OT Anchorage Alaska Recommendations

DieselkW

Going to be in Anchorage for one night - willing to spend a little for this one, it's special.

Anybody want to point us in the right direction for the best dinner in town? I know, don't order orange juice in Alaska.

We're spending a few days up in Denali park, and then cruising South to Vancouver for 3 nights, and Seattle for 3 nights before coming back to Indiana.

Vancouver?
Seattle? 

In Seattle, our host for 3 nights is vegetarian, but I like her anyway. I'll eat seafood in front of her, but not steaks.

OhioEgger

Can't give you any special recommendation for dinner, but you really should have breakfast at the Snow City Cafe. Go early; it fills up quickly.

Firemanyz

We went to Alaska for our honeymoon 11 years ago. It was awesome. As to Seattle I highly recommend that you make it to Pike Place Market. We stayed 4 days in Seattle and we went there every day. The fresh seafood there is great. We brought smoke salmon home for everyone. Enjoy the sights of Alaska. I can't wait for the day to take my kids there on a family trip. 

k1200ltc

I'll second the Snow City Cafe. Was there a couple of weeks ago and it was great. Plan on waiting to be seated. Humpy's for dinner so good too.

B747crew

" F Street Station " or Humpy's. Get the Beer Battered Halibut

B747crew

Gwennies for BIG breakfasts ( Raindeer  Sausage is great and sourdough pancakes  ) F Street Station or Humpy's for beer battered halibut.

Foghorn

B747crew said:

Gwennies for BIG breakfasts ( Raindeer  Sausage is great and sourdough pancakes  ) F Street Station or Humpy's for beer battered halibut.

+1 on Gwennies.  Biggest portions I've ever seen but also very good.  

Up near Denali, I'd highly recommend the Denali Perch Lodge and the restaurant there.

lkapigian

Bumping This

We are heading to Anchorage in June  , no real reason, looking for any hidden gems aside from the obvious tourist traps ( if there is such a thing in Alaska ) 

GrannyX4

Glacier Brewhouse for dinner.  Snow city cafe for breakfast.  

lkapigian

GrannyX4 said:

Glacier Brewhouse for dinner.  Snow city cafe for breakfast.  

thank you @GrannyX4

alaskanassasin

lkapigian said:

Bumping This

We are heading to Anchorage in June  , no real reason, looking for any hidden gems aside from the obvious tourist traps ( if there is such a thing in Alaska ) 

 Me too, we don't have tickets yet but planning a trip for June.  How long are you going to be up there?

lkapigian

alaskanassasin said:

lkapigian said:

Bumping This

We are heading to Anchorage in June  , no real reason, looking for any hidden gems aside from the obvious tourist traps ( if there is such a thing in Alaska ) 

 Me too, we don't have tickets yet but planning a trip for June.  How long are you going to be up there?

Not sure yet ,but I can do whatever, keep me posted , right now I think we are looking @ mid month , trying to decide seaside or in town for our stay, we like to do the Dive Bar thing and most of those seem to be in town VS seaside

alaskanassasin

lkapigian said:

alaskanassasin said:

lkapigian said:

Bumping This

We are heading to Anchorage in June  , no real reason, looking for any hidden gems aside from the obvious tourist traps ( if there is such a thing in Alaska ) 

 Me too, we don't have tickets yet but planning a trip for June.  How long are you going to be up there?

Not sure yet ,but I can do whatever, keep me posted , right now I think we are looking @ mid month , trying to decide seaside or in town for our stay, we like to do the Dive Bar thing and most of those seem to be in town VS seaside

 I would not stay in Anchorage, its just a city and its getting pretty bad with homeless and whatever.    Fly into Anchorage and head south to Homer.  Drive through a mountain train tunnel to Whittier, it was a port town built in WW2 I think because Anchorage and Seward harbors were not deep enough. They have opened up the tunnel to car traffic, the whole town lives in a old military barrack. Also Glacier boat tour right there, you could see it when I was a kid but now you need a boat. If you like bars Seward is the next stop a port town on the way with more bars than people.

 Next would be Cooper Landing, a small town that follows the Kenai river, you will see people fishing shoulder to shoulder, then Sterling and Soldotna my old stomping grounds, plenty of fishing with a guide or just go to public access and catch you one.  Keep heading south on to Anchor Point, Ninilchik and access the Ocean, you can watch the boat being launched and brought in on the beach.  Check out the Que'ana bar in Ninilchik. Norman Lowell art gallery right before Homer, Then Homer, described as a quaint little drinking town with a fishing problem.  Really its where all the hippies live, fun vibe, drive out the Homer Spit and have a beer at Salty Dawg Saloon, also Homer Brewing.

 On that drive you should see Beluga whales immediately leaving Anchorage in Cook inlet (second or third largest tide swing in the world, don't walk on the sand its not a beach you will get stuck and die).  Dall Sheep on the other side of the road, water falls, mountains. As you get onto the peninsula your likely to see bears, moose. The highway touches the Kenai river off and on from Cooper Landing to Soldotna, glacier fed turquoise water. As you get into Soldotna you will see Mount Redoubt in the back ground it is a active volcano that last blew in 89' I think. South of Soldotna you drive along the bluff over looking Cook inlet and finally drop down into Homer.

Or

 Head north out of Anchorage but there is not much to do that way until you get to Denali national park and that is a tourist trap.   

alaskanassasin

FYI its almost always raining or overcast, I would still pack sweatshirts and jeans, and It does not get dark at night in June.

nolaegghead

Very poetic, you bard you. 😂

alaskanassasin

I mean you could stay at The Captain Cook Inn and hit The Great Alaska Bush Company and Chilkoot Charlies and fly home.

lkapigian

Sounds like you've been there LoL @alaskanassasin ....I'm not much for driving but it looks like I could stay in Cooper then to Homer then fly back to Anchorage 

alaskanassasin

It is 120 miles from Anchorage to Homer with out the Seward stop

lkapigian

alaskanassasin said:

It is 120 miles from Anchorage to Homer with out the Seward stop

That's not bad, will get with Linda on that today, thanks again 

alaskanassasin

lkapigian said:

alaskanassasin said:

It is 120 miles from Anchorage to Homer with out the Seward stop

That's not bad, will get with Linda on that today, thanks again 

You bet man shoot me a call when it gets closer to trip time.

nolaegghead

Isn’t it like everything goes there?  Except for a few simple rules - don’t shoot people, no shooting indoors unless it’s your house and no shooting at planes.  And don’t eat raw bear meat or something.  

GET ON YOUR SNOWMACHINE AND RIDE! (And shoot at everything provided not on the above list)

alaskanassasin

Ahh the good ole days. Show me a road sign in Alaska that doesn't have a bullet hole in it.

nolaegghead

alaskanassasin said:

Ahh the good ole days. Show me a road sign in Alaska that doesn't have a bullet hole in it.

There is one under guard by the state in their Sign Protection Program.  They don't want to reveal its location for obvious reasons.

alaskanassasin

There are people up there in witness seclusion, I had a friend who told me a crazy story about that.

dmourati

I had a nice dinner at https://doublemuskyinn.com/ in Girdwood.

Foghorn

Piling on the @alaskanassasin...

Seward and Homer are both very cool.  Fishing for halibut out of Homer isn't really fishing, it's more like harvesting.  You catch one almost every time you drop  your hook.  You just have to decide if it's big enough to keep as you can only keep 2.

Whittier is cool but creepy.  When you enter the only real building in town it's like being in "The Shining".  But the waterfront is nice and the boat tour out of there was very cool.  Humpback whales, etc.