LIFE: Photo An Hour - January 2016

Saturday rolled around with no particular plans in mind. January is always a slow and cold month for estate sales, so we're rather hit and miss about them. But still, I'd be looking forward to joining in with the first Photo an Hour link up of 2016 with a plan of just seeing what fell into place.

With no aforementioned plans, the morning started with a cup of coffee and finishing of a page in my Vive Le Color Japan coloring book - a particular favorite recent purchase of mine. An hour later by the time 10 am rolled around, I was adding in some more of the black background to my stitched bookmark I've been working on.

With some not every water tight plans in the making, we decided once 11 am rolled around to have lunch early (a cheese toastie for me, a toasted sarnie for him) and a pile of tomatoes on the side. Noon actually saw us picking up Joe's first ever pair of glasses and an hour later we were back on the road traveling to Ikea, that magical place. 

It's probably a good thing we don't live on the same side of the metro region that Ikea reside, because I'd probably be in there every other week. We planned to pick up some odds and ends and get an idea about some new cabinets for Joe's Transformer collection. Ended up buying a load of shelving for my office come craft room. 4pm marked a stop on the way back home to my favorite fish n chip - Scotty Simpson's in Brightmoor. This place happens to be the best fish n chip shop I've come across since moving to 'merica (see previous review here) nothing beats their fish n chips, even if the chips are on the skinny side. They also make the most delicious pies. Most people will probably avoid the place because of the area, but I love it there.

5pm and back home saw me working on the jigsaw puzzle that is was putting together two lamps from Ikea, like seriously, is there nothing that can be just put together in two steps from that place?! All that yummy food though and being lazed out for the day left me on the sofa catching up with the internets happenings and watching Invader Zim, as you do.

Trying out the Darth Vader comic book series while catching up on some episodes of Ghost in the Shell before popping into a very relaxing bath by 8pm with some whiskey on the rocks and a rather fizzy bath bomb. The rest of the evening was back on the sofa, curled up in pjs catching up on the Abominable Bride episode of Sherlock Holmes, with even more whiskey.

How was your weekend?!

Rachael

FOOD: Scotty Simpson's Fish & Chips

James (Scotty) Simpson, a Scottish native opened a small fish n chips shop on a corner in the Detroit neighbourhood of Brightmoor in 1950. It became so successful he expanded the chippie into his butchers shop in the building next door. Sixty five years later and the business is still standing strong. 

Walking through the front door I was greeted with a smell that I haven't smelt since leaving the UK in 2011 - the smell of a chip shop. The frying, the batter, the fish. Mmm. I've missed that smell. It's actually one of those true British smells this BBC Mind The Gap article suggests that you'll come to miss if you ever leave the UK, alongside ya know, rain, cut grass, curry and say petrol. Chip shops in the tradition sense that you see in every British town are rare in America and Scotty's is one of the few places that offers food to go alongside having seating. You can smell the original owners Scottish heritage in the air by the way they fry their house boned and cut cod. The batter itself, well that's a secret recipe just as old as the establishment.   

Scotty's is one of those places that often ends up on, or very close to the top of the best places in Detroit and it's surrounding area for fish n chips and you can see why. And it's very, very popular. With fresh fish, hand cut coleslaw and homemade tartar sauce, they certainly know what they are doing. Sadly the chips were more of the thinner American variety, but they were fried tasty enough that I could see past it. And don't get me started on their homemade pies - their lemon meringue pie, well that just topped everything off perfectly.

Sadly many would overlook eating in Scotty's because of it's location. On the corner of Fenkell and Dolphin, Scotty's is a long standing residence of the Detroit community of Brightmoor, one often referred to as "Blightmoor". Those Detroit horror stories are nearly always given in reference to this area, regardless of whether they are true or not. Still, it's a pretty darn popular place. 

Scotty's fish n chips offers authentic food, one that speaks proper British way of frying and serving them. But also speaks authentic Detroit - from the friendly service, the mom n pop feel, there's nothing fancy. They know what they do and they do it really well. While a lot of the other places in Michigan (and Pittsburgh) offer fish n chips, especially in British, Irish, Scottish themed places, their dishes lack that original taste that I grew up. 

And while it's a bit of a drive for us, I'll certainly be dragged Joe back there when i'm craving proper British style fish, it's worth it for the smell along. 

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Fancy some great British style fish n chips in Detroit? 

Scotty Simpson's Fish n Chips;

22200 Fenkell Ave

Detroit, Michigan, 48223