Phone: (907) 783-2822 http://www.doublemuskyinn.com/

 

So, when it is close to a couple of guys’ birthdays, what do they do? How about going out and celebrating? It has almost become a tradition that when I am in Alaska I go out to celebrate with good buddy Larry Tower whose birthday is close to mine. Two birthday celebrations for the cost of one! And that tradition has come to include a visit to the Double Musky Restaurant in Girdwood, Alaska.

Girdwood, an hour’s drive east along the Turnagain Arm from Anchorage, is a sleepy little village in the summer most of the summer with the possible exception 0f a folk festival. But in the winter the world-class Alyeska Ski Resort becomes active hosting skiers from around the world and the village of Girdwood becomes a bustling beehive of activity. The original Double Musky was an après ski hangout and I am told that patrons could purchase cuts of meat from the counter and then grill their own steaks in the large fireplace pit. The restaurant has gone through several hands over the years and the present owners have operated it for many years. They have brought their own traditions and the menu would be at home in a Louisiana bayou with its strong Cajun influence.

If you are ever in Alaska, winter or summer, and you want a special meal, give the Musky a try. I’m sure you’ll enjoy it. It has been featured by several television food pendants and given rave revues. The Anchorage Daily News has labeled it “Alaska’s favorite restaurant.” Before you make trip to Girdwood, call or check their website. They close up shop for vacation, are closed one day a week, and they occasionally close to the public for special events or functions. They open at 4:30PM but do not accept reservations. It is first come, first serve. Larry and I usually plan on arriving a bit before they open and when the line starts to form at the door we join in so we can have a choice of seating. Our preference is a table by the window where we could watch the pretty flowers in the garden and judge our stay by the lengthening shadows of evening darkening the forest glade across the street. As chance would have it, we had the same table as we did on our last visit way back in 2009. The furnishings are the same as is their unique decorating kitsch; serving trays cover the ceiling and advertizing mirrors, coasters and posters seem to cover every available wall space.

Our server recited off the list of specials of the day. We perused the menu wondering about all the good things offered. That was all an exercise of going through the motions because we really knew, deep down, that we had come for the 16-ounce pepper steak that has made The Double Musky famous. It is a big steak, very filling, so we passed on the offer of appetizers and ordered our entrees. We both ordered them cooked medium, a hot pink center, with the burgundy sauce on the side. Our salads, a plate of crispy mixed greens with some shreds of carrot and some crunchy croutons, helped to fill the time while our steaks were on the grill. Larry ordered his with vinaigrette and I ordered Thousand Island. The salad was excellent, the lettuce fresh and the freshly baked rolls made for a pleasant interlude while waiting. We talked about the weather and the other vagaries of living in The Last Frontier.

At long last our steaks arrived. As ordered, they were cooked medium, the sauce on the side. As a side Larry ordered a baked potato, loaded, with butter, sour cream and chives (they were really sliced scallions). I love baked potatoes loaded like that but on this occasion I ordered the steamed vegetables. The steak was delicious. It was not as tender as I remember the last one. That is not to say it was bad. It would have been primo anywhere else, just not quite as good as my previous tasting. On the other hand, the burgundy sauce was much better than I remember (that’s why I order it on the side); a satisfactory trade off. The steamed vegetable medley was a mixture of broccoli, cauliflower and carrots. It was bright, appetizing and cooked just right; a bit of crunch but certainly not mushy or overcooked. I had just a little of my steak left and asked the server for a take-home container. I had visions of a wonderful breakfast the next day; pepper steak hash and eggs. Larry, who usually doesn’t quite finish his steak, had no trouble finishing off his steak and baked potato in a handy manner. I guess he’ll just have to settle for some breakfast cereal tomorrow.

Sated, replete, lazily we were deciding if we were going to have a cup of coffee before the long drive back to town. That’s when our server arrived with the dessert tray. My thoughts were, “Oh, I’m so full but that looks so good!” We both hemmed and hawed for a few seconds before the mantra of “nothing succeeds like excess” came to mind. Feeling really stuffed, I chose a lighter dessert, a crème Brule. An interesting note: the server carried a tray with all the desserts. When we chose, she gave us that exact, picture perfect dish; not to take the order and return later with a hopefully similar dessert. I already had eaten two bites before I remembered to take my picture. Larry’s order was am high-calorie pastry he will be working off for a week at least. It was a layered cake of spice cake, cream filling and chocolate cake. The pieces were frosted after being cut so the frosting oozed over the sides and it was topped with a very ample serving of chopped nuts. Did he enjoy it? Let us just say that he cleaned his plate down to the last crumb.

 

As usual, The Double Musky provided us with an excellent meal, one that bade us to return and again savor

the delights of the pepper steak. I suppose that the best accolade one can give a restaurant is, “I shall return.” But more than that, this outing was with a dear friend of many years whom circumstance has separated from us by many thousands of miles and of late allowed only a visit every other year or so. It was an excellent opportunity to chat, renew the bonds of friendship and to celebrate one of the

keynote events of the year, our birthdays. I have my wife, Janis, to thank for this wonderful day out. She arranged the affair from afar away; on this journey to Alaska she had to remain in Florida. It was a sip of coffee in silent toast of thanks to a loved far away who had provided the other Larry and I with a most wonderful and enjoyable day.