DINE AROUND

Alaska

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NOVEMBER 2018 n

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YOUR MONTHLY FOODSERVICE IMMERSION DA 38% OF CONSUMERS WANT TO TRY SALMON CHOWDER DATASSENTIAL RESEARCH

DATASSENTIAL’S DINE AROUND: ALASKA 2 DA THE MENU ADOPTION CYCLE Datassential’s Menu Adoption Cycle (MAC) is a framework for understanding, predicting, and leveraging food trends. A trend’s life cycle is defined by where that trend shows up, starting at fine dining restaurants and then eventually finding its way to mainstream supermarket shelves and beyond.

RETAIL FOODSERVICE

Ethnic Independents Ethnic Markets

Fine Dining MAC STAGE I INCEPTION Trends start here. Inception-stage trends exemplify Ethnic Aisle MAC STAGE originality in flavor, A ADOPTION preparation, and Adoption-stage trends presentation. grow their base via Gastropubs lower price points and Farmers’ simpler prep methods. Markets Chef Casuals Still differentiated, Food Trucks these trends often Specialty Grocers feature premium Gourmet Food Stores Upper Casual and/or generally authentic ingredients. Casual Independents Fast Casual

Traditional Grocery Lodging

Mass Merchandisers Casual Chains Colleges MAC STAGE Quick Service Restaurants PROLIFERATION Club Stores P Grocery Proliferation-stage trends are adjusted for mainstream appeal. Often combined with popular applications Convenience Stores (on a burger, pasta, Drug Stores Corporate Cafeterias MAC STAGE etc.), these trends UBIQUITY have become familiar U Ubiquity-stage trends to many. Family Restaurants have reached Dollar Stores Healthcare maturity, and can be found across all K-12 Schools sectors of the food industry.

DATASSENTIAL’S DINE AROUND: ALASKA 3 DA TERMS TO KNOW Datassential’s MenuTrends data is reported using two key measures: PENETRATION and INCIDENCE.

PENETRATION % of RESTAURANTS that serve that food, flavor, or ingredient. This is a measure of adoption. Increases in penetration indicate that more restaurants are adding the item to their menu. Penetration is the most important statistic and the best indicator of trend movement. INCIDENCE % of MENU ITEMS that feature that food, flavor, or ingredient. This is a measure of versatility. A restaurant adding yet another chicken dish to its menu will result in an increase in incidence. Incidence is a supporting statistic, to be used as a complement to penetration.

EXAMPLE CHICKEN

Chicken is found on 95% of all restaurant 95% 10% menus, and is featured in 10% of those dishes. PENETRATION INCIDENCE

4 DA Coppa, an ice cream shop in Juneau, specializes in quintessentially Alaskan flavors like spruce tip (right) and candied salmon, made with sliced and cured salmon fillets.

Like our 50th state, America’s 49th state is both range of climates, though on average it is certainly the something of an outlier (literally and figuratively) and coldest state (and also recorded the lowest temperature in uniquely American at the same time. It’s separated from U.S. history: -80 degrees F in 1971). the U.S by about 500 miles of Canadian land (it's closer to The changing sunlight and arctic temperatures create Russia than the nearest U.S. state). It’s simultaneously our unique growing conditions for plants and crops. Some most northern, western, and eastern state (because the fruits and vegetables, like rhubarb, grow particularly well Aleutian Islands extend into the Eastern Hemisphere). It’s in Alaska and the state is known for producing huge, also far bigger than most people realize, at over twice the world record-holding, extremely sweet vegetables size of Texas and larger than the smallest 22 states because of the extra daylight they get in the summer. combined. Yet it’s also the third least populous state – Foraging is also the norm in a way that would make fine and by far the least densely populated – with over half of dining chefs in the Lower 48 jealous, with ingredients like the population living in the biggest cities of Anchorage, spruce tips, fireweed, and salmon berries appearing on Juneau, and Fairbanks. numerous menus. Many of these ingredients have long “The Land of the Midnight Sun” fluctuates between been revered by Alaska Natives. Dr. Gary Ferguson, an winters that reach days of total darkness and day-round Aleut, told Al Jazeera America that ingredients like light at some points in the summer. While many Lower fireweed, salmon, and Alaskan berries are all considered 48ers may think of ice and snow when they think of superfoods now, but they had long been a part of Alaska, the state’s massive size means it experiences a traditional diets.

"Confused about the word Eskimo?" asked NPR a few years back. Though the Alaska Native Language Center at the University of Alaska Fairbanks uncovered evidence that the word was derived from an Ojibwa word meaning "one who nets snowshoes," many now consider it a derogatory term because it was widely used as a racist word referring to "eaters of raw meat." Canada and Greenland no longer use the term, while "Native Alaskans" has become the preferred term in Alaska, though it's important to note that the name comprises an array of indigenous peoples, including Yupik, Iñupiat, Tlingit, Aleut, and seven other cultural groups, each with its own tribes and languages. Today Alaska Natives make up over 15% of Alaska's population.

DATASSENTIAL’S DINE AROUND: ALASKA 5 DA

Chef/owner Laura Cole of 229 Parks Restaurant & Tavern outside Denali National Park was a contestant on "Top Chef." Her restaurant features dishes like reindeer liver pate and halibut skin chicharrones with crème fraiche and salmon roe.

Speaking of salmon, you can’t talk about Alaskan food This bounty is attracting a young generation of chefs to without talking about seafood. With more coastline and a return to Alaska, a migration that is happening across the larger total fishing catch than all other U.S. states country as chefs are priced out of large cities and move combined, seafood isn't just an ingredient or dish, it's a back to their hometowns, looking for ways to combine deeply ingrained part of the culture and identity, and it all their heritage with new ideas and skills. Chefs in Alaska are starts with salmon. “In the Yupi'ik culture of Alaska, opening up hip restaurants in cities like Anchorage and salmon are sentient beings,” notes Jenny Seifert of the Juneau that are gaining national attention. They meld National Center for Ecological Analysis and Synthesis. their new ideas with Alaskan ingredients and cultural “They are family, and thinking of them as a resource is influences from the diverse array of heritages found in highly offensive.” The nonprofit group The Salmon Project Alaska, from Native Alaskans to Hawaiians, Filipinos, even shares stories of salmon and “celebrates the diverse Scandinavians, and beyond, including the ever-changing connections between Alaskans and their salmon.” Beyond groups of seasonal workers who travel to the state to salmon, Alaska's waters are filled with colossal King Crabs, work in the fishing or tourism industry. This melding of halibut, shrimp, lobster, scallops, pollock, cod, and ideas and cultures creates a cuisine that’s unlike any other rockfish. Out of the water, hunters bag large game like in the country. It's certainly attracting more visitors, with moose, elk, caribou, and reindeer. Whether it's seafood or tourism numbers breaking records year after year, in turn red meat, Alaskans have developed just about every creating more demand for new foodservice options. preparation method imaginable, though, as in many cold Until your own visit to Alaska, we're bringing you a taste places, preservation techniques like smoking and pickling of frontier life in this month's Dine Around: Alaska. are particularly common.

While other regional American cuisines are relatively familiar and available to U.S. chefs and consumers – Tex-Mex, Southern, New , Hawaiian – Alaskan cuisine is still new to most, partly because it's a harder cuisine to pin down. But Alaskan cuisine can inspire new dishes and ideas – the sheer number of ways Alaskan chefs menu salmon alone is staggering. And while Alaskan seafood has been a staple on menus in the Lower 48, other ingredients are starting to make their way onto menus and retail shelves, like birch water, chaga tea, and kelp. Plus, as winter menus take over across the U.S., Alaskan ingredients and menus can inspire new seasonal options – the Juniper Latte recently released by Starbucks, for instance, would be right at home in Alaska, where spruce tip-flavored foods are common.

DATASSENTIAL’S DINE AROUND: ALASKA 56 ESSENTIAL DATA DA

WHAT DO CONSUMERS THINK ABOUT FOODS FROM ALASKA?

KING CRAB

WILD BERRIES In Alaska, wild berries include salmonberries, FISH BURGERS HALIBUT BITES blueberries, and Typically featuring Battered and fried or crowberries. salmon or pollock. baked pieces of halibut.

