LIFE

Fish & chips the British way at OK UK in N. Fort Myers

ANNABELLE TOMETICH
ATOMETICH@NEWS-PRESS.COM

Hot Dish: Fish & Chips from John's OK UK Fish-n-Chips in North Fort Myers

Price: $9.50 for the Queen portion, $11.50 for the King

Description: This classic British dish starts with a thick fillet of Icelandic cod owner John Norton cuts into roughly 6 or 8.5-ounce portions. He dredges the fillets in his beer batter, "It has to be thin, because you want it to be crisp and light," he says, and then carefully lowers them into roiling oil. The fish cooks for just a few minutes, time Norton uses to finish his chips (or as we call them on this side of the pond: fries). OK UK hand cuts its chips, blanches them, then cooks them a second time in hot oil. If Norton times it right (spoiler alert: He always does) then the fries and fish are hot, crisp and ready to eat at precisely the same time. Norton finishes the faux-newspaper-lined basket with his homemade cole slaw, a roll and a wedge of lemon. Traditional malt vinegar and tartar sauce (for Americans who just can't help themselves) are available on the tables.

On the menu since: September 22, 2014, when OK UK opened

Number sold in a busy day: 80 to 100

Busiest day of the week: "Friday is fish day," John Natanni, Norton's son in-law and business partner said. "That's by far our busiest day."

Why it's hot: Norton hails from Christchurch, a town in southern England. He ran restaurants there and in the U.S. where he moved in 1960 — so he's made this dish a time or two. "We get a lot of Brits in here," Natanni said, "and they say this is the best they've had since they've been here. It's just, we do things fresh and we do them the right way. There aren't many secrets."

John's OK UK is at 13971 N. Cleveland Rd., North Fort Myers; 599-2328 or okukfishnchips.com

Connect with this reporter: @ATometich (Twitter)