An American food reviewer’s first taste of traditional British fish and chips has stirred up quite the response from Brits.
Michael McCarthy, known as @largebarstool on TikTok with more than 33,000 followers, stopped by the popular Fishcotheque chippy near Waterloo station in London, capturing his meal in a video that raked in more than 100,000 views.
Explaining his culinary adventure to followers, he said: “I started off with something I’d never seen before called a Saveloy. It’s essentially just this big steamed hot dog. It had a nice snap to it.
“The star of the show is the fish and chips. I went with the haddock because it had the biggest fillet in the place – and it was fried to perfection. Crispy on the outside, moist on the inside.
“The chips were probably the best chips I’ve ever had. I got some mushy peas on the side, I add a little bit of brown gravy to them and that’s the cheat code – you dip your chips in the mushy peas.”
After enhancing his meal with vinegar and tartar sauce, McCarthy summed up his culinary journey with two words, branding it “absolutely perfect”.
Nevertheless, his glowing critique was overshadowed by a detail that irked Brits – they couldn’t overlook how he chose to eat his fish and chips… with his hands!
One disgruntled viewer said: “Why do Americans that are trying fish and chips always eat it with their hands? Like picking up the whole piece.”
Another said: “Why do all Americans who try fish and chips eat the fish like it’s a piece of toast. If you’re in a restaurant, use a fork.” While a third joked: “We also have cutlery.”
