Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Alaska Where to get a good meal in Fairbanks

My wife and I will be in Fairbanks August 29 and 30th enroute to Denali any suggestions where to get a good meal?

We've been in Fairbanks three times and have eaten at the Chena Pumphouse twice. It is set up in an old restored gold mining shack. The food is very good but not 5-star. The experience, however, makes it worth it. You feel that you have really left the lower 48....

Surprisingly, the clam chowder was as good as any I've eaten in Maine. Don't ask me how that can be?

Have you been to Denali before? I recommend the Nenana River rafting, but only after you've done the extended all-day 7-hr tundra tour. You'll see more dall sheep, moose, caribou, and grizzlys than you've ever seen before. You are certain to fill up your camera's 2 meg card!

I live in FBKS and the best meals I get are at home, just finished copper river red salmon, broccoli with melted cheese over it, and potato wedges, red pepper and onion grilled over an open fire.


as a visitor you'll probably be reco'ed


Turtle Club = Prime Rib, (i'd rather cook my own PR) but I like their prawns and lobster, but their salad bar is my favorite part about TC (we always have our Xmas party there, but for me it's more about the service than the food)

Salmon Bake = Salmon, Halibut, PR,


you already heard Pump house, they've been inconsistent ime, but when good very good though I'd agree with the other poster not 5 star food. When the 5th falls on a Sunday we always have our staff meeting and Sunday brunch there. We moved it up and had it last week, it was good. but nada to write home about

those are the ones that most visitors get reco'ed to.


my very favorite restaurants are in order


Thai House on 5th Ave. (we've actually got about 4-5 good Thai places, but that one is my fave)


Zach's in Sophie Station but I like to eat at the bar


Lavelles downtown in the Springhill Marriot, more like eating in a restaurant you'd find outside instead of the usual Alaskan fare



for a steak I like Los Amigos, it's a Mexican joint but the owner likes steak and usually has good ones available


for Mexican I'd reco Taco Azteca or the joint next door if you want alcohol (weird setup, same food) or Gallo's

for Italian Gambradella's on 2nd ave. nice little place, good food


if you're hungry for regular diner fare I'd vote Hometown restarant on Cushman

Silver Gulch has some good stuff if they've dependable wait staff it's out in Fox by the TC, but the beer is worth going for.

Chinese the best joint is out in North Pole the Pagoda

hope that helps, enjoy your time here, it's a rinky dink town, but a good jumpin off place to get to Alaska


oh and fried chicken, just get however many pieces you want at the local Fred Meyer store, and hit their salad bar, makes a good meal

McDonalds

Brewsters for burgers.

Big Daddy's Barbeque for Ribs.

Randy did a bang up job with everything else.

Sincerely,
Thomas

My fav's are:

Bahn Thai (Sha Sha Duck)
Pagoda (Mongolian Beef)
Big Daddys (Ribs and Pulled Pork)
Lavelles (Meat loaf)

These were always consistently outstanding for us.

dang Harold will be pizzed that I didn't mention Big Daddy's, and it is good food, though I give a slight nod to Mike's ribs out at Sockeye's (used to be Players the ever moving rest. and if that didn't make it hard enough he changed the name too! LOL)


no flies on Bahn Thai, certainly better ambience,and I love the Disco shrimp, but my little girls at Thai House have me spoiled used to be Khew Wan Gai, but now it's the Asparagus Red Curry as my current fave.

"...I live in FBKS and the best meals I get are at home..."

substitute Kodiak for FBKS and you get my recommendation for here.

Clam chowder at the Pumphouse..... I can handle it when I am up there.

forgot to mention....I have had pretty good luck with the restaurant at Captain Bartlett Inn. They usually have two choices for supper....take it or leave it. But the ribeyes were not bad.

thanks looks like several options BBQ ribs and beer...does it get any better than that?

Thats funny. We like Thai house too but when my wife was pregnant we were over at Bahn Thai a few times a week. They knew us by name and the little waiter guy would come over and play guitar for my wife. Come to think of it I dont think we ever had bad Thai food in fairbanks. The place over on chena pump was good too, I just cant remember the name.

We spent the month of July,1995 in AK in a motorhome. One of our Fairbanks memories was the Salmon Bake/Halibut lunch at Alaskaland. You might want to check out Ester Gold Camp, 6mi west of Fairbanks, for an all-you-can-eat crab dinner. The northern light show with music by LeRoy Zimmerman at Ester was one of our highlights (check internet for pics) and the Malamute saloon there has a great show. The three events make a perfect evening, but make reservations. Good luck.

Not any more you won't......the CB closed last winter and never re-opened.

I'll second the Ester Gold Camp and their crab!

Food Factory is one of my favorites.

Back in my single days they had the hottest waitresses too.

Remember the original owner Big Bob?

Lemon grass is the one in Chena Pump Plaza kk


Pad Thai on College Road is good too, along with Siam dishes and hear tell there is a joint out on Goldstream Road near Ann's Greenhouses that serves Thai and is really good. don't know how our little burg supports so many great Thai places


food factory is but a sad memory for me, used to be great when BB ran it and Diane herded the waitstaff

but success went to his head in the form of a white powder from what I hear. last I saw of him he was drivin cab

now that our esteemed legislator took over FF the sandwiches got smaller and the prices got bigger, if you're hungry for a good cheese steak, Oasis would get the nod from my palate

yep Cpt. B. is closed, along with Ester Gold Camp, Rick Winther owns both the Salmon bake and the E. GC, but closed EGC down a year or two ago


places come and places go, but I still manage to get fatter

If your the kind of guy that really enjoys "Prime Steaks" don't have the prime rib at the turtle. Save your money and have an MRE instead it'll taste better.

I ate at the Chena Pump House in April when I was up there. I thought it was pretty good.

for you boys that have partaken of food and libation in FBKS, it might interest you to know that soon the Big I is to be no mo.


originally the plan was to save it, but it's fallen casualty to the new Cushman Bridge, along with Sampsons hdwe. and Don Bennets barbershop.

all 3 were landmarks in their own right and will be missed by those that remember old FBKS fondly