20 JANUARY 26-FEBRUARY 1, 2023 westword.com WESTWORD | MUSIC | CAFE | CULTURE | NIGHT+DAY | LETTERS | CONTENTS | Let the Chips Fall A CHRONICLE OF PAUL MYHILL’S QUEST FOR THE BEST. BY MOLLY MARTIN Paul Myhill goes hard. Also known as the Colorado Beer Guy, he’s previously visited 365 breweries in 365 days, gone on a 46-day beer-only fast, and completed a quest to visit every Colorado brewery and taproom, which took eighteen months to complete. His latest endeavor took him on a more food-centric journey, as he spent a month visiting as many spots as possible in metro Denver that offer fi sh and chips, based on recommendations via social media and his own research. He ended up trying the of- ferings at 37 places in 32 days, pairing beers with all that fried food at all but one stop, which does not serve booze. Myhill’s fi sh and chips knowledge goes back to childhood. “I was born in Bedford, U.K. (near London) to British parents of Scottish, Irish and English descent,” he writes. “I still have fond memories of going to pubs as a child and then hitting a chippy afterwards for a full fi sh and chips, or for just chips with curry sauce.” After his family moved to Texas in the 1970s, his fi sh and chips cravings continued. “Absent decent local choices, we found ourselves set- tling for places like Long John Silver’s at least once a week. Quite the struggle!” he shares. He returned to England in the early 1990s, opening an American-themed pub and res- taurant in Cambridgeshire that offered over a dozen beers on tap, 100 bottled beers, and a take on fi sh and chips with American-style fries. During that time, he also traveled fre- quently to Yorkshire, which is “the county known as the mecca and standard of British fi sh and chips,” Myhill notes. There he en- joyed “what true fi sh and chips was supposed to be — full beer-battered fi llets, deep-fried with beef dripping and served with hand-cut, brined chips from Maris Piper potatoes or something similar. The chips were as much the star of the show as the fi sh was.” He’s also eaten his way through the fi sh and chips options in Los Angeles, Boston, Chicago and Wisconsin, as well as other coun- tries around the world as he traveled doing charity work with orphans and child slaves. “As a result, I think I’ve tried just about every notable variation on ‘British’ fi sh and chips around the world,” he says. “I’m certainly not claiming to be an expert, but as a well-traveled Brit, I feel I truly know my fi sh and chips.” Myhill has lived in Colorado for over two decades now, and though he’s eaten plenty of fi sh and chips in the area during that time, this quest took him to both new spots and ones he’d visited before. “There’s a big difference between American fi sh and chips and British fi sh and chips,” Myhill explains. “My lifelong experience with traditional British fi sh and chips is one of full fi llets (not carved-up ‘logs,’ as I call them), hand-cut chips (not frozen French fries), and a fryer oil composed with at least some beef tal- low (beef dripping) or lard. The beer batter has to be crispy, not thick and spongy, and with just a little oil re- tention, not like a soggy/ greasy sponge. The fish itself has to be what you’d expect it to be — fl avorful, fl aky and moist. It’s quite an art to get the right balance of batter to fi sh and the right balance of crisp and moist. When done right, that’s what makes fi sh and chips so downright enjoyable.” And so the ideal fi sh and chips experience can be broken down into three components. First, the fi sh. “I want to appreciate that specifi c fi sh, not logs from multiple random fi sh,” Myhill says of his preference for full fi llets. “I want to enjoy a particular catch, not a commodity.” But full fi llets are rare in the U.S., and that proved true in this quest, as well. The type of fi sh is also important. “Tradi- tional fi sh and chips is either cod or haddock, with a general preference for haddock the further north you go in Britain,” Myhill notes. “A couple of places on the quest didn’t disclose on the menu that their fi sh is pollock, or some other type of inferior whitefi sh, instead of the traditional cod or haddock. To me, that’s a real shame. You wouldn’t go into a restaurant and just order meat and potatoes, would you? You’d want to know what kind of meat it was, and maybe what the specifi c cut is. I wish fi sh and chips was looked at the same way.” The second major component: the oil and batter used. Myhill has a strong prefer- ence for England’s traditional thin, light and crispy exterior fried in beef dripping, or at least in oil