Few things are as satisfying as hearing the doorbell ring and knowing a hot pizza is waiting on the other side, and little is more disheartening than being told you live outside of the pizza delivery zone. No doubt that's the sad situation for many Alaskans, who must trade such convenience for the wonders of the state's wide open spaces. But thanks to the teamwork of Frontier Flying Service and a pizza shop owner in Nome, even the inhabitants of the remotest Alaskan villages can typically order a pie for same-day delivery. Airport Pizza founder Matt Tomter told NPR that he sends anywhere from one to 30 pizzas to about 14 villages around the state every day, via Frontier, a Nome-based carrier that flies the pizza order for free. Although there are a few places in the state outside of Frontier's flying range, for many Alaskans, pizza delivery is just a phone call away. From there, the pie is loaded onto the next available flight. It is usually kept hot in an insulated bag, or is delivered only partially cooked, so that the customer can finish it baking it at home. The delivery is not the only thing that makes Airport Pizza unique, either. It knows its customers so well that it has created a number of specialty pizzas just for them, including the "Reindeer," which contains reindeer meat, feta cheese, and red peppers.
All about Alaska:
- Of the 20 tallest mountains in America, 17 are in Alaska, including Denali, which rises to 20,320 feet (6,194 m) above sea level.
- Juneau is the only capital city in the United States that can be accessed solely by plane or boat.
- If you combined the coastlines of all of the other 49 states, you would still have less than Alaska boasts: 6,640 miles (10,686 km).