Fish & Chips, Elysian Brewery

After an awesome weekend of backpacking, hiking, camping, lake swimming, and general woodsyness, down to the plethora of bugbites, my friends and I treated ourselves to an awesome viewing of the new Conan the Barbarian, wherein Jason Mamoa proves he is a foxier version of Brendan Fraser, and then headed to Elysian Brewery, where we had hoped to try their Rhubarbarella Beer. I have a love of rhubarb. Unfortunately, the Tangletown Elysian didn't have the Rhubabarella. (Headed to the Capitol Hill Elysian on Friday, which according to the website, is stocking the Rhubarb Brew... so hopefully I'll get to try it then).

Anyway... the point of this little tale (besides rubbing in how awesome my life is), is that the Elysian Brewery was a recommended stop on my Seattle Fish & Chips Tour. Unfortunately, I forgot to snag a pic. Still, here are the stats:

Fish: It was a little heavier than I would like, and very mild flavored. It wasn't bad, but it wasn't particularly striking either.

Batter: Golden, crispy, not too greasy, but bland. I mean, I tried this fish in waves. There was an initial bite, which left little to be desired. Again, not to say it was unpleasant, it just wasn't particularly desirous. So then I squeezed the lemon, which did little to persuade me. So then I tried it with the vinegar, and still nothing. The tartar (which I will get to in a moment) was the saving grace. Ultimately, it was just like the fish needed some seasoning. or, it's the perfect pallat for a tartar lover.

Fries: So. Good. These are like the "joe" style fry, again, or as my friends' called them: steak fries. I wouldn't call them the traditional steak fry since they were more wedge shaped than what I would consider a steak fry. But these were flavorful, not too greasy, crispy on the outside with light potato-y goodness on the inside. I think these fries with the Hale's fish would make the ultimate fish & chips. Maybe they should work together?

Tartar: Ok, so I will admit that I am not the biggest tartar fan. In fact, pretty much the only time I dig into tartar sauce is with the Fish & Chips, but in that instance, I love tartar sauce. Elysian's tartar sauce, however, was delicious on it's own merits. I wouldn't say it was particularly dill-y, no strong lemon or vinegar flavors, but it was creamy and it was not bland at all. The flavors all subtly combined--some dill, some lemon & vinegar, but perfectly blended.

and Slaw (if available): No slaw offered.

Perhaps one day I'll go back and take a picture. But honestly, their pulled pork sandwich with horseradish slaw looked more inspiring.

On a more exciting note, the beers that I had while there (despite missing the Rhubarbarella), were awesome. I had the Idiot Sauvin, made from New Zealand Nelson Sauvin Hopps. It was nice, citrusy, fragrant. And then I had the Jasmine IPA, which had a light floral taste, but not too strong. Good for me because floral flavors can often overpower for me.

Altogether a productive adventure.