How?

The How How restaurant on Muldoon Road in east Anchorage. It's attached to the Ramada Quite Limited hotel where we stayed and was the site for our "free" breakfast, included with the room.

It's a Chinese restaurant and it's furnished in an overwhelming display of red, gold and black lacquer. Except for the carpet, which was worn and dirty. I had a feeling we were in for an exceptional treat when I noted the prominent sign as we entered. "We reserve the right to refuse service to anyone!" Not a "Welcome! Please wait to be seated." sign, just a clear reminder of who was in charge!

Here's a photo I found on the internet...not very clear, but neither was the restaurant.


There was plenty of cholesterol on the menu and liberal helpings of sweets. And odd...a big pan full of fried chicken wings. I have a feeling that they were left over from dinner the night before.

Do yourself a favor and skip this restaurant. In fact, I tried Googling How How and got no hits at all. Apparently it's unknown...until now.

Here's a view of the Ramada...note the proximity to the Golden Arches, a close rival to the How How.

Simon & Seafort's

Another great restaurant…a little bit of a drive from Orland, but you would certainly work up an appetite on the way; Simon & Seafort’s in Anchorage. We made our reservations for 7:30 and we only had to wait for a few minutes before we were seated. The restaurant is located at the western end of Anchorage, on the bluff that overlooks the Turnagain Arm of the Cook Inlet and it has plenty of windows, so you can watch the boats…and the planes from just about every table.

The menu is designed for seafood lovers, although there were the usual beef options for those who like it. Everyone at our table (except myself) ordered salmon, Copper River salmon, while I ordered the halibut cheeks. Now I have had cheeks before, in Seattle…and they had been quite good, but these were excellent!

Everyone had high praise for the salmon; mild and sweet. The service was great and after the table was cleared, Laurae and I shared a berry cobbler with ice cream. It was huge…made to be shared.

We left the restaurant about 10 PM, put our sunglasses on and headed back to the hotel and sleep. A most enjoyable evening; it really is a 5 star restaurant.

Humpy's

If you're in Anchorage, you can't miss a meal at Humpy's! Great food, but when I ordered a N/A beer, a Kaliber...they were all out. We had the halibut tacos one day and I tried a spicy Thai stir fry dish the next. It's a seat yourself kind of place; lots of noise...and (Boo!) Alaska allows smoking. Most restaurants do ban it anyway, but not Humpy's. With all of these negatives, why do I say it's a great place to go? The food is good!

Movie

A movie I liked! After suffering through Sky Captain and the World of Tomorrow… a movie I didn’t even mention in this blog, we received The Talented Mr. Ripley. Now this was a good one, full of suspense and good acting for a welcome change.