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We've compiled the best of the best in Mat-Su Valley and Beyond - browse our top choices for the top things to see or do during your stay.
Hearty fare fills the menu at this diner-style café, including homemade pies, juicy burgers, burritos, pasta dishes, and pizzas turned out of a wood-fired oven. The owner describes the decor as "Alaska minimalist," but the booths are plush and comfortable, and hand-rubbed wood is evident.
Like every good brewery, Denali Brewing Company has a large outdoor porch for sunny days, and a menu of savory items to soak up the beer. Burgers, fish-and-chips, and a host of appetizers pack their menu. Denali Brewing is also home to Alaska Meadery, Alaska Ciderworks, and Denali Spirits.
With a menu that ebbs and flows with the seasons yet consistently delivers fantastic dishes, The Grape Tap is lauded by most as the top upscale dining experience in town. This 60-seat restaurant and European wine cellar is set in a 1930s pioneer home that's been renovated with contemporary colors and style. Reservations are highly recommended.
A rarity in the 49th State, this colorfully decorated newcomer to downtown Talkeetna specializes in Southern cuisine, although with a nod to Alaska. The addictive crab hushpuppies feature locally sourced barley, cornmeal, and crab, and among the mains, the rich scallops and grits, seafood gumbo pie, and smoked-wild-mushroom hoppin' John all feature Alaskan ingredients. Save room for the rotating array of pies and cobblers.
Located downtown Wasilla in the old clock tower, Meta & Rose serves gastropub fare from an eclectic menu, including brie-and-pear salads, chicken-fried chicken, lemon-garlic halibut, and rib-eye steaks. On the weekends, they host live music. Reservations are recommended.
Flatbreads, pizzas, calzones, and an excellent array of salads and garlic-filled dishes are the reasons locals congregate at this laid-back downtown eatery all year long. The calzones are true works of art.
A favorite meeting place in the old train depot, Palmer City echoes with the sound of local chatter. It has a great ambience, and the standard pub fare—salads, tacos, pizzas baked in a firebrick oven, and handmade burgers—is reliably good. With more than 40 beers on tap and crafty craft cocktails, there's enough libation diversity to suit just about every taste. The Alehouse hosts live music in the summer months.
Originally a large purple bus parked next to the gas station at the town's crossroads, this window-service eatery is by far the best eatery in town. It serves fresh vegetables and delightfully spicy dishes (ask for a side of the spicy sauce, if you're a fan of heat).
