THE MOOSE’S TOOTH
3300 Old Seward Highway, Anchorage, Alaska
Hours: 10:30 a.m.-midnight Monday-Friday; 11 a.m.-midnight Saturday-Sunday
Menu: http://moosestooth.net/menu/
Suitable for: Vegetarians, omnivores
Stay in Anchorage for even just a little while and you’re sure to hear about the Moose’s Tooth, located in “Midtown” (which, to the uninitiated, doesn’t seem like the middle of town in practice). And for good reason: The Moose’s Tooth is one of the most popular restaurants in town, serving up pizzas of all stripes and a bucketful of great craft-brewed beer to boot.
Expect a wait when you arrive, no matter the time of day. It’s popular for a reason: The pizzas are worth the wait – which, incidentally, can range from a few minutes to well more than an hour depending on the day and your party size! But stick it out – maybe enjoy a beer in the interim, or just enjoy the weather outside (provided it’s not the dead of winter!) – and your buzzer will go off in no time.
One of the best parts of the Moose’s Tooth’s menu is that all the meatless pizzas are aggregated together in the Vegetable section, making it easy to parse the different selections. But don’t expect your decision to be simple: There are a plethora of great veggie choices!
The Wild Mushroom is one I go back to again and again. Loaded with portabellas and criminis, plus sundried tomatoes, provolone, mozzarella, goat cheese, and the restaurant’s famous Denali Sauce, it’s a hearty pizza that appeals to mushroom lovers far and wide.
If mushrooms aren’t your thing and you’re looking for some bling (see what I did there?), you could do much worse than The Backpacker, which combines spinach, roasted garlic cloves (which turn just a little bit sweet after roasting), artichoke hearts, sundried tomatoes, and Kalamata olives with mozzarella, provolone, and feta cheese. Topped with just a hint of garlic oil, it’s a wonderfully fresh pizza that combines the tang of olives and artichokes with the smooth garlic cloves and zesty spinach.
It would be a crime to leave the Moose’s Tooth without sampling some of the beers brewed by the restaurant’s sister brewery, Broken Tooth Brewing. Along with a rotating cast of characters – try the Midtown Brown if you can catch it – there’s also a wonderful group of Old Faithfuls that are hallmarks of the brewery. One such choice is the Moonflower ESB, a smooth, barely-bitter selection that has a citrus undertone. Or go with the Fairweather IPA for a bolder, hoppier option – the gold-colored drink offers up a bit of spice to go along with what you’d expect in a good IPA.
Far-flung though it is, if you’re venturing up to Anchorage, you’d be remiss not to visit the Moose’s Tooth while you’re in town. There’s always room for pizza and beer, during sunny summers or dark winters!
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