Zeta Woof

We rented a car today (which is a story all its own; more later) and drove to Seward. The weather alternated partly sunny to overcast and drizzly, mostly the latter. Seward harbor was beautiful anyway, and the Alaska Sealife Center better than the guidebooks allowed. Spendy, true, but then it seems that almost everything is. If you want a cheap aquarium go to Crescent City.

We stopped at Bird Point on the Turnagain Arm to catch the bore tide (which didn't show) and caught instead some great recommendations for fine dining from a couple of guys who had just returned from the peninsula: Try the Mermaid in Homer, the Kingfisher in Cooper's Landing, and the Smoke Shack in Seward. Especially, they said, the Smoke Shack. Great food, great prices, decor — eh... not so much. Definitely the wrong side of the tracks. A bunch of old rail cars pulled into a circle. But the pulled pork BBQ sandwich — wow!

We tried it. Actually, I had the Western Burger with Carolina sauce and Leslie a chicken sandwich but it was — definitely — fantastic. You could justify the price of a cruise to Seward just to dine at the Smoke Shack. It's that good. I wish I could take it home.