We often travel to eat, and I know that I can't expect a whole lot during our month in Alaska this summer, other than salmon, halibut, and steaks or prime rib, and our stays at Wilderness Lodges will be taken care of. But any comments for some special meals? In Fairbanks for a big birthday, which is better, The Pump House or Two Rivers Lodge?
Fourth of July night in Anchorage: Marx Brothers, Jen's, or Simon and Seafort's?
Three nights in Juneau -- any suggestions?

Patrick,
I never ate at the restaurants you mentioned, but want to mention one worth considering. It is the Seven Glaciers Restaurant outside of Anchorage in Girdwood. It is located on the top of the mountain of the Alyeska ski resort. You get there by cable car from the resort- an extremely photogenic ride as the name suggests. It is pricey, but the food was the best I had while in Alaska. (I have to say that is not saying much, but this restaurant was excellent.) Staff was extremely accomodating, food was delicious. It is about a forty minute drive outside of Anchorage, but the views along the highway along Turnagain Arm are spectacular.

We too, liked The Seven Glaciers, although it's a bit on the formal side. Great bar, though. I was disappointed with Marx Bros. but perhaps due to what I ordered. My husb's entree looked much better. Nice location, though. Didn't try Jens, but found a couple of little bistro type restaurants that were surprisingly good. For casual, we liked the Moose's Tooth micro-brewery, or it could have been the Bear's. At any rate it's the one in the reconverted movie theater. Also, the City Market has great deli take-out, and the lunch at the Anchorage Museum was very pleasant.

The best way to locate an outstanding restaurant, lodge, charter or tourist attraction in the "Great Land" is to visit the best Alaskan web site going! It's AlaskaSearch.com, where you will find copious data on every aspect of what the very best have to offer you in Alaska. http://www.alaskasearch.com is your link, especially if you are planning a visit this year. Check out the great food and dining establishments listed there and spend some time surfing some really terrific Alaskan web sites. I have lived in Alaska for over ten years and there are so many, I couldn't name them in this short message. All the major cities and many outlying lodges and resorts are known for outstanding food and dining establishments. We love the Cajun food
at "the last great American roadhouse," the Double Musky Inn, in Girdwood "where
preparing good food takes time and patience." And, while there, pay a visit to the Chair 5 Restaurant, especially if you're a beer lover. The variety on tap will blow you away! See http://www.girdwoodalaska.com/

Thanks, Tom and Kalena. Actually Seven Glaciers is already on the short list as we are spending one night at the Alyeska Resort. (We tried for two in November for a July stay, but took the only single night we could get.)
As for Big Bill's suggestion of the Alaska Search web site -- do you work for them? All I did was go to it and bring up dining and food in Fairbanks and find two listings total -- Domino's pizza and the Golden Nugget Hotel. Sorry this web site is of absolutely no use to me!!!!

Patrick: Perhaps you'll have time in Fairbanks to check out "Chena's Fine Dining" at the River's Edge Resorts, 4200 Boat Street. Or "Felix's old-time Alaskan cook house" at the Westmark Fairbanks Inn, 1521 S Cushman, to your liking. While in Anchorage, you will find "Gwennies Old Alaskan Restaurant," 4333 Spenard Road, a must visit and interesting place, plus gourmet meals.
The "Solstice Cafe" at Westmark Anchorage, 720 West 5th Avenue, is another restaurant offering excellent fare. In Juneau, you might try the "Breakwater Inn Restaurant and Lounge," 1711 Glacier Avenue, or the "Gold Room" at Westmark Baranof, 127 North Franklin. We have found Simon and Seafort's in Anchorage well worth the visit, as well. Of course there are many more, but our favorite remains the Double Muskey Inn in Girdwood. Cheers.

Hi Patrick,
The best meal we had during our trip in Alaska was in the Two Rivers Lodge. It took about a half hour to drive there from Fairbanks on a bad road but it was worthy. Place was charming with a great service and you could take a walk outside among many flowers. But it was five-six years ago. We are going back this July and will definietly go back. Hope that food, atmosphere, service and souroundings remained the same.
Last week we made a reservation for three nights in Alyeska Resort in Girdwood. They told us at that moment they had 40% availability. And prices are really good. Relatively speaking because this place is expensive. If you still thinking about staying there for more than one night I would check again. We are planning on having one dinner at the Seven Glacier too. Also we had two dinners at the Turnagain House which is a restaurant between Anchorage and Girdwood. This place was very busy with a great good food and very, very attentive service with the owner keeping an eye on everything. We couldn't get reservation there for our last night in Anchorage. We will go back there this July but will call them before we leave for our trip. Have a great trip.

