Alaska: First Glimpses

Alaska is known as the last frontier. I personally didn't know what that meant, but here was my first clue: twenty minutes outside of Anchorage, and I saw nothing but black mountains capped with white snow. No civilization in sight.

After we landed, it was plain to see, Anchorage is surrounded by these dramatic black and white mountains. People, however, were scarce.

Before we exited the airport in Anchorage, we were clued into what was in store for us, and I wasn't the only one excited about seeing some moose. (The promise of moose was never truly fulfilled ... at least not for me.)

more promise of moose at the hotel gift shop

For a city of approximately 280,000 residents, Anchorage is quite sleepy this early in the tourist season.

We soon found out where maybe half the population was hiding out when we went in search of food at the hottest pizza place in town. No surprise it was called Moose's Tooth Pub & Pizzeria.

We only had less than an hour before we had to pick up the Hynes from the airport, so the one hour wait for a table wasn't going to work for us. Instead the one hour wait for a to-go order fit into our schedule perfectly. We ordered, picked up the Hynes, and then picked up our pizza.

I found more good food, and the rest of the Anchorage population, at the Glacier Brewhouse (yes, Alaska's former governor died that week).

The rivers upstream weren't crowded with salmon just yet, but they were already making their way toward the mouths of the rivers, and the restaurants were eagerly featuring these buttery fish on their menus. I later learned that salmon meat starts to breakdown once they reach fresh water ... something about the change in salinity ... that is, if you believe the guy that runs a kayaking tour company.

If salmon is Alaska's first fish, halibut is a close second.

Glacier Brewhouse is known for two specific items: seafood chowder and apple bread pudding. The seafood chowder isn't pretty, but it is delicious, the two reasons I didn't get a picture. With a creamy, rich seafood flavor, it was the reason we returned a second time on our last night in Anchorage, when it was crowded until closing with cruisers. The bread pudding wasn't much prettier, but it was likewise scrumptious, if a little dense, with sweet, tangy bites of apple baked in.

Oh yeah, and Mark and my dad really enjoyed their beer. My dad finished his raspberry wheat brew before the main courses arrived.

For breakfast, all indications (Yelp, Chowhound, and the locals) pointed to Snow City Cafe. The presence of one of the valets from our hotel on his day off (having breakfast with a few friends) was a good sign.

When a menu features a Monte Christo sandwich, I'm always intrigued. Snow City's menu had a similar "Mickey Christo," named after one of their cooks, and consisting of ham, turkey, and two kinds of cheeses sandwiched between slices of French toast, served alongside a lingonberry sauce.

I also took the opportunity to try the reindeer sausage, which I was curious about after seeing reindeer sausage stands on every corner (and I mean every corner) in the downtown Anchorage area. It really was tasty - lean and salty.

To work off all this food, the whole family, kids in tow, biked along the beautiful Tony Knowles Coastal Trail. We rented bikes from Pablo, who operates out of a storage container on the corner of 5th Ave. and L St.

The trail runs for about eleven miles, past the airport and eventually pulling away from the coast. I made it about four miles before turning back. Mark had better cycling legs than me, towing our nephew Tommy five miles to the airport before turning back. I saw up close the mud flats (aka "breakup") that we were all warned against venturing onto. Apparently, one can get stuck in the mud and then drowned by the tide before rescue can be accomplished.

We would see much more of those mountains in the distance on our drive down the Seward Highway.