Bed Stuy Fish Fry
801 Halsey St.,
Brooklyn, NY 11233
(347) 405-9820
Whoever says living in the hood is a bad thing has been misinformed. Sure there may be a shoot out here, or a robbery there. But if there has never been a shooting or a robbery in or near your New York City neighborhood, RAISE YOUR HAND! Yeah…thats what I thought. EVERYONE who lives in New York City, lives in the ghetto! lol Some neighborhoods are better than others. But I’ve learned the better the neighborhood, the worse the food and there is NO BETTER PLACE to grab a bite to eat than the good ole hood.
Not only is the food about half the price as foods in fancier areas, but the food is also more delicious because it has an authentic “home cooked” taste. Most of the ethnic restaurants in inner city neighborhoods are family owned and operated. Therefore when you walk into their store its like walking into their home (Minus the bad ass kids and drunk uncle. Oh who am I kidding sometimes theyre there too!).
One of my favorite spots to go to is Bed Stuy Fish Fry! Theres nothing better than a crispy piece of fried fish right out of the oil! You havent had a fish sandwich until youve had a whiting sandwich! And Im not talking about the fried whiting sandwiches that they make at the fish market. Thats not a REAL fish sandwich! The difference between these sandwiches is, the fish from the fish market is fried with boxed seasoning. The fish from an authentic soul food restaurant is seasoned with their own mixture of spices and seasoning salts! You can definitely taste the difference. In addition to the fried fish sandwiches they have a full menu that will test your willpower! When I go in there I have to fight myself not to order ONE OF EACH!
Luckily, they have a fish and shrimp combo. For only $6.50 you’ll 3 pieces of fried whiting and 6 shrimp and thats a MINI combo! In the full sized combos, they give you so much food its enough for 2 or even 3 meals! The picture above was taken of my food after I ate enough to fill me up. Their shrimp are fresh and crispy, and they add something extra to them that gives a tiny hint of sweetness that makes you grin every time you take a bite.
Their seasoned fries are magic! I say this because these are the only fries that Ive ever had that can be reheated and still taste good and have a good texture. HOW DO THEY DO THAT?! And dont let the name “Bed Stuy Fish Fry” fool you! That may be their specialty but thats not all they have. If you like Mac & Cheese, Collard Greens, Baked Chicken and Peach Cobbler, you’re in luck! Sometimes I order things I dont even want because I know that I will want it later (and by things I mean Peach Cobbler). If you EVER see peach cobbler, just get it! You want it, even if you dont know it at the time. *Chronicles of a fatty*
If you dont live in the hood, you wont have fish like this within walking distance! All you’ll have to go to A Salt and Battery. Thats not REAL fried fish! I went to A Salt and Battery and they didnt even know what Old Bay seasoning was! It tasted like fast food. How can you call yourself a seafood restaurant if you dont even know of Old Bay!? They ought to be ashamed of themselves!
The only disappointment I have with Bed Stuy Fish Fry are their chicken wings. I bought an order of fried hot wings from there and thats just what it was. HOT WINGS! Like the hot wings you get from the Arab Chicken place. I LOVE hot wings from the chicken place, but when I order chicken wings from a Soul Food restaurant, I want SOUL FOOD CHICKEN! WITH SOUL FOOD SEASONINGS! NOT NO DAMN MAMA’S FRIED CHICKEN HOTWINGS! GET IT TOGETHER! Thats like going to a mexican restaurant for tacos and they give you some Taco Bell! WTF!? But since all of their other food that i’ve had is great I will let them slide.
As far as the atmosphere. It’s cool. They keep it clean. It’s kinda cute inside and you can tell theyre trying to make it “to-stay friendly” but it’s a small place. You can sit in there and eat if you dont mind traffic. There are people going in and out all the time, and though they have a couple of nice tables, chairs and a counter with stools, to me its not really a sit down restaurant. Theres no wait staff. You order your own food and pick it up from the counter. One incentive to get your food to stay is that they have a nice flat screen tv that plays VH1 Soul! Thats a plus in my book! But you dont have to stay, you dont even have to GO because they deliver! Thats a rarity in Soul Food Restaurants! So lets give them a round of applause! And they actually show up within a reasonable amount of time!
So if youre a Bed Stuy resident, or frequent the area lets show our support and keep the business coming! We need places like this in our lives.
