Codmother

Codmother may sound like a Terry Pratchett novel, but it's actually a small, hole in the wall place located on U St. It's designed to be a facsimile of a British pub. It has punk posters and photos, and lots of exposed brick and chalked graffiti. Their main dish is fish and chips — the name comes from the fact that cod is a great fish for fish and chips, and the female of the species is meatier than the male. (I suspect there's a your momma joke in there somewhere.)

The fish and chips they get their name from are the best I've ever had. They are these balls of cod, with a relatively thin crust, deep fried and served with tartar sauce and mushy peas. It's not the traditional breaded fillet, but I think it works better as a nugget; it's easier to eat. I don't care for mushy peas, preferring them to have a bit of a snap, but theirs are quite good, if occasionally a little salty. The chips are thick cut and fairly bland, but they go well with the peas.

Recently, they added a lamb burger to the menu, called the "pimp hooker" burger. Not sure why. It's good, as far as it goes, but it's spiced like a gyro and makes you crave tzatziki sauce. It's not particularly menu, and seems like it was placed on the menu for people who don't eat fish, rather than out of any passion from the owners.

The beer selection is limited, but eclectic. With the exception of Guinness, their draughts are all American mass-produced swill. They have a large selection of British beers in the can and bottle, however, including Boddington's, Old Speckled Hen, and Sam Smith. It's one of our favorite places to go on U St for a low key dinner.