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Weekly UpdatesYou're a businessman in Alaska and you want to take a new client and the marketing director out to lunch and discuss their new project. So you call your favorite eatery to make a reservation only to discover that it is booked until 3 p.m. and your client has a flight at 2:20 p.m.
ABM did some research and compiled a list of business-friendly restaurants in Alaska. The ones written about in this article are in Anchorage, and I personally had lunch at each of them and will provide first-hand information. Friends and associates suggested the other restaurants to me.
(All pertinent information for the restaurants in this article can be found in the accompanying sidebar.)
The Bridge
The Bridge is located under the A Street Bridge that spans Ship Creek. The restaurant, which opened last August, is definitely unique when it comes to cuisine and location.
Reservations are accepted, and according to Ashi Samarasingher, vice president of operations, The Bridge can manage groups of up to 100 people. Samarasingher emphasizes the point that larger groups (12 or more) do require reservations.
What makes The Bridge special is its cuisine and location. In the winter, patrons will see the iced-up creek and snow-covered mountains in the background, and in the summer the creek hosts a large number of sports fishermen. Watching them, especially when one hooks into a large king salmon, is exciting.
Cuisine
As for the cuisine, Samarasingher says the contemporary word for it is "fusion." But he also says, "Actually our food can best be described as a combination of cuisines including Continental, Polynesian, Asian and Hawaiian. We have created all of our recipes, and yes, I'd say they are pretty unique."
One of Samarasingher's favorites is The Bridge burger. For $9, you get a third-of-a-pound of hamburger, flavored with cracked black pepper, garlic and rosemary, served on a Kaiser sesame bun.
Non-Meat Eaters
For the vegetarian there is fettuccini, a tofu roasted-vegetable terrine, a grilled asparagus and tomato salad, and an Asian Caesar salad.
Besides alcohol beverages and the traditional coffees, teas and sodas, there are also non-alcoholic drinks that include a very refreshing mango spritzer and strawberry lemonade at $3 each.
The lunch menu prices range between the $9 burger and a $14 pan-seared halibut filet.
"I don't think there is another restaurant like the Bridge in Alaska," said Samarasingher. "It's the flavors of our food that make us special; it's a whole awakening of flavors for your taste buds.
"Take, for example, our pan-seared halibut; it is topped with ginger, garlic, cilantro and orange mustard panko crust and served on stir-fried noodles and drizzled with sweet chili sauce. Now that is a combination of flavors that come together to make a truly unique culinary experience."
Organic Oasis Restaurant & Juice Bar
Organic Oasis Restaurant & Juice Bar has been opened since April 1999 and serves only all-natural foods. Steve Plante', the owner-operator, says they use only the best quality of unprocessed food products.
The Organic Oasis is located in Midtown Anchorage on Spenard Road, about a block north of Northern Lights Boulevard. Reservations may be made, and groups to a dozen people can be accommodated. There also is a separate meeting room with a table that will seat 12 people that has audio visual equipment for presentations. The restaurant also offers free wireless Internet capability.
Quality Food and Beverage
But what really makes the Organic Oasis different, according to Plante', is the quality of its food and beverage. Even the wine and beer, which are both domestic and imported, are organic. There are 31 vegan items on the lunch menu, which means they have not been cooked in or contain any meat products.
For the carnivores, there are more than a dozen options on the menu, which has about 100 items. It includes appetizers, salads, sandwiches, pizzas, desserts and beverages-including some very specialized health drinks like two-ounce shots of wheat grass for $3.
On the entree list there are several favorites, according to Plante'. For the vegetarian, there is the lime basil pesto, which includes soup or salad for $11.95. For $9.95 there is the Macrobiotic platter. This too is a vegan feast consisting steamed brown rice, baked tofu and steamed veggies.
The Organic Oasis also offers an excellent selection of wraps, sandwiches and burgers for both the meat and nonmeat eaters. Those items range in price from $8.95 to $11.95, and they are all served with a choice of organic soup, salad or chips. The sandwiches may be ordered in either full or half sizes, and the burgers are served on homemade buns.