INTERESTED INTERESTED INTERESTED INTERESTED 55% 52% 45% 38%

INTERESTED INTERESTED INTERESTED INTERESTED 28% 26% 21% 15%

ALASKAN MOOSE FORAGED FOODS FIREWEED OYSTERS Mushrooms, Fireweed shoots can Said to have a delicate fiddlehead ferns, be eaten like shell and sweet, rich berries, and herbs are asparagus while oyster meat. all foraged in Alaska. fireweed honey, jelly, and syrup are common in Alaska.

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DATASSENTIAL’S DINE AROUND: ALASKA 7 8 - A Inuit -

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2 DATASSENTIAL’S DATASSENTIAL’S DA CLASSIC ALASKA

Thorne's, in Seward, is known for its "Bucket of Butt" Halibut Bites, strong White Russians, and massive collection of collectible Jim Beam bottles that line the walls (and there are two in the basement for every one in the restaurant). Tales of A N C H O R A G E the Cocktail called it one of America's "monumental bars." MARKET & FESTIVAL T H O R N E ' S Visitors to Alaska are sometimes surprised by the thriving SHOWCASE farmers' market culture in the country's coldest state, but LOUNGE Alaskans make the most of their homegrown produce and prepared foods in the summer months. Smaller farmers' This Anchorage spot has been markets pop up in parking lots throughout Anchorage and an "Alaska institution for over beyond, but the Anchorage Market & Festival is easily the 30 years." Gwennie's is famous state's biggest, with 200-300 vendors at any given time. for its all-day breakfast, with The Eat Local section features products grown and made in options like Reindeer Sausage Alaska, including rhubarb, mushrooms, elk, reindeer jerky, & Eggs and Crab Benedict, and a huge variety of seafood options. There are also while lunch and dinner feature plenty of food carts and stalls to pick up a meal or snack, everything from Halibut Bites to including halibut fish and chips, Russian pelmeni a "Reindeer Philly" sandwich dumplings, bison burgers, and corn fritters, an Alaska and all-you-can eat ribs. favorite. Visitors can also pick up a bouquet of peonies – Alaska's cool climate is considered ideal for peony growing GWENNIE'S OLD and today there are more than 200 peony farms in the state A L A S K A that ship around the world. RESTAURANT

Also in Anchorage, Club Paris has specialized in seafood and house-aged steak – including T H E the signature 4-inch-thick filet mignon – since the 1950s. The S A L M O N building, constructed in the REPORT 1920s, is one of the oldest in Anchorage and was one of the Researchers have discovered evidence of salmon few to survive the 1964 consumption in Alaska dating back nearly 12,000 years. earthquake with little damage. Today salmon is a way of life in Alaska, eaten at backyard C L U B P A R I S barbecues, communal salmon bakes that cater to locals and visitors alike, and found on nearly every restaurant menu. If you can imagine a use for salmon, Alaska has tried Built in 1962, Girdwood's or perfected it – pickled, smoked, confited, dried, candied, Double Musky Inn originally even turning the skin into a take on chicharrones. This year specialized in steaks that fishermen caught about 115 million salmon, according to customers cooked themselves the Alaska Department of Fish & Game, though the value over a fire pit in the dining of the harvest was down 13% from the year before, room. Today it serves Louisiana- primarily due to a drop in pink salmon. High-value sockeye inspired dishes made with salmon, with its rich, oily, dark red flesh, made up a large Alaska seafood and has been portion of the harvest (though there are concerns about featured in a nearly endless declining numbers in famed areas like the Copper River). stream of national publications. These numbers impact pricing and availability across the U.S. – salmon appears on 43% of menus, according to THE DOUBLE Datassential MenuTrends, and 58% of consumers love or M U S K Y I N N like it, according to Datassential FLAVOR.

DATASSENTIAL’S DINE AROUND: ALASKA 9 DA

INTERVIEW LUKE DOHERTY CHEF/FOUNDER DEN OF THIEVES ANCHORAGE, AK

Chef Luke Doherty was born in and currently resides in Alaska, in between attending culinary school in Portland and cooking in San Antonio, Chicago, New York, and Paris. With his girlfriend, Sam Wagner (check out an interview with her on the next page), Doherty started Den of Thieves, which holds small group pop-up dinners around Anchorage focused on fresh, vegetable-driven dishes. We caught up with Doherty to ask about what it means to be a chef in Alaska and what he likes to cook and eat:

DATASSENTIAL: Can you tell us how Den of Thieves D: What foods and flavors would you consider to be got started? quintessentially Alaska?

LUKE DOHERTY: It began as a connection between my L: I don’t know that there is a uniquely defined Alaskan cooking and my girlfriend Sam’s gardening projects. We cuisine. It can’t all be crab legs and reindeer links (don’t are both voracious culinarians: Sam is a baker by trade, get me wrong, I love both those things). I find the and I work as a chef instructor. We have always worked for seasonal items Alaska has to offer very interesting and try other people but pondered what something of our own to present them with as much integrity as possible. would look like. After cooking in restaurants for years I Some of the things that drive me wild? Standing in the really longed for the opportunity to do something that felt center of a black currant hedge picking berries in the fall. more like “me.” I guess it took a long time to occur to me Beautiful hearty greens braised on the grill. Impossibly that that type of cooking might take place outside of a purple potatoes that I dug from the earth. Those are the restaurant. From the beginning, we set out to offer things that really get my heart rate up. something different than typical Anchorage fare. D: Where do you like to eat in Alaska? The most refreshing feedback I hear is “how great these vegetables taste.” I never get tired of it. Meat plays a L: At home. Sam is fantastic cook and makes me some of supporting role in most of our dishes. I will eat anything, my favorite meals. I also should say most of my favorite and I love cooking most everything, but there is things are surprisingly simple. We mostly do a lot of something about cooking beautiful, freshly-picked snacking. Some fresh veggies, something pickled, some vegetables that really inspires me. good cheese, maybe some decent chorizo, and I am a pig in poop. If I do go out, I most often find myself at Hearth I love to feed people. I feel it is one of the most thoughtful Pizzeria. I worked as a pizzaiolo at a Neapolitan pizzeria in and intimate things that you can do for a complete San Antonio and grew very fond of the minimalist pizza. stranger. You can eat something and peer into someone’s Sitting at Hearth, eating their margherita with soppressata inner workings if you pay it enough thought. In that and Calabrian chiles, gives me the warm and fuzzies. regard, I get to paint what I am thinking with Sam’s vegetables supplying the vibrant hues.

DATASSENTIAL’S DINE AROUND: ALASKA 10 DA (CONTINUED)

D: What is unique about being a chef in Alaska? point we had to make the decision of whether we would serve vegetables from…elsewhere. In the end it just L: The majority of my career has been spent working in seemed more true to the vision that we would only serve Anchorage. I have come to terms with the fact that Alaskan, and wherever possible, our own. tourism keeps everyone busy, but only half the year. To be a successful chef in Anchorage you have to be flexible, So in my downtime, I work my real job. I am in my first and you really need to have your stuff together to entice year of being a high school culinary teacher. people out of their homes on the cold, dark winter nights. Coincidentally, it’s the same program that got me started In my experience, it has a very bi-polar feel to it. Too on my path. I am just trying to focus on being the best much time in the winter, never enough in the summer. It teacher I can, and once school comes to an end, it will be certainly keeps you on your toes. back to work. It is a nonstop kind of life, but I would have it no other way. I think that one of the things that makes it all worth it is that in the summer you can go to one of our farmers' I am excited about this coming spring. I am excited about markets in town and find some incredible produce that what we are going to grow; we are already planning. I am can be grown to mammoth proportions, thanks to our excited about what items we will see at market. obscene quantity of daylight in the summer. Most of all, I am excited about feeding new people and D: What foods and flavors are you really excited about new friends, because for me that is what life is about. right now and in the future?

L: Den of Thieves, sadly, can only exist in the summer, since it is reliant on us growing the vegetables. At some

Chef Sam Wagner grew up in Minnesota before moving to Anchorage, obtaining two degrees before pursuing her passion and attending the Culinary Arts program at the University of Alaska. In addition to growing a variety of edible plants – spending the winter researching, planning, and starting seedlings – for use at Den of Thieves dinners, chef Wagner is also the executive pastry chef at Sweet Caribou, a macaron shop in Anchorage. We asked chef Wagner about macarons, where she likes to eat, and the flavors she's excited about:

DATASSENTIAL: How did you join Sweet Caribou?

