In Pursuit of Salmon by Jessica

Everyone told us to eat salmon in Alaska. It's the best you'll ever have, they raved. Okay - salmon in Alaska. How hard could it be? Really, really hard. 

We knew we'd be eating dinner in Juneau yesterday, which would be the perfect opportunity to score some salmon. My roommate Libby even said, eat salmon in Juneau - literally anywhere in Juneau. Seems foolproof enough. Dad and Ben found a restaurant at the top of the tram station. Certainly they would have salmon. This is Alaska. Why wouldn't they have salmon? We arrived and surveyed the menu. They had crab and halibut at market price, but no salmon. Okay, well Alaskan crab is good, right. Maybe the market price would be reasonable. $51 per pound, the waiter said. Needless to say I moved right along to the Tongass burger. About ten minutes after we ordered, I saw our waiter walk by with another table's finished plates. On the bottom plate pushed off into a corner lie an unfinished (nay, untouched) piece of salmon. But, wha, where, how? I'm not positive, but I think it was part of the salmon salad they had on the menu. Note to self - if it says salmon, get it, even if it's a salad or a sandwich.

Today as we hopped off the bus from dogsledding, I asked the driver where the best place in town was to get salmon. She looked slightly confused, then concerned before directing us to two different options. Our first pick, an open patio grab and go type shop wasn't open yet, so we opted for a sit down by the boat. What could go wrong?

As we scanned the menu, we saw it: salmon sandwich. I had learned the day before not to avoid the salads and sandwiches, so I decided to go for it. My quest would finally be over. I had found the salmon. I told the waitress my order, my mouth watering with victory. She frowned and her voice dropped to a whisper, "I'm going to be completely honest with you. The salmon isn't fresh, it's actually still frozen. But I would recommend the halibut burger."

Today was not the day. I settled on the halibut burger. How could it be this difficult to find Alaskan salmon in ALASKA? Even at dinner on the ship, they serve Atlantic salmon, not Alaskan salmon. (I even pictured a map in my head and wondered if we were really on the Atlantic side.) Hopefully there's a moral to this story before we depart. Otherwise, I'll have to settle for a big, juicy King Sooper's salmon when I get home.

-Jessica