Restaurant: The Chickenburger
Address: 1531 Bedford Highway, Bedford
Date: June 9, 2011
Fish: Haddock
Cost: $8.04

Of all the places we’ve reviewed so far, The Chickenburger is by far the most well known of restaurants. It’s so iconic when you search Wikipedia for the word Diner, they include a picture of the Chickenburger in Bedford, Nova Scotia. It’s been around for generations and has a very loyal following.

Of course, The Chickenburger’s most famous offering is… the chickenburger, but they’re also quick to proclaim the excellence of their fish and chips. In fact, quite regularly their road-side sign states, “You’ll love our fish & chips”, as shown by this recent picture.

So on a fine Summer evening we stopped in to put their claim to the test. The place was busy, as usual (you rarely drive by The Chickenburger when it’s not busy… especially on a nice evening). Sadly, however, we came away less than impressed. The overall consensus was, between the ho-hum flavour and the seriously small portions… this is not a place we’ll be frequenting in the near future for F&C.

Fish and Chips Score: 65

FCP Review Crew

Rachel’s Thoughts

I always want the food to taste better here than it actually does.

I love this place. It symbolizes summer, classic cars, vacation, and family outings! But the food isn’t as great as the ambiance – that’s for sure.

The milkshakes and the chicken burgers are good, but the fish & chips are not good at all.

Too bad. I really wanted it to be.

Fish
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Rachel’s Final Score: 64

Poochie’s Thoughts

The very first thing that went through my mind when I saw my food… tiny pieces of fish… that’s all for fries?… I was not amused.

The fries were warm at best and just real blah. No flavour and very starchy.

The batter was crisp, sorta thin, and a bit pasty/doughy on the inside. The consistency of the inside reminded me of wet drywall compound… not the ringing endorsement you’d want for fish and chips.

The fish itself had very little flavour, but on the plus side, it wasn’t very greasy.

This place was a DEEP DISAPPOINTMENT. People rave about this restaurant, but I think it’s all about nostalgia and tradition… it’s certainly not because of the quality and quantity of the food. A friend of mine is gaga over the chickenburgers themselves, but when I saw how puny they are for the price… they’d have to be dipped in the sweat of angels and delivered by Bono riding a unicorn for me to justify getting one.

Oh, yeah, and like it has absolutely any chance of redeeming this experience… the tartar sauce was Kraft, and no coleslaw came with this bad, overpriced experience.

Go visit The Chickenburger on Tuesday nights if you want to see some real nice classic cars. Stand in line at Chicken Little for an ice-cream (the single scoop is a good deal at just $2.61 (after tax) for a good size portion), but take my word for it… don’t waste your money on their fish and chips.

Fish
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Poochie’s Final Score: 63

Minnie’s Thoughts

This place was crazy busy, but I’m not sure why. The fries (what few there were) are shoestring, and very starchy. I didn’t like them at all.

The fish was moist and seemed fresh, but the batter had very little flavour, and was doughy on the inside.

There was no coleslaw – so sad – and Kraft tartar sauce.

This is a place I won’t be returning to spend my hard earned cash.

Fish
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Fries
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Minnie’s Final Score: 63

Skippy’s Thoughts

I absolutely LOVE The Chickenburger. Why? Because of this little known factoid: my parents met here. (True story!)

My mom was a waitress and my dad was a customer. Wouldn’t let any of the other girls take his order. The rest, as they say, is history. So you see, if it wasn’t for this place, ol’ Skippy would not be reviewing F&C… anywhere!

So why did I tell you that story? To hopefully distract you from the fact that The Chickenburger’s F&C is not good at all. Boo! (Yes, I just booed the Chick.)

Okay, maybe that’s not totally fair. I mean, there was less grease than you’d find in your average F&C. And the fish & batter was… average. But teeny tiny portions (hence the boo). And my fries were totally tasteless.

Other than their shakes (perfect-o), I think they ought to stick to chicken burgers.

