WHAT'S REALLY FOOD?

tamara

so, we wrote about hope & anchor once before. this time we brought some gentleman company and succeeded in stuffing ourselves to the sleeping point.

we got four appetizers (each, jk not really, but uh yeah really we did) and the sauces stole the show.  there was a lemon aioli for the calamari (which prompted an impassioned debate about the egg content of said sauce), horseradish sauce for the mac & cheese fritters, and malt vinegar sauce for the clam cakes. i got a salad because it said “crispy ham” and it was obviously really good!  the poached egg was perfect and the fennel wasn’t totally overwhelming.  nice work, crispy ham salad. 

meatloaf (haha) is a mainstay for children in the american context.  maybe my grandma was doing it wrong, or making the meatloaf too good, because no meatloaf has ever beaten hers.  hope and anchor tried their best.  gold star, a+ for effort, try again next year.  the sandwich included about four solid pounds of mashed potatoes and gravy, which (although pretty yummy) drowned out any hint of brioche and meatloaf (dry log, i thought it was bread at first).  The carrot puree looked like my favorite salad dressing and tasted like straight carrots. there were also greens, which should be  a misdemeanor since every other sandwich gets those, uh, “famous” fries.

all in all, the moral to this aesop fable is never eat at the same place twice because your grandma didn’t make the meatloaf.

Yelena

Here’s what happened…too long has passed and this meal has been subject to tedious rumination. I wanted to go to Hope & Anchor for so long because I’m a  sucker for glorified diners that are also cute and make me feel like I’m far far away from the tedium of young adult life in a soulless city. Nah mean? Ok. Here’s what went wrong:

1. You see all those beautiful drinks? I had too many of them and now can only vaguely recall what was in them. Some kinda gimlet with ginger? I’m sure. Habanero infused tequila with something pink? Uh, maybe. All pretty innovative and successful in getting me drunk.

2. Nothing was really wrong, this place is actually delicious and homey. However, we went with overzealous boys and I was infected by their love of fried things and instead of getting like…something not unbearably filling we got 3 lump fried appetizers. BAD LOOK. I will say this…those clam cakes were some bullshit. All cake no clam. It was like some batter someone rubbed on tuna with creamy sauce just so they could get away with it. I give the calamari a thumbs up but when don’t I?

3. Jamie and I both got buttermilk fried chicken which came with “cheese” mashed potatoes and sauteed string beans and mushrooms. The fried chicken was prepared really well with all perfectly crisp skin and batter. However, it was really under-season so we had to douse that shit in hot sauce like it was Nostrand Ave all over again. Season ya’ll chicken. The mashed potatoes were #1. Smooth, buttery etc but had what I presume was a melted Kraft single on it. Who are you fooling, take your cheddar back. I ate the rest of this chicken much later at a bar and I’m pretty sure the patrons were simultaneous grossed out and jealous.

BUT WAIT HOLD UP. I would definitely come here again and order totally different stuff. Back-handed compliment? I don’t know. You’re free to go now.