The Anchor Fish & Chips has finally dropped anchor on the mini restaurant row on 13th Av. NE. in Minneapolis.

By Rick Nelson

To borrow an expression from President Obama, let me be perfectly clear: This region could use more restaurants like the Anchor Fish & Chips, an intimately scaled and modestly priced joint that, despite being open for less than a week, already seems to act as a drop-in center for the families, hipsters and senior citizens living on the surrounding blocks. If neighborhoods all over Minneapolis and St. Paul were peppered with Anchor-like places, the cities' livability scales would skyrocket.

Of course, they don't all need to be chippers. Not that the Anchor's back-to-basics menu (top price: $10) is limited to fish and chips: there's a big-old burger topped with Cheddar (imported from Ireland, naturally), a butter-soaked grilled ham-tomato-Cheddar sandwich and a shepherd's pie that could feed two.

The open kitchen's deep fryer stays busy, churning out a battered and fried sausage (made in the neighborhood at Sentyrz Liquor and Supermarket) and a deep-fried pastie filled with ground pork and carrots. As for the title dish, it's a gigantic, delicately battered Alaskan cod filet, perched over a plate of long, thick and golden hand-cut fries (which can also be ordered with brown gravy or a curry sauce). My favorite side? A small crock of smashed-up peas.

Saturday and Sunday breakfast service ($3 to $10) kicks off this weekend, with three choices that mix-and-match eggs, ham, blood sausage, grilled tomatoes, baked beans and potato bread. There's a short list of American and Irish beers, a value-priced house wine and a handful of non-alcoholic beverages.

The amiable red-and-black surroundings get the job done. There's an eight-seat counter that's perched along the cooking line, and while most of the dozen-or-so tables line up against the room's one long wall, a few high-tops are crowded along the front windows.

Until we were seated and eating, I was beginning to associate the Anchor with waiting. In part, because the place seemed to take forever to open; first mid-August, then late-August, then sometime in September, then "later this week," with each delay making me (and all kinds of blogosphere diners) more and more anxious. Opening day was finally at hand, and when we arrived at what we thought was a ridiculously early hour, there was a line out the door; since we were starving, we decided to skip it -- another wait! -- and instead walked down the street to the Modern Cafe, where we lucked into the last table in the house and enjoyed a brilliant meal.

Two nights later we headed back to the Anchor even earlier, and wouldn't you know it: Packed. But it's all good. Sure, we ended up cooling it for nearly an hour for a coveted four-top, going back and forth between the cramped entry and the sidewalk's refreshing autumn air. But it was worth it. The staff was as pleasant as can be, and there was a jovial vibe rippling among our fellow would-be customers. I like a happy restaurant, don't you?

The Anchor Fish & Chips, 302 13th Av. NE., Minneapolis, 612-676-1300. Open 4 p.m. to 1 a.m. Tuesday through Sunday. Breakfast is served 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Saturday and Sunday.