Sunrise Grill & Pancake House

I am not much of a pancake person, but maybe I should have given them a try.  I am not saying that I disliked my breakfast at the Sunrise Grill and Pancake House, but it was not up to my breakfast loving standards.

The Sunrise Grill is a bright and clean restaurant with a friendly waitstaff and fast service.  That being said, I was not blown away by their breakfast.  I chose the Sunrise Omelet, with ham, bacon, and sausage.    It came with my choice of toast, pancakes, or biscuit...I love biscuits.  I ordered a side of gravy to go with my biscuit.  It turns out the biscuit was the highlight of the meal.

The biscuit was clearly handmade, and was fluffy and tasty, which is a lot more than I can say for many places in town.  However, the gravy was drab...with a dash of salt.  I poured on some Tabasco and that made it better.

The omelet was thick and heavy.  I prefer an omelet where the egg is light and airy.  The filling was generous, but underwhelming.  Maybe there was just too much in the omelet.  Wow, I can't believe I said that!


Sunrise Grill and Pancake House:

Address - 8201 Old Seward Hwy

Phone - 907.677.6011

Overall Recommendation:  I will probably try it again, but there are far superior breakfast restaurants in Anchorage.

Open Table - The must have foodie app

Ever say to yourself, your spouse, or your group of friends, "Where are we going for dinner?"  Well I have a foolproof way to not only narrow your search, but to also make your reservations.  Get on your smart phone and use your OpenTable app or go online to opentable.com.

OpenTable can bring up a list of restaurants in your area with available seating for your party.  You can read reviews, view menus, and get directions.  You can make your reservation, along with any special notes/requests you have for the restaurant, and then later on leave a review for others to read.  You can do all of this from your phone.

The great thing about OpenTable is the selection of restaurants.  The OpenTable affiliates are all great restaurants.  These restaurants are fit for foodies.  Each one is a standout with outstanding food, service, etc.  You can't go wrong!  Give it a try the next time you go out for a night on the town.

Sack's Cafe & Restaurant

Sack's is a shining star on the Anchorage fine dining scene.  With fresh local produce and seafood Sack's is a standout with a necessarily changing menu and creative choices.

This weekend my wife and I enjoyed date night by starting with the olive sampler and the Alaska Crab & Scallop cakes.  We also treated ourselves to the Joseph Drouhin Cote De Beaune 2008 Pinot Noir.  What a stunning way to start a meal.  The olives played off the sweet and savory crab/scallop cakes and the bright Pinot Noir.  The olives are served warm which brings out the flavor in each savory bight.  The crab/scallop cakes are served with an incredibly light honey chipotle aioli.  I made sure to alternate between the Pinot, olives, and cakes.  My palate was positively dancing.

I chose the Chicken and Alaska Sea Scallop for my main course.  The chicken medallions are lightly breaded, and the scallops gently seared.  They are served on a bed of udon noodles along with snow peas, mushrooms and black bean salsa.  The star of the meal, however, is the ginger cream sauce.  It continued the symphony that the appetizers began.  So light, tangy, and creamy it actually made me want to slow down and savor the experience.  I think I paired the wine perfectly for this main course.

My wife loved her Mariscada.  I tried a bite, and the flavor was amazing.  Fresh sockeye, tiger prawns, and clams in a coconut tomato broth.  Sweet yellow corn, butternut squash, rice, basil and lime round out the dish.  The broth is outstanding.  The Sack's saucier is a genius.

After the main course we both decided to have some desert.  I had a decadent spiced apple cake and my wife had the beautiful Russian creme with pineapple and strawberries.  Both were wonderful and balanced out our meals perfectly.

I honestly don't know if you can go wrong at Sack's.


Sack's Cafe & Restaurant:

Address - 328 G Street

Phone - 907.276.3546 or 907.274.4022

Website - www.sackscafe.com

Reservations - I use my OpenTable app on my iPhone.  I would recommend making reservations, so call ahead or use your smartphone.

Overall Recommendation - The freshest ingredients and a creative flair make Sack's one of the top restaurants in Anchorage.  Don't pass up the opportunity to have a great meal!

Bear Tooth Theatre Pub - more than movies

The Bear Tooth is made up of three separate parts.  The Bear Tooth Grill, the Bear Tooth Theatrepub, and the Bear Tooth restaurant.  The menu for the Theatre Pub and Restaurant are the same.  The menue for the grill is separate, and I will write about it in some future posting.

The theatrepub is a great place to see late run movies, shows, and concerts all while enjoying a great pizza, burrito, taco, wrap, etc.  There are many vegetarian and vegan options on the menu, which is great, but I love the more traditional offerings.  You can enjoy all of this and wash it down with a great beer!

What some people forget, is that there is a small restaurant/seating area outside of the theatre.  You can sit and order off the menu just like you would at the Moose's Tooth (the Bear Tooth's cousin).  It is not usually as crowded as the Moose's Tooth, so when I need a pizza fix, the Bear Tooth is a great choice.

