By Cathalena E. Burch
One bite into the deep-fried piece of pollock at Sue's Fish & Chips and it dawned on us how addicted we are to salt.
We're used to our fast food - especially our fried foods - being showered with the seasoning. We expect that tingling sensation when our tongue touches the food.
Salt is in short supply at Sue's, a Fourth Avenue institution that has weathered 55 years in Tucson's competitive restaurant market. That's not altogether a bad thing.
The lack of salt allows the true flavor of the moist, flaky pollock ($4.25-$16.50) to shine through. It doesn't bury the flavor of the melt-in-your-mouth meaty scallops that came with two large, hefty fish planks in a combo plate with fries ($6.85).
The fries, though, cried out for salt. Even the purists among us reached for the packet of salt hidden in their desk to perk up the crinkle-cuts.
The slight peppery kick to the light breading on the chicken tenders ($5.55-$6.85) provided just enough seasoning to complement the bird. The chicken was deep-fried just long enough to seal in the moistness.
We were a bit perplexed by the shrimp ($6.85 in a combo). Two smallish shrimp, placed side-by-side lengthwise, were heavily breaded to create an almost wand of dough. It was overwhelming. Once you picked through the thick dough, the shrimp proved to be bland.
A stack of six pickles provided a salty kick to the fish sandwich ($2.09), whose only seasoning was a splash of ketchup.
Along with the absence of salt at Sue's is the absence of grease, which is baffling considering they deep-fry everything to order. Amazingly, none of the food had the slightest hint or residue of grease.
Now that's something we'd like to see at the other fast-food joints.