Tourist-free patios and other hot tips for dining al fresco in Anchorage

Is there a better exclamation point on a gorgeous summer day than a snack and an icy beverage enjoyed outside with your sunglasses on? No. But, if you’re like me, as much as you appreciate the economic boost that comes with tourism, the reality of a patio mobbed with visitors in summer puffy jackets and very clean running shoes does not appeal.

Also, I may be in the minority in this, but when I eat outside here, I don’t want anything too pretty. I want to really feel the Anchorage with all its brutiful, gritty-gorgeous friction. This is why I have a thing for the Spenard-tastic, seafood-processing adjacent, weed-shop studded view from the patio at Hearth and the whole railroad tracks/gravel pit vibe of the outdoor fire pit at South and the rooftop industrial/mountain view at Anchorage Brewing or, as I have written about before, the sunny creeks…