Bizarre Foods America Season 9 Episode 4 Alaska's Inside Passage

Bizarre Foods America season 9 episode 4 takes viewers on a culinary journey through Alaska's Inside Passage, the picturesque coastal route that stretches over 500 miles from the top of the state to the panhandle. Here host Andrew Zimmern indulges his insatiable appetite for unique and unusual food by exploring the surrounding waters and dense forests for native and foraged ingredients. He visits small towns and local fish markets to sample traditional meals that have been passed down for generations.

As Zimmern travels along the Inside Passage, he meets locals who introduce him to a variety of food and beverage offerings, starting with a visit to Skagway, a gold rush town whose main menu feature is the Sourtoe Cocktail. He then heads to Juneau to try smoked salmon chowder and a variety of clams. In Sitka, he discovers the unique flavor of sunflower ice cream, and at the Glacier Bay National Park, he goes on a epic whale watching trip and also samples smoked humpback whale meat.

Throughout the journey, Zimmern showcases Alaska's culture and history, and explains how modern, non-indigenous cuisine has been incorporated into traditional local foods. He visits Haines, where he tries a unique fusion of Korean and Alaskan cuisine at a restaurant called Mountain Market and Cafe, and learns how to smoke salmon using traditional wooden racks. In Ketchikan, the host tastes a Haida delicacy called k'aaw (a type of seaweed) and samples the town's signature fish tacos made with salmon, halibut, and lingcod.

As he moves from port to port visiting fishing villages, Zimmern also explores local markets where he discovers a range of unique ingredients, including wild boar meat, freshly caught Dungeness crab, and the highly prized geoduck clam. In Yakutat, he tastes seal oil, brewed from the blubber of bearded seals and used by the native Tlingit people for thousands of years.

Overall, Bizarre Foods America season 9 episode 4 offers a fascinating glimpse into the unique and diverse cuisine of Alaska's Inside Passage. From smoked salmon chowder to sunflower ice cream, wild boar stew to k'aaw, and everything in between, Zimmern demonstrates that the region holds countless culinary gems waiting to be savored and enjoyed. The inside passage is an unforgettable culinary adventure not to be missed.