Fairbanks foodies:Gambardella's is perfect for pasta (7-12-12)

You can well assume that Fairbanks, Alaska doesn't have many choices for fine dining. We looked over many of them and felt that we hadn't had pasta for

some time and chose GAMBARDELLA's right downtown (well, downtown is several blocks long and everything is right there). It was a good choice.

We arrived to a homey feeling with ochre painted wallpaper, if a bit worn down. Tables had plastic cloths and white paper placemats, but they do get

a big plus for the gold linen napkins.

Samuel chose the children's menu full order of Spaghetti with meatballs which could have fed two! He was told he could have salad before and we asked for

a leafless option and our super-smile server Dejan from Serbia delivered a plate full of tomatoes, broccoli, provolone cheese and ranch dressing.

Will and I chose a bottle of Santa Cristina Campogrande from Orvieto which went very well with our starter choices:
CEVICHE of Halibut, Scallop and Shrimp was a bit of a dud having been cut so small the pieces were hard to fork up!

CRAB CAKES with Lemon Beurre Blanc were nice but surrounded by an odd balsamic ring that was not warm like the dish and a bit too strong. While

rich it was a pretty good crab cake.

Our salads were nice but way overdressed with Italian dressing and had lettuce as well as olives.

We moved to a bottle of DOMAINE SERENE Pinot Noir Yamhill Cuvee 2008 from Oregon which was superb for the price and was excellent with both our

huge seafood filled pasta plates:

ALASKAN SEAFOOD SAUTE with Halibut, Sockeye, Shrimp & Scallop over Fettucini with a Marsala Cream Sauce. Also rich, it needed only some pepper and

was impossible to finish, Will hit the jackpot with the CAJUN SEAFOOD PASTA made from the same ingredients but adding SPICY SAUSAGE and a spicy

vodka chipotle cream sauce. Again, rich, but decadent and way too filling.

We could not even think of dessert as we rolled home at 11pm in the still super bright sunlit skies near the Arctic Circle.