I have had some great burritos at the Bear Tooth, including the Chicken Colorado, the Steak & guacamole, and the Steak Chipotle.  But on Saturday night, I needed a pizza, and I was looking for something on the lighter side.

The Wild Mushroom pizza was the perfect choice.  Chock full of portabella and crimini, and sun-dried tomatoes...this pizza rocks!  It has goat, mozzarella, and provolone cheeses on top of a denali sauce (a special non-tomato based house sauce).

The key to Bear/Moose's Tooth pizza is the crust.  It has a great savory flavor with just a hint of sweetness.  On the Wild Mushroom pizza, the crust combines with the denali sauce to bring out the flavors of the cheese and mushrooms.  With those sun-dried tomatoes, every bite has a bright tangy finish.

I enjoy the the Moose's Tooth Hard Apple Ale with almost all of the pizzas at the Tooth restaurants.  It is light and fruity, and it balances with the crust and toppings.

Whether you are catching a movie, or not, the Bear Tooth has something for nearly everyone.

Bear Tooth Theatrepub:

Address - 1230 West 27th Avenue

Phone - 907.276.4200

Website - beartooththeatre.net

Overall Recommendation:  I don't think you can do better than Bear/Moose's Tooth pizza in Anchorage.  Add in the burritos, tacos, and beer, and you have an incredible combination.

Spenard Roadhouse

The Spenard Roadhouse is a big step up from the previous occupants, Hogg Brothers Cafe.  The Spenard Roadhouse has the same ownership as Sacks Cafe and Snow City Cafe.  I was unaware of the relationship between the three restaurants, but I do see some commonalities.  Happily, my recent visit to the newest iteration of the location left me satisfied.

My late Sunday breakfast foursome enjoyed a variety of items off their Weekend Breakfast menu.  One of my friends had a mimosa and a meal called the Hangover Helper, ½ lb. all natural beef patty, fried egg, cheddar, bacon, tomato, onion, kaiser roll, served with a side of tater tots...she was thrilled.  My wife and other friend enjoyed the 2 egg breakfast, with their choice of bacon, ham, or Polish reindeer sausage, potatoes and an english muffin.  


I dug into the Roadhouse's version of eggs Benedict (I promise this will not turn into an eggs Benedict blog).  The Eggs Benny Benson is a traditional eggs Benedict with their own house made, very rich, hollandaise sauce.  I liked the thinly sliced ham as opposed to the usual slab of ham that is used in so many versions of my favorite breakfast.  The highlight is definitely the house made hollandaise.  At first I was taken by surprise...I think that I have gotten used to packet versions of the sauce.  The Spenard Roadhouse sauce is far superior to your typical hollandaise.


The Spenard Roadhouse has a full lunch and dinner menu as well as a children's menu.  I am inclined to think that the Roadhouse may be one of the best restaurants in the Spenard/Midtown area.


Spenard Roadhouse:


Address - 1049 W. Northern Lights Blvd, Anchorage


Phone - 907.770.7623


Website - spenardroadhouse.com


Overall Recommendation:  Definitely worth your while.  It made a very good impression on me.

Kriner's Diner

I have said it before, but it should be repeated:  When visiting a restaurant for the first time, always ask the staff what the specialty of the house is.  When I went to Kriner's Diner, for the first time last week, I did just that.

I am not usually a fan of chicken fried steak, but that was what the waitress recommended, so I thought I would give it a shot.  Served with two eggs (I prefer mine over easy), hash browns, and a huge chicken fried steak, I have to say the meal was enormous.  The steak was smothered in a very good sausage gravy, and I don't give out gravy compliments easily.  The breakfast was very good, but I did have one complaint...it was too much for me to finish.

The restaurant itself is clean and new looking, and the menus are newspaper style, with a combination of meal choices, trivia, and history about the owners.  In fact, I learned the owner is the son of Sal, as in Sal's Klondike Diner in Soldotna (also pretty good in my opinion).  The owners convey a politically conservative viewpoint, which I appreciate, but it is not an awkwardly large theme in the menu or restaurant.

One of the items on the menu is the Family Burger.  This behemoth is two pound of beef, 8 slices of cheese, and all the fixings with a one pound side of fries.  If you can eat it, by yourself, in 45 minutes or less, it is free.  You also get a t-shirt and your photo up on the wall of fame.  There are several before and after photos of those who have tried and failed.  No photos on the wall of fame yet.  I recommend making it a meal for 4, but I have not tried it yet.  I doubt I could finish it if I couldn't even finish on of the "small" breakfast dishes.

Go hungry is all I have to say!

Kriner's Diner:

Address - 2409 C St, Anchorage

Phone - 907.929.8257

Website - on Facebook

Reservations - Walk ins only.  It can be very busy in the mornings on weekends.  Be prepared to wait for a table or get there early.

Overall Recommendation:  I have only been there for breakfast, and I give it a high marks.  Check it out soon.