Talkeetna

Travelers' Takes

Rates and Deals

Base Camp Bistro

More Photos
stvchin
stvchin
First Reviewer
5 out of 5
Avg. Member Rating
1
Review
9
Photos
Editor Pick

Base Camp Bistro restaurant in the Talkeetna Alaskan Lodge

  • September 14, 2009
  • Rated 5 of 5 by stvchin from Tustin, California
Base Camp Bistro restaurant in the Talkeetna Alaskan Lodge

Base Camp Bistro is one of two restaurants located inside the Talkeetna Alaskan Lodge. The Foraker Room is the other, more formal, higher end restaurant. Base Camp Bistro is more of a casual dining restaurant, although the food there is nothing short of gourmet.

We ate twice at Base Camp Bistro. Our first time was for breakfast. We wandered in at 7 AM, and there were only a few tables occupied. I think that guests at the Talkeetna Alaskan Lodge end up sleeping later and waking up later due to the fact the sun sets quite late here out in the summertime, and 10 PM feels like 5 PM anywhere else in the continental US. We were greeted at the door by friendly staff, who seated us at whatever table we wanted. We chose a table near the windows, which look past the Talkeetna Alaskan Lodge’s outdoor viewing deck towards Mt. McKinley. You can see Mt. McKinley from most of the tables here. In the back of the room, furthest away from the windows, the dining area is elevated to offer guests in the back a view as well. The dining area is very spacious with high ceilings and lots of natural light from the windows. There are framed displays of various things, from dog sled race numbers, to old historic Alaskan photos. There are a few paintings of Mt. McKinley, and it’s interesting to view them and compare the paintings to the real thing, seen just out the windows.

The breakfast menu features basics such as toast, eggs, oatmeal, and bacon, but also unique combinations, each named after one of the major mountains on the Alaska Range, with the largest obviously named McKinley Steak and Eggs. My cousin ordered the Alaskan Range breakfast, and a side of oatmeal. I ordered the Hunter smoked salmon hash, named after Mt. Hunter at 14,573 feet tall, and a side of toast. In chatting with our server, he confirmed our thoughts, and said most hotel guests come to breakfast a few hours later.

Our entrees arrived quickly, since there weren’t that many other customers at that time. My cousin’s Alaskan Range breakfast consisted of two eggs, he chose sunny side up, toasted rye bread, herbed breakfast potatoes, and choice of three sausage links or bacon, and he chose sausage. It’s already a very hearty meal without the side of oatmeal. He liked his breakfast and gobbled it all up, including the oatmeal. My Hunter smoked salmon hash is flaked smoked salmon, a poached egg, and a hash cake, topped with fresh spinach and a creamy hollandaise sauce. It’s very rich, and has that nice smoky flavor from the salmon.

Breakfast at Base Camp Bistro wasn’t exactly cheap, it was $34 before tip. The prices aren’t much different than any other hotel restaurant prices, but the food was very good and a welcome change from conventional breakfasts.

We returned to Base Camp Bistro later in the day for dinner. We were greeted my friendly servers again who seated us in the rear of the dining area. This time, the dining room was nearly full. The dinner menu featured a lot of fresh, locally grown salads and vegetable appetizers, as well as seafood, steaks, and burgers. The produce in Alaska grows much larger than normal due to the abundance of sunlight, so a lot of dishes on the menu featured local produce. We saw a server bring a wedge salad to a nearby table. A wedge salad is a quarter of a head of iceberg lettuce with other vegetables and toppings and usually serves one. This wedge must have been cut from a head of lettuce about 12-15 inches in diameter and probably fed 2-3 people.

Our server brought out our drinks and took our orders. We decided against ordering salads with giant vegetables that would fill us up too early. We ordered crab cakes for an appetizer, and my cousin ordered the daily special, which was an aged and smoked ribeye steak. I ordered the beer braised short ribs.

Our appetizer was brought out first. The crab cake appetizer is a rectangular dish displaying three spherical crab and avocado cakes topped with sweet corn relish and smoked paprika oil. Although deep fried, you could tell the crab was fresh. The sweet corn relish and paprika oil could have made a salad in itself, as we found ourselves slowly eating the leftover corn relish as we awaited our entrees.

My cousin’s entrée was the chef’s special, the smoked ribeye. The server said that dish was actually a regular menu item in the Foraker Restaurant, the Base Camp Bistro’s higher end sister restaurant. We all chuckled at this revelation. The server said the ribeye was dry smoked, then aged for fifteen days before being grilled. My cousin said the ribeye was phenomenal. The fat on the steak had shrunk during the aging and slightly pulled away from the bone, the meat was more tender and the smoky mesquite flavor was excellent. It was served with mashed Yukon potatoes and asparagus shoots. My dish was the beer braised short ribs, which were two beef short ribs that were braised in a beer, whereas I’ve usually had them braised in red wine. I could tell the slight taste difference due to the beer, as the beef and accompanying sauce were a little more savory and slightly sweeter than if they were braised with wine. The beef was easy to tear off the short rib using the fork alone. The dish came with mashed Yukon potatoes, which are a bit more yellow than russet potatoes, and asparagus shoots.

We had no room for dessert, so we asked for our bill. The crab cakes were $13, and the beer braised short ribs were a reasonable $18. The smoked and aged ribeye was the most expensive item at $32. Although we splurged on dinner, it was very good. I wouldn’t do this during our entire stay at the Talkeetna Alaskan Lodge, but I would do it again on my next visit. Base Camp Bistro has a good atmosphere, good service, and good food with local ingredients. During the summer it’s daylight almost all the time, so whichever meal you eat at Base Camp Bistro, you can always look our the window and see the spectacular view of Mt. McKinley.

From journal Homecoming to Alaska

Compare Talkeetna Rates

1. Enter travel information

City

2. Select websites to compare rates

Each selected website will open a new window.

Talkeetna Travel Deals