Date Night gets an invite to check out the new kid on the block in Roswell. We are at
The Big Ketch, the newest restaurant on Canton Street. There’s a sister location in Buckhead with almost the same menu if you live closer to that one. As is the vogue in this area, they took an old house, put it on steroids to enlarge it, and turned it into a nice place to eat.

They even left room for some parking, which is rare on Canton Street. The city of Roswell really should buy that old antique market and replace it with a parking deck, but we digress. Back inside The Big Ketch, there is wood, metal, brick and tile.

Check out the mosaic tile under the bar.

The chairs are artfully arranged in the same direction. Can someone explain why restaurants like to do that? There are about six taps behind that bar. One of them has Reformation Providence in it, and we both take advantage of this great opportunity.

We named Providence our favorite new beer of 2015. Belgian beer lovers will enjoy this tripel from Woodstock, right down the road from Roswell.

Here’s a nice touch, boiled peanuts delivered to every table.

We both prefer our peanuts roasted, but these are good. It must be the secret blend of 15 herbs and spices used in the cooking process. Colonel Sanders would be proud.

There are fourteen appetizers on the menu, most of them seafood-themed, which makes sense. Plus, there’s an oyster bar. It’s hard to choose, and we go for the lobster egg rolls.

This dish wins on presentation alone. Don’t those little rice thingies make a nice picture? Add the duck sauce squiggles and it looks great. Fortunately, it tastes as good as it looks.

There’s lots of seafood on the menu. Our server, Larry, who knows The Big Ketch inside and out, tells us the only freezer on the premises is the small one where they keep their gelato. All of the seafood is fresh and never frozen. One of the specials tonight is rainbow trout.

Eve is eating healthy tonight. That might justify dessert. It’s a little dry and is probably a bit overcooked. The corn and broccoli sides are both grilled and go nicely with the trout.

I don’t want to boast, but I have a much better meal than my date, the fish IN chips. That’s not a misprint–it really is fish IN chips.

They take the cod, batter it, and then roll it in kettle chips. Not only do you get the crunch from the fried fish, you also get the crunch from the potato chips. This is the crunchiest guilty pleasure I have had in a long time. I feel like everyone in the place can hear me biting into it every noisy nibble. Order this if you go. The fish overshadows my sides, grits and grilled green beans. Omit the cheese (and save fifty cents) as the creamy grits really don’t need that piece of Velveeta-like product on top.

Can we top this for dessert? How about some chocolate bread pudding?

It’s topped with gelato from that small freezer. It’s a delicious dessert, but nothing we eat tonight is going to be better than that plate of fish IN chips.

Landlubbers take note–on Monday nights you can get a steakburger, a side and a draft beer for $10. We’ll be back for that deal. In the meantime, I’m going to have dreams about that plate of fish IN chips.

Disclosure time: Since this was a media event, we did not pay for our meal at The Big Ketch. Our words, however, are priceless. Thanks to Larry for taking such good care of us and to Morgan Dyches at Melissa Libby and Associates for the invitation.