I'm a sucker for old-school, lost-in-time Anchorage eateries and Mexico in Alaska, on Old Seward, had me at hand-painted butterflies. The butterflies, part of a mountain-themed mural painted on the restaurant's exterior, have seen better days (or maybe it's just that neighborhood that has seen better days). Still, they were a cheery and colorful reminder of warmer climates on a gray, early spring day recently. They are, if nothing else, unapologetically sincere.
Unapologetically sincere also describes the vibe you get when you walk in. A giant teddy bear greets you at the front entrance, because why not? Vintage photographs of the restaurant owners' families, friends and patrons (I'm guessing) are arranged around the cashier station. Colorful flags hang from the otherwise industrial drop ceiling. The furniture -- booths, chairs, rugs -- are from another era, but then so is everything else, so it all kind of works. It's cozy -- the kind of coziness that can only be earned after decades in business. And, in the case of Mexico in Alaska, there are four decades' worth of hard-earned coziness.
My daughters and I turned up for an early weeknight dinner and were seated right away in a pleasant booth overlooking the parking lot. Chips and salsa were waiting on each table. The house salsa is on the spicy side and the servers automatically ask if you'd prefer something milder. We did not. This is good salsa with the perfect amount of spicy zing and lots of aromatic cilantro. It's no accident that it's available for purchase in grocery stores around town.
Familiar, perhaps Americanized dishes are well represented here. There are the usual offerings of something meaty wrapped up in something fried and floury -- tacos, burritos, quesadillas. Refreshingly, however, there are a few unusual, authentic choices as well, including a few that I've never seen before on a local Mexican menu: shrimp soup, cactus with eggs, beef tongue and lamb tacos, to name a few.
We started with a half-order of queso fundido ($8) -- not exactly an exotic choice, but a favorite in my melted-cheese-loving family. It did not disappoint. A filling bowl of beans and cheese is served with warm, soft, delicious tortillas. Filling, probably terrible for you, but deeply satisfying. Note that we barely made a dent in the half-order. I can only imagine the calorie count on a full order of this dish.
We ordered the taco platter ($17.25) in order to get a sampling of familiar Mexican standbys (and to please my kids, who were eyeing the cactus option with suspicion). This dish is a colossus. No fewer than five fried food pockets came to the table -- stuffed onto one plate underneath a pile of shredded cheese. It required an excavation, actually. We unearthed: a beef taco (described as a rolled carne debshebrada), which was fine if not exciting; a chicken taco -- also fine but unexciting; a cheese tapatia; a bean roll taco; and a deep-fried burrito. Looking back at the menu, I noted that we could have opted for a soft burrito (instead of deep-fried) but we weren't asked for our preference when we ordered. With so many other fried offerings on the plate, I wish we been given the option. Everything was crispy and generously stuffed, but overall, I found most of these dishes to be uninspired. Everything was palatable but there was a dispiriting sameness to the offerings and the flavors were on the bland side. I found myself searching for hot sauce on the table (unsuccessfully), so settled for dipping these items into the salsa.
Happily, my daughter's pollo frito ($17.25) -- a generous plate of chicken fried to a deep brown -- was a hit. The skin was crispy and the chicken itself was brightly flavorful (it's marinated in lime before frying). Some chicken lovers might find the dish to be a tad overcooked but I'll admit to my preference of creating a super crispy skin at the expense of juiciness. We all "tasted" my daughter's plate until she began to eye us resentfully. And that, I think, is a compliment to the chef.
I ordered the nopales con huevo ($20) – slow cooked cactus with onions, tomatoes and cheese. I had never tried cactus, so I have nothing to compare it to, but I loved it. The cactus has some of the earthiness of a green pepper but there's a citrusy tang to it -- as if it had been marinated or lightly pickled in something acidic. Combined with soft scrambled eggs and cheese and mixed in with some rice and beans, this is a deeply comforting dish.
I left with the theory that the best dishes on the menu are the more authentic, homey dishes. The dishes, I'm guessing, that the chefs themselves like to eat.
With that in mind, I met my friend Sue for lunch and we decided to stick to the (comparatively) exotic choices on the menu. Like dinner, our lunch had two hits and a miss. We'll begin with the miss -- a large bowl of shrimp and scallop ceviche ($16). It didn't go over well. The dressing lacked the limey tanginess that I expect in a ceviche. And Sue, who has prepared this dish herself, was not convinced that the seafood was fully cured. There were pieces of shrimp that were still translucent inside and grayish outside. We ate a few bites and then gave up.
But the lamb tacos ($11) turned our lunch around. Achiote lends the meat a subtly smoky flavor that didn't mask the earthy, almost musty flavor of the lamb. The meat was shredded, tender and juicy. These were gone quickly and we both agreed that we would come back to Mexico in Alaska if only for these.
Another hit were the tongue tacos ($11). I had never eaten tongue before and was surprised to find it tender and mild with the lingering earthiness of chicken livers. This dish came with an incredibly addicting jalapeno sauce -- the zippy bite of the peppers is cooled by the creaminess of what I think was yogurt, but might have been sour cream. We ended by drizzling it over everything -- rice and beans, tortilla chips, the lamb. I'd like to see this sauce next to the Mexico in Alaska salsa at the grocery store.
Anchorage has a good number of Mexican eateries ranging from fine to good (with special love to Taco King). But I'm adding Mexico in Alaska to my rotation for when I want something a little off the beaten path. The more authentic offerings are inspired. Next time, I'll leave the tacos to the kids and ask what the chefs are eating that night.
Mexico in Alaska
Hours: 11 a.m.-9 p.m. Monday-Thursday, 11 a.m.-10 p.m. Friday, noon-10 p.m Saturday (closed Sundays)
Phone: 907-349-1528
Location: 7305 Old Seward Highway
**1/2
$$