we be throwing away the batter like we do a salt crust? Or accept that these are two very different things and of course we wouldn’t eat a crust of salt and egg whites, but a seasoned ‘crust’ of flour and water (or beer) is actually palatable, and not only that, delicious!
Whether you’re at home, head in hands asking yourself “What has happened to the world?!” or think this is actually a sensible way of cooking fish, we’d like to hear your thoughts, so head over to our Facebook page to tell us.