Thursday, September 15, 2011

Road Trip! Haines

This week I went to the beautiful town of Haines in southeast Alaska. Haines is a great little town of 2500 people on the northern end of the southeast panhandle, and was originally at the end of an important Tlingit trade route with the interior, and then became one of the starting points for people heading to the gold fields in the Klondike and Alaskan Yukon. Today it has mainly a fishing and tourism based economy. It is surrounded by incredible mountains and glaciers, and has a lot of beautiful historic buildings that were originally part of Fort William H. Seward, which was established at the turn of the century to guard the Canadian border and exert control during the chaos of the Gold Rush. Some of the restaurants I will be talking about are in historic Fort Seward buildings. Because so much in Haines is dependent on summer tourists, hardly any restaurants are open year round, and in fact most places I visited were on the verge of closing for the season.

My first stop in Haines was Mosey's Cantina for lunch. Several people said that it was one of their favorite restaurants, not only in Haines, but one of their favorite Mexican restaurants in all of Alaska. They are closed on Tuesdays, so if I wanted to go I figured I better to while I could (a lot of Haines businesses are closed on Tuesdays; I think it has to do with the cruise ship schedule). I was also told that it isn't exactly the cheapest place in the world, so going for lunch would also be better for that. Mosey's is located in one of the historic Ft. Seward buildings, and it has a fantastic view of the bay and the mountains, so sit on the big porch or in the garden if the weather is good. You have to go in to order and pick up your food though- they apparently don't believe in these things called "waiters." They don't have a huge menu, but everything is home-made. I got some chips and guacamole for $2, and they make their own, chunky guacamole that was pretty darn good. I also got a glass of freshly made sun tea. If you're in the mood you can also get a glass of Haines Brewing Company beer. I went with the smothered bean and cheese burrito for lunch for $11.50. It comes with your choise of red or green chile sauce, and for another dollar you can get chicken or beef in it, too. The burrito was freaking huge, and the green chile sauce was pretty spicy, and really good, and clearly homemade. Other options at Mosey's include tacos with chipotle chicken, beef, or pork, tacos or a burrito with fresh Alaskan rockfish, a real, slow-cooked chile verde with slow-cooked pork, quesadilla, tostadas (beef, chicken, or guacamole), taco salad, or a "south of the border" salad. I didn't see the dinner menu so I'm not sure how many more options they have later, but what I had was great, so if you want some surprisingly tasty Mexican food, check it out.

For dinner I went to the fanciest restaurant in town, the Hotel Halsinglad Commander's Room Restaurant, which is also on Ft. Seward, across the parade grounds from Mosey's. They are only open for dinner, and this was the last week they were open, and they were already booked up for Tuesday's dinner, their annual chef's tasting menu. This year it was seven courses, and paired with wine for $100 a person. I'm not disappointed though, because their regular menu is pretty impressive. They have several delicious looking salads, chicken liver pate, and fresh salmon gravlox. I had the duck confit salad for $15, which was totally incredible. The salad and the duck would have both been incredible on their own, but with their powers combined, it was just fantastic. There was a huge piece of duck, and it was perfectly cooked and just falling apart. The salad underneath was also amazing, with red onion, candied walnuts, lots of really good creamy gorgonzola cheese, and a blackberry balsamic vinagrette. I also got a flatbread, which are kind of like mini pizzas the way they do them. They had three options, ranging from $10.50 - $12.50 including one with sausage, carmelized onion, cheese, and red peppers. I got the crimini mushroom one since I was getting the duck. It had lots of mushrooms that were very well cooked so they were dark and meaty and rich, a three cheese base, and some herbs and asparagus. I didn't get an entree, but their options looked pretty delicious. They had fresh Alaskan salmon, halibut, house made rabbit sausage, ribeye steak, and Moroccan lamb shank. Entrees ranged from $25- $33. They also have a great wine list, with a huge range of options, with glasses from $6- $7.50, and bottles mostly from $19 - $40, but with the higher end bottles ranging from $59 to $160. I had a glass of the Liberty School Cabernet Sauvignon from Paso Robles and a glass of the Louis Martini Cabernet Sauvignon from Sonoma County. I wasn't going to have two glasses but the Liberty School was so good that I finished it while I was working on my duck. They also have several homemade desserts, including homemade ice cream. I got the Belgian chocolate torte, of course, which was really rich and dense and definitely better than a lot of tortes or flourless chocolate cakes I've had. This one was also topped with homemade peppermint ice cream, which was just incredible, and a little bit of raspberry sauce. Both were great complements to the chocolate without overpowering it. If you have the opportunity for a fancy dinner while you're in Haines, you have got to check this place out.


