When I was a kid, I liked to go to Medina to eat out. Being from the Village of Lodi, restaurant options were slim in the 70’s and 80’s. You basically had to travel 20 minutes. Sometimes I was able to talk my parents into going to Arthur Treacher’s Fish and Chips. There I could get my own boat of fish filets with “chips.” To a girl like me who appreciates thicker fries they were way better than the french fries at McDonald’s or Burger Chef. Plus I could get all the tartar sauce I wanted to dip my fish into! I’m known affectionately to my husband, Bobby, as the condiment queen and for good reason. My love for condiments started when I was young and Arthur Treacher’s was on place I learned the value of excess dipping.
In addition to the deep fried fish, I would also ask my parents if I could get clam chowder. The frothy, clammy soup came with a package of oyster crackers. This was the perfect compliment to an already wonderful seafood dinner.
I was sad when I learned that the Arthur Treacher’s in Medina was closing. I had grown up and moved away by that time, but still I experienced a little bit of grief knowing I couldn’t stop in for my soup and fish. I have over the years been able to find one or two here or there. But it has been quite awhile. In fact, I thought they had disappeared from the fish fast food landscape.
However, a month or so ago, Bobby posted on Facebook a picture of the Arthur Treacher’s sign and indicated there was one remaining in Cuyahoga Falls. (Actually, there are two remaining in Northeast Ohio, that we know of — one in Cuyahoga Falls and one in Garfield Heights of Cleveland.) He suggested we go sometime and I agreed. Not only did I say it was a good idea, but a multitude of our Facebook friends chimed in that they were interested in going to it as well. I guess I wasn’t the only one who liked Arthur Treacher’s Fish and Chips!
At the time we didn’t make any set plans to go. The idea was just “out there.” Finally during my recent staycation, Bobby suggested a late dinner at Arthur Treacher’s. We had no where to go the next day, so we made the 58 minute trek to the restaurant.
When we walked in around 8 p.m. the restaurant had just a few patrons in it. That didn’t seem unusual for that time of night. What was interesting is that the shop did steady business the entire time we were there — mostly for take out or through the drive thru.
I ordered my standard fish and chips dinner, but this time I ordered the three piece dinner. It comes with three pieces of fish, a good amount of chips and two hushpuppies. I remember as a kid that I didn’t really like hushpuppies — too much of an onion flavor to me. Therefore, I didn’t bother trying them again. Bobby, who had been having a hankering for hushpuppies lately, not only had his two from his dinner, but mine as well.
Oh yeah, Bobby ordered the three piece chicken dinner. Even though he is from the east coast, he does not like seafood, not one little bit. Bobby enjoyed his chicken. He said it was even better this time than he did the last time he had gone to an Arthur Treacher’s.
I enjoyed my fish and chips. I do think I remember the fish being a little thicker when I was a kid. It could be that everything seemed bigger when I was younger or it could be the way everything else is going these days. Entrees are getting smaller. But it still tasted the same. And then with the tartar sauce it was a step back in time for me.
But the pièce de résistance was the clam chowder. It was really good. Better than I remembered. And super hot. I kept thinking that my dad, Bud, would have loved it because he loves his soup hot. The only thing different was that it came with regular saltines and not oyster crackers. Other than that it was super yummy. What’s more, we could purchase a can of it from them to bring home. Yes, it is canned clam chowder, but that doesn’t bother me and shouldn’t bother you either!
While everything was so good, I couldn’t eat it all. Probably because Bobby and I had already been out to eat earlier that day and had enjoyed the ice cream from Almost Heaven Homemade Ice Cream, which you can read about here. I decided to take a little bit of everything home.
As I was packing it up, I was a little nervous about how it would heat up. Sometimes fried foods just don’t reheat well. But I didn’t want to waste the food or the trip, so I took a chance. When I did reheat it, I discovered that I had worried needlessly. Of course that could be because I reheated it in the toaster oven/convection oven and not the microwave. Regardless, even the leftovers were pretty good.
I had been up in the air about buying the clam chowder, but Bobby decided that because I enjoyed it so much, we should get some to take home. While he was ordering it, I looked over some of the other options available. When I was a kid, fish and chips was all I got. Now, I don’t know if that is because that is what my parents limited me to or whether I didn’t want to branch out to other seafood. What I found on the menu now has shrimp or clam dinners, are available, too. I don’t know when, but I’m thinking another trip to Arthur Treacher’s is on the horizon. If only to give the clam dinner a try.
