Fish & Chips

[Mark CMG]

Much like hotdog stands and pizza joints, Chicago has a lot of non-franchised, small, independently owned "fish huts" though many have closed over the last few decades. One of the ones I am most familiar with is The Fish Keg -

http://metromix.chicagotribune.com/dining/29001,0,7639169.venue

As you can see, no seating. Of course, they sell all sorts of seafood wrapped to take home and cook, but they also have a bank of deep fryers for fast food style fish and chips and other things of that type. They do a particularly brisk lunch business.

Also, here's a list of other Illinois Fish Retailers. Many have the same style of "counter service" for cooked/take out meals -

http://www.siu.edu/~readi/aqua/fishretailers.htm

Of course, with that type of cooking, even the fries (and the chicken, and everything) have a fishy taste, so if you don't like fish it's best to get your deep-fried chicken from another source.

Incidently, I used to bartend at a place that had been around since the mid-thirties and thus had (been "grandfathered to have" because now you either have a full restaurant or not) a license to cook meals only on Wednesday, Friday, and Saturday evenings. A real Mom and Pop operation. On Wednesday and Saturday they had fried chicken with sides of fries and coleslaw and on Friday (Catholic owners and neighborhood), in addition to the chicken dinners, was their all-you-can-eat fish fry (same sides) or (baked) orange roughy. Small kitchen, no bigger than a walk-in closet, with nothing but a couple of deep fryers, a small oven with flat grill, a sink, a freezer, and minimal counter/table space for prep. On the busiest of dinner nights they might churn out fifty to sixty meals, if I am not mistaken. Often, an evening might wind up with no more than a dozen meals served. Everything was deep fried in only the best lard.

 

[Mark CMG]

There are more of these mom & pop take-out food places in big cities like Chicago than in smaller midwestern cities.

YOU, again?!?!







(You can tell from my previous post I was obviously in the throes of preparing my thread contribution even as you were paving its way . . . )

 

[Kahuna Burger]

Does anything like this exist in America?

there's some places like that on Cape Cod, mainly open in the summer for the tourists.

 

[Mark CMG]

there's some places like that on Cape Cod, mainly open in the summer for the tourists.

I figured your screenname was taken from a Hawaiian fast food place.

 

[kenobi65]

There are more of these mom & pop take-out food places in big cities like Chicago than in smaller midwestern cities.

As Buttercup (and Mark) mention, Chicago has a ton of independent fast-food places; many of them are "hot dog stands". A Chicago-style hot dog is a "Vienna Red Hot" beef hot dog, on a poppy-seed bun, garnished with yellow mustard, green relish, chopped onions, sliced tomato wedges, kosher pickle spear, sport peppers, and celery salt.

A lot of these places also serve gyros, a sort of Greek sandwich on pita bread, with sliced beef / lamb meat, onions, tomatoes, and sauce. They'll also serve Italian beef sandwiches (vaguely like a French dip sandwich), Italian sausage sandwiches, hamburgers, etc.

Interestingly, in Wisconsin, where I grew up, there were few (if any) independent fast-food restaurants. I'm convinced that, up there, people opened up taverns instead.

 

[Gunslinger]

There's a Fish & Chips place where I live, but they do have indoor seating. It's about the only type of fish I'll eat.

 

[Dannyalcatraz]

I've seen a few.

There used to be a place in the French Quarter callled...Takee Outee. :\

It was a Chinese food place exactly the width of a hallway. You went up to the counter (set in a door with a window in it)- which fronted on the street- made your order, paid & picked it up...then walked off. 0 seats.

Manuel's Tamales, also of New Orleans, was a killer Cuban/Creole place that had only 2 picnic tables on the street in front of it.

I've noticed a lot of pizza-by-the-slice/take-out only pizza places too- mostly mom & pop shops, but some were actual franchise places.

I've also seen several places like this pop up in malls, and I don't mean in the food court.

I'm told that New York City has a LOT of places like this, but I've not been there.

 

[Krieg]

Does anything like this exist in America?

There was one here in Cincy (Hamilton actually) a while back, only lasted a couple of years before folding up shop...although they did have a a handful of tables inside.

"Daley Freez", "Dairy Isle", etc. - another thing to note is that, at least from what I've seen, a LOT of these places seem to have names that are reminiscent of "Dairy Queen", which if you aren't familiar is a national chain that generally carries a similar fare, but usually DOES have indoor seating and a more "normal fast food restaurant feel".

When I was a kid the Dairy Queen's (at leat around here) didn't have indoor seating either, just an order window and later a drive through. The first indoor Dairy Queen I experienced was in Texas in the early 90's, which of course makes sense when the mean summer temp is fourteen billion degrees.

There are more of these mom & pop take-out food places in big cities like Chicago than in smaller midwestern cities.

Overall? Certainly. However on a per capita basis I'd put money that it isn't really that different. You just have to know where to look...most people passing through don't stray far from the McDonalds/BK/Wendy's of the world.

Another (now sadly passing) American parallel would be the drive in resteraunts...AW Rootbear stands, Sonic Burgers etc...typically they would have no indoor seating but instead you would park your car and either deliver your order to a local teenager (ie carhop) or via an intercom. The food would then be brought out complete with window mounted trays so that you could eat in the comfort of your Chevy or Ford (depending upon your families affiliation).

Gotta love car culture.

 

[Mark CMG]

Another (now sadly passing) American parallel would be the drive in resteraunts...AW Rootbear stands, Sonic Burgers etc...typically they would have no indoor seating but instead you would park your car and either deliver your order to a local teenager (ie carhop) or via an intercom. The food would then be brought out complete with window mounted trays so that you could eat in the comfort of your Chevy or Ford (depending upon your families affiliation).

Gotta love car culture.

Around where I grew up, A&W (known for their Rootbeer, of course) bought out a small chain of drive-in restaurants called "Dog and Suds" that specialized in hotdogs and rootbeer (in frosty-cold glass mugs!)

 

[Dark Jezter]

"Daley Freez", "Dairy Isle", etc. - another thing to note is that, at least from what I've seen, a LOT of these places seem to have names that are reminiscent of "Dairy Queen", which if you aren't familiar is a national chain that generally carries a similar fare, but usually DOES have indoor seating and a more "normal fast food restaurant feel".

Funny you should mention that; there's another fish & chips joint in my town known as "Polar Queen". Unlike Daley Freez, however, Polar Queen has indoor seating (although everybody pretty much agrees that Daley Freez has better food than Polar Queen).