More on Anchorage...

I'm back with more on Alaska. The last post only covered half of the first day, so we'll see how much I can cover in this post!

Downtown Anchorage is a great walking town. We did not have a car, and really didn't need one, at least not while we were attending a conference there. Our first afternoon, we spent a bit of time just walking around, checking things out. We came across a scenic lookout, Resurrection Bay. The water itself was not much to look at, and looked more like mud flats. But looking out into the distance was a very unique experience for us, seeing snow-capped mountains. Since it was fall, we also saw autumn leaves, something we never see in Hawaii.

As I mentioned in a previous post, there are number of tourist traps in Anchorage, and I think we walked into just about all of them. For any future Anchorage travelers, before you buy anything, look in all of the shops first. You will probably find that the exact same item can be priced very differently in a number of shops!

We found a number of restaurants within easy walking distance of our hotel. I think I am going to steal an idea from another blogger and list the restaurants here now, so you can look at them whenever you'd like (since you know it's probably going to take me another six months before I finally complete posting about my entire Alaska trip!):

Anchorage:
Sack's Cafe
Snow Goose Restaurant
Glacier Brewhouse
Crow's Nest (we only had a night cap here)
Fletcher's
Snow City Cafe

Seward:
Christo's Palace
Chinook's
Apollo

Alyeska:
The Pond Cafe (served in the Aurora Lounge)
Double Musky Inn

And here are the hotels we stayed in:
Hotel Captain Cook, Anchorage
Holiday Inn, Seward
Hotel Alyeska, Alyeska

We ended up eating at a couple of the restaurants more than once, partly because we couldn't get into some of the restaurants we wanted to try because they were crowded, and partly because we just really enjoyed the food and atmosphere. Snow Goose was one of the places we ate at twice. On our first visit, I tried the crab stuffed halibut. My point of view is that almost anything stuffed with crab has to be good! Alaska is known for halibut, and it's also known for crab, so I couldn't go wrong. It was served with asparagus, and probably some kind of starch that I can't remember at the moment. In any case, it was good enough that we didn't mind going back again later during our trip.

That's it for now...gotta get to bed since I have to go to work tomorrow to be able to earn enough to pay for all of my adventures! But hey, at least I'm starting to make a dent on posting about the trip I took 4 1/2 months ago!

Tokoname

Tonight we tried something new, Tokoname in Kailua. It's a Japanese restaurant that's been open for about a month. The owners are two brothers who are friends of a friend. They're nice guys, and they're doing a really terrific job with this venture.

Tokoname's menu offers quite an assortment of items, including sushi. Something is sure to please any palette. I was quite torn between the rib eye steak, which I heard comes on a sizzling platter, the shrimp tempura, or the tonkatsu. Items can be ordered ala carte or as a teishoku (a set, or complete meal, that comes with a tossed green salad, rice, miso soup, and tsukemono - Japanese pickles). When we walked in, we saw some friends who were also trying Tokoname for the first time. They ordered the shrimp tempura, teriyaki steak, and the dynamite sushi roll. As we were chatting with them, we heard distinct sizzling sound -- apparently a rib eye steak being served. My mind was made up.

I decided on the rib eye. Sadly, by the time it arrived at our table, it was no longer sizzling, but it didn't matter. It was just as tasty even without the sizzle! And I didn't have to worry about anything getting splattered on my blouse, the one downside of a sizzling platter. Before the rib eye arrived, we were served the miso soup. It was just the right size and flavored well, containing tiny cubes of tofu and pieces of konbu (seaweed).

We didn't wait too long before the rest of the meal arrived. My rib eye arrived first, and it was a HUGE piece! It had to have been at least 12 ounces, and it filled up the entire sizzling platter. It was cooked just to my liking, medium rare, and already sliced in just-right-sized pieces. I was already in heaven looking at the steak, then tasting the first piece, and then I discovered that the steak rested on a bed of grilled onions and mushrooms! They were cooked just right. There was a hint of ginger on the steak, and it was seasoned just right to give it a little flavor, without overwhelming the taste of the beef, which seemed to be very good quality and was extremely easy to chew. The 3 pieces on the end were mostly fat, but that is to be expected with a rib eye.

We didn't wait long before the unagi and the rest of our teishokus arrived. My dining partner enjoyed his unagi, which was a generous portion. I commented that it looked different from unagi he's ordered at other restaurants.

