Restaurant Review: Lopez's Anchor In, Delavan, Wisconsin

In the very small town of Delavan, which lies somewhere between Beloit, Milwaukee, and nearby Interstate 43, there is an eatery called Lopez's Anchor In. This eatery has been in business for over 30 years and is still run by the Lopez family. It serves all kinds of homemade Mexican food, drinks, and ice cream treats.

On my recent drive through Delavan, going west on route 11, I was drawn to the Anchor In via its advertising sign. The sign advertised homemade tortilla chips by the pound. I love tortilla chips.

Pulling into the site's small parking lot, I walked up to the counter that was serving patrons. There was no indoor ordering or seating area. At least one person was ordering something to go, and two other customers sat at the place's picnic tables, patiently awaiting their orders.

As I waited for my turn, I looked through Anchor In's posted menu. There were a variety of grilled items to choose from, such as hamburgers, corn dogs, BLT's, Philly steaks, gyros, chili, and homemade sloppy Joe's. Side orders included French fries, fried mushrooms, cheddar nuggets, white cheddar nuggets, eggplant fries, and mini tacos.

The homemade Mexican food took center stage, however, with items such as tacos (regular, chicken, or fish), burritos, fajitas (chicken or steak), quesadillas (cheese or veggie, with added chicken, steak, beans, or chili), nachos, taco salads, and even Mexican tortilla soup. Many of these items were served as full dinners, which included Spanish rice, refried beans, tortilla chips and salsa. Various Mexican drink specialties were also offered, like margaritas and horchatas (a flavored rice drink).

I found the Anchor In daily specials quite intriguing (and inexpensive too), like the Monday Special of a double cheeseburger, fries, and beverage for just $4.99, or the Friday Special of a shrimp or fish dinner for $5.79 or $5.49, respectively.

Unfortunately, I just wasn't that hungry that I could order a full dinner. However, I had to try the place's chips and guacamole at least. I ordered the item, paid $2 for it, and waited maybe 10 minutes.

Meanwhile, I saw several customers come and go with delicious ice cream concoctions from Anchor In. There are many ice cream treats to choose from here, all thanks to the place's soft serve ice cream machine. For example, one might get a brownie sundae, a strawberry shortcake, or a banana split. For those wanting just the ice cream, there is regular soft serve in the flavors of vanilla, chocolate, and strawberry, plus the flavor of the week.

My tortilla chips and guacamole finally arrived and were delivered to me in a white styrofoam box. I opened my food so as to see the homemade chips. They were golden-brown, and of sufficient weight too. Next to them lay a small closed container of guacamole.

I took a bite of one of the chips, tasting the salt and the oil. These chips were great, crispy and full of flavor. They were not heavily salted either. I then dipped one of the chips into the provided guacamole and took a bite. While I suspected that the guacamole had been spiked with some sour cream, it was still decent. I ate through the guacamole in no time, having many chips left over when I was done. I considered buying more guacamole from the place for an additional dollar, but then decided against it. I had to get going.

If I'm ever driving through Delavan again, I will definitely have to stop in at Anchor In, maybe for soft serve ice cream or a fajita dinner this time. It's definitely a place to come back to.

Here is some additional information about Lopez's Anchor In:

Address: 1325 Racine Street
Delavan, WI 53115
Phone: (262)728-2391
FaceBook: Lopez's Anchor In