The Alaska Salmon Bake

Living as I do in Alaska, I have to have places I can steer tourists to in the Fairbanks area. One of these is the Salmon Bake, at Pioneer Park (which is a pretty good tourist destination itself.) I’m reviewing it partly because (1) they’re having their season opener this week and (2) OLLI is having a meal there tomorrow, and I’m salivating in anticipation.

At one time they served lunch, and it was a regular Friday hangout for the library group. Alas, those days are over. But I still try to get out there at least once a year.

Apparently they’ve changed the menu this year, replacing the deep fried halibut with Bering Sea cod though the salmon, prime rib, salad bar and desserts remain. The normal menu is all you can eat, which is far too much. The OLLI meal will be only one entrée plus the sides, which I suspect will be more than enough for me!

Part of the mining display. Water cannons were used to wash the thawing muck off of the gold-bearing gravel underneath.

For me it will be the salmon. Salmon up here is almost always good, but the Salmon Bake has a brown-sugar and lime marinade they keep swabbing on the fish over the open alder wood grill. Scrumptious! I have to confess I am so enamored of the salmon I’ve never even tried the other choices, but others are just as passionate about the prime rib and the deep-fried fish.

The salad and dessert bars? Pretty standard. The salad bar normally offers coleslaw, lettuce salad, bean salad, pasta salad, baked beans and of course tartar sauce, while the dessert bar has white or chocolate cake, with wild blueberry sauce.

Everything’s outdoors, though they do have a large (but unheated) indoor seating area in case it rains. Entry can be though Pioneer Park, but they also have an entry though a very dark tunnel that mimics a mine. I can’t recommend that entrance to anyone with poor night vision, though — I have to feel my way.

I remember when Pioneer Park was A67, once taught dog obedience classes in the steamship Nenana, remember an Alaska Science Conference held in the buildings in the Gold Rush Town (historic houses moved from downtown Fairbanks) and regularly attend writers’ group meetings in the Alaskaland Civic Center. (They have an art gallery there, upstairs, where we have our meetings.)

Automated food dispenser (Homecoming Glossary)

AUTOMATED FOOD DISPENSER: #scifi An automatic feeder for an animal or a prisoner.

Synthesizer (Homecoming Glossary)

SYNTHESIZER: #scifi A device that breaks down unwanted materials and then uses the atoms to make needed products. These products may include anything from food or clothing to furniture, but the atomic composition of the products made must match that of the waste material used. (Surplus atoms can be stored, but the input material must contain all the needed atoms.) Luckily most organic materials have a composition overwhelmingly dominated by hydrogen, carbon, oxygen and nitrogen, and it is relatively easy to add small amount of any missing atoms. The synthesizer breakdown on the Bounceabout in Homecoming is a life-threatening emergency.

Frostberries (Homecoming Glossary)

FROSTBERRIES: #scifi Sweet berries native to Riya that require near-freezing nighttime temperatures to ripen properly.

Telana (Homecoming Glossary)

TELANA: A fine-leafed Riyan herb used to add a savory flavor to vegetables.

Summer Festival 2nd week

We didn’t have a meeting today (thank goodness I’ll be able to catch my breath) so I thought I’d go over the activities for afternoons next week, especially as the places for them keep moving around.

Monday, July 26: The afternoon activity today is the Mini Class open to all festival registrants, to be held in 104 Brooks. For those not familiar with the campus, that’s the building between Duckering (the one right next to Bunnell) and the library.

Tuesday, July 27: the afternoon activity is individual conferences with the faculty. You should already have your materials to be critiqued to the faculty; they need time to read them. Check with the faculty member you have signed up with for where to go.

Wednesday, July 28: Nonfiction writer Jennifer Brice will be our guest artist at 1:30.  In the evening, Peggy will moderate a panel of poets (Derick Burleson, Cindy Hardy, and Jeanne Clark) at the Alaska Book Festival. It wasn’t on the sheet, but this is at 7 pm in Schaible Auditorium That’s in the Northeast corner ground floor (2 in elevator) of our building, Bunnell.

Thursday, July 29: Readings by Festival Registrants. This will be held in Schaible—invite your friends and for those on facebook, mention it. Everyone in the class should bring something you’ve written, or something you would like to read aloud by someone else. These will be your parting gifts to the class.

Friday, July 30: Farewell class; roundtable with all writers. This will be back in our regular classroom.

By the way, my garden has gotten badly ahead of me this last week. Prepare to take home some zucchini and possibly beans Monday!

Kikia Fruit (Homecoming Glossary)

KIKIA FRUIT: A Riyan tree fruit with an extremely high water content and a rather bland flavor. It is triangular in shape and rose-pink in color when ripe. Useful primarily as a thirst-quencher.

Kava Pods (Homecoming Glossary)

KAVA PODS: A kind of high-protein Riyan vegetable, eaten while the pods are still green and the enclosed seeds are tender. It can be eaten raw, but is much easier to chew if cooked.

Jagga Root (Homecoming Glossary)

JAGGA ROOT: A crisp Riyan root vegetable with a sweet-sour, slightly nutty flavor, usually eaten raw.

Tika Berries (Homecoming Glossary)

TIKA BERRIES: Thumb-sized Riyan berries, almost black with a purple sheen when ripe, with a strong but pleasant flavor. The bushes are thorny, with star-shaped leaves, and come up readily from seed.