One thing that has been noticeably missing in Alaska are diners – and no, not places that just have the word “diner” in their name, but authentic, retro diners. If you have visited Alaska you may not have noticed this. Likewise, if you really don’t care much for diners, their absence has probably not made much difference to you. If you are a transplant like me, you find that there are a few select places that you latch onto that make living in your area feel like home. Maybe it is a coffee shop, a bookstore, or a bar – choose your poison.
In Alaska these places are important during the winter especially – when it has been bitterly cold for weeks on end and it seems that spring will never come, these are the places you can go to and escape cabin fever, stretch your legs, and not run screaming from the state. For me, a place like this must have good coffee and great pie and be open 24-hours every day (think Special Agent Cooper from Twin Peaks).
Fortunately, there is one opening here in Fairbanks this year. It is also fortunate that my office comrades read the local paper and were discussing it at work, because I don’t read the local paper and missed this momentous news all together. So, Office Comrade CG already has pictures of the new place up on her Flickr account (that are gorgeous, btw), and Office Comrade CL is just as elated as I am (if not more), and we are all waiting impatiently for the grand opening.
I hope they have good pie.