Of all the places I personally went to eat, the Mountain Market was the only one open year-round, and they can do this because they have everything. They have a coffee shop and roast their own beans under the name Ripinsky Roasters, they have breakfast, lunch, and pastries, and they have an organic grocery store, which has all kinds of things, from organic milk, eggs, and cheese, to curry paste and bulk foods. Most of the drip coffee they had at the coffee shop was also organic, and they were clearly trying to sell local foods- they had local eggs and a couple of local vegetables. Since they're open year round, this is the coffee shop/local hang out of choice for the locals, and it shows. I swear the woman behind the counter knew the names of everyone that came in. So, I had a good mocha with locally roasted beans, and a really good homemade lemon poppyseed muffin for breakfast. They also make their own breakfast sandwiches and burritos. I also got a sandwich to go for lunch. They had several delicious looking options, but I went with the Market Sub, which was on a really good baguette that I think they made, with chicken, lots of pesto, avocado, and lettuce. It was really good, and really the only problem with it was that the bread was so good and substantial that you kind of squished a lot of the goodness inside out when you ate. I also got a brownie with peanut butter frosting. The brownie was okay but the PB frosting was pretty great, I don't know what they did- it wasn't really a frosting, per se, but rather some sort of fluffy peanut butter concoction. Anyway, buttery and delicious. Plus they're local, open year-round, display and sell local art on the walls, and bring some diversity and environmental-consciousness to the grocery options in Haines. So, both for taste and on general principle, make sure you go to Mountain Market next time you're in Haines.

For dinner my second night in Haines I went to the Fireweed Restaurant, which everyone recommended. They are located right below the parade grounds on Ft. Seward. The first thing when I walked in I was hit by a fantastic smell of pizza, which was a good sign. They were also packed, and were planning on closing in late September. They had a good looking wine list, but I decided I needed to have some local beer, so I got a Haines Brewing Company IPA. It was wheatier than I expected, but very good. The owners, like many in southeast Alaska, try to have as many local and organic ingredients as possible. I had a bacon wrapped date, which was stuffed with a coffee-almond puree and drizzled with maple syrup for $2.50 each. It was really good, and I especially liked the bacon/maple syrup combo, but it wasn't quite as good as the bleu cheese stuffed dates wrapped in bacon at the Cafe Sevilla tapas bar in southern California. Seriously, those things were so good even my friend with serious diet restrictions for his heart ate one of them- it was his "bacon quotient for the year." But I digress. Other delicious-looking appetizers on the Fireweed's menu included a freshly baked pretzel with mustard, olives stuffed with anchovy, bleu cheese, and herbs, toasted cheese ravioli, tapenade, and white wine cheese fondue. For soups and sides, the soup of the day seems to change frequently- the day I went it was beef stew. They also had garlic bread, Italian potato salad, and pasta salad. I had a small house salad for $4.50, which was a basic side salad but was made with fresh baby greens and had a (I assume homemade) creamy gorgonzola dressing. They also have Greek salad, Caesar salad to which you could add chicken, a grilled flatiron steak salad, and a grilled halibut pesto Caesar salad. That last one was a serious contender for my meal. They also had several things "from the grill" for $13-17, including a flatiron steak sandwich, burger, buffalo burger, portabello mushroom "burger," chicken burger, and sausage plate. All of them come with salad, potato salad, or pasta salad. They had oven sandwiches (eggplant or Italian heroes), a calzone, and of course, pizzas. If I had been out to dinner with other people I totally would have gotten a pizza, because I saw several delicious looking ones coming out. You could get a small or large build-your-own pizza for $11 or $21, plus toppings, or you could get an 18 inch pepperoni, veggie combo, combo, or the Fireweed Favorite for $25-28. They also have several pastas, including the veggie fettuccine, which I got. It has artichoke hearts, tomatoes, mushrooms, red onion, broccoli, parmesan, olive oil, and herbs for $16. And it came with the herbed garlic bread, which was rustic and very tasty- not your average garlic bread. The pasta was a great, rustic pile of pasta, everything was cooked well and was really delicious, with all the flavors working together. I didn't have room after all this for their dessert of the night, the chocolate peanut butter pie, but I did get a big cookie to go that I ate the next day. I got the oatmeal walnut and chocolate chip, which was great, and they had a couple other kinds to choose from, too. This is another place I wish I had time to go back and try other things. I'll just have to work on getting back down there.

