Orso in Alaska

When we were flying across the Pacific Ocean on our way to Japan, our flight had to fly back for one hour to land in Anchorage, Alaska due to a pressure problem in the engine. We never expected to visit Alaska so this was truly an unexpected stopover. We were kinda bummed about having to spend one less day in Japan, but we decided to make the most out of our time in Alaska. The airline gave us a complimentary night stay at the Captain Cook Hotel and gave us a free dinner. The free dinner was pretty terrible with the beef tougher than sandpaper, so we chose to go out on an adventure. Thankfully for my blackberry, we were able to look up the best restaurants in Anchorage. Anchorage is a small city with very few businesses in town. We found that Orso, which is rated as the #4 restaurant in Anchorage, is just two blocks down from our hotel.



When we arrived in Orso, we were surprised to see that it is a busy place with lots of patrons. The ambience is pretty warm and cozy with wooden tables. There is a big fireplace in the middle of the room and a big painting of a polar bear, which is the symbol of Alaska.

For drinks, we ordered the Innocent Sangria, which is cranberry, pomegranate, and blueberry juices with a slice of lemon. We did not want to order any alcoholic drinks since we had to get up early on the next morning for a continuing flight to Japan, so Innocent Sangria is perfect.

For appetizer, we got the special for the night, which is fried Halibut Cheeks in spicy sauce. The Halibut Cheeks was not as tender as we thought it would be, maybe it was a little over fried. The sauce was not very spicy and tastes like salsa. We also ordered the Smoked Salmon Chowder, which has a distinct taste from the salmon bits but is not creamy at all. We definitely prefer the New England Clam Chowder.

For main dish, we got the most famous dish in Alaska, which is the Alaskan King Crab Legs. The Alaskan King Crab Legs was very fresh and was served with butter. We found the king crab meat tastes a little bit like lobster. The challenge is to crack open the shell to eat the meat because the shell is very spiky.

We were glad to have visited this restaurant which is the highlight of the night after a long day getting delayed on the plane.

HOKAT Rating:
85/100

Address:
737 W 5th Avenue, Anchorage Alaska 99501
(907) 222-3232
http://www.orsoalaska.com/