Last Call: After hitting slopes, warm your insides
Last Call
Published: November 2, 2006
Last Modified: November 3, 2006 at 01:46 PM
Winter is here, which means many people will soon make the drive to Girdwood for a day of skiing or snowboarding at Alyeska Resort.
The perfect way to end a day of wintry activity is to sit your sore, stiff body on a bar stool for an Irish coffee or basket of french fries or even just a heady pint. Girdwood offers plenty of opportunities for that.
There's the upscale but cozy Double Musky Inn, with its Cajun-infused menu and delectable appetizers. There's the laid-back Chair 5 Restaurant, with its juicy cheeseburgers, stocked jukebox and plentiful beer offerings. And at the base of Mount Alyeska, there's the Sitzmark Bar & Grill, where you'll pay a bit more for a bite or brew -- but it's hard to beat that view of the mountain.
Venues for post-slopes decompression aren't limited to Girdwood. You could always pull over in Indian for your end-of-day break.
Indian is a tiny community just off the Seward Highway -- easy to miss except for a long row of leaning mailboxes and the Indian Valley Mine, with its "Pan for gold" sign that lures curious tourists. But the town also has bars rich with Alaska flavor. As a bonus, the Indian House Restaurant and the Brown Bear Saloon are conveniently located within a half-mile of each other.
If you're hungry, your best bet is Indian House, at Mile 103.5 of the Seward Highway. The large log cabin is half restaurant, half bar, with smoking allowed on the pub side. We visited on a recent weekend and found the place nearly empty. A few locals lounged on stools, drinking beers and watching "Deal or No Deal" on the big screen.
The menu has everything from burgers and grilled sandwiches on up to New York steak. Prices are reasonable, and the food is a step above standard roadside diner grub. The bartender told us Indian House often closes about this time of year, but this season is different: They hope to stay open a few more months until taking that winter hiatus. (Its neighbor, the popular and higher-end Turnagain House, also closes in early winter but will reopen in February.) This is good news for hungry travelers.
Just up the road, at Mile 103, sits the Brown Bear Saloon. Step in here and experience an authentic Alaska bar -- in that it's ramshackle, worn and looks like it was built quickly with whatever was lying around. The ceiling is insulated with dollar bills and women's lingerie. A single pool table nearly fills the center of the tiny room.
The Brown Bear crowd is a mix, from bikers in leather and bandanas to Girdwoodians in ear-flapped knit caps and flannel. The bar has eight beers on tap, including Stone IPA and blue-collar fave Pabst Blue Ribbon.
And file away this useful fact: After a night in Indian, if you have a little too much fun and find you can't make that drive back to Anchorage, Brown Bear doubles as a motel.
A bar with beds: What's not to love?
• Contact bar columnist Katie Pesznecker at kpesznecker@adn.com.
