Restaurant: Marx Brother’s Café

Debbie, William and I were staying overnight in Anchorage prior to taking a ship from Anchorage to Vancouver, British Columbia.

The bell captain at the hotel recommended a relatively new restaurant called the 49th Street Brewing Company which was within walking distance. When we got there we found it would be at least a 30 minute wait and looking around it was quite possible that the seating that would be available was not convenient.

We left and while walking back toward the hotel we found what appeared to be a little house with an awning that said Marx Brother’s Café. We decided to give it a try. We soon decided it was a lucky choice.

The main floor is broken up into several rooms like the house it was. There are two tops and four tops scattered around. The back wall is basically glass. It is a pleasant place.

There is seating for 40+ people and the restaurant serves about 60 people a night.

As a starter Will ordered the Garden Salad, Baby greens tossed in hazelnut vinaigrette with roasted tomatoes, toasted Hazelnuts and crumbled Rogue blue cheese.

Debbie and I selected Van’s Caesar Salad, described as their version of the Tijuana classic. The salad was prepared tableside and since it requires a minimum of two people, the salad was prepared from scratch by a preparer who knew his Caesar salads.

For her main course, Debbie chose one of the appetizers, the Neapolitan Seafood Mousse, layers of Maine lobster, smoked salmon and smoked halibut served with toast points, red onion gremolata and American caviar.

For his main course, Will selected the Filet Mignon Seared with port demi-glace, topped with truffle butter and celery root puree.

I ordered the Grilled Kodiak Scallops with Alaska seafood lasagna and coconut-saffron sauce.

We passed on the desserts which were quite enticing, ranging from Chocolate Mousse to Warm Berry Crisp to a Chocolate Coated Walnut Caramel Tart.

Reservations make sense but it is worth taking a chance at the last minute even without a reservation.

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