Warrior: Peony and I went to Alaska for ten days. Overall, the food was alright, about what you would expect I guess.
Peony: We really had a memorable time in Alaska! In addition to some out-of-this-world scenery, the food was beyond my expectations!
Anchorage
Peony: We had cauliflower crust pizza in Moose’s Tooth Pizza, rice bowls in the Yak & Yeti Cafe, and a big dinner in Turkish Delight. I liked the pizzas more than Warrior did as I like the cauliflower crust. Yak & Yeti Cafe had the most interesting food, although I found the flavoring a bit on the light side. I really liked the rich flavors in Turkish Delight and the textures of chicken and Alaskan cod!
Warrior: There were two very good finds here: Turkish Delight for Turkish (better than we have in LA) and Black Cup for coffee (by far the best coffee I drank in Alaska, and I drank coffee every day). I suggest passing on the popular Moose’s Tooth pizza (more because of the mediocre toppings and overall crust-heavy design than the crust itself). Yak & Yeti Cafe for Nepalese wasn’t bad, but I wouldn’t make it part of a trip plan.
Cooper Landing
Warrior: Gwin’s Lodge in Cooper Landing (pictured above) offered deep-fried fish, chips, and onion rings; a waste of calories and good fish if you ask me. (They were out of their world famous smoked salmon chowder.). But people may appreciate the down-to-earth “roadhouse” experience.
Peony: Agreed! We had halibut and Alaskan cod, and both were heavily deep-fried. The Alaskan cod in particular was very firm and much less juicy compared with the Alaskan cod served in Turkish Delight.
Girdwood
Warrior: Restaurants here were disappointing. The two best bets are Jack Sprat and Spoonline, both of which have exciting menus and big city prices, but don’t have the quality to match. Spoonline has more potential, I think. I didn’t try their duck—which looks excellent in the photo, and which my father raved about.
Peony: Both restaurants had lovely stylish decorations from the outside. The food was plated beautifully, and I could see efforts were made. My overall feeling was that they had good ingredients but the flavors did not measure up.
Seward
Peony: We went to the Cookery Oyster Bar around 5-6pm and were disappointed to find out they had already run out of oysters. However, we were really delighted by the food there! I particularly liked the prawns that were served in a cast-iron pan—we finished them really fast before I realized I hadn’t taken a photo! Cashews and breads were really flavorful, too!
Warrior: The quality of the cooking at The Cookery was quite good. Best execution on our trip. Make a reservation. Their sister Mexican restaurant Lone Chicharron Taqueria (pictured above) was only decent; I would say Chipotle is better. Coffee at Resurrection Art Coffee House was solid, and their black cod cream cheese was the best cream cheese spread I’ve ever had.
Homer
Peony: The Little Mermaid was difficult to get a reservation for, and we ended up waiting outside the restaurant before it was open to get the few bar seats. The efforts paid off. We loved all the food. For the ahi bowl, we ordered both seared ahi and raw ahi. We all thought the raw ahi was much more tasty then then seared one. Also, everything was in large portions—so great value.
Warrior: The Little Mermaid was very good. I’d have to try it and The Cookery more to decide on (likely) best restaurant in Alaska. Two Sisters’ Bakery was just okay IMO. Vida’s Thai was disappointing but not bad if you are really craving spicy, Asian flavors. Coffeesmith had solid coffee.
Talkeetna
Warrior: This is not a good foodie destination. Talkeetna Spinach Bread was the best option in town. Unfortunately, Talkeetna Roadhouse—which looked promising—was still closed in July 2021, apparently due to the owners’ post-Covid-vaccine concerns. We also got takeout from Mountain High Pizza Pie (not pictured), which was just decent, and Flying Squirrel, which had slightly better pizza, abominably sugary desserts, and the lame salad pictured below.
Peony: We dined at Spinach Bread and Flying Squirrel in Talkeetna. Both seem to be popular, but they were not really impressive for us. I agree with Warrior that Spinach Bread is slightly better.
