By Anne DesBrisay

It took dull, dogged discipline to look past the signature fish and chips, and drift down to the bottom of the page where floundered a dish of steamed cod. But point to it I did, with teeth-gritted determination. My doc had made me promise that I would eat less fat. This, for God sake, thanks to blood work done the morning after an evening of sumptuous food-judging at the Gold Medal Plates. The results were surely skewed, I complained, by all those rich little treats with wines to match… a bit of beer, too… don’t forget the beer. I think it’s fair to say she had little sympathy.

So here we are, my friend and I, at Le Resto in Chelsea, on a sunny Saturday afternoon. We are seated at one of the window tables, the blinds down a bit to block the parking lot view and keep the November sun from boiling our wine. We’ve gone for a two-hour hike in the hills. We order: she, the aforementioned fish & chips, known (not just by me) to be among the best in the region; I, the very-good-for-me-but-not-very-exciting steamed cod.

She, without doubt, was thrilled with her deep-fried plate. And I had just a morsel. And one fry. Okay, two. Enough to tell you, with some assertion, that Le Resto’s fish and chips remains a superb rendition, the crunchy batter light, the fish thick and moist, the chips moreish and the minted pea mush a fun riff on that classic combo.

And I? Well I was thoroughly pleased with my cod, with chorizo, cooked in a spicy tomato sauce pungent with garlic, capers, and olives, and topped with a softly cooked egg.

We eschewed dessert. Had mint tea. She waddled out (sorry dear, but you did), and I more or less skipped.

Cost: $12 for the fish and chips (one piece) and $16 for the cod.

Hours: Open every day but Tuesday, for lunch and dinner.

Le Resto, Chelsea Plaza, 528 Route 105, Chelsea, 819-827-5559.