Quick Bites: Flavorful Mediterranean in Wasilla, creative Detroit-style pizzas and succulent smash burgers

In the summer months, while I’m often going through Wasilla, I’m rarely going to Wasilla. But I had heard enough buzz about Leo’s Doner Kebab, one of the valley’s newest eateries, specializing in Mediterranean food and comically oversized gourmet pizzas, that on my last venture north, I made a special detour. Images on social media of glistening, hand-stacked marinated beef and lamb on vertical rotisseries had been dancing in my head and there was only one way to make them stop.

My daughter and I stopped in on a Monday after a weekend of fun in Willow. The dining room, which is small, but bright and cheerful, was all but empty but they appear to be thriving on a busy take-out business. We ordered at the counter — a doner kebab ($18) and falafel sandwich ($18) for me, and a meatball sub ($18) for her. The order took time — almost half an hour — but we were given an accurate wait time and we sat in the pleasant dining area and sipped on coffee while we waited. The friendly staff gave us frequent updates.

I was starting to wonder if the wait and the hop off the main drag would be worth the detour. Readers, it was. The falafel, full of fragrant spices and the warm flavor of cumin, was perfectly crisp on the outside and tender within. Falafel balls can sometimes feel heavy and dense but these were pleasantly light. They were tucked into a house-made Turkish flatbread bed and dressed in a crispy-fresh salad of lettuce, cucumber, tomato and red onion, and a generous amount of tangy tzatziki.

My daughter’s meatball sub, with its hand-rolled pork sausage meatballs, and a generous blanket of bright tomato sauce and melted provolone, was everything a good sub should be, right down to the toasted house-made baguette — all of Leo’s breads are baked in house using imported flour from Italy.

But the star of the meal was the doner kebab. The meat is marinated and hand-stacked daily and layered onto buttery, crusty, herby flatbread. The meat is flavorful and tender with crunchy bits of frizzled meats that you don’t find on machine-sliced meat at purveyors who take their kebabs less seriously. This sandwich is stuffed with fresh veggies and livened up with the bright tzatziki and a spicier condiment known in-house as “samurai sauce.”

We took a few bites of these delicious constructions before heading back to Anchorage and were grateful for the easy-to-eat-while-driving french fries that we ate as an amuse-bouche. At home, I discovered my only complaint about Leo’s and that is that the sandwiches are so stuffed and juicy that — we discovered too late — they need to be eaten pretty quickly after assembly. The bread — crisp when we got it — was pretty mushy by the time we arrived home. But we grabbed forks and ate the inside like a salad, and it was still very satisfying. Next time I’ll plan on eating there or ordering the kebab as a salad. Either way, there will definitely be a next time.

If you go:

1450 Creste Foris Street, #E

(907) 376-8699

www.leoswasilla.com

info@donerkebabalaska.com

Monday – Thursday: 11 a.m.–9 p.m. (online ordering ends at 8:30 p.m.)

Friday and Saturday: 11 a.m.–10 p.m. (online ordering ends at 9:30 p.m.)

Sunday: 3–9 p.m. (online ordering ends at 8:30 p.m.)

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When The Pizza Box, the food truck from the team at The Dirty Apron Alaska, began making appearances at local breweries and farmers markets around town, I wasn’t sure that it would make my summer shortlist. We have some fantastic pizza purveyors in this city — some of them mobile — and I thought the market was more or less cornered. But when photos of these unique pizzas started turning up on foodie social media, I decided to literally eat my words.

My daughter and I caught up with them at the Midtown Anchorage Farmers Market and were delighted to learn that The Pizza Box is bringing something entirely new to the pizza party. The menu features classic Italian flavors as well as some outside-the-pizza-box combos, all with race-horse-related names. These are deep dish pies — I’ve heard them described as Detroit-style — with creative toppings on an indescribably delicious crust. Coated in crispy cheese, and light and fluffy in the middle, the crust is more like a focaccia than a typical pizza crust. We decided to opt for a pie on each end of the creative spectrum. We selected a “Nightmare” pie ($12) topped with fresh mozzarella, red sauce, pesto and chili crisp and, for kicks, the “Globetrotter” ($15) which features the flavors of a gyoza dumpling — mozzarella, sausage, gochujang sauce, pickled vegetables, sriracha ranch, and toasted sesame seeds.

While the toppings were wildly different, they shared high-quality ingredients, a thoughtful balance of flavors, and that yummy, yummy, cheese-crusted crust. I also love that each rectangular pie is sliced into four easy-to-eat pieces and served in a sturdy and adorable custom box. While presentation isn’t always the most important thing on my checklist, I find that this sort of attention to detail is often evident in the food.

The Pizza Box, in part because they’re operating out of a fun and funky converted horse trailer, only plans to be open seasonally, though when I asked them, they seemed open to the possibility of winterizing their kitchen on wheels. Either way, catch them before summer runs out and keep your eyes open for them on the flip side of winter.

If you go:

The Pizza Box

(907) 297-8425

Check social media for hours and location.

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My friend Justin Williams of “Justin Eats Alaska” brought some fighting words to our last get-together. And by fighting words I mean a list of his top 5 burger joints in Anchorage. The usual suspects were jockeying for position on both his list and mine but then he dropped a name I had never even heard of — City Boy Burgers.

Based on the line that was already forming at 10 a.m. at the O’Malley Fresh Market this past Sunday, it seems I was the only one who hadn’t gotten the memo. So much for my theory that no one else in Anchorage would be eating a cheeseburger at ten in the morning. The word is definitely out.

Watching the assembly line — which you have ample time to do while you wait — you understand why these classic smash burgers are so good. There is a hard and fast system and the chef doesn’t deviate from it on a single burger. From the perfect patty smash to the cheese melt to the adorable little brand on the top of each bun, City Boy is keeping it simple and keeping it perfect.

There are only four ways to order — a single ($9), a double ($11), or a triple ($13), with or without fries ($4). We opted for doubles with fries. These are smash burgers the way they should be done — they aren’t just flat for flatness’s sake — they are crusty, flavorful, and full of smoky char. The only toppings are onion, cheese, and pickles. No vegetables were injured in the making of these burgers. Did I eat a double cheeseburger on Sunday before I had even had my coffee? I did. Would I do it again? See you Sunday.

If you go:

@cityboy_burgers

Pop-Up Burger Stand

Check social media for hours and location.

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*****