JESSICA STUGELMAYER
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New Study Shows Residents in Alaska Native Villages Pay More for Staple Grocery Items (For Edible Alaska)

6/6/2017

 
It’s long been assumed that Alaska Native and American Indian communities pay higher costs for food while earning lower-than-average incomes. Now there’s data to back it up. 
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A food price monitoring report released June 5 with data from the first three months of 2017 illustrates how the combination of these two factors has led to nutritional and financial struggles for many Native American communities.

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Pretty tasty: A guide to Alaska's edible flowers (For Edible Alaska)

5/26/2017

 
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Whether working with a small space or a large plot, most gardeners like to plant flowers as well as vegetables. The blooms can attract pollinators, some can deter pests and all add beauty to your bounty

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Will establishing the Arctic as its own food region save the culture? These chefs hope so. (For Edible Alaska)

5/18/2017

 
When asked to name German foods, most people would say bratwurst, pretzels, schnitzel, and beer. Southern food would elicit responses like fried chicken, grits, collard greens, and barbecue. 
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But what about Arctic food? As it turns out, there aren’t any easy answers. A group of Arctic chefs and academics is trying to change that.

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The Hungry Chum: A definitive guide to Anchorage doughnuts (For KTVA)

11/4/2016

 
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If you ask my family, I’ve never been too shy to say what needs to be said. I won’t sugarcoat it — I have found the best doughnuts in Anchorage.

​As I write, there is sugar coursing through my veins. Some people talk about being able to feel adrenaline move through your body, but I think I can feel the sucrose pumping its way from my heart to my hands.

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The Hungry Chum: Kava’s is more than pancakes, it’s aloha (For KTVA)

10/27/2016

 
The red vinyl covering the seat of the booth groaned as I reached for my yellow mug of diner coffee. Suddenly, my weekend morning (OK, early afternoon) was interrupted by a wave of recollection: driving in a white Jeep on a road that hugged the ocean, windows down and music up.

Much to the dismay of my mother, I have now lived in both of the outlying states in the U.S.: Hawaii and Alaska. As a senior in high school, my rural upbringing and craving for adventure spurred my decision to apply to a university on the island of Oahu.

A few months later, I learned that I got in. With some finagling, faith, and financial aid, I boarded a plane alone and left everything I knew behind. When I landed, I had to figure out how to catch a city bus.

In Honolulu, a city of a million souls, I saw for the first time what it looked like for people to live on top of one another — on the ranch our nearest neighbor was a mile away. I became aware of new cultures each accompanied by their own sights, smells and tastes.

​Our sense of smell is intricately linked to our sense of taste — and to memory. So as I reached for that Fiestaware mug, it was the smell of the Kava’s Pancake House breakfast fried rice that transported me to that day years ago when my friends and I were driving to the North Shore of Oahu.

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The Hungry Chum: Fresh new flavors meet old school soul at City Diner (For KTVA)

10/19/2016

 
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A three-part harmony, a good burger and a cold milkshake are part of what made America great. Not so common anymore, diners call us back to a time of bobby socks, a good jukebox and leather-topped stools where one could belly up for some grub.
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My grandfather used to tell me that as a bachelor, he would go to a diner every Thanksgiving to get a turkey dinner. The image has had a Norman Rockwell-esque staying power in my mind since I was small.

That, along with a hangover, drew me to City Diner in Anchorage.

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Harvesting Alaska: So you want to be a judge of food entries at the fair? (For KTVA)

8/30/2016

 
PALMER – High up on a plain white wall, the skinny hand of a clock ticked away the seconds, counting down the moments competitors had left to enter their creations.

When the time came, the door was shut to the dark and stormy night outside and a small group of 12 judges were assigned to stations around the room. Surrounding them were tables full of cookies, pies, breads, muffins, cakes, fudge, and cupcakes — sometimes dozens of each kind.
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At 9:41 p.m., the first bite was taken. Everything would need to be tasted before they could all go home.

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The Hungry Chum: How one man creates a world inside a Greek cafe (For KTVA)

6/24/2016

 
Sometimes a place isn’t so much about geography or what’s inside. Its significance lies in the people who are there.

