Brews and Pubs

Anchorage [1]’s food-and-booze scene is thriving, with several quite different options from which to choose. Right downtown, Glacier BrewHouse (737 W. 5th Ave., 907/274-2739, www.glacierbrewhouse.com [2], Sun. noon–4 p.m., Mon.–Sat. 11 a.m.–11 p.m.) is a lively and noisy place that overflows most evenings; reservations are recommended. Chefs work furiously in the open kitchen, sending out delicious meals of salmon, steak, ribs, and thin-crusted pizzas, while the bar pours beers made in the behind-the-glass brewery. Most dinner entrées run $18–30, though you can get small pizzas for $11.

A few blocks away is Snow Goose Restaurant (717 W. 3rd Ave., 907/277-7727, www.alaskabeers.com [3], daily 11:30 a.m.–11 p.m., dinner entrées $24–29), featuring halibut, pork, steak, and more downstairs ($24–29) plus an upstairs pub ($7–20) where the outdoor patio overlooks Cook Inlet; that white triangle in the distance is Mt. McKinley. Snow Goose always has a half-dozen homebrews from its Sleeping Lady Brewery (on the premises), along with a substantial wine selection.

Moose’s Tooth Pub and Pizzeria (3300 Old Seward Hwy., 907/258-2537, www.moosestooth.net [4], daily Mon.–Fri. 10:30 a.m.–midnight, Sat.–Sun. 10:30 a.m.–1 a.m., earlier in winter) is the Anchorage [1] place for pizza and beer, hands down. The huge parking lot fills with cars most evenings, and you’re likely to endure a wait for a table, but the distinctive pizzas (try the “brewhouse favorite” with chorizo sausage, sun-dried tomatoes, red onions, sauce, and cheese) are all made from scratch and baked in a stone oven. Medium pizzas cost $12–21. The 17 or so prize-winning beers are great too. The owners are the same as the equally popular Bear Tooth Theatrepub (1230 W. 27th Ave., 907/276-4200, www.beartooththeatre.net [5]).

You won’t go wrong with a meal at tiny F Street Station (325 F St., 907/272-5196, daily 11 a.m.–1 a.m.), where there are always reasonably priced, ultrafresh seafood specials ($17), fast service, and a convivial white-collar atmosphere. Try the perfectly cooked beer-batter halibut for $16, or the $18 New York steak and fries. Be sure to ask the bartender the story behind the huge hunk of cheddar that’s always on the counter. This is a bar, so it’s not for kids after 8 p.m.

They don’t brew their own beers, but Humpy’s Great Alaskan Alehouse (610 W. 6th Ave., 907/276-2337, www.humpys.com [6]) attracts a 20-something crowd with more than 50 brews on tap and a pub menu of halibut burgers, salads, pastas, nachos, and other crunchy fare. Live bands play nightly in this perpetually packed, no-cover-charge hangout.

Midnight Sun Brewing Co. (8111 Dimond Hook Dr., 907/344-1179, www.midnightsunbrewing.com [7], daily 11 a.m.–8 p.m.) brews a half-dozen craft beers year-round along with seasonal specials. The brewery has an upstairs loft serving soups, salads, and sandwiches, or you can get a growler to go.