Alaska Guide
Food and local favorites
Where we actually eat, and where to buy food worth cooking.
Food and local favorites
Places we actually use, not a directory. Hours and menus move around up here — worth a check before you head over. At Blodgett Lake especially, the kitchen and the grill are a real part of the stay: provisioning well on the way in is usually a better evening than driving back out for dinner.
- Altura BistroCozihaus FeaturedEat
Midtown Anchorage
Our first suggestion for a genuinely good dinner. Alaska seafood when they have it, polished without being stiff.
A top pick for a nicer dinner
- Kincaid GrillEat
Kincaid Park area
Refined regional Alaska cooking, and just as strong a choice as Altura rather than a fallback.
Our top pick for a nicer dinner
- Glacier BrewhouseEat
Downtown Anchorage
Livelier and more casual — a classic Anchorage evening without the fine-dining formality.
Livelier, more casual pick
- Bear Tooth TheatrepubCozihaus FeaturedEat
Spenard
The neighbourhood favourite. Casual food, beer, and a real Spenard institution.
A local favorite
- Moose's ToothEat
Midtown Anchorage
The Anchorage pizza institution. Very popular — expect a wait at peak times.
Casual pizza · expect a wait
- Fire Island Rustic BakeshopCoffee & bakery
Anchorage
Coffee, pastries, and good bread. An easy first stop on a slow morning.
A good slow-morning stop
- The Rustic GoatEat
Turnagain
Upscale-casual dining in a building built from reclaimed cannery timber, with French and Italian influence.
Polished dining, close to home
- Arctic RoadrunnerEat
Midtown
A classic 1962 burger stand known for salmon burgers and blackberry milkshakes. Cash only.
A real Anchorage burger institution
- Snow City CafeEat
Downtown Anchorage
A popular downtown breakfast and brunch spot since 1998 — best when guests plan ahead for a wait.
Anchorage's classic brunch destination
- Sweet CaribouCoffee & bakery
Midtown Anchorage
A family-run patisserie known for gluten-free Parisian macarons, cupcakes, and weekday lunch bowls.
Midtown's lighter, sweeter stop
- 49th State Brewing – AnchorageEat
Downtown Anchorage
A downtown brewpub with a rooftop deck over Cook Inlet and the Alaska Range, craft beer, and Alaskan-sourced brewpub food. Distinct from 49th State Brewing's separate Denali/Healy location.
Downtown views with dinner
- Jens' RestaurantEat
Midtown Anchorage
A longtime (since 1988) fine-dining restaurant with Danish specialties and fresh Alaskan seafood. Closed Mondays.
A quieter, polished night out
- OrsoEat
Downtown Anchorage
Italian-inspired dining near the Performing Arts Center — fresh Alaskan seafood and house-made pasta.
Downtown's more elevated dinner pick
- GingerEat
Downtown Anchorage
A Pacific Rim / Asian-fusion restaurant downtown, open since 2007.
Downtown's Asian-fusion option
- 10th & M SeafoodsCozihaus FeaturedProvisions
Downtown Anchorage
A proper seafood shop rather than a grocery counter. Where we send you when the seafood itself is the point — including on the drive up to Blodgett Lake.
Best for seafood provisions
- New Sagaya City MarketProvisions
Downtown Anchorage
Seafood plus everything else for the meal in one stop. The better choice when you are cooking a whole dinner.
One-stop grocery + seafood
- Settlers Bay LodgeEat
Wasilla
The nicer Valley dinner — steak and seafood with a real Chugach view, and no drive into Anchorage.
Best view with dinner in the Valley
- Cadillac CafeEat
Wasilla
A 1950s-style diner close to the lake. All-day breakfast, burgers, milkshakes.
Best for breakfast near the lake
- Turkey RedEat
Downtown Palmer
Bright farm-to-table cafe in downtown Palmer. Best at lunch or as a relaxed daytime stop.
Good Palmer-area lunch stop
- Palmer AlehouseEat
Downtown Palmer
Downtown Palmer patio, local taps, and stone-baked pizza. Good after a Hatcher Pass day.
Good stop after a Hatcher Pass day
- Cafe Khao NeowEat
Creekside Plaza
Alaska's only Lao restaurant — sticky rice, papaya salad, laab, and other family-recipe regional dishes.
Wasilla's own hidden-gem find
- Basil GingerEat
Wasilla
Thai, Chinese, and sushi fusion made from scratch — a more refined option when guests want it.