SAM WAGNER: Sweet Caribou started as a small experiment between a life-long baker and her brother, who happened to be an excellent front-of-house manager with an educational INTERVIEW background in business and finance. They began by baking and selling cupcakes at local farmers' markets and later started SAM WAGNER dabbling in macarons. When the macarons started out-selling the EXECUTIVE PASTRY CHEF cupcakes, it became clear that they were on to something SWEET CARIBOU special. They continued selling at the markets for 2 years before opening the shop in 2016. Along with the shop opening came ANCHORAGE, AK lunch bowls: fresh, local, salad-type lunches available for delivery in the Anchorage area via "macaron mobiles" (which will also bring you macarons, of course).

DATASSENTIAL’S DINE AROUND: ALASKA 11 DA All salads and Macaron Towers, lunch bowls are designed for served with a events and special sweet macaron occasions, are treat, of course. available in 4-10 tier options.

(CONTINUED)

I joined the team in 2015 and took over as pastry chef in getting better every year, and we have access to a wide 2016. Since then we have continued to grow and steadily range of locally-grown options. At Sweet Caribou, we increase our volume in both lunch bowls and baked pride ourselves on using Alaskan products when possible, goods. In 2017 and 2018 we had a booth at the Alaska and going to the market to source local ingredients is one State Fair, which required us to produce about 30,000 of the facets of my job that I enjoy most. macarons to be sold over the 2 weeks of the fair. After Also...bad tomatoes and citrus. The grocery store tries, that feat, anything seems possible. but when the produce comes from thousands of miles As the pastry chef, I try to focus on clean, well-defined, yet away, it's not the same. Luckily, with some extra attention balanced flavors. Our slogan is, "Alaska-sized flavor in a we can grow tomatoes, but unfortunately we are S.O.L. on petite treat," and I try to make sure we live up to that. citrus for the most part. It gives us a very distinct When we say it's a passionfruit macaron (our best seller), appreciation for the produce we can enjoy when traveling we want you to immediately identify it as that as soon as in other parts of the world, and the wealth of other great- you take a bite. Some our of our macarons are very non- tasting vegetables we can grow in our own back yard. traditional, like our Fred Flintstone, which has ground-up D: Where do you like to eat? Fruity Pebbles in the shell and buttercream filling. Our current flavor list amounts to about 100 different options W: I like drunken noodles and fried taro from Thai Delight, that we rotate through, reserving some flavors strictly for a cold noodle salad from Ray's Place, bibimbap from certain holidays. V.I.P., and nachos from Bear Tooth Theaterpub.

We have a great team of people that diligently ensure D: What are you really excited about right? quality in our handcrafted products as well as provide W: One of the greatest perks of working with Sweet exceptional customer service. I've seen this small business Caribou is traveling to Paris once a year for training and evolve a great deal over the past three years and look market research. I spend months trying to decide which forward to where we are headed. I definitely have the best patisseries to visit and which new pastry chefs to seek out. pastry chef job in Anchorage. I have been very inspired by Japanese pastry chefs in the D: What foods and flavors would you consider to be past few years. My favorite patisserie in Paris belongs to a quintessentially Alaska? Japanese chef where I find flavors like yuzu or black sesame create a familiar, yet surprising experience. The W: The first thing that comes to mind is salmon. I don't depth of flavor balances with the sweetness for a very even like salmon! I'm not a fish person, but from what I'm well-rounded pastry. While traveling in Paris, I am told, seafood is the thing to get here, but I can't vouch for constantly in awe of the perfect execution that can be that myself. found in every patisserie in the city...talk about life goals. What can I vouch for? Cool weather veggies from the garden or the farmers' market. Our market scene is Interviews are edited for space and content.

DATASSENTIAL’S DINE AROUND: ALASKA 12 DA

SOUTH RESTAURANT + COFFEEHOUSE "CASUAL HIGHBROW DINING"

BACKGROUND WHY IT MATTERS South Restaurant + Wide-ranging operations like South menu features seasonal options Coffeehouse opened in 2015, have become more common across (current winter items include dishes a new venture from the owners the country as segments meld and like organic chicken pot pie and of Snow City Café, a hip entrepreneurial restaurateurs look gingerbread pudding), plus almost breakfast café that made to compete across dayparts and any "of the month" option you can national news when former segments. We've seen breweries imagine – wine flight of the month, President Barack Obama that feature bakeries, fine dining bubbles of the month, drink of the bought out the entire stock of restaurants that transform into month, punch of the month, cinnamon rolls on a visit to casual ramen restaurants at night, milkshake of the month. The Alaska. South is an even more and chef casuals with separate take- permanent drink menu proudly ambitious concept that covers out window concepts, not to celebrates gin, with a range of gin every daypart, has a serious mention the growth of food halls and tonics served "Barcelona-style," bar program, a cooking school that feature everything from meaning the tonic is poured down and event space, and an restaurants to retail in one space. At the cocktail spoon tableside. At the attached coffeehouse that's a South, the range of spaces gives Coffeehouse, the menu is similarly complete operation in its own locals plenty of reasons to visit – eclectic, with everything from a right. they can get some work done in the Haute Pocket with ham, cheese, and coffeehouse in the morning, enjoy a an herb aioli to a toast menu with sandwich at lunch, have an upscale options both simple (cinnamon meal for dinner, hang out on the sugar) and complex (smashed patio with a gin popsicle or s'mores avocado with chile flakes, garlic oil, at night, and take a cooking class on and clover sprouts), not to mention the weekend. The wide-ranging the always-on-the-menu bowl of COMFORT FOODS menu also helps, with everything Cap'n Crunch, which can be served from a salmon BLT and bacon mac with a choice of whole, skim, ALCOHOLIC BEVERAGES & cheese to a filet mignon with almond, soy, or rice milk. Cambozola cheese, crispy prosciutto, and cognac jus. An ever- changing "Fresh Sheet" specials

DATASSENTIAL’S DINE AROUND: ALASKA 13 The restaurant built a Little Lending Library DA out front for guests to exchange books.

Solar panels are built directly into the front facade of the building.

The restaurant's back room hosts cooking classes and Chopped-style competitions for corporate team- building or special events.

The attached South Coffeehouse has board games for diners to borrow. MENU & MORE: SOUTH

Gingerbread Pudding with fresh cranberries Baked Oysters with and citrus ginger sauce. bacon, garlic and spinach cream, and brioche bread crumbs.

A summer "Punch of the Month" selection: The Butterfly Effect Red Chili and Coffee- with house-infused Rubbed Halibut with peach and raspberry roasted spring vodka, Domaine de vegetable hash, pickled Canton, mint simple cabbage, lime-infused syrup, lemon, and crème fraiche, shaved Prosecco. radish, and red mojo.

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MOOSE'S TOOTH Moose's Tooth may be the most famous AMAZING APRICOT PIZZA pizzeria in Anchorage after it placed third Blackened chicken, cream cheese, on TripAdvisor's list of the "Best Pizza in apricot sauce, red peppers, carrot threads, green onions, cilantro, America." It's also one of the highest- mozzarella, provolone. grossing independent pizzerias in the country. Moose's Tooth has a whopping 36 MAC N' CHEESE pizzas on the permanent menu, not to Reindeer sausage, macaroni mention regular specials. The beers all noodles, parsley, American cheese, cheddar, mozzarella, come from the team's brewery – Broken provolone, garlic oil. Tooth – while the concerts that Moose's Tooth long held outside moved into sister SHRIMP FIESTA PIZZA restaurant Bear Tooth Theatrepub in the Shrimp, red onions, jalapenos, red winter, and a full Bear Tooth Grill peppers, roma tomatoes, cilantro, chili flakes, shake cheese, restaurant opened next door. parmesan, mozzarella, provolone, garlic oil.

