Saturday, November 16, 2013

finale in alaska

Yes, I'm alive! I started grad school back in September, which  TURNS OUT is extremely time-intensive and loads of work!

Where were we...let's finish up with Alaska, eh?

We went horseback riding!

 

And fishing for salmon! I caught a massive rainbow trout...
 
 
 

and my dad caught a large salmon...which we cooked over a simple grill with salt & pepper immediately. Now salmon is ruined forever, since this was the most deliciously fresh piece of fish in the world.  Now all previously frozen salmon tastes fishy.
 
 

On our way back to the hotel we saw a moose cross the street like a deer...turns out they're massive and a bit odd looking.
 
 

Next day, Travis practiced for our iditarod ride...
 

...before we took a helicopter up to a glacier to meet the cutest iditarod pups.  The dogs that run the iditarod stay on this glacier and are trained year-round to stay in shape and stay athletic while people fly up and visit them...lucky us little baby pups had just been born weeks before!
  
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

We drove back up to Anchorage and headed home on a pretty evening, fly all through the night, and arrive mid-day the next day.  After two weeks in such an adventurous place, it was nice to be back to the continental U.S.!
 

I promise to TRY to be better! No promises, as I still have a few weeks left of classes/tons and tons of papers, but I have lots lined up and lots to share! Apologies again for the super-delay in posts!!
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Saturday, September 14, 2013

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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