Other places I didn't go to in Haines during my too-short trip include the Bamboo Room, which has a big sign for fish and chips and is also open year-round, the Bear-ritto bakery, the Klondike, which is supposed to have great pizza, and a fish and chips wagon that was never open while I was there. There was also at least one other coffee shop in downtown Haines that also wasn't open when I went by. I also didn't get a chance to go to Sarah J's coffee shop and bakery, which wasn't open on Monday when I went by, which was disappointing because she is supposed to make great cookies. And while I had their beer, I never actually went to the Haines Brewing Company, but I heard it's really fun to go to a beer tasting there before or after dinner. I've heard you need to try the spruce tip beer- apparently very tasty, plus prevents scurvy because of all the vitamin c in the new spruce tips! Oh, and the brewery is in the old movie set they built when they were filming the movie "White Fang" in town, so there's that. So, if you're in southeast Alaska, please stop by Haines. It's jaw-droppingly gorgeous, full of historic buildings and amazing food. You'll see grizzlies and eagles in the Eagle Preserve State Park, and there are tons of amazing local artists living and working there. So go to Haines - you'll thank me, I promise.

Sunday, September 11, 2011

Alaska State Fair Part II: Attack of the Giant Vegetables!

So, you've already heard about all the things I ate at the Alaska State Fair, so now I want to talk about all the local farmers whose products we saw at the Fair, including both animals and produce. We saw some great livestock, with a huge showing of 4-H project animals. There were a lot of goats, including a lot of Nigerian dwarf goats, but some Nubians and other breeds too. There were a few sheep, which we especially noticed because there were several Icelandic sheep, which had lots of poofy wool and looked like they would be right at home in Alaska. Most of the cows were Holsteins, but there were some other breeds too. There were several large lady cows that looked like they were going to calve any minute now, and did not look particularly comfortable, but how many full-term ladies are? There were several pigs, including one that was freaking gigantic, and one mom with a whole herd of piglets had drawn quite a crowd. There was also a very nice looking yak. There is at least one farm raising yaks (I was looking into their CSA) in the Valley- another animal that should be well-suited to the Arctic. I only saw one alpaca on this particular day, but I know there are several people who raise them. There is also a petting zoo, of course, so the kids can feed and pet some goats and other farm animals.

The selection of rabbits and poultry had much more variety than the larger animals. There was a huge selection of chickens, and so many breeds, including Rhode Island reds, buff Orpingtons, and many that I'm not familiar with. There were some really beautiful birds. There were also a lot of turkeys, also generally raised by 4-H kids. There was actually a room where a lot of them were loose, and several were strutting around, puffed up and showing off to us and the other birds. There were some roosters, pheasants, and ducks, too, to round out the poultry. There was also an incubator with chicks and ducklings that was a total kid-magnet. It was put on by Triple D Farms, and I was surprised they had so many chicks, because they actually just said they were going to stop selling butchered chickens, meaning that as far as I can find there is not a single place to get locally raised chicken meat in Alaska anymore. There are still people that will sell you chicks to raise yourself, I believe, but nowhere that will butcher and sell you chickens. If you want to learn more about this issue, there is a great article about it in the Alaska Dispatch, which explains that it's basically about not being able to get insurance for your farm because the government can't afford to inspect small farms. I've been looking into this, trying to find local poultry, possibly a co-op where you own the chickens and are paying for their care, but so far I haven't found one. There was a huge amount of aaaawww-ing coming out of the fair-goers for the rabbits on display. There were giant ones, teeny ones, long tall ears, short ears, floppy ears, and they were all super-cute. A lot of them were show or pet breeds, but there are several places here that raise meat rabbits. It's better than buying meat from a big factory farm Outside, but let's just move on, shall we?