ON THE MENU: ANCHORAGE PIZZERIAS

FAT PTARMIGAN "In a town with plenty of pizza options, Fat Ptarmigan delivers," reviewer Mara Severin noted in the Anchorage Daily News. The restaurant, located in historical downtown SMOKED SALMON PIZZA Anchorage, specializes in thin, crispy, Creamy dill sauce and cheese blend, Alaskan smoked salmon, wood-fired pizza topped with ingredients leeks, fresh green onions. like house-made mozzarella, braised leg of lamb (on "The Greek"), and Alaskan BEER CHEESE PIZZA reindeer. There are also appetizers like Beer cheese sauce and cheese house-made meatballs in house-made red blend, reindeer sausage, roasted red peppers, bacon, fresh sauce, six different salads including an on- green onions. trend kale quinoa, and desserts like gluten- free blood orange panna cotta. STEAK & STILTON PIZZA Garlic olive oil and light cheese blend, sirloin steak, Stilton cheese, caramelized red onions, finished with balsamic glaze.

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WILD SCOOPS BACKGROUND Ice cream – in Alaska? In fact, Alaskans love ice cream and will readily tell you that residents eat more per capita than any other state (though "there are no data-based statistics to back this up," says Mic). Wild Scoop indulges this love with a range of unusual, Alaska-centric flavors sold in the Anchorage scoop shop and in pints around town.

WHY IT MATTERS Unusual ice cream flavors are perennial attention-getters across the country, from the Thanksgiving options that pop up at the rapidly-expanding Salt & Straw chain each year (like Buttered Mashed Potatoes & Gravy) to the Pickle Soft Serve that made a splash at Lucky Pickle Dumpling Co. in New York this year. Wild Scoops puts an Alaskan spin on the trend with options like spruce tip, Alaska honeycomb, and fireweed. In fact, almost all of the flavors and ingredients are sourced locally, from wild blueberries to Talkeetna currants, and the shop partners with dozens of local companies to feature their products in ice creams, like the Yukon Gold made with Alaska Chip Company's potato chip toffee. In addition to cones and bowls, the Anchorage shop also sells ice cream tacos on Taco Tuesday, a Baked Alaska cone (topped with torched house-made marshmallow fluff), and Frozen Nachos featuring three scoops, waffle cone chips, hot fudge, DESSERTS whipped cream, and a choice of birch chipotle nuts or sprinkles. RETAIL

DATASSENTIAL’S DINE AROUND: ALASKA 16 DA THE COOKERY NEW AMERICAN RESTAURANT + O Y S T E R B A R

SEAFOOD

CASUAL

BACKGROUND Husband-and-wife owners Kevin and Stacey Lane opened The Cookery in 2015, envisioning a modern neighborhood restaurant and oyster bar in Stacey's hometown of Seward. Before that, Kevin had been an instructor at the Alaska Culinary Institute, while Stacey had worked on and off in restaurants for years. Today The Cookery caters to both locals and visitors who flood the small town when cruise ships dock in the harbor.

WHY IT MATTERS While West Coast oysters can be found on menus across the country, that rarely means Alaska oysters. For a state known for its seafood, oysters are a relative rarity – the water is too cold for oysters to reproduce, which means the oyster "seeds" are typically imported, according to The Culture Trip. But the oysters thrive once they are in the clean, cold water, producing uniform, meaty, sweet, easy-to-shuck oysters with no sand or grit, making them "some of the safest in the marketplace" (the "only eat oysters in months ending with the letter 'R'" rule doesn't apply here). But new farming methods and practices are making oysters more common in the state, and they're the star of the menu at The Cookery, where they're served raw with a mild pickled horseradish and cocktail sauce or broiled with bacon and "everything" butter. In addition to the oysters, chef Lane relies on a wealth of local seafood for the menu, often driving over to nearby Resurrection Bay Seafoods for the freshest catch, which may go into the dinner entrées or the daily Hot Lunch, a $16 meal featuring a rotating entrée (halibut tacos, doner kebab) served with a cup of soup or side, a cookie, and a soft drink.

DATASSENTIAL’S DINE AROUND: ALASKA 17 DA

WILD & TAME MUSHROOM TOAST $8.00 Black garlic aioli, pickled daikon, togarashi.

BROILED OYSTERS MENU $18.00 House bacon, "everything" butter. INSPIRATION ALASKAN ROASTED FROM THE COOKERY VEGETABLE "POUTINE" $12.00 Assortment of roasted local vegetables, mushroom gravy, chevre.

PORK BELLY ROULADE $22.00 Buttermilk grits, bacon-braised collard kraut, spicy mustard sauce.

DINE AROUND THE CURE COCKTAIL $8.00 Alaskan honey mead, ginger beer, This isn't the first time we've seen lemon. Served on the rocks. chocolate sausages. In Dine Around: Portland, we covered Olympic Provisions' "Saucissson au Chocolate," served with salt and pepper CHOCOLATE "CHARCUTERIE" shortbread and orange marmalade. $8.00 Dark chocolate "salami," smooth "pate," white chocolate "crackers."

Lucky Charms Donut Pan-roasted Duck Breast salad, Pulled Pork Pie, Brisket Chili, and quinoa, Alaska vegetables, Alaska Rhubarb and Strawberry fireweed vinaigrette. Trifle for Wine Flight Wednesday.

DATASSENTIAL’S DINE AROUND: ALASKA 18 DA

PLANT-FORWARD

HEALTHY

GLOBAL FLAVORS JACK SPRAT H E A L T H Y & D E C A D E N T G L O B A L CUISINE

BACKGROUND Jack Sprat takes its name from the nursery rhyme – "Jack Sprat could eat no fat, his wife could eat no lean." The restaurant offers up "fat and lean world cuisine," or globally-inspired dishes that range from healthy to decadent. The cozy, chalet-like restaurant sits at the base of Mount Alyeska in Girdwood, Alaska, attracting both locals and visitors who are in town for a ski trip.

WHY IT MATTERS While many restaurants include a few salads or a Kodiak scallops and an Alaskan take on meatless burger to overrule the veto vote from bouillabaisse, while even the decadent options on health-driven or vegan/vegetarian diners, Jack the menu incorporate healthy options – raw Sprat weaves them throughout the menu. Indeed, ingredients, unrefined sugars, etc. Jack Sprat may co-owner Jen Weits came up with the restaurant's be most well-known for its take on Korean dol sot concept while on a date: her date wanted bibimbap, served in the traditional hot stone pot. something rich and she wanted something healthy, The restaurant also celebrates Meatless Mondays but there were no restaurants that made them both each week, offering a special vegetarian or vegan happy, she told the Anchorage Press. So she option (though, in a nod to carnivores, meat can be opened Jack Sprat in 2001 with her partners, added to any dish), while Wednesdays flip the incorporating flavors from around the world to meat/veggie ratio with Burger Night, featuring ensure that even the healthiest items were bold and three meaty versions and one vegan, gluten-free flavorful. The menu includes healthier takes on option. The restaurant has also been supporting comfort foods, like vegan nachos and a "dream local breweries since it opened, with a range of cake" made with organic cashew filling and agave options and rotating nitro drafts, while all of the caramel. There's also plenty of seafood, including cocktails are made with wine instead of hard spirits.

DATASSENTIAL’S DINE AROUND: ALASKA 19 DA MENU INSPIRATION FROM JACK SPRAT

DOL SOT BIBIMBAP ALASKAN Shaved Duroc pork, jasmine rice, julienne vegetables, bean sprouts, BOUILLABAISSE $23.00 sunny-side up egg, house kimchi, $38.00 Golden King crab, prawns, Manila ocean salad, all served in a hot clams, seasonal fish, tomato broth, stone pot. saffron, grilled sourdough.

VEGAN "NACHOS" BLACK VELVET Corn tortilla chips, vegan cheese $9.00 COCKTAIL $12.00 sauce, portobello and walnut taco Girdwood's Hippie Speedball meat, avocado purée, serrano peppers, Stout Nitro and cava bubbles. scallions, pico de gallo, radish.

Clockwise from Top Left: Cured King Salmon Belly, spicy pickled ginger, coconut & lime leaf mayo, sushi rice, sweet soy glaze. Rigatoni with Mediterranean flavors and fresh garden herbs for Meatless Monday. Lemon Pepper Chevre Risotto with grilled asparagus, pickled shallots, roasted garlic carrot puree, and fried sage. Vanilla Cheesecake with cherry compote.

