The SDWC 2018 Washington DC Fish and Chips tour.

So. people are asking me about my 2018 Fish & Chips tour, and I guess that it really didn’t end up being much of a fish & chips tour as much as I’d wanted, simply because I had a lot of other things on my plate.  And as I found out quickly, not all fish & chips are made equal, and there’s plenty of other options that are more tempting as you’re getting blasted with 90 degree heat.

Much of my culinary exploring was up and down the Old Town District in Alexandria where I was staying. Night one was when I thought I’d give it a try, so I dove right in at Murphy’s Grand Irish Pub in Old Town:

I thought their version of chips were good, but the fish was kind of run of the mill. My wife liked the peas, but because I’m 51 years old and I hate peas, If I don’t want to eat them, I don’t have to.

So, thumbs up on the chips, but I don’t think I’d return for the fish.

We continued down the street, and settled in at the Fish Market a few doors down, where my wife was happy to see they had an oyster bar, and a darned good one. We spent the rest of the evening hanging out and watching the Twins Game.

Saturday was “Caturday” at National’s Stadium, which was the big “event” item for us on the trip, having purchased the tickets a month or so ago. We signed up for home plate tickets as a treat, which entitled us to some nice perks, including dinner and drinks at the Diamond Club. My wife was quite pleased with herself that they were serving Mussels as part of the ballgame meal, whereas I was happy with the more traditional ballpark fare.

Sunday we hit “Meggrolls” for brunch (buffalo wing eggrolls were great) and after touring the Native American Museum, which was very interesting, especially for some of it’s South Dakota related artifacts, we opted for midday at the Dubliner. Since I hit that at the Fish & Chips tour in 2017, I went for a buffalo wing doubleheader.

By the time we hit Bierhaus Garten, neither one of us was very hungry. Especially after the giant 1-Liter german beer, so we called it after that.

Monday I reserved as my walking around day where I went from the National Archives, around the US Capital, and over by the Supreme Court, where the protest of the day didn’t exactly have people flocking over to find out more.

After all the walking around in the full Washington DC sun, I found myself quickly on the way to being a crispy critter, as I met up with my wife back in Alexandria, and revisited one of the tour stops from 2017, Eamonn’s Dublin Chipper, just to see if it was good as I remembered.

It was. Not a big piece of fish, but it was fresh, and just good. Eventually, we made our way down the street, and stayed out later than we should have, because we spent the next day on the Hill where I was able to meet up with Senator Mike Rounds (who will be running for re-election in 2020) and Senator John Thune:

Since that was our last night in the area, I made one last stop on the Fish & Chips Tour for 2018 after hitting the National Geographic Museum. We went back to Alexandria for Daniel O’Connell’s Irish Restaurant and Bar, where we had some of the best food on the trip. My wife opted for the Mussels, and I added a final stop on the tour:

This was the kind of ‘holy grail’ piece of fish I was seeking.. Blazing hot. Lightly breaded. Cooked well enough so there’s hardly a hint of grease, and a generous sized piece of fish to boot.

It was great fun exploring the Washington, DC Area and it has me looking forward to going again next year if the timing and opportunity arises! Nothing better than politics, history and haddock for an enjoyable destination!