Juneau Food

Julia Child once advocated, "The only time to eat diet food is while you are waiting for the steak to cook." Mayhap so, mayhap not so.... But with no disrespect to Julia intended, we took long, hard delicious draws on creamy, thick milkshakes while waiting for the burgers at Hot Bite on a perfect, sunny Saturday afternoon. Red Hat thinks Julia would have approved wholeheartedly. Make mine malted. *Chocolate* malted.

My friend had vanilla. You know, there are after all only two kinds of people in the world. The ones who will delve into the Hot Bite burger’n’shake expierence with both hands and napkins be damned, and the other kind. We, both being of the former, got matching angus burgers topped with cheddar and roasted green chilies. Red Hat withheld the guacamole. Eliasthewonderdog got whatever landed under the table, plus what friendly children offered. The eagles got the rest, keeping careful watch over the Auke Bay Marina parking lot where the feasting takes place outside this Juneau institution. Just breathing the air around there wells up a mouthful of drool. Adventurous diners around us at the umbrellaed picnic tables dove into piles of fries, onion rings, and the extra special buffalo patties with relish. Or mustard. All the fixings. No holds barred. There were no unhappy faces. Were there any clean ones?

If you have not visited Hot Bite, hope for some more pretty weather this summer even though it might not be the best thing for the plants and (wild, live) animals. There is ample indoor seating at the ‘new’ Hot Bite (which used to be just a burger shack in the lot but has expanded into larger quarters) but the real experience is outside, close to the water, watching the eagles watch you back, seeing your friends pulling in on their way out, or coming up the ramp loaded down with something fresh to smoke, or just coming to place an order and find a table. The drawback? Prices seem a little high. It’s Juneau, after all. And while the menu is mostly burgers with some other grill items and sandwiches thrown in, it’s never fast food at Hot Bite. But with good weather, exciting possibilities to discuss, and shakes like that, a liesurely wait can hardly be considered a problem. Just a perfect excuse to indulge. (ha ha, Jason ;p)

Oh and don’t forget, June 19th is National Martini Day. Please hoist one for Red Hat, who unfortunately will be in no position to honor this holiday when it comes. And tell all about it....

It feels like forever since I started the tour, and indeed it's been a while filled with treats like Haines Spruce Tip and other delights all different from the ever-refreshing martini, but Red Hat got a move on to the Imperial this evening for Stop # 2 of the Martini Tour.

The place gets ten points for ambiance on a sunny, breezy evening such as this. A perch in the window allowed lots of fresh air, a great view of the Scene on Front and a nice place to greet friendly passers by. The mile-long bar started out crowded but not too smokey. In time, the excitement in back built up 'til the Thursday night salsa dancing began, thinning out the corridor but filling up the floor. Everyone seemed to be having a good time.

Everyone except, perhaps, the bartender. It took a long, long time to place an order. She was digging out from under a sudden influx of customers, and it did not help her to have to get from one end of the bar to the other. But, to her credit, she got the drink order right the first time even with Red Hat's somewhat unconventional favorite. That being the Stoli extra dry double twist no olive lots of bitters drink of choice. There didn't seem to be much time for flamboyance or even flare in assembly. The glass, one of the short stubby kind that don't make for dramatic presentation that stemware brings, was properly chilled with ice water before filling though. The drink itself was not especially ample, but neither was it terribly expensive. The twists, plebian but there were two and they were lemon. And this baby was loaded with bitters. I mean loaded. Pink? It bordered on brown. So I got what I asked for, and it was a well-made and refreshing salute to a beautiful Juneau day.

Did Red Hat go to Pelmeni afterward? Sure... did I actually eat some? Maybe next time. This time I just watched my companion happily plow through an order of 'meat' dumplings, all coated with curry powder and cilantro and dipped each one in sour cream, rye bread mopping up the hot, tangy sauce. There were some pretty bizarre tunes on the table. The conversation was not about the food, and that's all I remember.

I might as well have had another one of those tasty martinis, right? Definitely, next time...