DATASSENTIAL’S DINE AROUND: ALASKA 20 DA

Salmon Pate with THE SALTRY rice crackers

King Salmon appetizer

Enjoying a meal at The Saltry is a labor of the island just for the pickled salmon). love – it's only accessible by boat, located There are also more modern, chef-driven on small Ismailof Island in Halibut Cove dishes on the menu, like the Saltry Ramen across from Homer. But visitors have been made with black cod and shiitake making the trek since The Saltry first mushrooms, or the pork with charred Seafood Chowder with opened in 1984, and today the restaurant broccoli, bean salad, and harissa. A garden Smoked Salmon Sandwich serves over 100 a day. They're all drawn by provides greens and herbs, while hanging the simple, exceptionally fresh seafood nasturtium plants around the restaurant that's typically caught that day and always provide edible garnishes for many of the within 10 miles, as well as the breathtaking cocktails and plates, the latter of which views right on the water (diners toss have all been fired at a small pottery mussel shells right back into the Cove studio on the island. To wash it all down? when they are finished). Writer Ann Hood A take on the martini that swaps out the called it the best meal of her life in Coastal olive for, what else, pickled salmon. And Living magazine. The most famous dish on it's all served by a team of servers who do the menu is the pickled salmon, made with all of the work, from busing to stoking the bright red Kenai River sockeye salmon campfire, and live in small cabins next to Miso Yaki Butterfish served simply with lemon and onion (Hood the restaurant until the restaurant closes noted that some people make the trip to for the season again each winter.

House Pickled Salmon

21 DA FROTH & FORAGE FARM - TO- TABLE ALASKA CUISINE

BACKGROUND WHY IT MATTERS Born in Alaska and raised in What does the quintessential farm- hydroponic farm" and a nearby Hawaii, chef/owner Zach Reid to-table, locally-focused restaurant butcher have helped, said the New traversed the country working in look like when it's located in Alaska? York Times. All of those local kitchens, spending a considerable It looks a lot like Froth & Forage. "I ingredients go into items like a amount of time in Vermont, knew I wanted to do the farm-to- Breakfast Poutine made with red- before returning to his home state table thing," Reid told the New York eye reindeer gravy, Alaskan Salmon to open Froth & Forage last year. Times. "I knew it could be done poke in a nod to his Hawaiian The restaurant is a family affair, here, but no one wanted to work heritage, and Yak Ribs made with operated by Reid, his wife that hard to do it, it was too easy to smoked Alaskan yak ribs and house- Michelle, and their two daughters. get the product otherwise." His out- made BBQ sauce (the Froth & of-the-way location and the tiny Forage space was originally a BBQ space (22 seats, with a small kitchen joint). The result has been nearly and fridge back-of-house) didn't universal praise, with The Northern make the job any easier, but Light noting the restaurant's "almost Alaska's growing "boomlet of food perfect ratings on sites like Yelp, businesses, including a vertical Facebook, and Google."

PLANT-FORWARD

MEAT & POULTRY

UPPER CASUAL

DATASSENTIAL’S DINE AROUND: ALASKA 22 DA GLACIER BREWHOUSE

BACKGROUND Glacier BrewHouse opened in downtown Anchorage in 1996 as a quintessentially Alaskan brewpub, featuring a combination of comfort foods (burgers, pizza), upscale entrées (Alaskan seafood, steaks), and house brews. Today it attracts both tourists and locals, many attending a show at the Alaska Center for the Performing Arts across the street. WHY IT MATTERS If Froth & Forage puts an Alaska spin on a farm- to-table restaurant, Glacier does the same for the brewpub. The restaurant features an alder wood grill and rotisserie – the scent of the wood burning wafts through the restaurant – while classics like nachos, BLTs, and crème brûlée are infused with Alaskan ingredients and flavors like Alaska-grown potatoes, Alaska salmon, and local birch syrup, respectively. The brewery portion of the operation also ranks in the top 20 for brewpub production in the U.S., with a focus on English and West Coast-style beers. A good amount of the beer is placed into the "Wall of Wood," a chilled vault of barrels under the BrewHouse for aging beers. Half of the draft beers produced are served at the BrewHouse itself (the rest are distributed in Alaska and Washington), which join a wide-ranging tap program that includes wines and cocktails.

ALCOHOLIC BEVERAGES

CASUAL

SEAFOOD

DATASSENTIAL’S DINE AROUND: ALASKA 23 DA MENU INSPIRATION FROM GLACIER BREWHOUSE

HUNTERS SKILLET Duck Confit with Alaska sausages, white bean Fresh Wilcox Farms organic eggs, cassoulet, and local root vegetables. toasted hash browns, bacon, Alaska $13.95 reindeer sausage, cheddar, caramelized onions, avocado tomatillo salsa, chipotle sour cream, toasted English muffin.

NUTTY ALASKAN COCKTAIL Bailey's, crème de cacao, $9.50 Frangelico, fresh Kaladi Brothers coffee, house-made whipped cream. Served hot.

ALASKA NACHOS A Northwest Whiskey Flight with pours from Alaska-grown crisp potatoes, Washington and Alaska, including Port $10.95 BrewHouse IPA cheese sauce, blue Chilkoot Distillery in Haines, Alaska. cheese, crisp bacon, tomato, chipotle sour cream.

Glacier also produces barleywine, a high-alcohol, wood-matured type of beer (despite the name) that the ALASKA ALDER- brand recommends drinking as a GRILLED SALMON nightcap in place of scotch or cognac $29.95 Simply grilled Alaska salmon, red wine "on a cold winter's night." reduction, herb butter, alder-grilled potatoes, broccolini.

BREWER'S PIE Spicy coppa and pepperoni, Alaska- grown and produced Italian and $15.95 Andouille sausage, crisp bacon, fresh mozzarella, and house-made marinara on our handmade pizza crust made with Old World rye starter.

CRÈME BRULEE $8.95 Alaskan birch syrup custard, birch sugar crust.

DATASSENTIAL’S DINE AROUND: ALASKA 24 DA

FINE DINING

PLANT-BASED

ASIAN

BACKGROUND WHY IT MATTERS Salt, which specializes in the type of modern, "If there’s one thing you should know about Lionel Uddipa, tweezered dishes found at high-end restaurants across it’s that he forages," said the Washington Post, who sent a the country, reflects how Juneau has changed in reporter to trek along with him and his daughter (aptly recent years. "About six or seven years ago, the joke named Juniper) on a foraging expedition. Salt showcases was if you wanted to get a great meal, you had to go how foraging culture, popularized at restaurants like to Seattle," Kelly "Midgi" Moore of Juneau Food Noma, is adapted for regional American cuisine. The Tours told the Washington Post in August. But now results of his foraging include Alaskan ingredients like over a million visitors descend on Juneau each year, mountain strawberries, beach asparagus, salmonberries, most on cruise ships, and restaurateur Tracy LaBarge cloudberries, spruce tips, devil's club, and chicken of the is one of a number of entrepreneurs who have opened woods mushrooms, all of which end up on the menu and up spots to serve them. LaBarge started with Tracy's give guests a taste of Alaskan flavors that may be brand King Crab Shack in 2006 (covered later in this issue), new to them prepared in an upscale atmosphere. The prompting Food Republic to dub her "The King Crab dishes themselves combine Uddipa's influences, from his Queen." In 2014 she opened Salt, the first true fine French training (truffle fries with mornay sauce) to his dining restaurant in the city, though she made a few Southeast Asian travels (vegetable congee) to his time in concessions to make it more approachable after it first theatrical Michelin-starred restaurants like Next (Alaskan opened, like taking off the white tablecloths – "In a halibut seared on a salt block at the table). The cocktail town of 30,000 people, I don't want them to come out menu boasts "the most extensive wine list in Juneau," with once a year," she told Food Republic. At the helm is options that span the globe from California to France to chef Lionel Uddipa, a Juneau native who trained at Le Sardinia and Greece, while a craft cocktail menu was Cordon Bleu, traveled through Southeast Asia, and another feature added to make the restaurant a little more worked at Michelin-starred restaurants like Chicago's relaxed and approachable for locals, featuring a Tru and Next. combination of classics (sazerac, French 75) and specialties (The Widowmaker features plum and pepper sake with Lillet Blanc and vodka).