I’m just glad they weren’t serving F&C back in the day or my dad might have gone somewhere else to eat. <Shudder.>

Fish
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Skippy’s Final Score: 69

Restaurant: The Battered Fish
Address: 766 Bedford Highway, Bedford
Date: July 2, 2010
Fish: Haddock
Cost: $8.49

Fish and Chips wagons are found all over this great city of ours… and one which we’ve received a lot of comments about is The Battered Fish, located on the Bedford Highway (by the Esquire restaurant). They also have a booth on the Halifax waterfront next to Beavertails.

In the world of chip wagons, The Battered Fish is a cut above in terms of setup. A very clean, professional, eye-catching spot which you could almost consider a restaurant with no seating. But as we’ve learned already on this venture, looks can be deceiving… we’d rather a place look old and worn out (see: John’s Lunch) but serve great food than the other way around.

And while the F&C we had at The Battered Fish was decent, it certainly wasn’t above average like their setup. In fact, other than Minnie (who we question might have been on some extra medication when scoring this meal), we all agree this place sits squarely in the middle of all our present reviews.

Fish and Chips Score: 76

FCP Review Crew

Rachel’s Thoughts

There were lots of cars in the parking lot, which was a good sign. This is an upscale fish & chip wagon, as it looked fresh and clean.

The portion was a healthy size, and because the batter was thin, there was lots of fish for the price. It tasted quite fresh, but I found the batter and fries very greasy.

The fries were skinny and tasty, but, as mentioned above, very greasy from the pieces of fish which were sitting on top.

Fish
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Rachel’s Final Score: 73

Poochie’s Thoughts

The fish was nice, white, fresh and tasty. The batter was thin, but I found it a bit over-cooked, which resulted in a bit of a burnt aftertaste.

The fries were thin, home-cut, and if you threw some salt on them, quite excellent.

The entire meal was VERY greasy… more so than average.

The tartar sauce seemed like it was homemade, but it was mayonnaise based with sweet relish in it… #FAIL! Sweet hot dog relish in your tartar sauce just screams low-grade.

They also offered a little container of sweet chili sauce which, while it tasted very nice, just doesn’t jive with fish and chips. I felt the flavour of it overpowered the fish.

Overall this place is not bad, but with so many better fish and chips places in the area, I personally would drive on by.

Fish
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Poochie’s Final Score: 74

Minnie’s Thoughts
There were lots of people crowded around this place, waiting to order or waiting for their order.

I really liked the batter… a bit crunchy, but nice and moist on the inside. I loved the fries; thin, home-cut, and perfectly cooked = Yum!

The meal was quite greasy, but I didn’t seem to mind it.

I think the tartar sauce was homemade, but it was just ok to me.

Even though the others disagreed with me, I really liked this place and would HIGHLY RECOMMEND it!

Fish
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Minnie’s Final Score: 81

Skippy’s Thoughts

Slightly more grease than I’d like to see on my plate after I’m done eating, but some folks say it ain’t true F&C without the grease, so this may appeal to you.

Tasty fish, tasty batter, and a decent size serving for a 2-piece order. Fries somewhat disappointing for my first visit here. This is essentially what you’d expect at a decent fish and chip truck (food-wise), with a bit of class to boot. I’d say somebody put some care and planning into things, because the unit where it all gets produced has great curb appeal, what with those bright red and yellow colors. Very clean and classy looking, for takeout food. Kudos to you, Battered Fish.

And the extra touch of special sauces, like sweet chili sauce? I’m lovin’ it. My teammates may have wimpy taste buds, but that sauce on this fish was yummy. Just make sure you load that stuff on your fish after you’ve first tasted it sans condiments, so you can realistically compare The Battered Fish with the F&C from other locations.

Although my final score (and our overall average) wasn’t 80+, based on the creative planning going on here, and the fact that the fish was very good, I’d have to agree with Minnie and say I highly recommend it.

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Skippy’s Final Score: 75