"Real" Alaskan food

[Whitetrike]

My wife and I will be doing our first cruise to Alaska in May.  Our port days will be in Skagway, Ketchikan, and Juneau.  The cruise ends in Anchorage!  Are there any restaurants in these cities that serve "real" Alaskan foods like bear, moose and caribou.    They would be most interesting additions to our lists of exotic food eaten on our travels!  We'd be interested hearing about experiences and/or suggestions!  Thanks!

 

Whitetrike

[CruiserBruce]

Do you know those are "real" Alaskan foods? I would think seal would be on the list for the native Alaskans, but it might be illegal for sale, as well as several of the other items you mention. Certainly salmon is widely available, and that is legal for sale in a restaurant.

[1025cruise]

Most places will have reindeer sausage. That's probably the best you can get. I've never seen bear on a menu.

[Hoyaheel]

In the US, you cannot sell wild game, only farmed meat. I have never seen farmed bear....Have seen reindeer, elk, deer.....

[diesel1973]

Another farmed meat is Yak. Stop at the yak farm every year for my fix of yak. There is a rest. in Anchorage that serves it but can't recall which one. A rest. in Chitna has yak and eggs for breakfast. I think buffalo is also available in some rest. "Once you go yak you never go back!"  Indian Valley meats is a processor of wild game South of Anchorage and sells various meats but has no rest. that I know of. Mooses Tooth Pizza has a pizza called "Santas little helper" which used to have reindeer sausage but last time I had it they said they don't use it anymore. Of course you could get a reindeer sausage sandwich from various vendors in downtown Anchorage. Good luck  and happy travels.

[Hoyaheel]

I think there were food trucks/stands by the docks in Juneau that had reindeer sausage, but we were filling up on fish & chips & crab as I recall. And local beer 😉

[AKStafford]

" bear, moose and caribou " are all wild  game and it's not legal to sell their meat commercially. Reindeer are the domesticated version of caribou and you'll find reindeer sausage as a common breakfast item.

[kennicott]

I don't know of any restaurant that has Alaska game on the menu other than reindeer, namely sausage. Seafood and shellfish are another story, you find those available everywhere. As for Alaskan's personal diets involving wildlife, one has to distinguish between indigenous Alaskans and other Alaskans who supplement their diets extensively with wild game, seafood and shellfish. Indigenous Alaskans eat a lot of seal, walrus and whale as well as common game, seafood and shellfish. 

 

Game are wild animals and birds. Large native game animals living in Alaska include buffalo, bear, deer, elk, moose, reindeer/caribou and musk ox. Small game includes rabbit, squirrel, beaver, muskrat, and porcupine. For birds, fish and shellfish read: https://www.adfg.alaska.gov/index.cfm?adfg=animals.listbirds 

https://www.adfg.alaska.gov/index.cfm?adfg=animals.listfish

http://www.adfg.alaska.gov/index.cfm?adfg=commercialbyfisheryshellfish.main

https://www.google.com/search?q=Wild+stock+meat+in+Alaska+for+sale&tbm=isch&tbo=u&source=univ&sa=X&ved=2ahUKEwi3itS0rtzfAhWKKXwKHdHcAtQQ7Al6BAgDEBE&biw=1523&bih=739&dpr=1.25

[Hoyaheel]

I have to remark that I LOVE venison and make my husband kill one deer for me every season. Feral hog is good too. But I don't like bear! Haven't had moose - we don't have any nearby nor where husband or FIL have gone hunting so far - but really would love to try it! My brother & his family lived in AK for many years - he's an avid fisherman so we always had fish when we visited - but he didn't hunt 😞

Edited January 7, 2019 by Hoyaheel

[martincath]

Your best bet for all of this - except reindeer sausage which is indeed all over AK ports - would be in Vancouver before you start cruising. We have quite a lot of local restos which offer game meat - and in addition to the legal in US meats given above, you can add Seal down here with some degree of reliability (I've been able to get it the last 2 years in springtime), and most of May is also Spot Prawn season. Wildebeest, Salmon & Bannock, and the 'indigibrunch' on weekends in Skwachays Lodge all offer farmed 'game' meat - exactly which species varies but usually at least one of elk or caribou plus bison, wild boar, occasionally muskox or yak - and local fish.

