Anchorage Museum

Yesterday I went to the Anchorage Museum where I wandered around learning more about the state and its culture.

 I was greeted at the entrance by this........young lady......:P

So the guy that wore these boots walked 353 miles in these things!! See below:

Woolly Mammoth Tusk: 

Many different tools used by The Eskimos:

If you look on the little whale, you can see he lines where they would 

section off the meat. 

Russian Blockhouse: See Below 

 Umiak: See Below

A bowl used by Shaman's

Different masks and tools used by them as well: See Below

Cool looking plate!

 More masks.

 Weapons for whale hunting and means of travel.

 On the left are different types of pipes carved from walrus tusk.

 Harpoons for hunting as well as two ivory carvings. 

Huge pot used to cook down whale blubber for oil.

Napkin Rings made of ivory.

 Cribbage board made of ivory.

They made just about anything out of ivory!

All you really needed to strike it rich: See Below

Juneau, ca. 1900

 Ruby 1912

 Golden City on Pedro Creek near Fairbanks 1905.

Piece of the Alaskan Pipeline.

I'm a huge fan of masks and they had a whole exhibit just on them!

Each mask has it's own meaning.

Anchorage

So I only had one full day in Anchorage as I arrived yesterday mid afternoon. By the time I got to the hotel, settled in, and grabbed the rental car the day was about done. My idea was to start fresh today bright and early however.........I neglected to take into consideration that right now Alaska gets very little sunlight. The sun doesn't rise till about 10 am and sets around 4:30 pm everyday. It never really gets more then 20% above the horizon either, so it always seems like sunrise......or sunset depending on how you look at it. Since starting early wasn't an option, I decided to grab some breakfast first.

I'm staying at a Comfort Inn here in Anchorage. As I left this morning, I felt that the hotel hallway had a very "Danny Torrance riding around on a hot wheel, come play with us forever" feel........

I stopped off at a little breakfast place called Snow City Cafe. Nothing special about it-blueberry pancake, reindeer sausage(strangely plastic in texture), and over easy eggs. I did however get something called a Sludge Cup-equal parts coffee and espresso! Kept me going most of the day!

It was recommended to me to take a drive 45 minutes out of town toward the town of Girdwood. The drive was beautiful as it follows along Cook Inlet which branches off into what is called Turnagain Arm. 

 Along the way these type of signs pop up every few miles.

 And you can see why. Small little avalanches are all over the road.

I love this picture!!

Along the entire stretch of drive, a railroad track follows along the inlet. I stopped off at one point and was treated to the machine that makes railroad tracks!

 Last but not least, a small video I took when I stopped along the road. Super windy today as you can hear!!

The French Laundry

So it's been awhile since my last post. Work has pretty much consumed most of my time through the holidays but this past Friday was my last day. Nothing lined up, going to take a month or two off and then start looking. In the meantime, I have a trip to Alaska coming up on Thursday for a week which is going to be really cool. Also Andi and I went to The French Laundry last night for our 3 year wedding anniversary and to celebrate me leaving my job. I know that last one is a weird thing to celebrate but trust me it was worth it! So I'm pretty sure anyone reading this know who Thomas Keller is and what The French Laundry is all about. If not, click on the links to become educated. He's one of the top chef's in the world and it took us 2 months to get a reservation. The day I called they had one reservation left for 2 at 8:45 pm and I scooped it up!

The moment you enter you are instantly treated like family. Your greeted by several different people asking how you are, if they can get you anything while you wait, is there anything they can do to make you more comfortable. We were seated quite quickly where are napkins where held in place by a cloth pin with "French Laundry" printed on it. 

There are two different menu's you get to chose from: chef's tasting or tasting of vegetables. Each tasting runs $295 however you can supplement a different more expensive choice for an up charge. Both looked amazing but in the end we went for the chef's tasting. I supplemented the Japanese Wagyu beef for the lamb for $100 more.

We were started of with a canape of smoked salmon tar tar with cream cheese inside of a sesame seed tuile.  In the back we were also give two small gougere which is made with pate a choux dough.  

My first course was "Oysters and Pearls"-"Sabayon" of Pearl Tapioca with Island Creek Oysters and White Sturgeon Caviar.

 

Andi, who can't have raw shellfish, was supplemented with their version of "French Onion Soup"- Caramelized Vidalia Onions, Brioche Croutons, Aged Comte, Sweet Onion "Chiffon" and Black Winter Truffle.

We were then treated to bread and butter. Both butters came from Vermont: salted on the right, unsalted on the left. 

Don't remember the name of this roll, it had a little hint of cheese on top. 

 Pretzel

 Baguette

Sourdough. All of their breads are baked and delivered three times a day from his bakery Bouchon about a five minute walk from the restaurant. 

Salad of Hawaiian Hearts of Peach Palm-Musquee de Provence Pumpkin, Asian Pears, Toasted Pepitas, Preserved Walnut Puree and Komatsuna

Scallop-"Pommes Puree," Compressed Sour Apple, Crispy Kale and "Sauce Bordelaise"

Sweet Butter-Poached Trout-Petite Fennel, Garden Radishes, Arugula, and "Sauce Maltaise" 

Veal-Applewood-Smoked Bacon, Satsuma Mandarins, Celery Branch, Celery Root Puree and Piedmont Hazelnut Vinaigrette

Herb-Roasted Elysian Fields Farm Lamb-Tokyo Turnips, Mokum Carrots, Black Trumpet Mushrooms, Sunflower Sprouts, and "Sauce Navarin"

Charcoal-Grilled Japanese Wagyu-"Sauerkraut" Dumpling, Roasted Ruby Beets, Brussels Sprouts, Watercress, "Sauce Raifort"

 Andante Dairy "Legato"-Cope's Corn Beignet, Honey-Poached Cranberries, Caramelized Cipollini Onions and Swiss Chard Leaves

After ALL of that.......now came dessert! From here on out I'm going by memory. I got a cappuccino and we were both given a Meringue of Tangerine with Shortbread, Preserved Lemons, and Candied Orange.

 Bourbon Maple Ice Cream with Toasted Hazelnuts

 Chocolate, Pistacio, Salt

 They brought out a huge case filled with different Truffles that we could try.
 I chose S'Mores.

"Expresso" Semifreddo, Chocolate Dusted Macadamia Nuts, Orange and Mint Macaron's, and Beignet's.

 We were given a small box of short breads to take home.

 A small note from Thomas Keller about Bocuse d'Or came with the bill.

How many names do you know?!? :P

When all was said and done..........worth every penny!!