8th Street Grill - Minneapolis, MN

The Deal: Downtown Minneapolis' 8th Street Grill offers three styles of Minnesota walleye: a walleye sandwich for $11.99, pan fried walleye for $12.99 or walleye fish and chips for $11.99. The entrees come with a variety of sides including fries, rice pilaf and veggies.

The Food: As is my custom, I opted for the fish and chips. My three pieces of fish, which were breaded with a batter made from delicious Summit beer, had a nice hint of that beer and a good texture but were completely ruined by numerous bones. I don't ask that much from a fish fry, but I do enjoy not choking. So, I couldn't eat most of my fish, but I did enjoy the thick, hearty steak fries. The apple coleslaw was a huge hit at my table, but with my aversion to mayo, I'll have to take my dining companions word.

The Flavor: Given its downtown location, the 8th Street Grill is a popular place for lunch and happy hour. It's spacious enough to be a nice sit down option when you're sick of brown bagging it at your desk. As a particularly nice happy hour treat, the Grill has several varieties of delicious Point Beer on tap. Ah Point, what a wonderful taste of home!

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The Local - Minneapolis, MN

The deal: Sometimes you can't make it to a fish fry. While that's a tragedy, it doesn't mean you can't get your fish on. A good fish & chips is an acceptable substitute. The Local in downtown Minneapolis offers a fish & chips or walleye sandwich for $11.99.

The food: I opted for the fish & chips and got two nice-sized pieces of fish (sadly, not shaped like Ireland) and a heaping plate of fries. The fries were either tiny & crispy or big and full of an almost creamy potato texture. Both ways were simply delicious. The fish, however, was a disappointment. The batter was tasteless, even after squeezing a lemon on top. One piece of fish was nicely flakey, but the other piece was a bit mealy. I have no idea what kind of fish it was. I assume cod, but the menu didn't specify, so that's a little sketchy, right?

The flavor: The Local is a huge & busy Irish pub right on the Nicolet Mall. It's full of fun little nooks & crannies (include a "kissing room"). It'd be a fun place to get some fish and then settle in for a night of drinking. The beer menu includes a nice selection of English & Irish beers as well as classic hot toddies.

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Anchor Fish and Chips - Minneapolis, MN

The Deal: The Anchor Fish & Chips offers, you guessed it, fish & chips for $8.50. Although it's not a real fish fry, sometimes when you're out of state, a good fish & chips is close enough, right?

The Food: As you can see, the cod at The Anchor is huge. Huge! While the fish itself was perfectly flaky, the breading was just a little too mushy for my taste. The ends of the fish were done a little bit more and they were delicious and I was a little bitter that the rest of my fish didn't taste like that.

The chips, on the other hand, were absolutely perfect. They're cut from Minnesota potatoes and you can certainly taste the love, or at least the skin. Crisp on the outside, they were thick and almost meaty on the inside. More please.

Of course I didn't touch the tartar sauce, but my dining companion loved it and used it as a dipping sauce for both the fish & the fries.

The Flavor: The Anchor is still a hot, new local joint, so it can be a bit crowded. Luckily, it has a friendly, rather than trendy, vibe and if you have to wait for a table, at least you'll be able to take in the view of a truly lovely restaurant space. And, if you just want to get your fish fry on far from the madding crowds, The Anchor does offer a takeout option.


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The Liffey - St. Paul, MN

The Deal: While not actually a fish fry, The Liffey does offer Fish & Chips for $11.99. For this Wisconsin girl, that's close enough. Unlike a real fish fry, there's no soup, salad or bread, but there's also malt vinegar, if you swing that way.

The Food: The Liffey serves up three pieces of unidentified fried fish and french fries. I think it was perch, but I couldn't be sure. Overall, the fish had decent flavor after I squirted some lemon juice on it, but wasn't as crispy as I would have liked. The fries were good, but nothing special. Compared to other fish & chips I've reviewed, I'd have to say The Liffey was below average.

The Flavor: What The Liffey lacks in food, it makes up in atmosphere. Like most Americanized Irish pubs, it's full of full little nooks & crannies. It's a little cheesy, but again, I'm a Wisconsin girl, so I like cheese ;-). The beer list was good, filled with the usual suspects like Guinness and Harps as well as some delightful surprises like Ireland's own Magners cider.

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