Attitude Adjustment
"When I opened the Organic Oasis, I realized it was difficult to get ordinary citizens into a place that was strictly vegan," he said. "Now I center our efforts around transition. In other words, we have the sprout farm on site, we have the wheat grass farm on site, we have the carrot juice and we have the vegetable juices. We also serve buffalo burgers, halibut wraps and other meat products, so just about anyone can come in and find something they can connect with. Then they will see the sprouts and vegetable juices, and at some level that registers and then eventually those people will have enough knowledge, confidence and interest to come in and order carrot juice and sprout salad."
Plante' went on to say that his philosophy has been successful in showing skeptics that "super healthy" food does not have to be bland or unappetizing. He is pleased that his efforts have been able to introduce mainstream Anchorage to a higher-quality of food while maintaining a comfort zone.
Manrique's Brasserie
For most businessman or woman "fast food" means a drive-through establishment for a hamburger and fries or a quick stop to pick up a bucket of fried chicken. But to the business clientele, who have been eating at Manrique's Brassier in Anchorage since it opened in June 2004, fast food means tapas.
Tapas are miniaturized entrees that can be combined to make a meal, and they range in price from $2.50 to $4 each at Manrique's.
The term comes from Spain, where people, after work, go "tapa-hopping" to their favorite pubs to eat, drink and chat with friends in a casual environment. Ric Manrique, the chef-owner of the restaurant, says he tries to maintain the same friendly atmosphere in his establishment.
Two favorites on the tapa menu are beef tataki with ponzu sauce and beef carpaccio, which is thinly-sliced beef with olive oil, balsamic vinegar and shaved grana cheese.
"I'm a businessman, too," said Manrique, "so I know how precious time can be and how difficult it can be to find time to have lunch. That is why I feature a lunch menu that has items that can be served in only minutes."
A Traditional Lunch
On the more traditional side of his lunch menu, there is an assortment of sandwiches, salads and soup that come in either a cup for $3.95 or bowl for $4.95. The ancient Greek salad, for $7.95, is one of the most popular salads. It is made with cut grapes, toasted walnuts, cojita cheese, mixed-greens and dressed in olive oil and lemon juice.
For those businesspeople, who are on-the-fly and want a sandwich, Manrique has about seven options. A unique sandwich is his chicken adobo torta, which has its roots in the Philippines. It costs $8.95 and consists of braised chicken with garlic, palm vinegar, lemon juice, fish sauce and soy sauce. Adobo torta is served open-faced on Navajo fried bread and garnished with lettuce and tomatoes. That is topped off with ginger citrus.
For the same price, but created more for European taste buds, is the fromagee trois on baguette. It is made with soft goat cheese whipped with capers, sun-dried tomatoes, roasted garlic and topped with marinated Swiss cheese, fresh tomatoes and grapes. It too is served open faced on a toasted baguette.
The Manrique Touch
Manrique say his cuisine is a combination of European and Asian. "I'm from Hawaii, so the Asian background is pretty strong, but overall our cuisine is mix," he said. "I mix Asian flavors with European technique."
His recipes come from a variety of places; he always keeps his eyes, ears and nose open for new ideas. When he discovers something of interest, he will re-create it-giving it the "Manrique touch."
He also says that if he has the ingredients he will customize a recipe to satisfy the desired taste of a customer. For example, if someone wants a certain item on the menu but wants it with more of an Asian or French flavor, Manrique will gladly accommodate the request when possible.
To accompany his menu, Manrique offers an exceptional beverage list. For the wine connoisseur, Manrique maintains about 500 bottles in his wine cellar, and between draft and bottled beers, there are more than 20 from which to choose.
Next month Manrique's Brasserie celebrates its second anniversary.
Reservations may be made for groups of six or larger, and Manrique's will accommodate groups up to about a dozen people.
Southside Bistro Inc.
Southside Bistro is one of Anchorage's premier restaurants. It was named top restaurant in Anchorage a few years ago by The Daily News, and the Food Network featured it on national television.
Jens (Yens) Nannestad, owner-chef, also says that for about a decade his bistro's wine list has received special recognition. "We've received the awards from Wine Spectator, which is the largest wine publication in the world," said Nannestad. "They base it on how well your wine list matches to your menu. It's a pretty prestigious, and we've received for the past 10 years."
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