Of course, if there is one thing people want to see at the Alaska State Fair, it is the giant vegetables. We are famous for our large produce up here. Of course there are varieties of plants that are suited to growing very big, but we usually credit our 18+ hours of summer sunlight here in southcentral Alaska for helping our vegetables to grow so large so quickly. Among the vegetables this year were a couple of cabbages over 100 pounds, I believe the winner was 126 pounds, which was so close to the world record of 127. So, cabbages that weigh as much as a person. There were also some zucchini, squash and gourds that were pretty amazing. Alaskans also hold the world records for carrot (just under 19 pounds), kale (105.9 pounds), kohlrabi (96.95 pounds), celery (63 pounds), broccoli (35 pounds), root beet (42.75), rutabaga (82.9), and turnip (39.2). So you see, this is serious business. In the room where the giant vegetables are displayed, there is a complete list of the Alaska records for you to marvel at.

And then there was the Great Pumpkin Scandal of 2011. The winner of the giant pumpkin weigh in, and of the all-time Alaska record, was a 1287 pound pumpkin named Lucy Lu. Yes, we name our giant vegetables in Alaska- doesn't everyone? To give you an Alaskan comparison for how much that is, this pumpkin weighed about as much as a baby beluga or humpback whale. The grower of Lucy Lu has been doing this for a while, and was among other things the first to break the 1000-pound mark. But wait! You thought that was big- even though Lucy Lu broke the record, there was a 1723 pound pumpkin named Patrick that was also entered in the weigh in. 1700 pounds! That's as much as an old Volkswagen Beetle! It took the grower five years to grow this pumpkin! But poor Patrick had a hole in him, so he was tragically disqualified by the judges. We can't have vegetables with holes in them- people could be juicing their stats, injecting them to increase the weight. So, only entries with skin intact can be considered. If he had won, Patrick would have come tantalizingly close to the world record of 1810 pounds. Oh, the world of competitive pumpkin growing- who knew that you could actually grow a pumpkin that could, say, be made into a carriage that you could then ride to the palace ball? This year set the bar pretty high, so in the future if anyone wants to break the Alaska record, they are going to have to be shooting for the world record, too. I for one will be keeping my eyes on next year's weigh in to see if Lucy Lu's record can be toppled.

So there you have it - the thrills! The excitement! The giant zucchini jokes! It's just another day at the Alaska State Fair.

Friday, September 9, 2011

Alaska State Fair Part I: So much food, so little time...

Sadly, the Alaska State Fair ended this week. I love going to the fair, and I especially love getting to try so many great foods. When I was a kid, your choices included pretty standard, greasy fair food: corn dogs, burgers, pizza, and funnel cake. These days, you can find practically anything, from fresh Alaskan seafood to great barbeque to vegetable stew made with fresh Alaskan vegetables to Middle Eastern food to Indian fry bread. You can go to Mr. Gyros, MA's hot dogs, get a hot cup of Kaladi Brothers Coffee, or go to Cheesecake in a Cone. I went to the Fair four times this year – I know, it seems a bit excessive, but in my defense I was working part of the day for three of those visits – and I still did not get to try all of the things I wanted. So brace yourselves: what follows is the chronicle of the many things I ate at the 2011 Alaska State Fair.

