Having been out walking all day, we didn't feel like cooking (and anyway Chef Bear Oakley wasn't with us) so we thought we would take a stroll down to Ballycastle harbour and pick up some fish and chips from Mortons fish and chip shop which had been recommended to us.
As we queued in the shop, having placed our order, we began to get a bit worried. Everywhere we looked we saw references to fish and chip or just chip. Now we rather like our chips and were hoping for rather more than just the one being advertised. Fortunately, as we had a local, Patrick, with us, he was able to explain that 'chip' is just an Irish term for chips in the plural, and to reassure us that we would not be disappointed.
As you can see from our plates and our happy faces, Patrick knew what he was talking about. Perhaps we should say, before anyone thinks they serve strange looking fish in Ballycastle, that the plate on the left was loaded with scampi - the plate on the right had the fish. Incidentally, the fish was pollock. It was our first taste of this sustainable fish and we highly recommend it for taste its and environmental benefits.
These plates of food were simply delicious, especially after a 13 mile walk. One of the reasons they were so good, and why this fish & chip shop has the reputation it has, is because the Morton family are also local fisherman, who catch their own fish so it is always freshly caught and local. Incidentally, the Morton family also gave assistance to the R.N.L.I. when the local lifeboat was stranded on rocks at Rathlin Island - we talked about the incident in a recent posting - so they are clearly good people.
As well as the fish & chips, we can also recommend the Fab Cab red winebox which you see lurking at the back of our picture. It was a rather fine vintage which goes rather well with chips!
Lots of love, Eddie, Patrick, George & Yorkie xxx
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