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Harvesting Alaska: Making the most of early season veggies (For KTVA)

6/10/2016

 
The growing and harvest seasons are always my favorite time of year because it seems that everyone is talking about food as much as I normally do. Everything is fresh and green, which gets people excited about cooking again.
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With a bountiful summer crop, my friends and family (and anyone who will listen) hear me parrot the sage wisdom of my grandmother: Don’t throw that away! You can use it!
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The Hungry Chum: Harvest pop-up restaurant is a foraged feast (For KTVA)

4/29/2016

 
We sat beneath a chandelier made of wine bottles in the middle of the bar. I was eagerly awaiting our eight-course feast. I was skeptical. The tickets sport a $110 price tag, yet I reserved judgment.

My dining partner and fellow writer, Wanderer and I were inside Crush, a wine bistro in downtown Anchorage, but our reservation was for an entirely different restaurant — Harvest.

Harvest restaurant is a pop-up, which by nature is temporary. It’s part of a worldwide dining trend that focuses on exclusive offerings from seasoned chefs, who cook up unique cuisine to tell stories that highlight the best of the harvest at that time.

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Meet the mom behind Alaska’s award-winning fish-flavored baby food (For KTVA)

3/2/2016

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ANCHORAGE – A two-story white house in Midtown doesn’t look like any other on its block, but the sounds inside are familiar. Last Friday afternoon, laughter emanated from a toothy grin on the face of 1-year-old Athina Tziolas. She chewed a cookie while in the arms of her mother, Zoi Maroudas-Tziolas. 

With the curious mind of a child her age, there was only one thing that was able to keep Athina’s attention: food. Although foods like kale, spinach, broccoli and Brussels sprouts are staples of healthy fare, for children they usually aren’t a favorite.
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Zoi Maroudas-Tziolas is working to change that.


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RESTAURANT REVIEW: Microcosm in a bowl (For Anchorage Press)

1/14/2016

 
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There's no doubt about it, in multiple cultures all around the world, winter is soup season.

My counterpart had the same notion-plus an elephantine amount more ambition-to procure a big, steaming bowl of ramen to battle the dark days of winter ("Momofuk'in good," Zack Fields, Dec. 10). While he smoked, simmered and boiled his own batch of Momofuku-style ramen, I went to Naruto.

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RESTAURANT REVIEW: Time to migrate (For Anchorage Press)

12/25/2015

 
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I'm not usually one to jump on the bandwagon for trends or temperance. However, there is one train I'm definitely hopping aboard.

South is the newest addition to the south end of Anchorage and I've heard nothing but enthusiastic reviews since it opened this summer. 
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The food's amazing. You haven't been? (Sigh.)

The gin list is and gin cocktails are fabulous. (Gin, you said? Go on.)

​You should definitely go there for brunch. (Well, I do love sleeping in and a good bloody Mary.)

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RESTAURANT REVIEW: Sensory overload (For Anchorage Press)

11/20/2015

 
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It was my first time. There were flashing lights everywhere, loud music and bodies pushing by me to get through the crowd. I didn't know where to look; there was something happening all around me, making it hard to focus.

​Then across the room, a life-sized mouse began greeting people, some sort of celebrity. He was surrounded, hands tugging at his shirt for handshakes, hugs and autographs. They all wanted a piece of the big cheese.


Admittedly, I was on some painkillers after having oral surgery earlier in the week, but I wasn't hallucinating. I was at Chuck E. Cheese.

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RESTAURANT REVIEW: All (Italian) American (For Anchorage Press)

11/4/2015

 

Sorrento’s satisfies

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Growing up, I had a friend with dark hair and espresso-colored eyes whose skin turned a deep shade of copper in the sun. Her brother was flame-haired, fair-skinned and freckled. (Yes, I’m positive he wasn’t adopted.) While they both shared the same roots of an Irish father and a Native American mother, their characteristics couldn’t have been more different.

​Much is the same with Italian and Italian-American food.

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RESTAURANT REVIEW: Falling out of favor (For Anchorage Press)

10/29/2015

 

Lackluster Italian at Romano’s

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Romano’s has been the cool kid in Anchorage’s Italian food scene for quite some time. Locally-owned, the place is a dated darling that boasts being Anchorage’s favorite Italian restaurant for an eight-year run, but it’s easy to see why they’ve come up short for the title recently.

The local staple is trying to keep things fresh in their home-style restaurant and cuisine. A visit to their website gives the impression that the atmosphere is lively and the floor plan open, with hip twists on Italian favorites, promising an “eruption of magical tastes in your month [sic] with every bite of food you take.”

​In reality, the place is strikingly different from the stock photography used to build their site. Take for instance, the photo of a beautifully-plated caprese salad—that’s not on the menu.

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