Well, we gave in and went to the Grumpy Grizz the other day. Actually, the last two days.
Yesterday, we had already eaten but the baby hadn’t so we drank coffee while she had a Mickey Mouse pancake.
“Mickey bear!” she said as it was placed in front of her.
Then this morning, I was hoping they were still serving breakfast after 11am because we got there at exactly 11:05am.
“Nope, breakfast is over,” we were told. Darn! Both the Grizz and Fast Eddy’s are pretty militant about ending breakfast at 11am. How hard is it to serve eggs any time? I personally find eggs easier to make than, say, a burger.
Yesterday, in classic “Small World” form, my husband started chatting with some Wal-Mart and Sam’s Club truck drivers who were on their way to Anchorage. One of them was from Missoula, Montana where my husband also grew up. Turns out the man was best friends with the younger brother of one of my husband’s best friends from high school. Of all places to meet – the Grumpy Grizz Cafe in Tok, Alaska. Small, small world.
The verdict on the Grizz?
I like the woman who waited on us both days. Everyone who works there does seem like they might be grumpy but are actually quite nice.
The food was fine. Today the baby had a cup of chicken noodle soup that she proclaimed to be “TAYSTEE!”
Burgers were on the small side compared to the mondo burgers at Fast Eddy’s, but I hadn’t had breakfast and was a little hung over from indulging in one too many little glasses of wine the night before so mine was “taystee” to me.
Today, however, the smoke in the designated smoking area in the back was permeating into the front room, and there are few things I hate more in a restaurant than smelling smoke while eating or leaving an establishment smelling of smoke. I don’t know when I became such a wuss about smoke, but I do tend to like smoke-free environments.
Still, I really like that waitress. She reminds me of the gals I used to work with in my waitressing days. Same with the counters and the short order cook at the grill. Going to the Grizz is a bit nostalgic for me.
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Living in Tok Alaska: City Girl Meets Rural Alaska 
Liadona
/ January 6, 2009Smoke and food do NOT go together. I don’t care how many tobacco companies tried to make that work in the 1950s. Smoke dulls the taste buds – so I am with you. Unfortunately I live in a state that will NEVER ban smoking in restaurants. Yeah, tobacco state of VA. š
Glad to hear you found a good “Cheers” type place to eat! The mickey bear looked very yummy!
Katie
/ January 7, 2009Growing up and living in a small town, rule number 1 – the times posted are the times we mean. You’re lucky – in my town if you ask for something after the posted time you’d get the look of “What you can’t get up early enough to get here before 11?” or “Go home and cook your eggs yourself if you don’t like the hours.” Don’t worry, you’ll bend to the rules before the rules will bend to you.
IllinoisBoi
/ January 11, 2009Tell ol’ Grumpy Grizz to come into the 21st century and get a website fo hewaven’s sake.
It’s cheap and a great way to advertise to not only the locals but to the whole world.
While you’re at it, tell him to install a WebCam so we can see what’s going on.
12″ of snow here in Chicago with 4 more inches on the way… temps going well below zero here starting Monday.
BTW, love your blog. š
James
/ January 11, 2009I used to work at a restaurant that served all three meals. The reason in part has to do with the grill that most places use. In the morning they cook items like eggs or pancakes that are only cook well on a clean smooth surface. When they start serving grilled meat, the grill quickly loses that quality and the appearance and taste of these items would suffer as well. It would require a lot of frequent cleaning to keep serving breakfast all day. Not a fun process to do I have to tell ya. It involves scrubbing the grill with expensive, gritty, pumice bricks. It’s a very messy job. Also breakfast has a certain food prep setup that is different from lunch and dinner. In order to provide a good variety for the other meals a lot of prep space is needed. This makes serving breakfast all day an inconvenience especially for smaller establishments.
Jane
/ January 12, 2009came by your blog via NPR – I spent 18 years in Missoula! Graduated UM ’99.
Moved from there to Wash DC for a brief stint and now in Wisconsin. Here I am finally exposed to a decent winter. I can relate to cold – but 80 below is serious cold.
JESSICA
/ November 8, 2010THANK GOD SOMEBODY CAN UNDERSTAND WHY BREAKFAST IS NOT DONE AFTER LUNCH STARTS. MIXING BURGERS AND LETS SAY PANCAKES FRENCH TOAST WITH BURGERS YUCK. OBVIOUSLY PEOPLE WHO NEVER HAD TO DEAL WITH CUSTOMER SERVICE TYPE JOBS. AND FAST EDDIES PLEEEESE EVERY CUSTOMER THEY GET HAS TO RUN HOME FAST TO THE TOILET OHHH DID I SAY THAT WELL TRUE ENOUGH
JESSICA
/ November 8, 2010OHH AND LET ME ADD GRUMPY GRIZZ IS A SMALL RESTAURANT WITH SOME OF THE BEST HOMESTYLE COOKING. NO CORPORATION RAN BUSINESS JUST ONE OWNER AND OPERATED BY THE SAME GAL