April 16-18 only
The library sports grille & brewery
Address: 201 E. Custer Street, Laramie, WY 82070
Website: https://thelibrarybrewery.com/
Country Represented: England
Special: Fish and Chips
Gabrielle Allen
In Laramie, I find myself missing real British chip-shop chips. Back in the UK, after a night at the pub, we’d make our way to the chippy for a bag of chips, sometimes with mushy peas, a Wally, or a pickled egg, all generously seasoned with salt and malt vinegar. The chippy would ask - “Open or closed love?” – to find out if we would eat them right away or if they should be wrapped up to take to the park or take home.
In my childhood, chips were wrapped in greaseproof paper and old newspapers, although now the newspaper is changed for large paper sheets. At the shops across from school, we’d also get a chip butty for lunch from the baker rather than risk the school canteen – a big hunk of crusty white bread, cut to make a pocket, and filled with hot chips.
Of course, if you take your chips home to eat, there was no question: you had to have a cuppa builder’s tea to go with them. It may sound strange—chips and tea—but trust me, they complement each other perfectly.
I’ve never had anything quite like British chips in the USA. British chips are big and substantial – nothing like the thin, crispy, French fries that are typical here. British chips are fluffy and soft on the inside, and golden and just a little crisp on the outside. They smell of nostalgia, comfort, grease and a sharp tang of vinegar.