My first day at the Fair I didn’t have much time when I wasn’t working, so my exploration of food options was a little limited. I needed something quick and I wanted some local foods. I ended up with a Salmon Quesadilla at a self-titled stall for $8 to start with. It was actually a little disappointing, maybe because what I expected was a melted-cheese-bomb, and what I got was some dry salmon and a tiny sprinkling of cheese, but what can you do? Sometimes things sound good but don’t meet your expectations. When I took a break later I was redeemed when I got some Matanuska Creamery ice cream at their booth on the midway. Matanuska Creamery is the successor to Matanuska Maid, the defunct dairy co-op. Dairy farmers have a hard time in Alaska, so I try to support them as much as possible. From trying to grow enough hay to feed the cows, to the competition with cheap factory milk from Outside, they’re fighting an uphill battle. Some people don’t like how much they get in state subsidies, but I say anything that helps keep local farming viable up here is a noble thing. I have a love-hate relationship with their ice cream, though, because they divert all their summer cream to making ice cream, which is really popular, so they don’t make any butter for months at a time. People need butter! I love ice cream an awful lot, but I don’t need it. Anyway, I shouldn’t really be complaining because they are using their cream for one delicious thing instead of another, and their ice cream is really great. I got two scoops for $5, one scoop of chocolate and one of fudge brownie. They have a pretty good selection of flavors, which you still have a chance to check out at the Anchorage farmer’s markets.

My next visit to the Fair I went in search of some well-known food booths that had moved and could not be found, and I tried some great new things. I spent a long day at the Fair on this trip – I worked in the morning and then spent the afternoon and evening watching “A Prairie Home Companion” and hanging out with my parents. For lunch, I went in search of what is generally regarded as the best barbeque at the Fair, and that is saying something, because there are at least half a dozen BBQ places these days. After a little searching, I finally found the new location of the Center of Hope, Church of God in Christ BBQ stand. They were keeping busy, I was glad to see. They have Texas style BBQ, and had pulled pork sandwiches, chicken sandwiches, pork and chicken plates (that come with baked beans, cole slaw, or potato salad) for $12, and baby back ribs. I remember that the ribs were by far the most expensive thing, but I didn't write down how much they were. I got the BBQ chicken sandwich for $10, which wasn’t much in terms of a sandwich, with some spongy white bread, but I was there for the BBQ itself, which was fantastic. The chicken was falling apart and smelled and tasted amazing. Of course, they also have dessert, in the form of mini peach or sweet potato pies for $5 each. I got a sweet potato pie, which was also fantastic, although I would recommend sharing it with someone. When I met up with my parents after lunch I also got to try my mom’s corn fritters in honey butter, but I didn’t catch the name of the place she got them. They pretty much only make corn fritters, though, and you can tell, because they are tasty! For dinner my mom and I stumbled upon Mostly Mediterranean, a stand run by some ladies from Homer who only sell food at the Fair and a couple of Kenai Peninsula festivals. With food this good, I’m kind of amazed that they don’t have a restaurant. We got the kibbe plate for $10, I think, which came with pita bread, tabbouleh and hummus. First of all, there aren’t very many restaurants, let alone food stalls at fairs that make kibbe in this country. I think I’ve only ever had it when my parents or grandparents made it. It was good, but they did what a lot of Americans do, which is to dilute the flavor of the lamb by combining it with beef. Otherwise, though, it was pretty tasty. The standouts were the tabbouleh and hummus, though. The hummus was creamy and delicious, and the tabbouleh was fantastic, and was actually an herb salad with some bulgar, instead of a bulgar salad with a few herbs, which is what many Americans do. They also make Italian sausage sandwiches and a couple other things that we didn’t try. We almost went to the Pasty Shack instead, but a group of people who had just gotten food there warned us off and said the pasties were disappointing, so we were spared. We'll stick with Cornish pasties from the Talkeetna Roadhouse, thank you very much. For dessert, I stopped by Strictly Strawberries for a chocolate milkshake. They make a lot of strawberry shakes and also strawberry shortcake, which is why it’s called Strictly Strawberries, but they also had a sign up advertising their thick shakes, so I had to give one a try. And as you know, I generally pick chocolate above other options.