 

Bear and moose you need to get in with the right hunters to acquire if you can't shoot 'em yourself - or visit e.g. Finland where it is legal to sell bear in restos.

Edited January 7, 2019 by martincath

[Coral]

Princess has reindeer chili on their land trips and on the ship.

[AKfamily]

Here in Southeast Alaska, most “real” food is seafood. Halibut, Dungeness crab, king crab, rockfish, and salmon (in season).  We don’t have caribou (reindeer sausage is all you’ll find) or many moose. Seafood is where it’s at! You may find that once you have eaten fresh, Wild Alaskan salmon, you will never buy farmed salmon again-at least I hope you won’t! In Juneau, hit up Tracy’s Crab Shack, or Alaska Fish and Chips for cod and chips. It’s no less expensive to buy here than it is in the lower 48, but it’s FRESH. 

[donaldsc]

Considering the number of drive through coffee places we saw in AK, I think the the main food in AK must be coffee.  They are all over the place.

 

DON

[Northern Aurora]

Another "real" Alaskan food is sourdough -- my husband loves the sourdough pancakes with reindeer sausage breakfast at a local Fairbanks eatery.  I personally find sourdough pancakes to be somewhat of an acquired taste......just because I am married to him doesn't mean that we agree on everything!

 

[BruceMuzz]

The Pump House Restaurant in Fairbanks, Alaska has Elk Steaks and Reindeer Steaks on the menu.

[terrydtx]

On ‎1‎/‎8‎/‎2019 at 10:40 PM, AKfamily said:

Here in Southeast Alaska, most “real” food is seafood. Halibut, Dungeness crab, king crab, rockfish, and salmon (in season).  We don’t have caribou (reindeer sausage is all you’ll find) or many moose. Seafood is where it’s at! You may find that once you have eaten fresh, Wild Alaskan salmon, you will never buy farmed salmon again-at least I hope you won’t! In Juneau, hit up Tracy’s Crab Shack, or Alaska Fish and Chips for cod and chips. It’s no less expensive to buy here than it is in the lower 48, but it’s FRESH. 

Is the king crab served locally the same frozen crab we get in the lower 48? On our cruise in July we have one night in Fairbanks and would love some great King Crab, is there a place you recommend?

[Gardyloo]

3 hours ago, terrydtx said:

Is the king crab served locally the same frozen crab we get in the lower 48? On our cruise in July we have one night in Fairbanks and would love some great King Crab, is there a place you recommend?

The King Crab fishery is in the winter, so anything you'll get during cruise season will have been frozen for months.

[thinfool]

We found a great Mexican restaurant in Anchorage.  LOL

[martincath]

8 hours ago, terrydtx said:

Is the king crab served locally the same frozen crab we get in the lower 48? On our cruise in July we have one night in Fairbanks and would love some great King Crab, is there a place you recommend?

Same old, same old - the vast majority is frozen after steaming so the best you can ever do to it is slather it with something to add flavour to the outside and distract from the softened texture of the flesh (no matter how fast freezing happens there is some cellular damage and very delicate flesh like crab is particularly vulnerable - once you've had it fresh you will struggle to ever truly enjoy it frozen again if you're big on 'mouthfeel' of foods like I am).

 

The only place you can expect to get fresh King Crab legally in cruise season is here in Vancouver. While in general that means an entire crab served up from a tank in one of our many large Chinese restaurants (which I heartily recommend if you have a group of folks - it really needs at least six BIG appetites to do justice to it, with 8-10 people more commonly splitting one crab) I did note that the menu of our newest steakhouse, Elisa, includes a 'robata' grilled AKC.

