this post is filed under Cuisine - American, Location - Vancouver
So over the summer I did manage to spend 10 days in Vancouver. My cousin Karen got married, and I was able to get up there for some time before I left for Sydney. As usual, my cousin Geoff was ready to head around to new spots as well as old favorites. One of the first places on the list was Pajo's, a fish and chips place in Steveston. SaabKen over at VanEats recommendeded the place when I posted about Matt Murphy's in Boston, and Geoff was keen to try it as he had heard good things too. Steveston is actually quite a bit of a drive from Vancouver proper... a good hour if I recall correctly. That's probably the longest I can remember driving for chow in Van. It's in a little area called, funny enough, Fisherman's Wharf - a far more modest place than our famous one in SF, but with a good number of restaurants and shops. Pajo's literally sits right on the wharf - it's actually on a little floating wooden dock thing, on top of the water. I wonder how they power those deep fryers...
small halibut and chips - C$7.79
The fish and chips come in these cute cardboard cones. The nearby picnic tables have holes fitted specifically for us with the cones, so you can just put your meal into the table and eat from it with ease. The fish was very hot, crispy, and extremely flaky. It didn't suffer the soggy aftermath of being completely wrapped in newspaper and fully exposed to steam, which would be my only complaint about Matt Murphy's. This halibut was extremely tasty, but I do admit it got a bit on the greasy side after a while. The chips were excellent - thickly cut but still extremely crisp on the outside and not too heavy or dry on the inside. The tartar sauce was okay, but not as sublime as Matt Murphy's. According to Geoff, this tasted a little bit better than Mr. Pickwick's, the other place that SaabKen mentioned, but Mr. Pickwick's is a LOT closer to my usual Vancouver location. So I guess if you happen to be in Steveston, be sure to check this place out. Perhaps next time I'm in Van I'll try Mr. Pickwick's...
Mr. Pickwick's F&C is decent enough but I do have to rate Pajo's a bit higher :-) Maybe the salty air at Steveston has something to do with it !
However the best F&C I've had in recent memory is from GO FISH (505 West 1st Ave), between Granville Island and Burrard Street. It's kind of weird to find it so you should GoogleMap it. Their hours vary by season and stocks can run out so perhaps the best time of day to go is midday for lunch. FWIW, GO FISH offers many other seafood items beside F&C but I've never tried them but they do look great. But I'm sure with your appetite you'll have no problems trying out the entire menu ;-)
Bon appétit !
posted by SaabKen on October 31, 2005 03:09 PM
I forgot to include a couple of links about GO FISH:
http://www.vancourier.com/issues04/094204/entertainment/094204en3.html
http://www.straight.com/content.cfm?id=5416
Then there's also FISH CAFE in Kerrisdale (on W. 41 Avenue across the street from Golden Ocean Seafood Restaurant which you reviewed) who also offers a very very decent F&C. Fish Cafe is also mentioned in the Georgia Straight article above.
posted by SaabKen on October 31, 2005 03:30 PM
Mr. Pickwick's website:
http://mrpickwicks.bc.ca/index.html
posted by SaabKen on October 31, 2005 05:20 PM
Thanks SK - as always, your detailed recs are greatly appreciated. Guess I've got a lot of F&C to eat next trip.
posted by Arthur on November 1, 2005 05:09 PM
Mmm.. F+C.. My mum used to own a F+C shop here in London.. I haven't found good F+C to equal hers since.. sigh.. Your post makes me miss it! Gee thanks a lot Arthur..! ;)
posted by Little Miss Adie on November 3, 2005 11:26 AM
Just doing my job, Adie. :)
posted by Arthur on November 3, 2005 07:09 PM