A more polished Wasilla dinner option
- The Chop House at Lake LucilleEat
Lake Lucille
A fine-dining steakhouse on Lake Lucille — hand-cut steaks and Alaska seafood with waterfront views. Under the same ownership group as Settlers Bay Lodge, per its own site.
Premium night out, real lake view
- Matanuska Brewing CompanyEat
Palmer
A large Palmer brewery and restaurant in the historic Matanuska Maid Dairy building, with mountain views, a busy taproom, and an outdoor patio.
Palmer's liveliest brewery stop
- Bleeding Heart BreweryEat
Downtown Palmer
A small, independent Palmer brewery with a genuinely local, offbeat feel.
A more local, offbeat Palmer brewery pick
- Big Dipper Homemade Ice CreamCoffee & bakery
Mat-Su Valley
Homemade small-batch ice cream with Alaska-inspired flavors, waffle cones, and espresso — now three locations, in Palmer, Wasilla, and Lazy Mountain.
A good treat after Hatcher Pass or a Palmer day
- Three BearsProvisions
Wasilla
About a mile from the house — groceries, fuel, and fishing basics. The easy stock-up before you settle in. We have not checked its seafood counter, so buy seafood in Anchorage if that matters to you.
Useful on the way in to Blodgett Lake
- Susitna Brewing Co.Eat
Big Lake
A full-service brewery and restaurant in Big Lake with house-brewed beer, cocktails, and a substantial food menu. A useful option when you want an actual meal in the Big Lake area rather than driving back toward Wasilla.
One of the better full-meal options around Big Lake
- Denali Brewing Company BrewpubEat
Main Street
A Talkeetna Main Street brewpub pairing Denali Brewing beer and craft cocktails with seasonal food. It fits naturally into a Talkeetna day rather than needing to become a separate destination.
A natural food-and-beer stop during a Talkeetna day
- Denali Brewing Company Tasting RoomEat
Talkeetna Spur Road
The production brewery and tasting room outside downtown Talkeetna, with Denali Brewing beer, cider and spirits plus wood-fired pizza and a more laid-back brewery setting. A good choice when the brewery itself is part of the experience.
Our pick when the brewery itself is part of the experience
Hours and menus change up here — worth checking before you head over. Ask us and we’ll tell you what we would actually pick that night.
Alaska Grown — farms, markets & the State Fair
Real destinations, not just places to eat — a working farm, a market day, or the Fair itself, each with the same honest drive-timing and what-we-won't-promise as any other Cozihaus guide.
- Anchorage · Mountain View Farm & MarketGrow North FarmAn urban agriculture and community farm in Anchorage's Mountain View neighborhood — a different kind of local-food experience than the Valley farms, grown by farmers from a range of cultural backgrounds.Read guide →
- Palmer · Late August Through Early SeptemberAlaska State FairOne of Southcentral Alaska's signature late-summer experiences — Alaska-grown crops, giant vegetables, agricultural exhibits, and Fair food together in Palmer.Read guide →
- Palmer · Mat-Su Valley FarmMoonstone FarmA family-owned working farm in the Matanuska Valley, built around a farm market and other visitor experiences — a real working-farm stop, not just a produce stand.Read guide →
- Palmer · Pioneer PeakPyrah's Pioneer Peak FarmA working Alaska farm and U-Pick experience near Pioneer Peak, when conditions and season allow — harvest or buy local vegetables and bring them back to Cozihaus to cook.Read guide →
Where these days happen
Food and local favorites, on the map
Highlighted below. Both Cozihaus bases stay on the map so you can see which one each day runs easier from.
Approximate areas, drawn for direction rather than to scale. Exact addresses are shared once a stay is confirmed.
- Cozihaus on Blodgett LakeA natural base for Valley and northbound exploring — Hatcher Pass, Palmer, Talkeetna, and beyond.
- Cozihaus in SpenardA natural base for Anchorage and Turnagain Arm — city experiences, the Chugach, Girdwood, Portage, and Whittier.
What this stay reaches
- Anchorage
- Girdwood
- Portage
- Whittier
- Hope
- Seward
- Cooper Landing
- Soldotna
- Homer
- Denali National Park
- Denali State Park
- Talkeetna
- Hatcher Pass
- Wasilla
- Palmer
- Knik Glacier area
- Matanuska Glacier
Hover a place to see which stay it sits closest to. Tap or click any place with a guide to open it.