Dig Into Wild Juneau

DIG INTO WILD JUNEAU

BY ILONA KAUREMSZKY

Get a taste of how prominent chefs & local ingredients are making this Alaskan city a sumptuous destination for even the most evolved palate

Juneau, Alaska

IT’S LUNCH TIME IN JUNEAU and Tracy’s King Crab Shack on the edge of the city’s cruise terminal is jam packed. In fact, the crowd spills onto the boardwalk before noon hits. But no one seems to mind. “It’s worth the wait,” chimes a local.

Here, most visitors arrive from Seattle after a two-hour flight or extend their vacation after a cruise to hang out in restaurants and bars frequented by locals, with the intent of discovering the essence of Juneau’s wild food scene.

“About seven years ago, there was a joke in town that if you wanted to go somewhere nice for dinner, you had to go to Seattle. This is no longer the case. Juneau’s local chefs and restaurateurs have raised the bar for dining in our little town,” says Midgi Moore, owner of Juneau Food Tours, a local company taking serious foodies on culinary walking tours rated among the best in North America.

Alaskan King Crab about to be cooked at Tracy's King Crab Shack

Guests are treated as “new friends” and shown all the top spots where locals hang out and eat.

It’s no surprise that the Last Frontier state capital, home to Alaska’s biggest cruise port, has morphed into a culinary destination. The wide-open waters as far as the Bering Sea are rife with seafood, while the remote wilderness that lies outside the city centre, by the Tongass National Forest, has turned into a forager’s paradise.

Locally-sourced ingredients are exactly what’s on offer at Deckhand Dave’s. The action is hopping around this food truck, a taco shrine to the freshest catch in Southeast Alaska, as Dave jets past with an order of spicy rockfish tacos.

This chemistry grad left behind ambitions in medicine to turn his attention to fishing and, later, to cooking fish. And he turns out to be quite the cook, as evidenced by my empty plate after I’m finished eating a delicious panko crusted wild salmon filet dunked in tartar sauce.

Deckhand Dave’s spicy rockfish tacos

More local delicacies await at the wildly inconspicuous SALT, which has caught Master Chef Gordon Ramsay’s attention, so much so that he has included its chef, Lionel Uddipa, in his new Gordon Ramsay: Uncharted TV show.

The ambiance here can compete with a trendy resto in New York or California, but the food, however, is typically Alaskan. My fresh, wild halibut is served lightly seared and paired with a New Zealand white wine with tangy notes that match the homemade kimchi.

About seven years ago, there was a joke in town that if you wanted to go somewhere nice for dinner, you had to go to Seattle. This is no longer the case.

Bocca al Lupo

inboccaallupoak.com, Travel Juneau

As I stroll through downtown Juneau later, I pass The Rookery Café, a bistro hub created by three-time James Beard nominee chef Beau Schooler. Prominent name on the Juneau food scene, Schooler is also at the helm of a few other local eateries, including In Bocca al Lupo, located within Silverbow Inn’s old bakery space.

Originally built in 1898 in the historic Messerschmidt building, the inn is the city’s only urban boutique hotel. It caters to eco-urbanists as a place as fierce and wild as Juneau’s gastronomy itself.

And in my escapade to find wild Alaskan cuisine, an overnight stay here perfectly completes the culinary circle.