Pepe's North of the Border

PEPE'S IS CLOSED
If you are looking for Mexican in Barrow, you won't find it for a while. Pepe's had a fire and the building burnt to the ground August 31, 2013

Came to Barrow for work in December around Christmas time and the first place that I ate was Pepe's North of the Border. Why? It's right next door to the Top of the World Hotel.

I've been to Bethel, AK so I wasn't expecting much. In Bethel, restaurants look more like makeshift rooms with mismatched tables and servers. So I was very surprised to walk in and find a very warm and inviting restaurant. To top it off, it looked like I had actually found Santa's house in the North Pole. The backs of all of the chairs were adorned with Santa hat coverings and there were Christmas decorations EVERYWHERE. Yes, there were a lot of knick knacks in display cases that the owner has collected from over the years. But as a guy originally from Chicago, I was very impressed with her collection of sports memorabilia from my hometown.

The food was pricey...but I was expecting that. I was here for work and I'm accustomed to pricey meals in Alaska and Hawaii. I had a taco plate (2 tacos, rice, beans), chips and salsa (free), and a Pepsi. The total was $22. I didn't freak out at the bill. I thought the tacos tasted fine. They reminded me of what they would taste like if I made them at home. The beans were great. The salsa...well, at first I was disappointed as it reminded me of Hunt's tomato sauce, however, then it packed a kick and I started to really get into it.

The food wasn't the best part though. The owner came up to my table and offered me the chance to fill out their guest book with the promise that she would be sending me a calendar for 2013 to my address. She then presented me with an Arctic Circle certificate (hard stock) that shows that I officially crossed! That might not seem much but it really made my night after traveling for 19 hours straight. If you're in town, be sure to stop by. It's worth it!

Like pretty much everywhere I've eaten in northern AK, food is expensive and you know, not necessarily what I would eat at home. Moving on!

Pepe's a like a crazy acid trip-- bizarro decorations EVERYWHERE (a wall of angels? Beanie Babies?), a proprietress who really wants to talk about UW football, free "Arctic Circle Club" certificates.

They open at a crazy early hour for breakfast. I think we went there around 6:15am one day, maybe. Reindeer sausage!

It's definitely worth a visit should you find yourself in Barrow, at the very least for bragging rights.