Power lunch: a room with a view: Alaska's scenery is spectacular, and with a good meal--it's phenomenal.

• Author: Lavrakas, Dimitra
• Position: Alaska Business Power Lunch

[ILLUSTRATION OMITTED]

If you want to impress a business luncheon guest, opt for something other than staring at a wall of questionable art in what may be a quiet restaurant, but one that lacks that punch to the solar plexus as a memorable meal in an extraordinary setting. Rise up, get out and go to one with a great menu and an even greater point of view--after all, this is Alaska and no painting or photograph can substitute for the real thing. Let the grandeur of The Last Frontier work its spell on those clients you want to impress. You won't have to do much more than look out the window.

JUNEAU'S SWEET SPOT ON THE CHANNEL

Sitting on top of an old wharf, The Hangar restaurant has drawn a loyal following since 1996. With the classic Alaska ingenuity of using something intended for one use into another, the Hangar on the Wharf is one of several businesses that inhabit the old floatplane hangar on the Juneau waterfront.

People flock to The Hangar to enjoy a menu anchored by Alaska seafood and old-time favorites like "Really Good Meatloaf" and chicken and dumplings. An imaginative beer list features Pacific Northwest craft brews on tap that will leave you speechless for several minutes after the waitperson asks, "What'll you have to drink?"

Tables, two deep, line the long side of the restaurant on two levels, so everyone is able to clearly see the panorama that includes huge cruise ships in the summer. On a sunny day, a raft of migrating surf scoters take a rest on the quiet waters of Gastineau Channel as ever-present ravens and seagulls battle each other for scraps of food.

This is a fun place to be, and often there are strange incidents that make for treasured memories, said Cherith Whiteman, catering manager at The Hangar.

"Once I saw an eagle dive down and grab a fish that was too heavy for it and the eagle had to swim to shore," she said. "I've never seen an eagle swim.

"And of course, watching the avalanches shooting out always blows us away."

UP, UP AND AWAY IN ANCHORAGE

Anchorage is filled with venues tucked into hotel towers, taking up an entire level or just a corner on the top floor of a building.

For sure, anything even near Cook Inlet, more than two stories up and with a clear view of the water carries with it a real "wow" factor.

The Snow Goose Restaurant and Sleeping Lady Brewery offers cozy booths, fine food and an incredible selection of beers that features its own beers brewed in the building. Catchy names include "Break-Up...