While most of my breakfasts in Girdwood involved getting sourdough pancakes at The Bake Shop, we did go branch out and try some of the other places in town. In particular, Spoonline Bistro over in “downtown” Girdwood generally had a quite a following as well, with most mornings having a line almost as long as The Bake Shop. So we decided to check it out.
Spoonline is a cozy little spot (I think it’s a converted house) with a small bar and dining room, focusing on brunch (Saturday through Monday) and dinner (Thursday to Monday). We were checking them out for breakfast, and they’ve got a modest brunch menu: aside from a few baked items, the basic choices were breakfast burritos, breakfast bowls (basically the burrito sans wrap) and Benedicts, all built around the same basic building blocks: eggs, bacon, sausage, a veggie medley, and curried hash browns. I opted for a bacon and veggie burrito, which was served up with a side of salsa cream cheese dipping sauce. The execution here was flawless: the eggs perfectly cooked, the bacon lightly crisped, a nice medley of seared veggies (mostly broccoli, which worked well with the bacon), and possibly the star: lightly curried hash browns. Simple and enjoyable, this was a fine burrito.
Carol opted for a Benedict, going for their Alaskan version, with greens and smoked salmon. Like our other options for salmon in Alaska, this was tasty, tender, and flavorful, and the Hollandaise sauce gave a nice tang to the dish as well. The same lightly-curried hash browns were served on the side here, and worked well, too. About the only downside: Carol and I both like a good crisp on the English muffin for a Benedict (via grilling or toasting), and here the muffin was untoasted.
However, there was another unexpected star to the meal: like a lot of the breakfast joints I go to, Spoonline featured locally-made hot sauces, and in this case, the hot sauce was outstanding: a fermented habanero-carrot hot sauce from Glacier Valley Ferments. The fermenting gives a nice, well-rounded acid note while nicely blending the carrot and habanero flavors, leaving me searching out a bottle to bring home.
Overall, we really enjoyed Spoonline; the food simple and well-executed, the ingredients spot-on, and both the hot sauce and curried hash browns showed some good inventiveness. Between there and The Bake Shop there’s two great breakfast options in Girdwood.