DATASSENTIAL’S DINE AROUND: ALASKA 25 DA MENU INSPIRATION F R O M S A L T

SALMON LUMPIA BANH MI $12.00 Potatoes, onions, bonito Halibut sausage, sweet and flakes, Kewpie. hot pepper blend, carrots, $20.00 red onion, cilantro, soy glaze, Kewpie. ALASKAN SPOT $17.00 PRAWNS TEA TEA Dandelion, seaweed, nasturtiums, White rum, jasmine tea endives, butter nage. $11.00 compound syrup, muddled grapefruit, lemon juice, soda HERBIVORE CONGEE water topper. $22.00 Bread & butter garlic sauce, kale, roasted tomatoes. BRIOCHE TOAST DESSERT HALIBUT CHOWDER $8.00 Rosemary and lemon zest Bacon fat roux, carrots, potatoes, honey butter, raspberry jam, $32.00 bacon lardon, garlic, chili oil, chantilly, spicy cashews. rosemary and thyme, lemon, bonito flakes, pickled garlic.

Every Wednesday is Ramen Night at Salt. Diners can choose between garlic tonkotsu or spicy pork and lemongrass broth and add toppings like duck confit, house-made miso chili paste, bamboo shoots, and braised kraut. The special menu also includes related drink options like a Tokyo Manhattan made with Suntory Toki whiskey.

DATASSENTIAL’S DINE AROUND: ALASKA 26 MORE JUNEAU EATS DA

IN BOCCA AL LUPO "In Bocca Al Lupo" translates to "Into the Wolf's Mouth" in Italian, a traditional way to wish someone good (sort of like ""). So far it seems that the team behind the restaurant has had good luck, creating a mini Juneau empire with restaurants like The Rookery Café, Panhandle Provisions, and The Taqueria. James Beard semifinalist chef Beau Schooler opened In Bocca Al Lupo in 2016 with partners Beau Schooler and Luke Metcalfe, looking to bring "Italian dining to the last frontier." The menu is centered on handmade pasta, wood-fired pizzas, and house-cured meats, but with a decidedly non- traditional edge (don't tell the Italian grandmothers). Meals start with the Baked Thunderdome, a sort of big puffy version of garlic bread, while the Cheesy Shells are made with Beecher's cheddar and topped with Cheetos crumbs and an on-trend whole head of roasted cauliflower is served impaled on a knife.

V'S CELLAR DOOR V's proudly calls itself a Mexican- Asian fusion restaurant, with a menu featuring options like the Nea-Nea Quesadilla (al pastor T R A C Y ' S Crab legs and buckets, crab cakes, a daily and kimchi), Bulgogi Beef Tacos, C R A B S H A C K special, and a few sides. But all of the and Fusion Nachos topped with Tracy LaBarge – the Tracy of Tracy's Crab seafood is local, with LaBarge telling Korean cabbage slaw, pinto Shack – turned a small King Crab stand Food Republic that it secures jobs for beans, and sesame seeds, all behind the library into what is likely the local fishermen. LaBarge plays a big role found under menu headings like most well-known restaurant in Juneau in the local economy, opening up other "Tantalizations," "Desirables," and a must-stop for nearly every cruise restaurants like the aforementioned Salt, and "Thirst Quenchers," the latter ship visitor, jumpstarting a growing supporting food carts in town to develop featuring everything from Juneau restaurant empire in the process. the next generation of chefs, purchasing Mexican coke to house-made The most famous dish on the menu is the a seafood processing business, and shrubs (for more on shrubs, see King Crab bisque, originally created to helping entrepreneurs in the growing this month's On the Menu on use up every part of the crab and now cannabis business. drinking vinegars). sold in retail packages nationwide. On the whole, the menu is simple, with King

DATASSENTIAL’S DINE AROUND: ALASKA 27 DA MADE IN ALASKA

BACKGROUND Owner Scott Lindquist started Alaska Glacial Ice to "share the purity" of ice from Alaska's icebergs with the world, one cocktail at a time. The company hand carves glacial cubes from Harriman Fjord, shaping them into cubes, spheres, and bulk bags for use in drinks.

WHY IT MATTERS Luxury cocktail ice is practically a given at fine cocktail bars around the country, but only a few of them offer ice carved from an actual iceberg. Lindquist says iceberg cubes are denser than traditional cubes, which means they last longer (up to three hours, in some cases), and dilute the drink less, while air pockets in the ice not only look interesting, but they "pop" as the ice melts, releasing 10,000-year-old air (don't worry – industrial air pollution didn't exist yet) and creating a "natural effervescence." The ice can be found on the menu at a number of bars and restaurants in Alaska – Anchorage's Firetap used it for a drink to commemorate the 2018 Iditarod, while The Narrows, a cocktail bar in Juneau, uses custom iceberg ice balls in drinks like the Blue Bear, which ALASKA Food Network named the "Best Frozen Drink in Alaska." For those who want to see the process up close, Lindquist even offers an Expedition Package that includes a six-hour GLACIAL guided glacier tour that ends by collecting four icebergs to break down – each guest goes home with ICE 100 pounds of iceberg ice.

DATASSENTIAL’S DINE AROUND: ALASKA 28 DA CRUSH "If you want a respite from frontier ambience, this urbane spot in downtown Anchorage offers a tempting mix of contemporary European charm," says Alaska.org, noting that "tapas and French cru wines were fairly rare in these parts" before Crush. The restaurant opened in 2008, but merged with the longstanding Sacks Café last year, creating the current Crush Bistro and attached Bottle Shop. The ever-changing menu takes inspiration from around the world – raw oysters with Asian-inspired ginger-sake mignonette, baked oysters with New Mexico Hatch chiles, Moroccan octopus stew, Italian chocolate budino with smoked marshmallow. To pair, there are over 40 wines by the glass available, plus hundreds of bottles, and guests can pop next door to pick up a bottle of anything they particularly liked to take home. It's not just about wine, though – Crush features numerous Alaska spirits and beers, both on the menu and at the shop.

Cornflake-crusted Nashville Hot Quail with coleslaw, corn puree, bread n' butter pickles, and white bread.

Ricotta Olive Oil Thyme Cake with ginger- roasted peaches and house ice cream.

Steak Tips with smoked beets, fried egg, frisee, parmesan, and mustard dressing.

29 DICA SEVEN GLACIERS AT ALYESKA RESORT

FINE DINING

MEAT & POULTRY

ALCOHOLIC BEVERAGES

While the previously mentioned Jack Sprat sits at the and smoked salmon mousse, and a $59.00 Wagyu beef bottom of Mount Alyeska, Seven Glaciers sits at the entrée served with cheesy Alaskan barley. The top. In fact, the restaurant is so named because seven children's menu has its own range of upscale options, glaciers are visible from the restaurant (every table has including King Crab Mac n' Cheese and a Petite Filet panoramic views), which is perched 2,300 feet above with house steak sauce. The 40-page wine list has its sea level and accessed by an aerial tram ride. The fine own table of contents, guiding guests to everything dining restaurant, which is part of the Alyeska Resort, from single-glass wines (it's one of the only Alaskan has won numerous awards, including an AAA Four restaurants to have the Coravin wine preservation Diamond award and a 2018 Wine Spectator Best of system) to $9,000 bottles of large-format Louis Latour Award of Excellence. Chef Aaron Apling Gilman Les Chaillots. To show off the wines, the restaurant (above) started his career in Fairbanks before working turns the Chef's Tasting Menu on its head, focusing on at restaurants throughout the Southwest U.S. His menu the world-class wines from the cellars and building a at Seven Glaciers is focused on Alaska's wide range of menu around them. Beer fans who want to try a rare meat, seafood, and produce – Alaskan oysters, a local luxury option aren't left out, either, with options like an Kale Salad, Scallop Bisque with seared Alaskan scallops $85.00 Rochefort 8 Trappist Ale on the menu.

