Places to eat in Alaska

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Good food with no fuss, liked the homely atmosphere and the enthusiastic friendly service. Loved the crockery!! A collection of many mismatched cups and plates etc., helped to give it the at home feel.

Favorite Dish: Heart attack breakfast

I wasn't expecting much from a Chinese restaurant attached to the hotel that we were staying at (the Totem Square Inn), but Whoa!! Did I ever get a nice surprise! If you are ever in Sitka, stop in and try ANYTHING from the sushi menu and you will be blown away!

Favorite Dish: Baked Scallop Roll: Heaven on a plate! Succulent scallops and seasoned mushrooms on top of a sushi roll
Energy Roll: Can't decide what you want? This has a little bit of everything! Salmon, Eel, Tuna, Avocado... and the sauce is to die for!

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Based on PA2AKgirl's tip, I stopped at Suzie's Cafe in Sterling on my way from Homer to Seward. It is located in a small log cabin. It was only about half full when I arrived around 5:30 PM, but was packed and had a waiting line before I finished eating. The menu included halibut, country fried steak, prime rib, steak and chicken dishes. There was also a large selection of different types of burgers; however, many of the choices were fried. The serving sizes were large. So if you are really hungry, this is a good place to go. Besides PA2AKgirl's tip, there is also a good review of Suzie's in the Kenai Peninsula College newpaper (see p. 8).

Favorite Dish: I had the fried halibut and chips ($15.95), which came with a small cup of cole slaw.

Fun, sports barish (brewery/pizzaria) atmosphere brings you there, excellent pizza and other great food keeps you there. Great pizza, healthy toppings, off the beaten path combinations of toppings, neat names (backpacker, etc), super high quality salads and more. This place is a great local favorite and wonderful all around family dining experience. Casual with quality. Perfect combination. Take home available, so you can have a decent meal on the midday luch hour.
Similar venue, called Bear Tooth, in same area as theater and great! Had an awesome burrito there. They both get pretty busy though, but it is still a good choice.
Moose's Tooth is also an Alaskan Brewery. They have a wide range of excellent beers available.

Favorite Dish: The Backpacker pizza from what I can remember was amazing. I just know that it was good quality ingredients: Spinach, Roasted Garlic, Sundried Tomatoes, Artichoke Hearts, Kalamata Olives,Feta, Mozzarella, Provolone, Garlic & Olive Oil
The Pesto Chicken was another wonderful choice: Roma Tomatoes, Sun Dried Tomatoes, Grilled Chicken, Kalamata Olives, Mozzarella, Pesto.

There aren't many options for food on the Denali Highway...there aren't many options for any services, really. And after a night of camping, we really wanted to get into someplace warm with coffee. The Tangle River Inn is located 20 miles into the highway, still on the pavement and has pretty much everything--a place to stay, full menu, guided trips, a bar and wonderful scenery. We went for breakfast and while the menu was small and simple, it was perfect for the early morning. They have your typical American breakfast food...omelets, french toast, pancakes, oatmeal (i think) and so on. If it's blueberry season (we missed it by a week), there are blueberry pancakes and muffins as well. For lunch and dinner, they have a larger menu...a buffet for tour groups, meals for individual families and desserts for everyone.
At night, the bar claims to be the most remote karaoke bar in AK but since it is connected by a road, one that's still paved at that point, I'm not so sure.

Favorite Dish: We both got the french toast...and it was good. What more can you say about french toast? Large portion, not a bad price and it arrived quickly. The server also kept the coffee coming which is what we needed.

Now, a highlight of this place is the view. They have binoculars at the windows so you can look for wildlife and eat at the same time. However, when we went, it was very foggy and we could see nothing. Still, it's a good place to eat if you want to get off the main highway for awhile, see some wonderful scenery and increase your chances of spotting wildlife.
Additionally, the inside is very cute and you can buy gifts at the register. It's an all inclusive Inn or you can choose to just have a meal here. They close in late September and open again in May.

***the first number listed below is for the summer, the second is to inquire during the winter***

This restaurant offers a scenic view of Kachemak Bay and fresh oysters, halibut and salmon. A meal here runs about $16 and up depending on your order. Be prepared to wait awhile for your food in Alaska.

Favorite Dish: The raw oysters on a half shell were delicious. The fried halibut and salmon was lighly breaded and tasty.

This isn't the place to visit if you're looking for an upscale restaurant near Denali.(something I don't quite understand...if you're visiting a national park why would you eat at a fancy place?) but it is very...authentic. Located between "Glitter Gulch" and yet another Princess Lodge (the McKinley), the Cantwell Lodge is a totally different experience from those. We'd heard that is has good food and it's part of this lodge, runway and bar combo in what I suppose is downtown, so we tried it out. You cannot let your first impression make up your mind in these places, it's what they have and since it is the only place in town where people gather, it's probably good, right? After we entered through the very squeaky door and sat down in what looked more like a community center meets makeshift museum, I started to have doubts of my own. But we got the menu and it was huge! From mexican food to pizza to burgers to pasta to down home meals, there were certainly more options than I thought there would be...more than probably any restaurant we've come across outside of Anchorage.

Favorite Dish: Turns out the pizza is only served 3 days a week...something the waiter himself said he didn't understand. But that's okay, there were lots of other choices. I got the grilled cheese along with Lou and Amy and Bobby went with a patty melt. You got a choice of bread and cheese...I think they could have created any combo or request. While it's not the best food in the world, it's not bad and should satisfy a group with different tastes. Bobby and I will return again, I'm sure.

Also, the menu is online at their website...again, don't base the site off the restaurant, there are some funny typos like New Yourk Steak;-)

I love little restaurants/cafes and in Hope, there's a great one. First it's open all year, a huge bonus for us. It's one of the first places you see when you get into Hope--right in back of the sign that welcomes you. We've been to Hope a few times and there are always cars parked in front of the restaurant so we had to try it out too. Even in the pouring rain, this place was very inviting and warm right from the time we parked the car. They bake the pies each day and are also known for their soups...what more could you want on a damp, chilly afternoon? They have a good sized menu for the little building and the food was perfect...3 of us got the reindeer grinders which were terrific. The price is good for Alaska, the service is excellent and even the cute dog looking in longingly from the porch was friendly;-) Bobby and I will probably add this as a regular stop when we're heading down to Turnagain Pass or Seward.

Favorite Dish: The reindeer was great, Amy and Lou liked the soups (I'll have to come back and try those out, they did look wonderful) and overall, I cannot find one thing that didn't look good or didn't exceed my expectations:) Try it out, you should visit Hope anyway and it's nice to get off the Seward highway for bit. They do serve breakfast, lunch and dinner so I'll update this when we sample something from each meal.