The next day I went to the Fair, I just went by myself to work, so I didn't get the benefit of sharing  like I did with my parents. I got a halibut taco and a quesadilla at Tres Amigos. One of the reasons I picked this place was that they had seared halibut tacos, whereas a lot of the seafood places at the fair serve foods that have been breaded and deep-fried to death, so you can't actually taste the seafood. I got a halibut soft taco for $10, which had cabbage, cheese, tomato, cilantro, onion, and a "special sauce" that was sort of like a tartar sauce. It was great and just what I was looking for. And then since it was a relatively small taco I also got a small plain quesadilla for $2 that was a good, basic little quesadilla. They also had meat tacos that I would have liked to try.

On the last weekend of the Fair I finally got to go with Morgan, and we spent the day snacking so we could try as many things as possible. We got there late in the morning but still a little early for lunch, but we lucked out because we heard about the throwdown tent. I had heard that there was a seafood throwdown one of the other days I was at the Fair, but I didn't understand and didn't go. Basically, a couple of cooking schools and restaurants do a recipe throwdown, and we all get samples and then get to vote for our favorites. When we got there in the morning we had hangar steak from Humpy's, the AVTEC students, and... someone else who I didn't write down. The AVTEC students were by far the best, most creative, with a marinated steak and salad with a spicy peanut sauce. They also had a very nice plating design, as they say on "Iron Chef." The group I don't remember cooked the meat really well, but their food wasn't nearly as interesting. The next snack we got was at Hoop N Hula Milk and Cookies, which turned out to be one of my favorite places. They sell only milk and cookies, and 50 cents from each cookie goes to charities that you pick out. You get a token for each cookie and can put it in the slot for hunger charities, recycling, peace, health, community, and environment. They have a list of charities in each category in case you're wondering where the money's going. Morgan got a "peanut buddha" cookie, and I got a "double chip happens." We ate our delicious cookies and gave our tokens to the hunger and health charities. They also had vegan, and I think gluten-free cookies too. Then we took a break and looked at the livestock, and I bought some tickets for the 4-H raffle. First place was a butchered pig that was raised by one of the 4-Hers, and second place was a 4-H turkey. I didn't win, but oh well. I also bought some honey from Chugiak Heights Honey. I like them because they have bulk sizes- you're not paying $12 for an 8 oz jar of Alaskan honey, which is the case with some beekeepers up here. I got the 48 oz size, and they had a giant 6 pound one, too. It's tough, because the quantities are relatively small, but I really try hard to support the local pollinators. Our next snack was from a local Palmer coffee shop and restaurant, Vagabond Blues. I like going to the coffee shop for lunch because the have really good, healthy salads, soups, and sandwiches. They had wraps and other light-lunch things here at the Fair. Of course, we didn't exactly get anything particularly healthy ourselves, but the fresh, made-from-scratch garlic potato chips just smelled so good! They were $7, and were hot and fresh, had garlic oil on them, as well as parmesan and chopped up garlic and herbs. I wish I had discovered these earlier. After a break, during which we looked at Native Alaskan crafts, talked to some of the environmental and other advocacy groups that had booths, and gave a couple dollars to the Elk's Lodge at the rat races. We also saw some great Native dancers and singers from King Island and some Tsimshian singers and dancers that were all really good. And we looked at an exhibit on the agricultural colony that was created as part of the New Deal, and is the reason we have so many local farmers in the Matanuska and Susitna Valleys today. For our last snacks of the day we went to the wine bar run by the Grape Tap, which is a wine bar and restaurant in Palmer. I got a glass of Norton malbec from Argentina, and we got a cheese platter that came with a good baguette and some brie, gouda, and cheddar cheese. For dessert before we left we went to Denali Cream Puffs. That's right, there's also a place that serves only cream puffs. For $7 you get a giant cream puff (the custard is amazing), and you get it topped with either chocolate sauce, caramel, or berry sauce. We shared a chocolate one, because they are huge. And on that sugar bombshell, we started the drive back to Anchorage. 

The food at the Alaska State Fair has sure come a long way since I was a kid, and the healthiest thing you could get was a giant stuffed baked potato. I can't wait to try all the great food that will be waiting for me at the Fair in 2012.