When I hit the five star button, Yelp apparently describes it as "Woohoo! As good as it gets!".
I would say that perfectly describes the Cellar Door operation that V is running.
The praise for V's Cellar Door begins when you are walking downtown right past the Subway and Salt, the two opposite ends of Juneau's culinary spectrum. This positions V's in a geographic and culinary niche of appeasing the sandwich-tired without breaking the bank. The only thing beckoning you inside is the sign they place on the street, the unfairly humble praise on this website, or your new best friend that 'know's a place'.
Once you walk (or stumble) down the stairs, there is no wait for seating, and no hostess to appease to. The informalities end there--the chairs are modern, the waitstaff wear ties, the lights are dimmed, the art consists of unique designs with a uniform color scheme, and the music is best described as a Pandora playlist of Kenny G that consistently thumbed down anytime a vocalist uttered a note.
The allusions to foreplay in the musical choices are not accidental. I haven't spent a better 14 dollars since I lost my virginity, and when I have made eye contact with tourists taking their first bite of the fusion nachos-- I know I am not alone. V's addition of ginger infused salsa, cabbage, sesame seeds, and 'fusion sauce' to chips and cheese draws comparisons to such cliches as sliced bread and world peace. The portions are certainly enough to accommodate the most American of appetites; I could certainly never eat an entire plate (despite my valiant attempts). This is the kind of food that makes you realize how shit the entire Juneau culinary scene is, and (if you aren't from Juneau) sets an unfair expectation of it. For real, I live in Portland-- recently decorated the best food city in the country-- and there is nothing I have experienced that draws comparison to V's, which some in Juneau would consider a Subway alternative. Seriously, I have gone crazy trying to replicate the salsa at home--and I'm sure V is more than a little annoyed when I call trying to extract her recipe.
The culinary genius carries to several other items: the fusion tacos, the burritos, and the shrubs (their original cocktails that they promote like it's the second coming). This is certainly a superior location for your taco Tuesday needs than the flight deck, at least for a normal rainy Juneau day.
With heaping praise comes light notes of improvement that extend the virginity metaphor. Sometimes it takes too long for the nachos (an appetizer) to come, like 30 minutes. Sometimes they are out of the Alaskan Summer and they have no palatable substitution. Sometimes the music cuts out (I AM STILL LISTENING PANDORA) and the atmosphere becomes extremely awkward. The intimacy that normally works towards V's advantage makes it clear to you, the diner, that the whole restaurant can hear your conversation and you realize that maybe you shouldn't be talking at all. And then you're eating the nachos in silence, and enjoying them, and you want to share that experience with your dining partners, and they want to share it with you, but you both know that any words of praise will be overheard by those at the next table, and you don't want them to know how good of an experience you're having, because you want to afford them the thrill of their own personal culinary discoveries.
And then Kenny G comes back on.
It should be noted that this perspective comes from a vegetarian diner, but I have heard nothing but great things about her Korean chicken. It should also be noted that I would do disgusting things for a fusion breakfast burrito.
TL;DR: Go to V's. Get the Fusion Nachos. Ruin El Sombrero for yourself. Tip them a month of Pandora One. read more