After being in business for over 20 years, Snow City Cafe has developed a huge following. And their site even has a reservations button, which you eventually book through Yelp.
This was the first time I've ever made a reservation for breakfast, and one of the very few times I've ever had to make a reservation, period. It's that popular, apparently.
Booking the 9:15 AM reservation was a very wise move; I got seated by 9:25. Others who came in without a reservation were likely staring at a 45-minute wait, with larger parties exceeding a one-hour wait time. As a goodwill gesture, Snow City Cafe has a self-serve coffee station, and the coffee is added to the bill when you get seated (or perhaps you can pay at a counter if you decide not to stick out the wait). Bottomless coffee here is $3.
Instead of the generic white mugs, Snow City Cafe has mugs with different designs. In an amusing moment, I saw one guy with a Hawaii mug. I got a mug with Santa Claus and his reindeer on it.
Snow City Cafe pours Kaladi Brothers Coffee, a local coffee roaster with many spots in and around Anchorage.
The best part about Snow City Cafe? Their hot sauce bar, of course. Many different types of hot sauces here. I grabbed Secret Aardvark as an ode to Portland.
Breakfast is available all day. The usual breakfast options are available, from omelets to French toast to their own Snow City granola. More Alaskan menu items are also found, such as a Crabby Omelet using snow crab, to a Tundra Scramble featuring reindeer sausage.
I found it hard to choose between the Ship Creek Benedict ($15) which had housemade smoked salmon cakes, and the Kodiak Benedict ($17), which had Alaska red king crab cakes.
Therefore, I ordered the Deadliest Catch Benedict ($16), a sampling of both the Ship Creek and Kodiak Benedicts. Served with hash browns, of course.
Both the smoked salmon cake and king crab cake were great, but I'd give the nod to the salmon for the smoky flavor. Perfectly poached eggs. Hash browns were golden brown on the outside and virtually mashed consistency on the inside.
And yes, Secret Aardvark habanero sauce goes very well with both benedicts and hash browns.
And naturally, I couldn't leave without getting a side order of reindeer sausage ($4), since that was on my bucket list to try. To me, it's not far off from a good Polish dog. A smoky, deep meaty flavor. It's butterflied open here, and the natural casing gives it a great snap. Snow City also supports local, the sausage here is from Indian Valley Meats about 25 miles away in Indian, AK (just down Seward Highway).
Great service here. It's likely the busiest spot in the area, too.
Pro tip: On Saturdays, park on the street if you can. The meters around Snow City Cafe said no payment required, so you should get at least two hours of free parking.
I see why Snow City Cafe has been in business for over 20 years, it's an elite Anchorage breakfast spot! 9/10
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