The other items that come with the teishoku are quite yummy, and meticulously presented. The green salad is actually a pretty generous portion, garnished with 3 tomato halves and served with just the right amount of a very delicious homemade dressing. And no, they won't share the recipe! There were also two types of tsukemono, and a dish with 3 thin slices of avocado (probably the only thing that could have been improved - the avocado was still a little hard for my taste), sliced cucumber, with a scoop of a crab salad (imagine the stuffing of a California roll) and topped with what I think was nori strips. It was a great combination of ingredients, and the crab salad had a little bit of kick to it. There was also a small bit of dressing on the plate. Of course, a teishoku is not complete without a bowl of rice. Something about this rice seemed a little different, in a good way. I'm guessing it was not your typical Hinode Calrose rice, but probably a higher quality rice, maybe the same type they use for their sushi.

And speaking of sushi, I couldn't resist ordering the dynamite roll, which received rave reviews by a Yelper and the friend we ran into there. I have to admit I ordered it on blind faith, and really didn't know what was in it. Even when it arrived and I tasted a piece, I still was not sure what it was. It was like a California roll topped with some kind of fish, and two kinds of sauces. But I couldn't tell what the fish was. I asked the waitress after we finished eating, and she said it was baked maguro (it was hot when it arrived). The sushi rice was very flavorful and nicely seasoned -- none of that plain unseasoned rice stuff at Tokoname! And considering how new they are, it seems like they've developed a little bit of a following already, and a number of people were ordering sushi. There were three people sitting at the sushi bar when we arrived, and they were still there when we left! I heard a lot of people ordering the spider roll, which is made with soft shell crab. I also caught a glimpse of the spicy tuna maki, which looked very good.

The service was very good, and they managed quite well with only two waitresses, and one of the owners helping to serve as well. The service is very comfortable...professional, yet informal, and very polite and friendly. I also enjoyed the atmosphere. It's a smaller place, I would guess seating 40-50 people, the furniture is nice, and they improved the interior, giving it Asian accents such as lantern lights. It also stands out from the street, making it noticeable to people driving by, which is important in a location like this one which is slightly off the main path, yet it is close to a few other table service restaurants in Kailua. (For those of you familiar with Kailua, it's next to Jack in the Box, on the same street as Assaggio's.)

The prices are very fair, and the meals are a good value, particularly considering the quality. The rib eye teishoku is one of the most expensive items on the menu, along with the sashimi, at $20.95. The Unagi teishoku is $18.95. Shrimp tempura teishoku is $16.95 (and it's HUGE!!! I'm ordering that the next time), and the lowest priced teishoku is the vegetable tempura at $12.95. Most of these items are available ala carte as well. The Dynamite roll is $8.95. I will try to take a picture of the menu and update this post later. They do not have a liquor license, at least not yet, but you can BYOB. And their beverages are almost a steal, at least as far as restaurants go, at $1.50 (canned drinks served over ice). Their lunch menu is very affordable, with items ranging $7.95 to $9.95, and I've heard they also have bentos available. And as if that weren't enough, they're open for breakfast too! I don't know what that menu is like though. When I find out, I'll let you know.

Oh, and if you know anyone looking for a job, please call them! Jeff and Brian are the owners. They need help in all areas! Yet, even though they're working with a skeleton crew, they do a great job, and I didn't feel that we waited very long for anything. And the quality of the food was excellent. If you're looking for something new, try Tokoname. We felt it was worth it to drive to Kailua from town just for dinner there!

Tokoname
442 Uluniu Street
Kailua, HI 96734
(808)262-TOKO (8656)

We THINK the hours are something like this, but please call to double check (they also may be closed for private functions on occasion):
Breakfast: 6 a.m. - 9:30 a.m.
Lunch: 10:30 a.m. - 2 p.m.
Dinner: 5 - 9 p.m.

Anchorage, Alaska

I've realized that I can't procrastinate any longer. It's time for me to face the music and at least start telling my readers about my Alaska trip, especially since I think my readership may have increased to about five people.

