F Street Station Bar and Grill opened the bar an hour before the grill.  It was established in 1944 as the Mur-Mac Lounge and is the “oldest downtown Anchorage bar still in its original location.”  Apparently it was a favorite of aviators serving the bush community as well as workers in the federal building across the street.  After the 1964 earthquake the building it was in had to be replaced with the F Building.  The current owners bought it in 1983 and renamed it the F Street Station and added the grill.   It was still a favorite with pilots, of which there are many in Anchorage.  There are 2 bar areas and several high top tables all appointed with padded stools that swiveled.  The walls were filled with patches and other airline things.   They feature a number of locally brewed beers on tap as well as a full bar.  The people were very friendly.  

 

They have a large hunk of Tillamook sharp cheese on the counter with a sign that is for display only – do not eat.  This was a joke on the newbies as it definitely was to snack on while you drink.  It was tasty and good.  They had a container of crackers next to it if you wanted crackers with it.

 

They also had a couple jars of wrapped candies on the bar which are there for you to delve into and find yourself a perfect dessert.

 

We tried the F Street Onion Soup which was a classic roasted onion soup, topped with croutons, Provolone and Parmesan cheese and then cooked to a rich bubbling brown and served with bread.   It was extremely hot and had tons of cheese.  The broth was richly flavored, filled with onions and mostly importantly not salty.  It would be a divine snack on a cold day – or any day for that matter.

 

Beer battered chunks of Alaskan Halibut were deep fried with a beer batter crust to a light golden brown and served with tartar sauce, lemon and fries.  They also offer this in a “Texas size portion” which is actually a half size portion (wink,wink).  It was amazing, perfectly moist and tasty.  The fries were also good but not as crispy as some.   They do offer to cook the fries extra crispy but I didn’t know if that might just mean they’d be on burnt side of things.  No matter the halibut was excellent.  It came with a tartar sauce but the server offered a slightly spicier sauce for dipping and it was wonderful.

 

Salmon Salad (also comes with halibut or shrimp) was fresh Alaskan salmon grilled to perfection on crisp romaine lettuce with choice of dressing (we chose Caesar).  It came with some slices of bread and slices of tomato.  The salmon had no strong taste and a good texture. It was quite nice.

 

Frankie went to meet the chef, Smitty who had been here for 20 years.  He does a great job.