Fox & Goose - an English viewpoint
You can take the boy out of England but you can’t take the desire for some traditional Brit food out of the boy. To that end I found myself at the ‘Fox & Goose’ English pub down on 10th and R.
Whenever I’m on a road-trip in Britain I usually find myself stopping for breakfast at an ‘American Diner’. Naturally these are always a pale imitation of the genuine article and most often turn out to be a British interpretation of such where the easily available British food is offered in an American style. So it’s always interesting to me to compare the ‘British’ pubs found in America.
There aren’t many pubs in the UK with pictures on the wall of Tower Bridge, the Houses of Parliament or the Queen Mum (bless her) as I’ve seen in some Brit-pubs here. My first impression of the Fox & Goose however, was that they had resisted putting up a plethora of neon-signs which always shouts ‘American bar’ to me and kills any English vibe.
The Fox & Goose is (by definition of its location) not so much an English pub as an English ‘themed’ pub. This fact was most harshly brought home to me by the many large posters advertising several of my favourite beers. I was teased with these beer adverts only to find they were just for decoration and the beers depicted were not on sale. This seems to be a trend but one that I always fall for.
Style-wise, the Fox & Goose is very much in the vein of the larger family ‘pub-restaurants’ found around Britain. It offers a huge choice of both American and English dishes throughout the day and judging from the crowds, is a very popular place. I was there for breakfast and immediately opted for the ‘bangers’ which were spot-on in taste and texture. The crumpets could do with a bit more toasting (for my tastes at least) and I’m always amused to find English muffins on offer in this country as I’m sure they’re eaten more here than in England.
As for personal preference can I make some requests? Heinz baked-beans and fried-bread! Can I also say ‘black-pudding’? No? Okay, I can see the screwed up faces so I won’t mention it again. But it sure is tasty - and it’s served in England.
I fully intend to return to try out the lunch and evening menus which offer a good choice of British regional dishes such as Welsh Rarebit, fish & chips, Cornish pasties and Ploughman’s lunch. I’m still on the lookout for that elusive English-seaside fish & chips and I’m hoping Fox and Goose can help.
Naturally there will always be some mingling of the cultures when a cultural icon is removed from its context but the Fox & Goose does it seamlessly.
Related posts:
The Goose rotates their beer every now and then - so maybe they’ll have what they advertise next time you go. Their breakfast (breakie?) is great in my opinion, but it’s also a great place to just grab a drink and even see local bands play. I can’t vouch for authenticity, as i’ve never been to the UK. But i can tell you that it makes me want to go visit.
Another cool “pub” is Bonn Lair at 36th and J. Their food isn’t as good as the Goose though.