As a recap, I went to Anchorage in late September for a work-related conference. My overall assessment of Anchorage is that I probably wouldn't spend a lot of time there if I was going on a pleasure trip, but it was a great place for a conference. The conference seminars were during the day, and at night, it didn't get dark until about 8 p.m., leaving us lots of time to walk around to shop, explore, and find a place to have dinner. I also thought that the food in Anchorage was actually quite good! When I was researching, it seemed like a lot of people said not to expect much from the food, but I respectfully disagree with those opinions.

Let's start with where we stayed -- the conference was held at the Hotel Captain Cook, which was a very nice hotel. Judging from the other hotels we saw, I would say that the Hotel Captain Cook is arguably the nicest hotel in Anchorage. We arrived at the hotel pretty early and had no problem checking in. The hotel has three towers, and we were placed in the tallest one. I was lucky enough to get a room on a higher floor. At first, the view didn't seem like much, probably because it was pretty overcast much of the time. However, when the skies cleared up, it was quite beautiful! I could see snow-capped mountains from my window.

After we got settled in, we went in search of food. We went to one of the places I found out about in my research, Sacks Cafe. This was a great restaurant! The decor was very nice, and the food was good and pretty affordable for lunch. I started with a cup of tomato gorgonzola soup, and had a reindeer sausage sandwich w/ fries as my main dish. Yep, you heard me, reindeer sausage!!! It was quite good! Not gamey, and very tasty. We soon found out that we would not be able to run away from reindeer sausage! The fries were served with roasted red pepper ketchup, which was excellent!

We spent the afternoon walking around getting acquainted with Anchorage. We found a number of tourist-trap shops, as well as some scenic areas and another good restaurant for dinner. I will save those for another post. Stay tuned for more on Anchorage!

Kailua High, Class of 1988

Boy, am I starting to feel OLD! Most people who know me probably have no idea how old I really am, because for the most part, I still act like a 20-something. I am actually quite in denial about my age too, and honestly don't think about it much. So why am I thinking about it now? The primary reason is that this year marks 20 years since I have graduated from high school...TWENTY years! I still remember many events like they happened yesterday! All the high school dances, checking out guys from other schools (especially Pearl City), extracurricular activities like the Interact Club, and just how much FUN I was having. When I was in high school, the Safeway in Kailua on Hamakua Drive had just opened, as did the Kailua Zippy's. Prior to Zippy's opening in Kailua, we would drive to Kaneohe, or sometimes even Waiau (mostly because all the cute guys seemed to live in Pearl City), just to eat!

I also feel old at times when I find out how old some of the people are that work with me. Last year we had an 18 year old working in my office, and he didn't believe me when I told him that I was twice his age! I guess that's a good thing, but just the fact that I could be twice the age of anyone who's not still in high school kinda freaks me out!

So now I'm thinking about my 20 year class reunion. It's amazing how technology has made things so much easier. Ten years ago, I can't remember how, but our class president somehow managed to get in touch with a bunch of us to help plan the reunion. Now, since I haven't seen or talked to the class president since the last reunion, and I didn't have her contact info on me, I just googled her! Boom, her e-mail address pops up, and I can just e-mail her. Plus, I find a website, classreport.org, where a bunch of my classmates have already signed up to keep updated.

Some people dread reunions or just don't go because high school wasn't all that special to them. After hearing other people's high school experiences, I feel that I am actually quite lucky. High school was actually a great experience for me, and I realized that it really helped shape the person I am today. I am also grateful for my intermediate and high school experiences because it was what led me to meeting the people who are my closest friends today. While I have met other people after graduation that I am friends with, I know that my oldest friends are the ones that I really feel a special closeness with, even if we only talk to each other once or twice a year. I have classmates where I can not talk to them for years, but when I do talk to them, it's like time never passed at all.

Another reason I am looking forward to my class reunion is seeing the people I never really knew in high school. You know, the ones where you know who they are, but don't think they know who you are? At my last reunion, I was amazed that people in different cliques really did know who I was, and it was interesting to hear people's perceptions of me (most of them thought I was a bookworm -- although I was in advanced placement classes, I was also a slacker!). My 10th year reunion was a chance to get to know people that I didn't really know while we were in school, and also a chance to see how people changed over the years.

Anyway, I'm sure I have bored most of you to death, and promise that my use of this blog to share my innermost feelings will be quite limited. This post was partly a way to procrastinate the continuance of my Alaska trip report, which most of you have probably given up on! Thanks for hanging in there.