The Crow's Nest - The Crown Atop the Hotel Captain Cook

The Crow's Nest Restaurant offers much more than beautiful views of Downtown Anchorage, the Chugach, and Cook Inlet.  It is Anchorage's only AAA Four Diamond fine dining restaurant, and boasts a 10,000 bottle wine cellar.  I must say, that the food matches the view and the wine list...it is stunningly good.

Setting atop Tower 3 of the Hotel Captain Cook, it is no wonder that the Crow's Nest is so popular.  The hotel is right in the heart of Downtown Anchorage, and the restaurant pulls out all the stops to make your dining experience a great one.

On Halloween, my wife and I like to avoid the rush of trick-or-treaters by treating ourselves to dinner out. This year I pulled out my iPhone and activated my handy Open Table app.  There it was, the Crow's Nest, calling me.  On a nearly annual basis, I take my coaching staff for cocktails at the bar, but it has been quite a while since I have had a meal there, and it was about time my wife shared the experience.  By using the Open Table app, I was able to request a table with a view.  During the winter I prefer a view of Downtown, so I requested a table with a South/East view.  In the dark of night, and during this evening's snow storm, it is always beautiful.

Upon being seated, we were treated to an amuse consisting of a butternut squash soup, and a kalamata olive dinner roll.  The soup was rich and full of flavor.  The two or three spoonfuls were perfect and wett the appetite.  The olive roll was the perfect compliment to the soup; fresh, and with just the right amount of olives.

We chose to start with the Sweet and Spicy Sausage Stuffed Quail and the Tabby's Crabby Patties.  The quail was succulent in and of itself, but it was also stuffed with sautéd grapes and wild mushrooms, and served on a bed of fresh greens that had a delightful porcini vinaigrette and saffron pear reduction.  The crab cakes were a combination of King and Dungeness and were served over a citrus and horseradish vinaigrette.  The crab cake was delicious, but the stuffed quail was superb.

It was tough to choose, but my wife chose the Duck Two Ways A'Lorange and I chose the Ras el Hanout Rubbed Lamb Loin.  My wife loved the duck, her first ever duck as it turns out.  I tried a bite, and it was very tender and moist.  It was served with a croissant bread pudding over a berry gastrique and Grand Marnier jus.  The gastrique is what brought the dish from the merely good to great.

Before tonight, I did not know what Ras el Hanout meant, but Wikipedia has a great explanation, and now I know that it is a Moroccan blend of spices that means "top of the shop", or the best the shop has to offer.  My lamb loin was perfectly seasons, and I supplemented the flavor by ordering it with foie gras.  The flavors blended just as I had hoped.  The savory flavors of the Ras el Hanout and the richness of the foie gras made my taste buds dance and swoon.  The lamb was served over a lemon verbena jus, and accompanied by port poached cherries, root vegetables, crispy sweet potatoes.  A truly satisfying dish.

For desert, I went with the crème brûlée and a glass of Blandy's Alvada Medeira.  It may have been a decadent choice, but I was already having a decadent meal, it needed the right finish.  The crème brûlée was served with some fresh berries and white chocolate.  It paired perfectly with the Blandy's.  My wife chose the carmel apple tart.  I tried it, and it too was delicious.  The apples were fresh and tangy.

The Crow's Nest is a place to treat yourself.  Don't be tricked into going somewhere else.


Crow's Nest:

Address - 939 W. 5th Avenue, Anchorage, 20th Floor of Tower 3

Phone - 907.276.6000 or 800.843.1950

Website - captaincook.com/dining/crows-nest

Reservations - Make them.  I like using my Open Table app on my iPhone.  I recommend the Southeast corner of the dining room.  Dress is casual smart.  Don't go looking like a rugby hooligan.

Overall Recommendation - The food is very good, and the waitstaff is courteous and professional.  You will not find a finer wine cellar in all of Alaska.

Judy's Cafe - Cash Only, Rude Servers

When you listen to people from the Hillside area of Anchorage they rave about Judy's Cafe.  Judy's serves breakfast and lunch and is only open until 3p on weekdays and Saturdays.  It is open until 2p on Sundays.

Judy's is different than most restaurant, or most places of business for that matter, in that it only accepts cash.  While there is an ATM on the premises, it is very inconvenient not to be able to pay by debit or credit card...or even check.

The food is fairly good homestyle cooking, and it is one of the better diner style restaurants in Anchorage.  Having said that there is a big drawback...which I will get to later.

On my most recent, and final visit, I had a bacon and mushroom omelette and a 1/2 order of biscuits and  gravy.  The omelette was good, but the biscuits and gravy were sub par.  The gravy did not stand out.  It was drab and needed plenty of Tabasco to make it tasty.  The biscuit itself was just plain.

