Monday 5 January 2015

FOOD: Fish & Chips at McShane's Irish Pub

I guess you could say I'm pretty boring when it comes to food choices in restaurants and bars. Visit any new place and i'm most likely to order fish n chips regardless of where we are eating. I'm calling it a personal mission of mine to find the best place that serves up fish n chips - whether that's in Michigan or whatever state I happen to be in. 

After finding some pretty awesome fish n chips back in Pittsburgh over Thanksgiving in the Scottish themed Pipers Pub (which sadly I was far too busy eating to stop and take a picture). It was the first place i've come across in my little challenge that serve the said dish with the traditional thick chips (or fries if you're American). As tasty as they were, 400 odd miles is a long way to go for some fish n chips so the Michigan search continued. 

Joe's taken it upon himself to search the interwebs for recommendations in the Metro area. So when we found McShane's Irish Pub it was a bit of a winner - Irish themed - tick, a whiskey bar - double tick, close by - tick and super high praise for their fish n chips, well it would have been rude not to try.

McShanes
(please excuse grainy picture, twas dark)

McShane's is I guess you could say at the quieter end of Michigan Avenue in Detroit's, Corktown, I say quieter because it's a way from the hub of Slows, Mercury Bar etc, and can be found on the corner of Michigan Ave and Trumbell, right next to the former baseball pitch - which with the plans for redeveloping the area, I can see this part of town growing from strength to strength. 

So to the all important - how were the fish n chips. Well, lets say they knocked the Grand Trunk Pub off the top of my Michigan league on the fish n chip front. The malt beer batter was crisp and delicious, the cod tender, the thyme steak chips thick and huge. They certainly know what they are doing. Many reviews credit them for making a dish worthy of being from, or even better than those found in the homeland, stick them next to one from the UK and I don't think you could tell the difference taste wise at least. The coleslaw might throw a Brit off mind you. 

McShanes

McShane's menu features another British staple Shepherds pie, alongside the best wings I've tasted and thick, juicy sandwiches. Plus the bar has 89 different whiskey's. After drinking a delightful rye whiskey - Templeton on the rocks, i'll certainly be back for some more fish n chips and a try of another one of those 88 whiskey's that remain to be tried! 



If you fancy trying it out for yourself, pop along to;
McShanes Irish Pub
1460 Michigan Ave,
Detroit, Michigan

17 comments:

  1. Ok, that dish looks sooo yummy and now I'm in the mood for fish and chips ! hahahha I loved how you put the map !

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    1. You can never go wrong with fish n chips. Yeah the map idea was one Joe thought I should add in last year, it's a fun little addition isn't it?!

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  2. Yum! I loove fish and chips too, totally understand why you order it all the time. I missed the fish and chip take out shops when I lived in America! x

    Jasmin Charlotte | UK Lifestyle Blog

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    1. There's actually a number of chippies around these parts just haven't got around to trying them yet! Non on my doorstep mind you.

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  3. You're inspiring me to find somewhere that sells fish n chips here in Belgium. We've got a few Irish pubs, and apparently one does a good breakfast, but I've yet to hear of any fish n chips.

    These do look tasty, although it's strange that the cod is in pieces and not just a single piece. I'd also quite like to find some good chips in Belgium too, but they're too proud of their fries...

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    1. Yeah in all my taste testing i'm yet to come across anywhere that serves the whole, big piece of fish. I guess it's how they must get it from the fisheries over here.

      I do enjoy a good, thick chip, fries are over rated in my honest view.

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  4. Oh my, that looks so good! I have this problem constantly now that I live in London. I can't find fish and chips as good as I get in Scotland. I mean, fair enough, in Scotland the fish is fresh out of the sea so they have an advantage but someone must do a decent battered haddock here.

    You've inspired me! I'm going on a hunt!

    Sorcha x Bright Field Notes

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    1. I gotta admit some of the best fish n chips i've had on holidays in Scotland, and I miss my little chippie that was by my student house in Newcastle, chip butties and batter - nom!

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  5. I am a huge fan of fish and chips and always feel the need to order it if it's on the menu, definitely one of my favorite dishes. I am hoping to take a trip to Detroit this year so I am really loving your reviews and especially the little map!

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    1. Yey I hope you get to check out some of the places Detroit has to offer - there's so many new places opening up, especially in Corktown lately that's it's a pretty great time to check out the city!

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  6. It looks delicious! I always order the same thing too... Chicken nuggets and fries every where I go hahah #boring

    Jessica
    the.pyreflies.org

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  7. I love fish and chips. I always always ALWAYS order it given the choice no matter what restaurant we're at at least once!

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    1. I love how there's such variations in how it's served up over here, always keeps it fun!

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  8. Gosh, I haven't had proper fish and chips in forever. Whenever I've fancied it recently they only have cod which I don't like. I'm more of a haddock girl, you see! To be fair cod has to be one of the very few types of fish I don't like. When we were in Portugal I had just about every type of fish going and I loved them all!
    Debi x

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    1. Cod tends to be the fish of choice in the US when it comes to fish n chips, not that I mind, I can't be too picky when it comes to finding it over here lol. But yeah, I love fish dishes!

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  9. Mmm..I loved getting fish and chips whenever I can! So delicious, so don't consider yourself alone in being boring!!

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