Crossroads Lounge in Anchorage

I love the bartenders at Crossroads, they're always so friendly and kind to me. As someone in their 20s, I haven't been to Crossroads until my older friends brought me here. To be honest I was pretty skeptical at the atmosphere and the general age group of the crowd, but what stood out to me was how comfortable of an environment it was. In busy bars and clubs like Bernie's, The Avenue, The Pioneer Bar, it's crowded with young people, and for someone like me with ADHD and sensitivity to too much noise/too many people it can get extremely overwhelming. Crossroads was a completely different vibe and I've fallen in love with it. What I love most is that there are way less men trying to talk to me! One of my favorite things about this place is the fried food. I am a chicken tender fiend and their chicken tender basket is awesome, and their curly fries rock. And don't get me started on their Potstickers. As a Korean I am a dumpling snob and can be pretty judgmental, but the dumplings were great and what really stole the show was... they served it with soy sauce and chili oil. The atmosphere of this place is pretty "white" and wow, I was truly not expecting that, I thought they were going to make me eat potstickers with ranch or something, but it was a pleasant and delicious surprise. This is the perfect place to grab a drink with a close friend where you can actually hear each other and know that the vibes are always gonna be right.

So I walk up to this place and it has a kind of firehouse/cabin look on the outside with a giant sign that reads, 'Cross Roads'. And I said to the person I was with, "Isn't crossroads one word?" and he replied, "Not to Cross Roads, it ain't". And that was pretty much my introduction to this place. Small, kinda cozy place, with really friendly servers and a decent drink selection. I mean the drink selection isn't fancy but fancy isn't why you're here. In fact, this is where fancy goes to unwind and knock back a few in frumpy clothes. It's a clean, friendly dive style bar with a weird, Alaskan character to it! Though I went on a Saturday, you could tell covid had hit it hard, it was extremely dead. But I hope to return for a drink or two in better days ahead!

I came down here to catch a football game on Sunday a couple of weeks back based on recommendations from a couple of acquaintances. I asked if there was any other place worth going to for NFL Sunday instead of feeling burned out by going to the usual places week in and week out. Crossroads Lounge is located on Gambell St. and 15th Ave. next to Carrs and the infamous motel that houses the Black Angus Steak House. I was initially reluctant to come down here since I had never visited the place because of the area and the ugly history in years past around the motel next door when it used to be called the Samovar Inn. The parking lot was well-lighted and a decent size for the building with spaces available on both ends. However, my doubts were soon erased when I set foot in the place. The bar area is spacious with plenty of screens available for all the football games. The atmosphere was made all the more better with the friendly bartenders and employees. Sports memorabilia of various football teams adorn all of the walls around the bar. Being that my game was east coast which started around 9AM AK time, I decided to order the Steak and Eggs special that a friend mentioned which was only $15.00. My order didn't take that long to arrive and the steak was delicious cooked at a perfect medium with two eggs over-easy. A side of home fries as well as whole wheat toast with grape jelly and butter was the perfect complement for the eggs while watching the game. Free food like hot dogs and chili are also available later on in the day along with daily drink specials and an extended menu with items like pizza, mozzarella sticks, burgers, pot stickers, and chili fries. This is one...