Cafe Amsterdam - European Style in Midtown

I have been meaning to give Cafe Amsterdam a try for some time, but unfortunately, I let my impression of a restaurant be affected by who was recommending it, so I kept putting off.  Pretty stupid on my part.

A few weeks ago, my wife and I packed up our one year old and went out for breakfast.  We planned to go to one of our other favorite restaurants, but at the last second I made the decision to turn into Metro Mall parking lot (across from the Sears Mall), and pulled up to Cafe Amsterdam.  

Going to a new restaurant with a one year old can be considered brave or stupid...I'll let you decide.  Suffice it to say, that our experience at Cafe Amsterdam was positive, and the restaurant and staff were ready to accept us with our little food critic.

I love a good Eggs Benedict, so I was excited to see that Cafe Amsterdam had not one, but a variety of four different Benedict options.  I went with the Moluska Benedict: two poached eggs on English muffin with salmon lox, red onions then topped with hollandaise sauce and capers, and served with cottage potatoes.  I lox, lachs, laks...no matter how you spell it...I love it!  I am also a hollandaise sauce snob.  I was not disappointed with either component of the dish.  I wasn't sure how they would pair, but matching the richness of the lox with that of the hollandaise and yolk left me wanting more.

The only problem with going to breakfast at Cafe Amsterdam is the fact that I could not partake of my favorite Belgian beer, Chimay.  Chimay and a huge variety of other Belgian, local, and international ales and ciders are available on tap or by the bottle.  They also have a healthy variety of meads and wines on their list of beverages.

As for me, I have learned a valuable lesson.  From now on, I won't let my impression of someone else affect my opinion of a restaurant.

Cafe Amsterdam:

Address - 530 E Benson Blvd #3, Anchorage, AK 99503

Phone - 907.274.0074

Website - cafe-amsterdam.com

Overall Recommendation - This is Eurostyle cafe with a great selection of Belgian and local beers.  The food is tasty and the staff is friendly.  Perfect for a late weekend breakfast, but I look forward to going back for lunch or dinner...when I can have some Chimay!

Southside Grill Restaurant - My Neighborhood Diner

If you have read through my blog, you know that I enjoy breakfast...a lot!  To my dismay, I have been unable to find a breakfast joint (that I can stomach) on the south side of Anchorage.  Either the food is bad, the service horrible, or both.  No more!  I have finally found the Southside Grill Restaurant.

Not to be confused with the Southside Bistro (read my review from December 2011), the Southside Grill Restaurant serves breakfast and lunch diner style meals.  My wife and I went for breakfast recently, and the food was very good and service was fast and friendly.

I went with the Hungry Man Breakfast featuring: ham, bacon, or sausage, 3 eggs served to order, choice of potatoes or pancakes, and biscuits and gravy.  They had me at the biscuits and gravy :)

I went with the sausage, eggs over easy, and hash-browns.  The sausage and hash-browns were typical, and the eggs cooked correctly (something that seems to be difficult for some cooks), and the biscuits and gravy were better pretty good.

What makes me happiest, is that I no longer have to drive across town to any of my other favorite breakfast eateries.  Southside Grill is just a short drive for those of us who live south of Dimond.  Spacious, clean, and friendly...our little south side gem!

Southside Grill Restaurant:

Address - 12870 Old Seward Hwy Anchorage, AK 99515

Phone - 907.297.0597

Overall Recommendation:  Good diner food and friendly service.  I have finally found a breakfast place on the south side of Anchorage that I can enjoy.

Humdinger's Gourmet Pizza Co. - Wood Fired and Gluten Free Friendly

I don't always feel like eating pizza with several hundred of my fellow Alaskans.  So, while there are some great pizza options in Anchorage, I don't often get to enjoy them.  Fortunately, we have a new choice for a humdinger of a pizza.


Humdinger's Gourmet Pizza Co. features a creative line-up of delicious appetizers, salads, desserts, and wood fired pizzas.  Additionally, they have plenty of gluten free options, including a very good gluten free pizza crust.  My wife brought home a piece of their Tour de Wisconsin; a garlic butter based pizza, featuring parmesan, mozzarella, colby jack, feta, and cream cheese.  I had my slice after it had been sitting in the box, in the refrigerator,  and then microwaved...and it was delicious.  I made a mental note that I had to go the next time I was in Palmer to visit the in-laws.  

My wife, my in-laws, and I started with two appetizers.  The Buffalo Tenders were tasty, but typical, so I won't waste too much time describing it, other than to say that the breaded tenders were tender and well seasoned.  On the other hand, the Queso and Flat Bread appetizer was a stand out!  Humdinger's own gourmet flat bread is very tasty on it's own, but when served with the cream cheese dip, it is over the top.  We all loved the thick, creamy, and dip.  You can get the flat bread gluten free, so this is a great dish for nearly everyone.
I love wood fired pizza and the crispier crusts that result from them.  Our group was excited to give the pizzas from the birch-fired oven a taste.  We tried the Shovin' Off to Buffalo with a wheat crust, and the T-Rex with a gluten free crust.

The Shovin' Off to Buffalo is built on a garlic butter sauce, and has mozzarella, breaded chicken breast and blue cheese crumbles.  All of these ingredients were great, but what brought the pizza together, in my opinion, were the french fried onion crumbles...what a combination!

I have been making an effort to make gluten free choices, so I know how hard it is to find gluten free products that taste good.  I was a little dubious that a gluten free crust was going to taste good, and I had kind of resigned myself to a crust that would tasted a little better than cardboard.  I was way of base, and very pleased with the crust that the T-Rex came on.  The T-Rex is Humdinger's offering to the real carnivores among us.  Built atop marinara and mozzarella, this pizza comes loaded with pepperoni, sausage, hame, bacon, and hamburger.  It was very good and tasted great on the gluten free crust.

Humdinger's Gourmet Pizza:

Address - 173 S. Valley Way, Palmer, AK 99645

Phone - (907) 745-7499

Website - www.humdingerspizza.com

Overall Recommendation:  Wood fired flavor, creative combinations, and gluten free options make Humdinger's some of the greatest pizza in Alaska.  Give it a toss!