The Chippie, Hawes

My weekends away with friends often turn into festivals of eating and drinking from which I generally need about a week to recover. This was shaping up to be one of these weekends. Fish and Chips were suggested to assist our recovery from a Friday night in the pub. We drove over to Hawes, and after a quick detour to the Wensleydale Creamery (plenty of free samples in the cheese shop) rocked up at the Chippie.

As it was bloody freezing we opted to eat in. The cafe was decked out in wood panelled booths and had a lovely warm fug from the fryers. Meal deals all round;- Haddock, Chips, Peas, Bread & Butter and a Pot of Tea (£7.55). I could see the fat fillets of haddock being dunked in batter then the fryers and thought we were probably in for a treat.

And so it proved. Splendid fish and chips. Beautifully crisp batter, not too thick or soggy on the fishward side. The fish just right, flaking and moist. Chips that ideal chip shop combo of crispy with a hint of grease (definitely beef dripping). Peas not too thick, not too sloppy. Tea, strong and brown. Bread, sliced white (although spread with marg when butter is better. A very minor quibble.).

All in all, thoroughly recommended. They have Ben Shaw's pop too. And pickled eggs.

9/10

The Chippie

Main Street
Hawes
North Yorkshire
DL8 3QL

http://www.thechippiehawes.co.uk/

Fox and Hounds Inn, West Burton

West Burton is a lovely little village in the Yorkshire Dales. It has a large village green, a beautiful waterfall and just the one pub, the Fox and Hounds. Tourist trade is obviously crucial to business in these parts, and in deepest, darkest January it wasn't exactly roaring. Pints of Copper Dragon Best were not a great start, smelling and tasting ok but staying resolutely cloudy to the finish. The unsmiling welcome from behind the bar didn't exactly help the atmosphere either. Things improved as a few more punters came in and we switched to much better pints of Black Sheep Best.

By the time hunger set in we were fairly well lubricated and the menu of sturdy looking pub grub looked appetising. What arrived ranged from the tasty and homemade to the bland and fresh from the freezer. My cumberland sausage, yorkshire pudding, chips, peas and gravy (about £8) was average at best. The sausage was a good meaty specimen but everything else seemed to be from the freezer camp. And the gravy was too runny.

Sausage, yorkshire, chips, peas, gravy

Chicken curry (yes with half rice half chips)

Some of my mates fared better, chicken curry and steak & kidney pie were both good, flavoursome and definitely cooked in-house. Puddings were all decent too, I couldn't fault the sticky toffee.

Sticky toffee pudding (half eaten, couldn't wait)

No other tables were occupied in the dining room for the duration of our meal. There were 6 of us, enough to create our own atmosphere but it would otherwise have been rather peculiar as we were regaled throughout by compulsory classical hits from Radio 3. The stereo next to our table was accompanied by this sign:

Weird?! Do they have very sensitive clientele at the Fox and Hounds? Is it a bolthole for spies, oligarchs and Hollywood celebs whose business must be kept from the prying ears of the general public? God knows but it's definitely one of the more unusual notices to be found in a pub dining room.

In summary, I didn't quite know what to make of the Fox & Hounds. There were some good things (some of the food and beer, the puddings, the setting) but plenty of bad (some of the food and beer, surly staff, weird signs). Maybe it would be better in summer...

5/10

Fox and Hounds Inn
West Burton
North Yorkshire
DL8 4JY
http://www.fhinn.co.uk/