DATASSENTIAL’S DINE AROUND: ALASKA 30 DA TRUCKS, CARTS, STANDS, & HUTS

Tia's Gourmet Sausages in Anchorage has been serving reindeer hot dogs with house pineapple sauce for over a decade.

EATING OUTDOORS IN AMERICA'S COLDEST STATE

You'd think Alaskans would want to get out of the mustard. Serious Eats says the reindeer dog craze elements whenever they have a chance, but arguably started with Michael Anderson, residents are equally happy standing in line at a affectionately called the "cranky hot dog man" or food truck or hot dog cart and enjoying a meal at a "hot dog Nazi" (referencing Seinfeld) for his nearby picnic table or brewery (it helps that particular rules (cell phones off, end other summers can be surprisingly mild and Alaskans conversations when it's your turn, etc.). Travel know how to dress for the weather). Anchorage, in beyond Anchorage and you'll notice that every particular, has a thriving food truck culture major road is dotted with small coffee shacks or complete with a food truck pod called K Street Eats huts – walk-up or drive-up coffee and espresso with options like Jeepney Filipino Fusion Food and stands that serve drinks and usually a few simple the Salmon HookUp Truck, while the weekly menu items late into the day. Some have been built Spenard Road Food Truck Carnival features Sa Se out of old boats or railroad cars, while others have Bon Creole & Cajun cuisine and Yeti Dogs hot dogs. grown into more elaborate operations, like AK Speaking of hot dogs, reindeer hot dog carts can Alchemist, "the perfect mix of the Alaskan culture, be found throughout downtown Anchorage, which urban city swank, and steam punk artistry all feature split and grilled dogs on a steamed bun wrapped up into one coffee house and taco stand." with condiments like Coca-Cola-glazed onions and

DATASSENTIAL’S DINE AROUND: ALASKA 31 DICA

WITHIN THE WILD

Within the Wild is a remote, luxury Lacquer, Winter Kimchi, Moose adventure lodging company with Ravioli, and Rose Panna Cotta two resorts, Winterlake Lodge and made with wild roses. Each Tutka Bay Lodge, located in the property also has its own culinary backcountry of south central events and specialties: the Alaska. Food and cuisine is an Winterlake Lodge is a stop on the integral part of the experience – annual Iditarod route and the co-owner Kirsten Dixon studied at resort hosts a special house-made Spot Shrimp Pizza with white sauce. Le Cordon Bleu in Paris and ice cream social for volunteers, earned a master's in gastronomy while guests returning from a day from Adelaide University. Meals at of chilly outdoor activities around the resorts are included in a stay Tutka Bay Lodge are welcomed and feature local meat and back with hot toddies. The Tutka seafood, produce grown on the Bay Lodge is also home to the property, and foraged ingredients. Cooking School at Tutka Bay, Specialties include Smoked which hosts classes on Alaska Salmon with Cardamom Spread, ingredients plus special events, all Salmon Bacon with Rhubarb in a re-purposed crabbing boat.

Beef Filet with Jakolof Bay Oyster Sauce

DATASSENTIAL’S DINE AROUND: ALASKA 32 DA

DATASSENTIAL: As you've traveled around Alaska, what has been your biggest learning?

G: Sustainable seafood is more than important to Alaska, it’s been the law since statehood in 1959. Alaska is the only state with sustainability written into its constitution. Alaska is also one of the most bountiful fishing regions in the world with over one million square miles of rich fishing waters. All seafood from Alaska is sustainably harvested and is wild by law. There is no finfish farming in Alaska, so you can count on all species from Alaska being wild caught, natural, and sustainable.

D: What do you think the biggest challenge facing seafood, and Alaska seafood in particular, will be in the future?

G: Confusion regarding sustainable seafood. Chefs and consumers alike struggle to know what is and isn’t sustainable when it comes to seafood. There are various certifications, watch lists, environmental group lists. It’s hard to know who to trust. For Alaska, we continue to focus on education of just how long our fisheries have been sustainable. Globally, Alaska is viewed as the gold standard in responsible fisheries management.

As a result of the state’s commitment to sustainability, and rigorous fisheries management, no Alaska seafood species has INTERVIEW been listed as endangered under the Endangered Species Act. Alaska’s commercial fisheries are certified sustainable by two STEPHEN GERIKE independent certification programs – MSC and RFM so you can FOODSERVICE NATIONAL feel good knowing you are serving seafood that’s been verified ACCOUNTS REPRESENTATIVE sustainable. ALASKA SEAFOOD D: Can you tell us about the ugly crab campaign?

MARKETING INSTITUTE G: Consumers are becoming more educated and definitely more thoughtful about where their food comes from, whether it's Stephen Gerike joined the Alaska Seafood produce or proteins. And this dovetails right into the same Marketing Institute this summer, leading mindset that it’s ok that your food might look a little different; it’s efforts to partner with foodservice operators all about how it tastes and what it does for you. The ugly crab and raise overall awareness of seafood. campaign focuses on Tanner or Bairdi crab and is modeled after During his 25-year career in foodservice similar food enhancement programs underway by farmers that marketing, Gerike has been a guest chef at aim to reduce food waste and improve sustainability practices. the James Beard House, has cultivated ASMI responded to the industry’s call to try and get more value relationships with leading and emerging by promoting this type of crab in a new way – Ugly Crab. It’s chefs across the country, and has worked on simply educating foodservice operators that once they get inside menu and recipe development for the shell, they’ll see it’s no different. Often, ugly crab are older independent and chain restaurants. We and have greater meat fill so there is actually better value to reached out to Gerike to ask him about his foodservice. new role at the ASMI and Alaskan seafood.

DATASSENTIAL’S DINE AROUND: ALASKA 33 DA

(CONTINUED)

D: What are you most excited about in regard to purchase is to supporting U.S. families and entire seafood trends and flavors? communities in Alaska. The Alaska seafood industry fuels the state’s economy, so every purchase is critical to G: I'm excited about the continued evolution of health and livelihoods. The many fisheries in Alaska directly employ wellness into personalized functional foods that do over 60,000 workers in Alaska – it's the state’s largest something for the consumer. Basically, it’s about foods private sector employer. Many are family fishermen living that nourish the mind, body, and the planet. Alaska in small, remote communities where fishing is virtually the seafood is the answer for meeting consumers’ desires for a only occupation. Their livelihoods and entire way of life healthy life. Seafood from Alaska is loaded with long chain depend on protecting healthy wild fish stocks. omega 3 fatty acids EPA and DHA, which are essential for brain health, digestive health, heart health, etc. They are deeply committed to obeying strict laws, careful harvesting methods, accurate reporting, and adhering to In terms of foods and flavors – the ocean is providing lots scientific data. In order to ensure an abundant food source of innovative marine foods like kelp seasonings, jerkies, fish and way of life for future generations, Alaska protects its skins, and high-quality canned fish. Canned salmon is a fish stocks, marine wildlife, and the surrounding great opportunity for restaurants and non-commercial environment. When you serve Alaska seafood, you are operations – convenience, flavor, nutrition, affordability. supporting generations of families and entire communities. D: What do you wish more chefs and consumers knew about Alaskan seafood?

G: How hard Alaskans work to bring them the best wild Interviews are edited for space and content. and sustainable seafood in world. How important the

DATASSENTIAL’S DINE AROUND: ALASKA 34 MADE IN ALASKA DA ALASKA CHAGA CHUNKS Chaga, a type of mushroom that grows on birch trees, has been heralded as the "King of Medicinal Mushrooms." Alaska Chaga sells wild chunks and powder from the Alaskan taiga to make chaga tea.

ALASKA BERRIES HASKAP JAM Alaska Berries grows its own berries for jam and wine (it's the only winery in the state), including haskaps, which look like oblong blueberries, but are described as combining the flavor of "blueberries, raspberries, and strawberries."

CHUGACH CHOCOLATES BIRCH SYRUP TOFFEE BAR Chugach chocolate bars are made at the base of the Chugach Mountains, producing flavors that are Alaska to their core – Dark Chocolate with Prince William Sound Sea Salt, Alaskan Birch Syrup Toffee, Mat-Su Valley Potato Chip, and Alaskan Kelp & Cayenne.

