Catch 'em if you can

Markethouse
Executive chef Scott Walton (pictured) uses the freshest wild-caught fish he can get his hands on for the ale-battered fish and chips ($20) at this new restaurant in the Streeterville Doubletree, so one day you might get walleye, another cod and still another, pollock. He stays local with the beer batter, using Half Acre’s Over Ale to create a “nice and mild malt flavor with a little bitterness.” Everything else is upscale-traditional: homemade tartar sauce, thick-cut potato fries tossed with parsley and salt, and a small salad highlighting seasonal greens and herbs.

Duchamp        
Skatewing is the fish of choice for Michael Taus, chef-partner at this Bucktown neighborhood spot. “I like cod but prefer the wide-winged fish because it’s so thin and cooks quickly, so it’s not a big, greasy chunk of fish,” he explains. (And Taus knows fish: He was a fishmonger at age 18.) He serves the skate crusted in panko with fries tossed in garlic oil, Pecorino-Romano and chives. Though Taus’ version of fish and chips is always available a la carte for $18, it’s an entree option on the restaurant’s special $25, three-course Lenten menu, available Fridays through March 27.

Chalkboard                     
Gilbert Langlois, chef-owner of this North Center bistro, looks to New Zealand for inspiration for his version of fish and chips ($25). The dish is based on the cornstarch-, salt- and pepper-coated calamari he remembers from visiting the island country. At Chalkboard, he applies the mixture to Lake Michigan whitefish before frying in veggie oil for a light, crisp, low-grease result. The fish strips, served alongside bright red beets prepared the same way, get a sprinkling of grated pink and Sichuan peppercorns before they hit the table with a side of homemade tartar sauce.

C-House
Don’t go looking for tartar sauce with the fish and chips at this seafood-focused restaurant from celeb chef Marcus Samuelsson in the Affinia Chicago hotel. Executive chef Seth Siegel-Gardner prepares his jerk spice-rubbed and beer-battered cod ($22) with coconut milk, shredded coconut, ginger, garlic, lime juice and capers for a burst of Jamaican-style flavors. Add some hand-cut fries and homemade ketchup (you’ll never go back), and you’ll be singing Bob Marley instead of Irish drinking songs by the time the night is out.

Wave
We weren’t surprised to hear that spice-master chef Kristine Subido uses Moroccan spices for her take on fish and chips ($10) at Wave, the globally inspired restaurant in the W Lakeshore Hotel. Subido pairs bite-sized pieces of grouper and thinly sliced potatoes lightly fried in rice oil with a zesty sauce of honey and harissa, a North African condiment that incorporates garlic, cumin, coriander and other spices. The dish also is served with traditional tartar sauce and a French-style cherry mignonette.

The Drawing Room
Leave it to chef Nick Lacasse to turn pub grub into cocktail food. At this Gold Coast lounge, “fish and chips” ($10) are really little golf ball-sized croquettes made from a mixture of flaked roasted cod and salt cod with herb-cream sauce. The spheres are battered with panko and potato flakes, fried, dusted with malt vinegar powder, and served with preserved lemon aioli and “tarragon chips,” a layered concoction that Lacasse says looks like a “windowpane of potato chips with a tarragon leaf stuck inside.”

Socca
Forget beer batter or even breadcrumbs. Chef Roger Herring reaches for cornmeal when dusting Lake Superior whitefish for the whitefish frites ($21) at this Lakeview neighborhood bistro. Herring says the cornmeal adds a texture and taste reminiscent of a shore-side meal you might have in France or Italy. He tops the whitefish with a lemon-caper nage (a light, broth-based sauce) and serves it with thin hand-cut fries and herb aioli.

Amelia Levin is a Metromix special contributor. metromix@tribune.com

Updated March 17, 2009