seven glaciers retaurant

The dinner I was most excited for in Alaska was the one we went to on our last night. We went to Seven Glaciers restaurant, a spot nestled 2,300 ft above sea level with panoramic views and delicious locally-sourced fare.

Up we went on the tram (with some of us having their eyes closed or looking at the floor to avoid seeing the view).

 

We started with a celebratory bottle of Veuve...

 

...while we decided on our meals ahead. T went with trusting the chef and blindly accepted the tasting menu (which I became jealous of, but we had no idea what anything was, because we never saw the menu and when it was delivered no one really explained it!).

We started with soups and salads, in order: 1. roquefort & butter lettuce salad with a roquefort vinaigrette, crispy pork belly, tomato jam, and scallion pesto. 2. tomato & watermelon gazpacho with traditional garnishes, organic olive oil, and crab. 3. artisan greens salad with radish, wilted cabbage, shaved carrots, lemon herb vinaigrette, and rye croutons. 4. good question, it was T's (but enjoyable nonetheless).

 

Next was T's surprise 2nd course, which was my favorite of the entire night. Again, I couldn't tell you what it was, especially since it's now been over a month since I was there, but it was a delicious halibut with soft noodles and black olives.

 

T then had another mystery dish, an asian salad topping a fresh hunk of salmon, again good, but nothing close to how perfect the previous dish was.

 

As an entree I had the fresh Alaskan salmon with lemon spaetzle, corn, english peas, and a fireweed honey glaze. I had no problem finishing this entire dish, with the soft and light spaetzle pairing perfectly with the crispy top of the salmon and the crunch of the peas.

 

Meim went with the Alaskan halibut with tomato, green beans, fingerling potatoes, and a tomato vinaigrette. Again, another person had no issue finishing their dish on their own.

 

My dad went with the deconstructed king crab risotto with a lemon and black pepper risotto, broccolini, grilled lemon, and a citrus butter.

 

T had a delicious chicken entree wrapped in a pork belly, which was absolutely perfectly paired...and some mystery sides, of course. He also had a wagyu beef course, which was eaten to quickly to document, but was as tender as could be and had punches of flavor, unsurprisingly.

 

We finished with dessert, of course.

 

T started with a few small treats...

 

I went with the beignets with vanilla bean, a rum caramel sauce, and a banana cardamom gelato. I was so excited, I love the sugary pillowy goodness of beignets, but I was so sad when this arrived. They were dense pillows with lackluster sugar and a sauce that was overpoweringly rum with not even a slight glimmer of caramel. On the other hand, the banana cardamom gelato was deliciously creamy and a refreshing hit of banana.

 

Meim went with the chocolate hazelnut cake with dark chocolate, hazelnut and chocolate silk cream, and a smoked mocha gelato. Overall this worked much better, and the gelato again got a rave review.

 

My dad went with their signature baked Alyeska with a chocolate cake, trio of chocolate mousses covered in bittersweet ganance and an Italian meringue. Again, no complaints, but it was quite large, and definitely made for sharing!

 

After dinner, we strolled about outside, enjoying the gorgeous setting, before heading back down.

 

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229 parks

The night we spent on the outskirts of Denali National Park, we headed to 229 Parks for dinner. Although there is not too much to do outside of Denali, and you may need to take a $40 cab ride one-way for a 2-mile trek, this dinner is actually worth the trip.

 

With an extensive menu focused on seasonal, extremely local, and fresh ingredients, there are more than enough options for even the pickiest of diners.

 

T started with the organic garden salad with a lingonberry balsamic dressing, apples, and candied pecans...

While I started with the Alaska king crab cakes, which I was very excited for! Crab is my favorite food of all time and I was excited for the freshest of the fresh of my favorite food. With hand-picked king crab meat, red pepper, onion, celery, herbs, old bay seasonings, bread crumbs, lemon, local microgreens and a lemon dill aioli.  Sadly, the cakes were far too dry and dense, with no sense of the fresh crab able to shine through. On the other hand, the lemon dill aioli was delicious, and I was able to coat the dry bits of the cakes in the deliciously bright aioli.

  

The big winner of the night was the tender Alaskan king crab sauteed with leeks, cayenne and fresh dill, folded into housemade lemon pasta, carrot buerre monter, and sugar snap peas. Unlike the crab cakes, the crab was unbelievably fresh, soft, and unbelievably delicious. This dish was perfectly soft, immediately melting in your mouth while bursting with a wide range of complimentary flavors. I'm still salivating about it despite the fact that it has been over a month since I was able to enjoy this dish!

