DRIFTING into James and Karla Murray territory here, I present the storefront of Myers of Keswick at 634 Hudson, founded by Peter Myers, an immigrant from Keswick, England in 1985 after he noticed so many British expatriates living in NYC. He had immigrated to the States in the 1970s and found work at a bar called the Bells of Hell (which was the theme song of the late great Malachy McCourt on his WMCA radio talk show in the 1970s). It’s ex-pat Brits’place to buy — and Yanks’ place to try — comestibles and goods from the old country. Looking in the window, I remembered Weetabix from a Robyn Hitchcock lyric, and discovered that what we call “salad dressing” the Brits use the more prosaic “salad cream.”
I have always wanted to get something at A Salt and Battery on Greenwich Avenue just across from Jane, but never have. Fish & chips is one of my favorites. When I visited the Land of My Ancestors in Newfoundland in 1986, I had two fish and chip meals. One was just OK but the other was transcendent. Closer to home, the old man and I would preorder the fish and chips on Fridays from a seafood restaurant on 4th Avenue that had a fish store next door. I would go pick it up in the days before seamless or doordash. For me, the crispier the better, I am not a soft batter person.
There seems to be a mini-British settlement around this part of the Village; next door is Tea & Sympathy.
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1/15/25