The Anchor Fish and Chips – Minneapolis, MN

An old friend from back in my band-playing days moved to Minneapolis. I’ve been remiss about hanging out with her, even though she’s awesome (I will divulge she has ditched me at numerous concerts we were both supposed to be going to, but that’s beside the point). She invited me to dinner at a place I’ve heard about from a number of my friends. Her boyfriend likes to eat there more than just about any other place, which is right in line with everything my friends told me about it.

I met them at The Anchor and we waited a bit for a table. The place isn’t very large and there are a ton of people wanting to eat there. I was about to find out why. Once we got a table, I scoured the menu. I had heard about the helicopter burger from people and kept looking at it, while trying to decide if I should try one of the other amazing sounding things they have. I couldn’t resist. I ordered the helicopter burger and a Strongbow. It was going to be a sleep-inducing meal, for sure.

The inside of the place is dark and warm, not stuffy or old-fashioned. There’s a bar, but you can’t stand at it – you have to sit next to it. An interesting layout, for sure. And you have to order food if you’re going to order drinks. This isn’t a stand-around-and-hang-out kind of bar. It’s a restaurant that serves food. Delicious food.

The food came out pretty quickly and I was really liking what I saw. The Helicopter burger is a delicious slab of hamburger, covered with Irish cheddar, ham, and a fried egg. It also comes with thick cut house fries which you can get either gravy or a curry dipping sauce for. I got to try both dipping sauces since we had them both on our table. They were both amazing. Neither one was better than the other and I was realllly pleased with both of them. Perfect.

The burger itself was juicy and moist, without being greasy and slathering the basket with all kinds of grease. The cheese really popped and the ham fell apart in your mouth, so you didn’t drag off the whole piece of ham with the first bite – something I’m concerned about with ham on my burgers. The meat of the burger was perfectly medium and really delicious. The egg made it a little sloppy to eat, but I was kind of surprised how well it stayed together and didn’t get all that messy.

No wonder people rave about this place so much. The food is comfort food – burgers, fish and chips (obviously, based on its name) and other British delights, and a couple of fun items thrown in just to keep you on your toes. I’m thrilled I got to eat here and am now looking for any excuse I can to come here again. It isn’t close to me, at all, but I’d be willing to make the drive there some night if someone wanted to. HINT HINT.

There’s not much to do a top 5 on, but suffice it to say, the burger and fry dipping sauces would be on the list.

www.theanchorfishandchips.com