An Italian cafe/neighborhood bistro with familiar Southern Italian fare, moderate prices and minimal decor. The level of cuisine is many notches above the typical "red sauce" restaurant, where everything tastes the same because everything is smothered in the same heavy-handed tomato sauce. Working with skill and finesse, chef-owner Jonathan Hunt changes his menu daily, but usually prepares house-made pastas, several bruschettas, small pizzas, braised meats, grilled fish and simple, satisfying desserts. One of the Star Tribune's 2004 best restaurants of the year.

Thai food and drink in the heart of Uptown.

The namesake dish is a generous slab of wild Alaskan cod, dipped in a delicate water-based batter and fried until an outer shell -- light, golden, gently crunchy and relatively grease-free -- forms a protective seal around the moist, succulent fish. The fish pairs perfectly with fabulous thick-cut, Minnesota-raised fried potatoes -- barely crisp on the outside, hot and tender on the inside. Order them with a side of the tangy, slightly sweet curry sauce, and you'll know what it is to encounter bar-food brilliance. The pub is a partnership of first-time restaurateurs Kathryn Hayes, Luke Kyle and Jenny Crouser. Those fish and chips not only headline the brief menu, but overshadow all that follows. That's a shame. There's the toasty delight that is the grilled ham-and-cheese sandwich, a scandalously buttery thing of beauty. Vegetarians don't catch much of a break at the Anchor, but they can indulge in a well-made black bean/wild rice burger, imported from the nearby Mill City Cafe. Weekend breakfast means plentiful, South Beach Diet-style plates of eggs and sausages. Then there's the superb burger, a thick, well-seasoned and perfectly grilled monster that pops with a bold, beefy flavor. I wasn't crazy about the dull, heavy deep-fried pasties, but the zesty sausages, a blend of fine-ground pork and bright seasonings made at Sentyrz Liquor & Supermarket -- battered and deep-fried, of course -- are terrific. There's a wonderfully satisfying shepherd's pie, a ramekin generously filled with a stew of ground beef, tomatoes, peas and carrots and topped with a thick swipe of mashed potatoes. Good luck on the getting-a-seat thing, because the Anchor is that ruthless combination of popularity (crowds), scarcity (roughly 35 seats) and no reservations. My longest delay was 75 minutes, which, frankly, was testing my desire to wait for deep-fried fish and potatoes, even ones this good. But standing around taught me a few valuable lessons: Go early (before 5 p.m.) or late (after 9), and ask if you can cool your heels in one of the coveted chairs in the "library," the cozy book-lined (Irish and British titles, naturally) nook in the rear. It's not exactly in the chipper tradition to seek out something sweet, but why stand on ceremony? This is northeast Minneapolis, not Belfast, and chasing grease with chocolate is a bedrock principle of the Minnesota State Fair. I just wish I had been an Anchor insider, clued in to the knowledge that the kitchen occasionally cranks out Bailey's- and Guinness-filled cupcakes, or deep-fried Mars Bars (the super-caramel-ey ones from the British Isles), since neither appears on the menu. At least not yet.

A lively neighborhood coffeehouse that moves far beyond double mocha lattes, cooking up a surprisingly large and varied menu of quick, fresh, creative fare. Breakfast, served all day, includes a fantastic oatmeal cooked in apple cider and loaded with wild rice, raisins, cranberries, pecans and pears poached in maple syrup. There are eggs, from hard-boiled to semi-scrambled (cleverly fluffed by the espresso machine's steamer), even paired with grilled slices of Minnesota's classic canned meat, Spam. A pair of busy waffle irons crank out crisp Belgian waffles along with an ingenious grilled-cheese sandwich made on a whole-grain bread and slathered with Dijon mustard. Other tasty sandwiches include meat loaf, tuna salad and a curried turkey salad. Pair any of them with the hearty vegetarian chili, a bowl of soup or a green salad. Sweets include a large stock of muffins, scones, doughnuts and outstanding cookies, along with sold-by-the-scoop ice cream by Sebastian Joe's.