Coffee News' fish and chips: 100 Favorite Dishes, No. 91

Coffee News fish & chips

​Coffee News Cafe sits on a bustling stretch of Grand Avenue, just a block from Macalester College, so it's often filled with studied-out refugees and folks from the neighborhood hunched over laptops or engaged in spirited conversation. But the pleasant spot offers much more than coffee and catching up, including an exquisite, non-traditional fish and chip dish.

​The secret topping for the two battered-and-fried tilapia fillets are coarse breadcrumbs, which cause the fish to come out of the fryer thunderously crunchy and relatively grease free. Lime and seasonings add plenty of zest, as does the house-made tartar sauce studded with pickles, capers, and lemony zip. Use it for the fish or the side of their fresh-cut French fries, topped with plenty of raw, grated garlic. It's quite a palate-socker, but in the most pleasant--though not breath-freshening--way.

COFFEE NEWS CAFE
1662 Grand Avenue, Saint Paul
651.698.3324

Hungry for more? The dishes in our countdown thus far are linked below:

No. 92: Bread & Chocolate's Fabulous Fudge Bar
No. 93: People's Organic panna cotta
No. 94: Sea Salt Eatery crawdad po' boy
No. 95: Fuji Ya's Tofu Don
No. 96: Ike's Food and Cocktails The Weekender Bloody Mary
No. 97: Punch's Toto pizza
No. 98: Stockholm Pie Company's peanut butter fudge cream pie
No. 99: Dogwood Coffee Co.'s macchiato
No. 100: Al's Breakfast buttermilk pancakes