 

T went with the only non-seafood entree on the menu: the rosemary and lemon crusted rack of lamb, served with a warm white bean gremolata and haricots verts. Although the flavors were nice, the meat was a bit dry, taking away from the whole dish.

 

My father went with one of his favorite dishes he's ever experienced, and he still doesn't stop mentioning it to this day: fresh wild Alaskan halibut pan seared in soy butter and served on a bed of soba noodles, a lemongrass ginger crab broth, bok choi and napa cabbage, snow peas, and topped with crisped bean thread noodles. In short, he was very proud of his choice and continued to claim that he won the best dish of the night award.

 

The important closer of the night was the vast and decadent dessert menu.  You are able to either choose of the mouth-watering pastries and tarts in the front of the restaurant, winking at you throughout your dinner from behind a glass, or you may choose one of the massive and delicious dishes from this long list. We went with the 229 Parks ice cream sandwich; house-made vanilla bean ice cream smooshed between two dark chocolate cookies and a dark chocolate sauce with a raspberry sauce peeking out underneath. I could eat those two dark chocolate cookies everyday, if only I had the recipe! It tasted just like a non-artificial massive oreo ice cream sandwich...also known as perfection. 

After a delicious meal in a very relaxed setting we agreed it was worth the $80 round-trip taxi, and we agreed that the fresh lightly prepared seafood dishes were the best of the night, and the dessert was not to be missed. Finally, we rolled our way out of the restaurant to rest before our big trip to Anchorage the next morning!

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easy healthy halibut

Halibut is a delicate white fish with a great source of high quality protein, omega-3 fatty acids for cardiovascular health, magnesium for increased blood, oxygen, and nutrient flow throughout the body, and vitamin B. Pretty much it's a light delicate fish with a bushels-worth of benefits. With a delicate fish it's mostly important to let it shine and not overpower it. A quick & easy vinaigrette of lemon & olive oil brushed over the halibut kicks it up a simple notch.

Ingredients (for 2 servings):
1 lb halibut
2 tbs olive oil
1 tbs and 1 tsp fresh-squeezed lemon juice
salt & pepper

Directions:
1. Preheat oven to 425F. Whisk olive oil with lemon juice, mix in a large pinch of each salt & pepper.  

2. Line a baking sheet with foil. Lay halibut skin-down and sprinkle with a bit more salt & pepper. Drizzle half of the vinaigrette mixture over the fish evenly. Pop in preheated oven for 14 minutes.
 

 

 

3. Remove from oven when flaky and done. Drizzle remaining vinaigrette over the fish. Serve with rice pilaf and red pepper flake green beans for a bit of a kick.

 

 

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simple weekend recap: edition 24

Friday night dinner T & I celebrated our 6 year 

anniversary at the new amazing restaurant, Asta...

 

 

 

 

...but as we headed out to our car for a nice drive home we realized our 

back window was smashed, so the rest of our celebration evening was 

spent in various police stations. Happy 6-year!

 

Saturday morning marked a new day, filled with

 hashbrowns and bacon (which make everything better...really)...

 

...and the return of my baby girl!

 

Before T took off on his weekend work trip to Berlin, I made a simple 

healthy halibut dinner (recipe this week)...

 

...and a less-healthy chocolate souffle.

 

Sunday was filled with flowers that remind me of 

fields of wildflowers in the summer...

 

 

...and Craigie on Main since it was so good last time. I started with the grilled Spanish octopus with griled cipollini onion, green olive and lemon salad, bulgur wheat, and chorizon puree. I always get grilled octopus when it's on a menu because it's one of my favorite things.

 

For my entree I went with the slow-roasted chicken breast stuffed with chicken sausage, apricots, forest mushrooms, turnip puree, and wheat berries.

 

Although we were quite full, I had to have the orange blossom beignets with a date-orange caramel and cardamom anglaise. I had no idea these would be the largest beignets in the world, but I also had no idea they would be some of the tastiest.

 

 

After a heavy food weekend, I whipped up an easy pea puree to line a lean chicken wrap to recover from a delicious, but rich, weekend of food!

 

 

 

 

 

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