Hope & Anchor

Contributor

Citysearch

The Scene
A crowd this mixed--local workers, lounging artists and adventuresome city folk--usually signals one of two things: the only restaurant around, or a reasonably priced diner that serves darned good food. Hope & Anchor, situated on a lonely gray stretch in Red Hook, is both. The brick-and-mirror dining room, with its swivel-stool bar, metal-flaked booths and rotating dessert case stocked with homemade sweets hint at another hip "New Diner," but it's a friendly staffed neighborhood joint at heart.

The Food
This wide-ranging American menu is less ironic, and more satisfying, than the retro-stylized photos under laminate would suggest. Sandwiches, burgers and salads, like the lemon-dressed cobb, are classic successes. Entrees are more ambitious: Crackly skinned, herb-roasted chicken atop chunky mashed potatoes and greens cries for gravy, but beautifully grilled pork loin is sublime. Sweet-tart lemon butter offsets salty, ham-wrapped tuna--just ask for it rare.