Seafood

Juneau [1] has two excellent salmon bakes with all-you-can-eat dinners and free bus transport from town. Both are open May–September. Housed in a rustic waterside building four miles south of town, Thane Ore House Salmon Bake (907/586-3442, www.thaneorehouse.com [2]) charges $24 for a big dinner of king or sockeye salmon, beer-battered halibut, barbecue ribs, baked beans, cornbread, and unusual salads. Outside tables are perfect for those rare sunny days.

Gold Creek Salmon Bake (907/789-0052 or 800/323-5757, www.alaskaadventures.com [3], $39 adults, $26 children) has a similar menu north of town near the hospital.

Housed in a little stand next to the library on South Franklin Street, Tracy’s King Crab Shack (907/723-1811, www.kingcrabshack.com [4], daily 10:30 a.m.–7 p.m. May–Sept., $8–20) has a couple of stools out front and a perpetual queue of tourists and locals. Try the crab bisque or crab cakes for something simple, or settle into a bucket of king crab claws if you’re hungry (and have $40 to drop). The food is fresh and delicious.

Get high-quality smoked salmon at Taku Smokeries (550 S. Franklin St., 907/463-3474 or 800/582-5122, www.takustore.com [5]) a few blocks south of town. Drop by for a sample or to watch through the windows as they process the fish.

On the water side of the Taku Smokeries building is Twisted Fish Co. (907/463-5033, www.hangaronthewharf.com [6], daily 11 a.m.–10 p.m. May–Sept., $12–29), where the decor is playful and the food is contemporary. Big windows open onto Gastineau Channel, where floatplanes and cruise ships create a busy scene. Watch the crew in the open kitchen as they prepare wild berry halibut burgers, baked salmon in puff pastry, eight-inch pizzas, ginger ahi tuna, and a tasty clam chowder. It’s noisy and fun. (The owners also operate three other nearby restaurants, including the equally popular Hangar.)