Small cod, well that was what I ordered

As I was just going to call the title of this blog, Small Cod I realised that people may think that this was a criticism, actually I ordered small cod and chips, so that is what I got.

We were on a day out to Minehead, travelling their on the excellent West Somerset Railway. I had planned to go somewhere for lunch, didn’t do too much planning, but had a few ideas.

Despite a lovely sunny morning, the clouds looked menacing, so the idea of fish and chips on the beach was looking like a no.

Walking up down The Avenue, there were a few choices, but in the end we went to The Cod Shop.

It would have been nice to sit outside, but it had started to rain, so we sat inside.

It was a really nice decor inside, there was a blue and white seaside theme throughout the restaurant. I thought it was really nice calming environment.

Took a table and looked over the menu. It was lunchtime, and I wasn’t overtly hungry (having just spent two hours sitting on a train) I went with the small cod special. This was a small cod, chips, a side, a dip, and a drink. I had mushy peas and mayonnaise with my cod. It wasn’t long before our food arrived.

The cod had a lovely crisp batter, and the fish was well cooked. The chips were a little underdone for me. The cod was a rather small portion, but that is what I ordered, why should I be surprised that the fish was on the small side. I did though enjoy the fish and chips.

Pie with all the trimmings

I mentioned in a previous post how much I had enjoyed pie and mash at Pie Minister. The Pie Minister in the Oxford Covered Market on a Tuesday has a special offer, basically any pie with all the trimming for just £5, the usual price is £7.95 so quite a good saving.

Normally I can’t get in on a Tuesday as, you might well expect, the queues are quite long. I generally don’t have a lot of time for lunch, but also I don’t like queueing! However on a recent Tuesday I was lucky to get in quite quickly. The place was busy though. 

I went with the traditional steak and kidney or as they call it Kate and Sidney. This was served with mash, gravy, a side order of mushy peas and topped with cheese and crispy onions.

Pie with all the trimmings

It certainly looked the part. I did enjoy the pie which was full of a rich delicious filling, big chunks of steak and kidney combined with a nice crunchy pastry shell. The mash was smooth and well seasoned, the mushy peas were also very nice. However I am not sure if the cheese added anything, there was something rather disconcerting about biting into a portion of hot pie with cold cheese, in some ways it was a little unpleasant. If I go again, though I will go with the mushy peas, I will avoid the cheese!

The Fish, Chips & Mushy Peas Pasty

The Fish, Chips & Mushy Peas Pasty

When I first saw this board next to the pasty outlet at Bristol Temple Meads my initial thought was that it was some kind of joke.

It wasn’t!

Yes this was a pasty containing fish, mushy peas and yes chips. I know that lots of people out there love eating fish and chips (and a fair few of those like it with a portion of mushy peas). There are also a lot of people who like eating pasties, the reaction to the pasty tax showed that. However how many people out there really want to fuse those two classic foods into this pasty?

I know after posting the image on Twitter via Instagram that the reaction was quite mixed, some went “no thank you” and some went “yes please”. My reaction was, sorry no thank you. I think it was a combination of the green of the peas (and it is a very bright green) and the quantity of potato in the photograph. I can’t see the attraction of taking a reasonably nice meal and wrapping it in pastry?