Review #3 of Yelp's 30 Day Challenge 2012
Had a day off and a morning with my boy. After running some errands in the morning it was getting time for lunch. Instead of going home for lunch and then taking him to school we opted for lunch out. We were in the South so we started talking about lunch options. Well he is all pizza all the time. Some of us get tired of pizza so we opted for a place on the way that would satisfy both. Moxie's came into view. Since I used to work in the area back in the day...I had been to Moxie's a few times with coworkers for lunch and the food was always OK.
We were there early and as such there were only a few patrons in the restaurant. I skimmed the menu trying to decide quickly what to have for lunch since we were a little pressed for time. The boy had his usual "I am a pizza"......
My eyes caught site of the fish & chips on the menu several times. I finally asked the waitress what kind of fish. She went to the kitchen to find out and came back to report it was cod. So I decided on the spot I would try the fish and chips since I am on a quest to find good fish & chips in Calgary. Within 5 minutes of taking our order I could smell the fish and chips cooking. I found this rather odd. In a restaurant the size of Moxie's...being seated no where near the kitchen...all I could smell was grease combined with fish (if this were strictly a fish & chips place then ya I'd expect the smell...but not here). I can not explain it but warning bells were going off and I immediately started having second thoughts about lunch.....
Lunch arrived and from first glance it looked fine. And then first bite...greasy. Second & third bites even more greasy if that's possible. As I started picking it apart and tasting different sections of the fish...I found some of the batter to be super crunchy and other parts of the batter a bit undercooked and it honestly didn't taste like cod. By this point I'd had enough to know I was going to pay for the grease later. The french fries tasted like the fish....lifeless and dead on the plate. The tartar sauce was heavy on the mayo with a few pieces of pickle cut up and mixed in.
My boys pizza seemed to be going down good...he had no complaints. I should have ordered the pizza too. I didn't get the chance to tell the waitress how bad the meal was as she was ignoring my waves to come over so we could get the bill as we were running late. We finally had to get up with coats on to show we were leaving before she came over.
And about that grease...YUP did I ever pay for it later...with an upset tummy that stayed with me most of the day.
I ordered the fish & chips thinking it would either be bad or good..but it far exceeded bad by any standard. And the quest continues....