OK, I can't restrain myself from butting into this conversation. I can't really comment on Fairbanks, but have lived in or around Anchorage for 27 years, and am a complete food-a-holic. Here's my comments on the mentioned restaurants:
Marx Brothers: Pricy. I've had many many excellent meals here and one disappointment that I blamed on myself for ordering poorly. It is in a small renovated house downtown, and generally the owners go out of their way to make sure you have a good experience. Nice wine list.
Jen's: Male over-the-hill yuppie hang-out in the bar. I have never been very impressed by the food. Last time I went, the lettuce in my salad was limp and noticably unwashed. There are decent things to order on the menu, but if you're only in Anchorage for a short time, it would not be where I would go.
Simon and Seafort's: Reliable good food, particularly seafood and prime rib, with a nice view. Big servings, tends to have slow service. Good beer and wine lists. Has a varied enough menu that plain eaters and creative eaters will both be happy.
Seven Glaciers: Good food, terrific view. The Alyeska Prince hotel is wonderful. I've stayed there many times, and always been soothed and happy after my stay.
Moose's Tooth/Bear's Tooth: Two versions by same owner. Moose's Tooth has terrific pizza, good microbrewery beer, and is always crowded. Good blackened chicken ceasar salad. Never been disappointed here.
Anchorage Museum Restaurant: I concur that the lunch is always pleasant, and a nice way to rest your feet after a tour of the museum
City Market deli: Agree that it has good take out, and the best cheese and salami section in town.
Double Musky: Like Seven Glaciers, this restaurant is in Girdwood, outside of Anchorage. I really like Double Musky for a fun time, but be careful, the portions are huge. I often order just appetizers, which are the best part of the menu.
Chair 5 restaurant: I would recommend going here unless nothing else is open, not because it is bad, but because there are so many better choices. Chair 5 is just a plain old run of the mill restaurant.
Gwennie's Old Alaskan Restaurant: Filled with Alaskana and has giant breakfasts, but not worth going to except for breafast. A lot of people like it though.
Solstice Cafe at the Westmark: Standard hotel fare.
Turnagain House: Surprisingly good food, and very friendly service. Turnagain House is located a short, but pleasant, drive outside of Anchorage.

Other options besides those mentioned in prior e-mails:
Orso: Downtown Anchorage. Far and away one of the best restaurants in Anchorage. Italian food, plus good Alaska seafood. Formal restaurant in beautiful room. Excellent wine list.
Glacier Brewhouse: Downtown Anchorage, next door to Orso, with the same owner. Good microbeer, excellent food, much more casual than Orso. Good place for lunch, and is usually busy. Reservations are a good idea. Without reservations, you generally can get in if you are willing to sit in the bar area.
CampoBello: Midtown Anchorage. Sort of Italian food, mostly very good. In a strip mall, but it is a very pleasant room.
South Side Bistro: South Anchorage. Sometimes called Little Jens' as it is supposedly owned by Jens' son. Better than Jens' and with a good wine list. Although the food is good, the service is obnoxious. At present, I'm in the "I'll never go there again" stage, but I'll probably go back because the food is good.
Crow's Nest: Downtown in the Captain Cook Hotel on the top floor, with terrific views if you get a window table. The food here is terrific, albeit a little pretentious, however, the prices are outrageous. If you are willing to drop a big pile of money at dinner, and want really good service with good food and a fabulous wine list, here's your place.

There's a lot more, but this is probably too long already.
Anchorage also has a lot of excellent Japanese restaurants and Thai restaurants.

As for Juneau, the Breakwater and the Gold Room have standard hotel fare. Nothing special. A lot of people like the Summit Inn, but I have had bad meal after bad meal there. The Fiddlehead Restaurant, and its upstairs restaurant, have good food. The upstairs restaurant is particularly good; there is a website for the Fiddlehead that shows their menus. I posted another reply about Juneau restaurant, I think under the heading Summit Restaurant?, and I put the website address on that message, so you may want to find that if you want the address.

Thanks for all the suggestions. I think I have more than enough to fill our all too limited time in those cities. Sounds like some potentially better dining than many of my friends have found on their own.

Simon and Seafort's, by all means.