KALADI BROTHERS COFFEE Brad Bigelow started with a single espresso cart in 1984, aiming to bring a little of the burgeoning Seattle coffee scene to Anchorage. Today the company has 300 employees and its coffee can be found across the state, while its Barista Academy has trained thousands of baristas.

BARNACLE CAMPFIRE MEDIUM KELP SALSA Barnacle Foods' motto is "coast to kitchen." The company specializes in kelp products, particularly a variety of kelp salsas that the company says deliver a classic salsa flavor with an added complex, umami punch to serve over nachos, pasta, eggs, chili, or straight from the jar.

of consumers are 21% interested in seaweed

Alaska Wild produces a range of birch products including syrup, caramel, orange mustard, and birch water.

35 MADE IN ALASKA: BEERS AND SPIRITS DA

1 2 3

1. Amalga Distillery | Juneauper Gin

2. Anchorage Brewing Company | Blueberry Sour aged in French oak with Alaska blueberries.

3. Bleeding Heart Brewery & 203 Kombucha | Strawberry Lemon Kombucha dry-hopped with Belma and Citra hops.

4. Hoarfrost Distilling | Vodka with Alaskan barley and water.

5. Double Shovel Cider Company | Forest Bittersweet cider with local spruce tips and bittersweet apples.

6. Skagway Brewing | Spruce Tip Ale made with Sitka spruce tree tips. 7. Port Chilkoot Distillery | Absinthe with Alaskan wormwood, lemon balm, and anise hyssop.

4

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A B O O M I N Baked Alaska appears on menus around the world, like this version C A N N A B I S from Bar Margot in Atlanta, made with maple ice cream, spiced PRODUCTS HIT THE chiffon cake, and cranberry sorbet. ALASKA MARKET

Alaska legalized recreational cannabis in 2014, but the industry's growth has been much slower than states like Colorado and California. Only recently has that been changing, particularly in Anchorage, where there are numerous dispensaries selling the growing number of edibles available in the state, produced by companies like Turnagin Herb Co., which aims to make "the last frontier the first in cannabis" with products like AWW Snaps gingersnap cookies, which are perforated down the center so consumers can snap off a smaller dose. Meanwhile, Great Northern Cannabis, which has been called "the Apple Store of cannabis," produces and sells nearly 50 edible options including gummies, caramels, granola, muffins, tea, and brownies. BAKED ALASKA

IS "BAKED ALASKA" Alaska Leaf magazine featured A L A S K A N ? chef Michelle DelaPeña, also NOT EXACTLY. known as Chef Baked Alaska, the classic dessert featuring ice Bombshell. She's cream and cake covered in meringue and often won the "Best Edible" award at flambéed tableside, has a lot of origin stories, Alaska's Cannabis none of which claim the dessert was actually Classic multiple invented in Alaska. Various theories say the times for creations dessert was invented at New York's Delmonico's like her THC-infused or New Orleans' Antoine's to celebrate the U.S. Berry Cake with purchase of Alaska, though these were almost Lemon Cream certainly variations on existing desserts. Cheese. Whatever its history may be, new takes on the nostalgic menu option continue to pop up on menus showcasing various ice cream and cake flavors – plus, it doesn't hurt that a flambéeing is highly Instagrammable.

of consumers are 52% interested in Baked Alaska

DATASSENTIAL’S DINE AROUND: ALASKA 37 DA 5 THOUGHT STARTERS

SEEK OUT REGIONAL AMERICAN CUISINE Options like Nashville hot chicken, poke, and Detroit-style pizza have all trended in recent years, showing that it pays to know and keep track of iconic regional dishes. Could Alaskan options like reindeer sausage 1 or candied salmon be next (reindeer sausage has already shown up in a few restaurants in the Lower 48)? Combine your subscription to Dine Around with Datassential's LOCAL, which tracks popular flavors for major cities, metro areas, and regions across the country, to truly know the regional pulse.

GO FOR THE 'GRAM WITH TABLESIDE PRESENTATIONS Tableside flourishes and presentationss are a retro concept making a comeback in the Instagram era. From 2 Baked Alaska set aflame to the Barcelona-style gin and tonic pour down the cocktail spoon at South to the Alaskan halibut seared on a salt block at the table, take inspiration from Alaskan restaurants and consider dishes that could use a little dining room flair, prompting guests to get out their phones.

MAKE HEALTHY, PLANT-BASED DISHES A CORE PART OF THE MENU At Jack Sprat, healthy menu items are woven throughout the menu, while even decadent items are made with health-forward ingredients like nut butters. There's something for everyone – even hardcore 3 carnivores can add a protein to the specials on Meatless Monday. As more consumers become interested in plant-based foods, weave them throughout the menu instead of limiting them to a single dish or healthy menu section, and use bold, global flavors to make them just as appetizing as their meaty counterparts.

GET INSPIRED BY RESTAURANT SPECIALTIES A restaurant's specialty or top-selling dish is proof that a concept works – and some of them may surprise 4 you. In Alaska, the best-selling pizza at Moose's Tooth is topped with blackened chicken and apricot, while the best-selling flavor of macaron at Sweet Caribou isn't chocolate or vanilla but passionfruit.

ADD PLAYFUL TOUCHES Even the fanciest fine dining restaurants today tend to be a little casual and that's particularly true in 5 Alaska. Look for ways to add fun, cheeky touches to menu items, which injects personality into a brand or concept. South Coffeehouse always has a few boxes of Cap'n Crunch displayed behind the counter and lets guests play board games, while In Bocca Al Lupo serves a head of cauliflower on a knife.

DATASSENTIAL’S DINE AROUND: ALASKA 38 DA WHERE WE’VE BEEN GOING ON A TRIP? PLANNING AN IMMERSION TOUR? CHECK OUT ALL OF THESE PAST ISSUES OF DINE AROUND IN SNAP.

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DATASSENTIAL’S DINE AROUND: ALASKA 39

BE THE TREND EXPERT 70 ISSUES A YEAR. SEARCHABLE IN SNAP. SUBSCRIBE TODAY. BEVERAGES a keynote

beverage category activity and growth areas

at home and AFH consumption

motivators and occasions for choosing each type of beverage

impact of premium descriptors

operator perspectives

restaurant menus & consumer appeal

demographic influences & segment skews

Let it pour. The beverage landscape is changing, from the rise of packaged water and functional drinks like kombucha to changing flavor profiles that borrow ingredients from the rest of the menu. As their choices expand, consumers are looking to certain beverage categories for specific occasions. Operators say the rising profile of beverages is driving increased sales and that drinks are important profit drivers. Find out more with fact-based, actionable insights into the world of soda, water, juice, iced tea, and beyond. BEVERAGES: a keynote

Topics covered From the report

range of beverages and topical attitudes CONSUMERS o learn about soda, sparkling and still packaged water, 100% fruit and fruit/veg juice blends, iced tea, lemonade, 7 is the average number of beverages fruit punch, smoothies, milkshakes, slushies, sports consumers drank in the past day drinks, energy drinks, and enhanced water o other topics include functional beverages, single-use 48% drink sparkling water at least once a plastic straws, liquid water enhancers, and at-home week sparkling water makers 75% of soda drinkers are at least somewhat at home and AFH consumption willing to try new flavors o discover what factors lead consumers to purchase one 23% of juice drinkers would pay more for brand over another at retail fresh-pressed o understand which AFH venues are top-of-mind for each type of beverage OPERATORS

comparisons across beverages 28% saw an increase in beverage sales in the past year; only 3% saw sales drop o identify the beverages for which sales and consumption are increasing, which are best at satisfying consumer 38% customize drinks in-house with syrups need states, where brand is the most valuable, which premium descriptors are most impactful for each 46% would be motivated to switch to eco- beverage, and more friendly straw alternatives if they were priced the same as plastic operator perspectives o uncover what beverage equipment is being used in operations, and which are seeing increased usage 1,983 consumers 287 restaurant, o discover what types of products are purchased by from all generations on-site, and retail restaurant, on-site, and retail operators and regions operators

restaurant menus & consumer appeal o follow the growth of beverages, flavors, and other ingredients o pinpoint emerging ingredients and flavor profiles o see how consumer beverage affinity varies by report x-tab tool webinar generation, gender, and geographic location

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