 

They're one of a small group of co-owned fine dining restos in the region, and another of the group (Blue Water Cafe - THE seafood resto in the city) sometimes also has fresh AKC on their seafood towers, so this just might be fresh rather than frozen too. It's on our 'to do' list so we should be hitting it up well before July - I shall definitely inquire about the fresh/frozen status of the AKC while I'm there devouring all the tartares. Worst-case scenario, even if it's the same old frozen legs you get everywhere at least being cooked over a wood-burning grill should make it a different experience to the typical 'melted garlic butter' reheating that happens most places.

Edited February 1, 2019 by martincath

[donaldsc]

I had some great "real" Alaskan thai food in a place in Fairbanks.  Don't remember the name however.

 

DON

[kennicott]

Today I had lunch at the  49th State Brewing co. on 3rd Avenue, very close to the Downtown Hilton in Anchorage. I noticed they had Yak Burgers new on their menu as well as Buffalo, Reindeer and Elk. Some in chili, some in burgers, some in pizza and some in tortillas. Plus a wide assortment of Alaska seafood and shellfish dishes.  

https://www.49statebrewing.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/10/49th-State-Menu-Dinner-100217.pdf

[kennicott]

Once upon a time I had my own drift net salmon gillnetter in Area E Alaska. I fished it commercially by taking vacation time off during the summers. During the winters I took some night courses at the university here involving lecture series on fish handling, etc. A lot of opinion and argument out there regarding how to care for the product including freezing techniques. Some expert, some not. i.e.

https://www.independent.co.uk/life-style/food-and-drink/fish-frozen-fresh-sustainability-best-cooking-tips-advice-a8426761.html

https://www.quora.com/Does-freezing-fish-affect-the-quality-and-taste

[AKfamily]

15 hours ago, terrydtx said:

Is the king crab served locally the same frozen crab we get in the lower 48? On our cruise in July we have one night in Fairbanks and would love some great King Crab, is there a place you recommend?

It is cooked and flash frozen when caught. It will be fresher here than what you would get elsewhere. We caught our own a few times this year (personal use fishery is extremely limited and you only get a couple of crabs per household per year!) and we had to figure out how to cook it fresh, as it’s not a common thing to get king crab that hasn’t already been cooked and frozen! If seafood is frozen properly it will taste like it was never frozen. 

[wolfie11]

On 1/9/2019 at 2:04 AM, Northern Aurora said:

Another "real" Alaskan food is sourdough -- my husband loves the sourdough pancakes with reindeer sausage breakfast at a local Fairbanks eatery.  I personally find sourdough pancakes to be somewhat of an acquired taste......just because I am married to him doesn't mean that we agree on everything!

 

Sharon’s omelette at Sam’s Sourdough Cafe...best breakfast ever!

[terrydtx]

13 hours ago, kennicott said:

Today I had lunch at the  49th State Brewing co. on 3rd Avenue, very close to the Downtown Hilton in Anchorage. I noticed they had Yak Burgers new on their menu as well as Buffalo, Reindeer and Elk. Some in chili, some in burgers, some in pizza and some in tortillas. Plus a wide assortment of Alaska seafood and shellfish dishes.  

https://www.49statebrewing.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/10/49th-State-Menu-Dinner-100217.pdf

Thank you, I looked at the menu and they do have a wide assortment of Alaska seafood and meats. I see they have a Yak burger and a friend of ours who was in the Airforce in Anchorage has recommended Yak, which is something I have never seen in the lower 48. We have one night in Anchorage in our cruise land package and we will have to try this restaurant.

 

I have heard that food prices in Alaska where very high, but from what I saw  the prices here are not out of line compared to comparable establishments in the lower 48. HAL offers a meal package for the 4 days and nights land tour for the three of us on our cruise at $1249, which seems ridiculous when you see places like the 49th Street Brewing Co.

 

Edited February 2, 2019 by terrydtx