Anchorage Food Scene

Monday, July 23, 2012

It can take a fairly substantial amount of time of living in a city before one can properly size up the food scene. Exploring Anchorage's restaurant scene is less laborious than Houston, but it took us about a year to really get a handle on our favorites...

1. Jack Sprat- located in Girdwood, about 30 minutes south of Anchorage. I don't know whether it's the use of locally grown, fresh ingredients or the beautiful patio with lots of windows that keeps me coming back.. Who am I kidding, we all know it's the Yam fries with jalapeño aioli.

The seafood Cioppino is another excellent reason to hit up Jack Sprat for dinner. See those King crab legs?

2. Crow's Nest & Marx Bro.- Do you need a romantic date night, some really good food, and are feeling like you need to burn some moo lah? These 2 places are tied. Crow's Nest has an amazing view of the Cook Inlet. I mean gorgeous because it's on the top floor of the Captain Cook Hotel. But Marx Bro. has been around for ages and has a whole lotta charm in a little itty bitty house. Now that I know how to make their famous Caesar Salad, we might not go as often :)

3. Moose's Tooth- I think this place is written up in every Alaska guidebook there is, and rightfully so. The "off the beaten path" pizzas are delicious. Chipotle Steak and Santa's Little Helper (no bacon) are two of our favorites. The crust is fresh and fluffy.

Oh, and for the gluten challenged folks, their salads are huge and amazing. My favorite is the Mixed Green Salad with grilled chicken.

4. Glacier Brew House- It's not going to win atmosphere points if you're trying to have an intimate dinner because you really can't hear very well in this joint, but I mean it's a brewery whatcha expect? However, they have a good selection of microbrew and the ahi tuna is pretty good. I'm pretty sure I order it every time, unless they're out.

5. Simon & Seafort's- This place has a stellar happy hour, but I just don't do that many happy hours. They also have dependable seafood, so they're my go-to for a date night when I'm feeling like some King crab. Or when my Dad comes into town and treats me to dinner... :)

6. BEER- I'm leaving this category wide open. There is so much good beer in Alaska, it's hard to choose just one brewery! I think the craft beer (and pizza) scene ballooned here because it's so cold in the winter and you need to put on some extra pounds to stay warm. Of course my favorite brewery is located in my own garage... curtesy of Ross! A couple other favorites are Midnight Sun and King Street Brewery.

Post-run beer.