with some beef drippings added. “It sounds quite unhealthy, but beef dripping is very rich in nutrients and natural anti-infl ammatory compounds. My maternal grandmother almost lived to 100, and her favorite thing during the week for breakfast was to spread the prior Sunday’s beef drip- ping on her toast each morning,” he recalls. On this quest, “I saw all kinds of varia- tions on the batter, from the spongy grease trap to pleasantly light and crisp. The ones who seemed to do the worst in this regard in the Denver area were typically part of larger chains,” he shares. “Some places try to differentiate themselves with beer bat- ter/breadcrumb/cracker hybrids. Off with their heads! In Britain, breadcrumb fi sh is reserved for the frozen-food aisle or fl atfi sh like plaice and sole. A nice, juicy fi llet of cod or haddock should never suffer the indignity of breadcrumbs or crushed crackers.” Finally, you cannot overlook the chips portion of a superior fi sh and chips. “There’s a reason that fi sh and chips shops in Britain and Ireland are called ‘the chippy’ or ‘chippies.’ When so much attention and pride is taken to make sure the chips offering is great and can be served on their own or with a good curry sauce or Bisto brown gravy, I believe the American version should at least try to honor that tradition, also,” Myhill explains. “Battered fries are the bane of my existence, and shoestring fries are an insult to humanity.” This is where Denver’s offerings really fell short. “None of the places I visited, even those claiming or closely resembling chippy status, offered what I’d consider to be truly authentic British-style, hand-cut chips,” My- hill says. He did fi nd a few hand-cut varieties that were pleasing in other ways, though. He also found a handful of places that satisfied his cravings for the ideal com- bination of solid fi sh, chips and beer. But “none of these craving-satisfying choices are truly perfect, and they would have diffi culty competing in Whitby, Yorkshire or in many other places around the United Kingdom and Ireland,” he admits. His conclusion: “Maybe I should open my own.” Here’s a breakdown of Myhill’s (not per- fect, but craving-worthy) favorites for fi sh and chips in the Denver area: For the British pub ex- perience: “There’s really only one in that category for me — Burns Pub in Broomfi eld. For the ‘with beer’ part of the quest, Burns also has a very nice selection of British beers on hand.” Honorable men- tion: the British Bulldog. For a more typical American tavern version: “It’s the Old Blinking Light in Highlands Ranch. The duck-fat chips, in particu- lar. ... Probably because the duck fat emulates the traditional beef-dripping oil I was accustomed to in my youth.” For the American expe- rience, a Walleye fry: “I’m undoubtedly heading to Henry’s Pub in Loveland.” Best-tasting cod: “Hands down, the Icelandic cod from York- shire Fish & Chips in Denver, served as two long cuts of the fi llet loin. ... I’d prefer the full fi llet, and I wish they’d also hand-cut their own chips, but the fi sh was very satisfying.” Best gluten-free batter: “West Main Taproom + Grill in Parker, which uses a fi ve-fl our blend to achieve what I rarely see in gluten-free fi sh and chips. For those who want their gluten fi x there, also, they offer 54 taps of Colorado beers, representing Colorado’s 54 14ers.” Upscale fi sh and chips: “Water Grill is at the top of my list. Everybody else who tried to take a traditional dish and make it unique and fancy didn’t quite hit the mark, in my opinion.” Brewery fi sh and chips: “It was Wynkoop Brewing in Denver for me, with the only butterfl y-cut fi llet (both sides of the fi sh) I experienced on the quest. Standard fries on offer, but the fi sh cut was nice, unique and satisfying.” Chippy (a spot serving only fi sh and chips): “Reelfi sh in Lafayette. ... [It] also scratched the good-beer itch.” Bonus recommendations: “My other al- ter-ego on Facebook is the Colorado Banger & Burger Guy. Given my heritage, I love a good British banger sausage, and they’re equally hard to fi nd here. But I was very pleased to be able to get a deep-fried banger with my fi sh and chips at The Chippy in Colorado Springs, and a banger on the side with my fi sh and chips at GB Fish & Chips in Denver (plus other locations).” To scroll through photos of every stop on Myhill’s quest, visit facebook.com/Colora- doBeerGuy. Email the author at [email protected]. CAFE FIND MORE FOOD & DRINK COVERAGE AT WESTWORD.COM/RESTAURANTS Colorado Beer Guy Paul Myhill did a deep dive into the local fi sh and chips scene. PAUL MYHILL