My biggest gripe with Judy's is the service.  I am used to being greeted warmly and serve in a courteous and pleasant manner when in any restaurant.  I would like to say that I have only ever experienced bad service once, but I have been to Judy's three times, and have never felt like my business was appreciated. Judy's Cafe needs to work on their staffing in a big way.

I am amazed that so many people rave about Judy's Cafe given that the service is so poor.  Have we all just gotten used to bad service and rude waitstaff.  I hope not.  Judy's stands out, but for the wrong reasons.


Judy's Cafe:

Address - 11620 Old Seward Hwy

Phone - 907.349.5500

Website - on facebook

Reservations - None.  It can get very busy on Saturday and Sunday mornings.  Get there early, or be prepared to wait, or go somewhere else.

Overall Recommendation - The food is good, but the inflexibility of payment and the often rude waitstaff make it easy to pass this hot spot by.

La Mex - Home of the Grande

La Mex is one of the better known Mexican restaurants in the Anchorage area.  They are famous for their  margaritas, which are good, but I am more into food, hence the blog.  With that said, La Mex has a full bar and is not too bad.


We started simple enough with the spinach quesadilla appetizer.  It was pretty good, but when combined with the hot salsa that came with the complementary chips, it was excellent.  The spinach quesadilla is a spinach tortilla with cheese and spinach filling.  Simple, but tasty.


For dinner my wife had the Seafood Chimi.  A chimi filled with shrimp, crab, lobster and white fish sautéed with tomatoes and onions and spices. Finished with fresh sliced avocado.  She was please, and it looked and smelled good.


I had the La Mex Burrito Deluxe.  It is served topped with a cheese sauce, shredded lettuce and house dressing.  The cheese sauce and dressing did not do much for me, so I asked for more hot salsa and topped it with that.  I guess I would say the burrito was fine, but the salsa was very good.


I don't mind sauces and salsas on dishes, but when I have to do it to rescue the dish, that does not say much for the dish in the first place.  The cheese sauce that came on the burrito was drab, though the rest of the burrito was fine.  The obligatory rice and refried beans completed the dish, and they were also fine.


A mixed meal to say the least.  I think I will stick with other Mexican restaurants from now on.




La Mex:


Address & Phone - 2550 Spenard Road, 907.274.7511
                              8330 King Street, 907.344.6399


Website - homeofthegrande.com


Reservations - Very large dining rooms in both locations.  You are probably safe not making reservations, but on Friday and Saturday night...it might be a good idea.


Overall Recommendation - La Mex is a good Mexican restaurant, not the best Anchorage has to offer, but good.  If it is nearby, and you have a hankering, stop in.

Gwennie's Old Alaska Restaurant

I have been eating at Gwennie's Old Alaska Restaurant since I was a teenager.  My high school team used to go to Gwennie's for breakfast every year whenever our team was in Anchorage.  When I began coaching I would bring my swimmers back for the same breakfasts, but since I moved to Anchorage, over 12 years ago, I have only been to Gwennie's a couple of times.  I went back recently for an evening breakfast.

I went on a Friday evening, around 7p, and there was plenty of seating available.  I was in the mood for dinner, but as soon as I saw the eggs Benedict, with crab meat instead of ham, I knew I was going for the breakfast.  I had a big appetite brewing, so I added the 1/2 order fo biscuits and gravy.

The flavors of the crab eggs benedict were good, but the textures were a bit off.  The english muffins had no crisp to them at all.  In fact, they had the texture of having been soaked in water before being put in the dish.  Combined with the natural texture of the crab and egg....it was a bad combination.  Texture matters.

The biscuits and gravy, however, were quite good.  There was just the right amount sausage and pepper in the gravy.  The biscuits had good texture, and although I could taste that they were a little heavy on the baking powder, they were better than most....and they went great with the Hefeweizen that I was drinking :)

All told, the food is not great, but there are bits of memorabilia and Alaskana all around the restaurant.  I must confess, I think the place is pretty cool.  It might be worth your try.


Gwennie's Old Alaska Restaurant:

Address - 4333 Spenard Road, Anchorage

Phone - 907.243.2090

Website - www.gwenniesrestaurant.com

Reservations - If you are going with a large group, you will want to call ahead.

Overall Recommendation - Going to Gwennie's is more of an overall experience than a dining experience.  If you are looking for great food, there are better choices in Anchorage.  If you are looking for a filling meal with plenty of Alaskana and history surrounding you, this is your place.