Here There and Everywhere

“Perfect!” The Bridge Restaurant in Anchorage

Language changes, and usage changes, and one of the differences I heard on this trip was an increasing use of the word “Perfect!”

We had eaten at Mooses Tooth (see below) and we wanted to change up the pace for our last night in Anchorage, finishing with really really good seafood in Anchorage. We decided on The Bridge, and we decided to make reservations.

“I’d like a reservation for two at seven o-clock” I said and the lady taking the reservation said “Perfect!”

She asked our name and I told her and she said “Perfect!”

Our name is perfect? That we gave her our name is perfect? That she wrote it down perfectly?

I told her we would see her at seven and she said . . . well, you can guess what she said:

“PERFECT!”

It took us a missed exit and some driving around to actually find The Bridge, and oh, what fun. It is in the downtown most part of downtown Anchorage, on the banks of the river, spanning the river.

There are a lot of parking lots with limited parking, limited to like two hours because they have so many people wanting to fish in this river. At seven at night, this river was PACKED. The river was packed with people, fishing! They had gorgeous weather, and the fish were biting.

This is the kitchen at The Bridge:

And this is a view of a part of the interior. There are a variety of seating areas; this area was for those who had reservations. There was seating on a patio, but this is a very brightly lit place on a hot, sunshiney day, and I am glad to be inside, out of the hot sun, hot sun at seven at night – it’s the equinox.

We loved this restaurant, and while we had many wonderful experiences on this trip, this would be one of my first choices going back. It’s a little off the beaten trail, (although we saw two tables of eight reserved for Orvis fisherpeople) and the people who worked there seemed to really love working there. At least half of the people were from Anchorage.

We ordered the Smoked Salmon Pate, not realizing we would also get more pate with our bread. The Bridge is like that; it gives you more than you expect. Sorry for the high contrast photos; there is a lot of bright sun I am working with here.

AdventureMan also ordered crab legs, not realizing they came on the appetizer buffet you get with the full meal, which we ordered. We ordered too much food for our last night in Anchorage, when it didn’t make sense to take food back with us.

The Bridge has a fabulous appetizer buffet.

For his main course, AdventureMan had the grilled halibut, which he says was the best on his entire trip:

And I could not resist ordering The Bridge’s Alaska Cioppino – I am a sucker for Cioppino, and this was exquisite.

They also had rhubarb crisp as a dessert, but I could not even think about eating another bite. Next time I hit The Bridge, I will start with the Rhubarb Crisp 🙂

The Bridge is only open for the summer season. It is a total WOW.

It was (you guessed it!) “PERFECT!”

July 21, 2014 - Posted by intlxpatr | Alaska, Cooking, Customer Service, Eating Out, ExPat Life, Food, Living Conditions, Restaurant, Road Trips, Travel, Weather | AK, Anchorage, The Bridge