Fish and Chips at Dick O'Dow's

Another adventure in fish and chip hunting in Metro Detroit, this time at Dick O'Dow's in downtown Birmingham.

(A confession of bias first: I am not a big fan of "Irish" bars. I am plenty Irish - of my 16 great-great-grandparents, 14 left Ireland during the 1840's famine and most of them were, in my mother's words, "peasant farmers." I don't really know what counts as authentic Irish, but I doubt any of my ancestors ate and drank in an establishment like Dick O'Dow's. I'm not really angry about places like this - I just don't see any of my ancestors' lives here.)

Anyway, onto the food. I liked the fish here. The fish quality seemed right up there to me and it was cooked perfectly. The coating is different from most F&C - very thin and not very crispy. The coating came, I'm guessing, from a very thin batter. They advertise Guinness in the batter but it was more subtle than my ravaged taste buds could identify. The serving is more than sufficient - I took the third piece home with me.

The fries exceeded any I have had for a while. Ordinarily, steak cut fries are not my first choice, but these were big, crunchy on the outside, pillowy inside and HOT - and by hot, I mean hot from the fryer, not from the heat lamp. Dandy fries, however they're cut.

The slaw was good, fresh, creamy with a bite of vinegar and a generous serving it was, as well.

The service was OK. The waiter was friendly and helpful; she was just overworked. To be fair, we were there at 4:30 on a Sunday afternoon, the first warm springlike Sunday of the year. I assume they wouldn't have a huge staff scheduled for that time of day. She had 5 or 6 tables going in the back room, which is a long way from the kitchen and the bar. So the service was slow, but she served our food hot from the fryer and grill (daughter's hamburger) - she got the essential work done right and of course I tipped accordingly.

Would I go back? Probably for a beer and some fries, probably not especially for the F&C.

Our meal was about $25, with tip and soft drinks. Dick O'Dow's serves alcohol; we just didn't have any.

Dick O'Dow's is on the north side of Maple, a half block west of Old Woodward in downtown Birmingham.