Heading north from Anchorage our next stop was Denali National Park
the home
Mt. McKinley, much wildlife and loads of fun, but not
necessarily good
food.
Our first night at the Nenana Grill at the McKinley Chalet where
we
stayed was uneventful and not really mentionable. The salmon Will
had
was good, my Alaskan King Crab Legs were decent and the wine was
great-
Apothic Red 2010 that we had for "dessert" when we returned from a
dog
sledding excursion after dinner (the sun sets at midnight and rises
at
4am, so it's never dark).
The next night we went next door to the
Denali Princess Wilderness
Lodge's KING SALMON, definitely the top place in
Glitter Gulch (the
not too affectionate name the locals call the
hotel/restaurant/
shopping strip outside the National Park). King Salmon gets
big points
for its ambiance and views of the mountains, but looses points
with no
bread plates for the tasty hot Asiago bread. The wines here
are
inferior by far to the Nenana next door and we decided to have
some
drinks first - a very smart move.
The Alaskan SMOKED SALMON BLOODY
MARY is a divine creation from Alaska
Distillery Smoked Salmon-infused Vodka
(think Sunday brunch with a
bagel, lox and cream cheese without the cheese or
carbs!), olives and
pickled string beans. Will also liked his McKinley
Margarita with
Sauza Gold Tequila, Peach Schnapps, lime and of course,
salt.
Samuel ordered the Denali Princess Lodge (must they use this in
every
name) Brick Chicken which had a crispy crust that Samuel
eventually
loved and a mountain berry compote which was a bizarre choice (and
not
used), along with string beans and superb fingerling purple and
white
Yukon potatoes.
Will and I split both apps and mains:
Coconut
Crusted HALIBUT with Apricot Chutney was tasty as the chutney
was more like a
marmalade and not sweet so as to add to the coconut's
sweetness.
The
entrees were enjoyed with a bottle of STEELE CHARDONNAY, the top
choice on
the menu (and it had 8 whites or maybe 10!). The Asiago
Crusted Alaskan
HALIBUT came with a light panko-Asiago-herb crust and
was pan seared
perfectly. Sadly the parmesan risotto was ice cold,
although the fried capers
were fun. String beans came with every
entree but were called fresh
vegetables on the menu; I guess they
change them often.
The most expensive
fish on the menu was the restaurant's namesake the
Sea Salt Accented KING
SALMON pan seared with gray sea salt atop a
cremini mushroom English pea
risotto, which was not cold in a superb
beurre rouge sauce. The fish and
dishes were good, but not a touch on
the Crow's Nest in Anchorage...so we
shall yet see what remains in
Fairbanks and the Alaskan north!
