Review:

Walking around Anchorage, we stumbled upon Ginger, were very impressed with the menu of Pacific Rim cuisine so decided to have dinner there. Had we actually asked anyone, they would have said “Yes, but book a table, it’s Saturday night and this is an incredibly popular restaurant.” So, in all innocence, we strolled in at 7.30 and got the very last table. Everyone who came after us was turned away.

Review:

First day in Anchorage, looking for some lunch. After a couple of bad experiences at Rough Guide recommended places, we went with our own judgment. Urban Green stood out from the crowd – in Alaska there’s an unwritten law that all eating places must have names like “Prairie Country Kitchen” “The Lonesome Chicken” or “Auntie Betty’s Real Home Style Moose Burgers”. That word “Urban” went straight to our Islington hearts, so in we went.

Review:

This is one of the nicest non-Thai restaurants in Fairbanks. It wouldn’t last three weeks in London, but then it’s not in London, so that’s OK, and if you’re ever in Fairbanks, try it. The interior is small and quirky with vintage mis-matched furniture, and probably feels nice and cosy on an Alaskan winter night. Service is friendly and laid back, and – for Alaska – the menu is quite adventurous. We were with a group who had all eaten there before, and they ordered mains to share between two, or one had the soup and the other the main – wait a minute – I’d better explain.

Review:

Someone told us this is the best Italian restaurant in Fairbanks, but when we spoke to her about it later, she confessed that it was some time since she visited. I gather that Fairbanksans don’t eat out a lot. While enquiring at the bar if they had a table, a middle aged woman sitting at the bar, turned, looked me straight in the eye, and deadpan, blew a bubble with her chewing gum right in my face, then turned back to her drink without a word.

Review:

They claim to be the farthest North Thai food restaurant in the world, and they probably are. We’d been told before we arrived in Fairbanks that for some unknown reason there were several Thai restaurants here. This did not seem remarkable, there are Thai restaurants in every major city. When we got here, it gradually dawned that Thai restaurants are the only “ethnic” restaurants in Fairbanks. I’m not counting generic “Italian” pizza and pasta places, of course, which are now really American food.

Review:

Everyone says this is the most sophisticated place in Fairbanks, and it looks very nice. Seats outside (this was summer, of course) dark and cosy inside (which is what you want in the Alaskan winter) We went there for lunch one day to try it out, with a view to returning for dinner. You order and pay for your food and drinks at the counter, they give you your drinks, and a number for your table and bring your food when it's ready. Meanwhile you carry your drinks to the table and wait. All this is fine, but what really got up our noses was the 15% service charge. You have no option, you've had no service yet, you've placed your own order and carried your own drinks. The waiter was a young Latino man with far too many tables to serve, but as far as he could, he did a good job. He brought our food, but had no time for details like checking that our food was OK. It was kind of OK, but no more. We both had salmon: me with a Caesar salad, L on a bun with some excellent sweet potato chips and tinned sweetcorn. For the United States, portions were extremely modest.

Review:

The food was lovely, the wait staff helpful, the jazz a tad too loud, but otherwise nice place. However, don't pay your bill when it's first presented if you intend to sit around and maybe have another drink or just chat with your guests. Once we paid the bill, they could care less what happened to us. We ordered more drinks, our waitress was about to place the order and the manager stopped her, telling us about their 2 hour long wait at the door. He indicated if we intended to stay for drinks to do it at the bar [as if there was room for 11 there]! They were rude, unaccomodating, and didn't care that we had a reservations, while others didn't! Attitude like that at those prices are simply unacceptable. Their attitude was simply, "ok, we got your money, now move on along, buddy!" so we've decided this would go into our "two-rule book of visits" - first and last!!!

Review:
Another Mexican chain in the Northwest U.S.A. We all love the atmosphere in Mexican restaurants very colorful and cheery, the air filled with that wonderful aroma of spicy food and happy music. This place was no exception. We had a bit of problem with our server who had very little English well I have very little Spanish so why should I complain? M had a combination dish of tamales, enchilada and taco all shredded beef with refried beans, and Mexican rice.

Review:
We chose this place for our pre Twelth Night play meal. The play was great, good acting, very funny, great costumes. The cafe has creek side seating and also an upstairs balcony as well as inside seating. It is very busy at that time but the service was friendly and quick. M did not care for the atmosphere of the place. They have a nice selection of salads, some greek dishes mostly fish and chicken.

Review:
M and I were heading back to California from Oregon through a smoke filled highway from a forest fire. We were happy to reach the enormous redwoods and cooler coast. You can't visit the coast without trying the seafood, although we eat so much fish and beef we are growing fins and hooves. The Grotto has a view of the ocean although we were put in seats facing the trailer park. We had clam chowder to start very good,home made, green salad ordinary and M had the steak and prawns with fries.