If you don't mind no newspaper that sounds like at least some American places are not far off. We tend to use Halibut as the fish to fry. And our chips are often a bit thicker than you describe. And some places offer malt vinegar. Is that the same as your "cheap brown vinegar".?

Yup, cheap brown vinegar is malt.

Sounds good, Gar (although halibut is maybe a wee bit too thin for the fish for my taste). Next time I'm over I'll give it a try. I'm just sad because no f&c I've tried here in Germany even comes close.

meara, are you thinking of HP Sauce?

I just got F&C for lunch.

Fiona - don't get it in a fast food place though.. Because what takeaway (hee I just used a Britishism) sells as fish and chips here is just nasty.

The Ram's Head Tavern in Savage, MD has good, U.K. style F&C, but on plates--no paper to sop up the grease. Plus, food that is deep-fried properly shouldn't actually be all that greasy.

The most common mistake, however, is to make the chips too thin - french fries as opposed to chips. A real chip is about an eighth of a potato wide and the curve of the spud should be clearly visible along one side;

Wrod. I don't like fries that look as if they came from an extruder rather than a bona fide potato.

Plus, food that is deep-fried properly shouldn't actually be all that greasy.

Exactly! Hence the huge deep frier. Apparently (so my more technically-minded SO tells me), the bigger the frier, the less the fat cools down when you add the fish to it, so the outer layer seals crispily and prevents the food from getting fatty. Or something.

Place chips in brown paper bag; this will instantly become translucent. Lay fish on top. Add salt and vinegar - please use cheap brown vinegar, none of that fancy, namby-pamby stuff.

Yeah. None of that balsamic crap – tastes awful with chips. Incidentally, though they don’t do the proper fish ‘n’ chips experience, there is a British pub near here that does offer malt vinegar with thick-cut chips.

Australian fish and chips are similar except we don't have cod or haddock; we tend to use flake, which I believe is actually shark of some kind.

Correct; specifically, of the dead kind.

Incidentally, one of the more romantic dates I had was down the coast, my now-wife and I bought some fish and chips and a local grease ‘n’ gristle, took it down to the beach, I stuck a couple of candles in the sand and we ate our meal by candlelight with the sound of the waves breaking behind us. Ver’ nice.

I eat no meat or poultry so that saved me from the awful looking meat pies they enjoyed.

Diss not the meat pie. I shall be having meat pie later this week, if all goes to plan. (Yes, in Philly it necessitates a plan.)

Plus, food that is deep-fried properly shouldn't actually be all that greasy.

Much depends on how often they change their oil.

Mmmm...meat pies....

I won't eat any form of breaded, fried fish, so in my English year I got chicken and chips or just plain chips. But mmm....nice thick chips with vinegar...mmmm....

(To be edible, fish has to be extremely fresh, and prepared in a way that minimizes fishy flavor, hence my dislike of the fish half of fish-n-chips. There's a place down the road from my house that does a nice broiled halibut with mango salsa--that's more my speed.)

I won't eat any form of breaded, fried fish, so in my English year I got chicken and chips or just plain chips. But mmm....nice thick chips with vinegar...mmmm....

I'm not a big fan of fish either; but every so often, some properly battered (not breaded) and fried fish can be a delight.

I am wholly against boiled fish, which is revolting and makes me want to hurl. Especially after an unfortunate week in hospital, where I was already nauseous and they kept trying to serve it to me.

I don't think I've ever encountered boiled fish--it's always fried, broiled, grilled, sauteed, etc.