Foodies Guide to Anchorage, AK

When we left WA the trusty husband told me that he vowed to eat fish every meal on this trip. So far he has almost done it. There was a pizza dinner and a ribs lunch in there. I think there was also a pulled pork sandwich too.

Derek and I are the kind of people that shun the regular chain resaurants. Well… except for the occasional mega fast food chain. We perfer places that are locally owned and a little out of the way. Anchorage is fantastic for just that. So with only a day and a 1/2 to go here I figured I would give you a recap of where to eat around the great white north.

Bombay Deluxe
Toted as the “best Indian food in Alaska.” Considering the population of Alaska this statement is probably true. Compared to the Indian food we get at home… not nearly as good. The Tikka Masala was excellent, but the Korma was cream based not tomato based. They specialize in Tandoor cuisine so next time I think we would give the Tandoori Chicken a go.

Sack’s Cafe
328 G Street
Probably one of the best meals we’ve eaten. It happened to be one of our first meals here. Olga suggested this little out of the way place for lunch. Derek had the Copper River Salmon and I had a chicken Ceasar salad. Both were fantastic!

Bostons
A Canadian owned chain restaurant serving pizza and pasta. The pizza was quite good and not overly greasy. We ate there for dinner on Sunday and lunch on Thursday. I had a taco salad for lunch that was delicious. Not only do they have an extensive kid’s menu they happen to serve Kraft Dinner which, in the long run, will likely kill my son from perservative overload, but it made him happy. When all else fails they serve Molson Canadian on tap and you can get a beer the size of your head.

Moose’s Tooth/ Bear’s Tooth
A local brew pub with supposedly some of the best pizza in town. We compare most wood fired pizza to a place at home call The Rock. Moose’s Tooth pizza wasn’t as good, but you can get beer in a growler to go so it can’t be all that bad. Actually the pizza was much better than Boston’s. Derek had lunch at Bear’s Tooth Monday afternoon and he reported that the Blackened Halibut Caesar salad was to die fo. I would certainly go back.

The Noisy Goose
Palmer, AK
This is a restaurant Derek dined at while in Palmer. A standard mom and pop diner. He played it safe with a burger dip. Reports on this one are favorable.

Thai Kitchen
This was the least favorite of all the restaurants so far. Jake told me about a Thai restaurant and Derek’s co-worker told him about a different one. We searched for the one Jake told us about, but couldn’t find it. We could find Thai Kitchen and we were hungry. It is a bit of a hole in the wall located next to a Bingo parlor. The atmosphere is something to be desired for and the food was passable. I wouldn’t call it outstanding by any means. I wouldn’t go back nor would I recommend it to my friends.

The BBQ Pit
This was Derek’s lunch on Wednesday. He claims it is a hole with less than stellar decor, but the thinly sliced beef brisket sandwich with homemade barbeque sauce was lip smackin good. On a different level of BBQ than Kansas City, but he could compare it to more of a Texas style.

Benihana
Located in our hotel parking lot.
I squealed with delight upon seeing this little gem. I am a big fan of the Benihana. We have one in Seattle and frequented the one in Vegas. It is a little on the expensive side, but soooo worth it. The boy absolutely loved it. That makes it a huge plus in our book. True it is a chain, however a good chain.

Jack Sprat
Girdwood, AK
Whatever you do don’t ask Rhonda about this place. At the time we all thought it was fantastic, but as of this morning she could have changed her tune. I’ll be suprised if she ever eats salmon again. Actually the food was fantastic (or so I thought). Yet again Derek dined on Copper River Salmon, but I opted for the pecan encrusted halibut. My fish was a little over cooked, but still delicious. The kid’s menu was a healthier fare and all three kids ate (or attempted to eat) wild rice with peas.

Snow City Cafe
Every morning we have taken advantage of the hotel continental breakfast. A Swede can’t pass up a free meal you know. After 6 days, I’d had enough. I spied this little corner cafe on my walk with the boy Thursday morning. Let me just say that having non hotel coffee was enough to rate it very high in my book. We both had french toast (shocking! for those who know Derek). It was wonderful. Cute place, busy, and I can see why.

Glacier Brewhouse (aka tourist central)
Rhonda recommended this one to us. We went in expecting standar pub fare. We were surprised to see that it was a nice restaurant. It smelled of smoked meats and was jam packed. We played a round of spot the tourist and enjoyed a nice lunch. Derek had Baby Back Ribs that were a little over done and I had jambalaya fettucini that could have used a little spice. They don’t have a kid’s menu, but they can make a few kid friendly dishes. Their beers were great.

Amsterdam Cafe
If you love Belgian Beers this is thee place to go in Anchorage. Brian suggested this cafe and we almost passed it up. We are both tired of restaurants and almost bought frozen dinners to eat in the hotel. Man am I ever glad we didn’t. Derek had blackened shrimp and scallops and I had reisling scallops. Both were quite good. What makes this place ever so worth it is their beer list. They have a beer list that would rival most Belgian pubs. We were able to get beers on tap that we can only get at places like Archers in Bellingham, WA or Steilacoom Wine & Brew at home. I think if Derek had is drothers he would eat there every day just for the beer.

We still have a few meals to try out more restaurants, but as it goes we’ve done a lot of eating. Most of the places we’ve tried were recommended by someone. They have yet to do us really wrong.