Sunday, July 14, 2013
The Bake Shop - Girdwood, Alaska Revisit July 13, 2012
The Bake Shop – Girdwood, Alaska
On my very first trip to Alaska the Bake Shop in Girdwood
was a stop on a sightseeing bus tour. It has been a favorite place since then
and it is one of the places that I have to take first time visitors to Alaska.
It is a small store in the oldest Alyeska Ski Resort building. It certainly
isn’t fancy or even spacious. During the busy ski season the customers are
lined up waiting to get in and those with food are taking seats at the outdoor
picnic tables. Most of my visits have been during the off season, the summer
time, and usually only a short wait is needed.
The usual cloudy, overcast and often rainy skies cast a gray
pall over Girdwood in the summer. To
counter the gloom the Bake Shop decorates with flowers. Large planters overflow
with vibrant red, pink, white, gold and yellow blooms making a cheery sight.
Considering the size of the planters at least a lift gate truck would be needed
to move the planter boxes to greenhouse winter storage and back; all in all a
significant effort.
As its name would imply, the Bake Shop makes bread and other
baked goods. The giant-sized sweet roll and the sourdough buns are the best
examples. The sourdough, the buns and the take-home bread, are famous. The
sourdough starter dates back almost a hundred years. The buns, like little
round sheepherder breads, have a tough crispy crust with fragrant sourdough
bread on the inside. When hot from the oven, sliced and slathered with butter
and then paired with the soup of the day it is a meal to be to be desired.
During the summer of 2012 I had the pleasure of hosting my
sister, Pattie Sue and her son, Ron. Sister has been to Alaska several times
and knows the ropes, seen most of the sights. This was nephew Ron’s first visit
and, among other things, it called for a trip to the Bake Shop in Girdwood,
Alaska. It was to be an auto sightseeing tour day, covering great distances,
but we planned it to be in Girdwood come lunch time. It all worked out well;
hunger and destination converged.
The parking lot was moderately full. That was not surprising
as summer sight-seeing tourists and winter time ski fans alike all frequent the
Bake Shop; even tour busses stop there.
The menu is in very large print on the wall. You place your order at the
counter and then look for a place to sit. Luck was with us and a table was
vacant and we took seats on the pew benches to await our order. When your order
is ready, they call your name and you pick it up at the counter.
Sister Pattie Sue ordered the grilled cheese on sourdough
bread ($5.75 She
selected Havarti from a choice of Cheddar, Swiss and Havarti). The sandwich was made with nice thick slices of freshly baked
sourdough bread, well toasted to a golden brown and filled with a copious amount
of cheese. The sandwich is served with an orange slice twist and some dill
pickle chips. Pattie said the sandwich was excellent, the cheese hot and
melted, the bread delicious sourdough. That
may be a bit of a biased appraisal as she has learned to love the sourdough
bread from the bake shop. The starter
used in the Bake Shop is about 100 years old. If you bring in a suitable
container and ask nicely, they will give you a sample of the starter to take
home and make your own sourdough mix. On each trip to Alaska she has procured a
sample of the sourdough to take back to Idaho. Small batches of starter used in
home bread baking can change in flavor over time and Pattie takes advantage of
the Bake Shop’s generosity to renew her supply and guarantee that Bake Shop
flavor at home.
Nephew Ron and I both ordered the same thing, the soup of
the day and bun and butter. (Soup $6.25, Bun and butter $2.50) The soup of the
day was clam chowder. The serving was a
nice big bowl garnished with some fresh chopped parsley. The broth was thick
and creamy with lots of clams and potatoes; a hearty soup with great flavor. At
$6.60 a bowl the price may seem high but remember this is Alaska and Girdwood
is halfway to the end of the road. However, although it doesn’t say it anywhere
on the menu, the policy of the Bake Shop is to refill your bowl without charge
in which case the cost per bowl is less than in the Lower Forty Eight States.
The bun is more like a small loaf of round bread, about
4-inches in diameter. The Bake Shop heats them, slices them through and
slathers them with butter. The skin is
tough as with most sourdough but the bread inside is tender with a wonderful
sourdough aroma and a distinctive Girdwood flavor. A couple of bowls of soup
(and the soup of the day changes every day) and a buttered bun are a filling
and hearty meal and you feel prepared to tackle the rest of the day even in
cold, overcast and rainy weather. It is no wonder why it is such a popular
place during the ski season. Should you be fortunate enough to be in Girdwood
during any season, take the time to have a meal at the Bake Shop. You will be
glad that you did.
Labels: Alaska, Alyeska, Bake Shop, bread, bun, cheese, clam chowder, girdwood, soup, sourdough, starter
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