Nick, Programmerman
Pie! At Talkeetna Roadhouse!
Marian Call has done everything short of write songs* about the legendary pie at the Roadhouse in Talkeetna. When I asked her what the one thing I should do while I was in Alaska, she said run up there for pie. When I told her that's exactly what I was going to do, she literally jumped up and down out of excitement for me. She also said to get there in time for breakfast, because theri breakfast is awesome.
When I got there, apparently, they only have five tables in the hole house. But they're all long tables like this. You're supposed to just jump in, grab a seat, share stories of your travels with other wanderers, and enjoy some amazing food. And amazing it was.
I had the standard breakfast, which is just eggs, potatoes, and bacon. Except delicious. Only, I didn't have the bacon. I took the option to substitute in reindeer sausage, because I can get bacon anywhere. Which was awesome. And then there was pie. Blueberry rhubarb. With a cruncy, crumbly top and a perfectly-baked crust, and drowned in ice cream. So good. So much better than the pie I made.
But the awesomeest part is sharing stories. Topics that came up included life in Southern Florida, the College World Series, Nebraska vs. Penn State, how the place has been on TV, glaciers, golfing in Alaska, lengthy drives, and how awesome the food was. I'm sure I'm missing some things, but the atmosphere encourages lots of social interaction. Especially as one group leaves and gets replaced by a new one while you're eating (or waiting for your food to finish cooking).
Marian also told me to explore and talk with the locals. Which I fully intended to do. Except the town was overrun with tourists on excursion from a cruise and some kind of softball event and I did what I naturally do in a crowd: run away. Quietly and politely. The thinking was that all the locals were going to be too busy dealing with the time-constrained tourists to deal with a wanderer. Right or wrong, it doesn't matter.
*Or maybe she has and hasn't released them yet. Or maybe I misunderstood some lyric. :)
Pie! At Talkeetna Roadhouse!
Marian Call has done everything short of write songs* about the legendary pie at the Roadhouse in Talkeetna. When I asked her what the one thing I should do while I was in Alaska, she said run up there for pie. When I told her that's exactly what I was going to do, she literally jumped up and down out of excitement for me. She also said to get there in time for breakfast, because theri breakfast is awesome.
When I got there, apparently, they only have five tables in the hole house. But they're all long tables like this. You're supposed to just jump in, grab a seat, share stories of your travels with other wanderers, and enjoy some amazing food. And amazing it was.
I had the standard breakfast, which is just eggs, potatoes, and bacon. Except delicious. Only, I didn't have the bacon. I took the option to substitute in reindeer sausage, because I can get bacon anywhere. Which was awesome. And then there was pie. Blueberry rhubarb. With a cruncy, crumbly top and a perfectly-baked crust, and drowned in ice cream. So good. So much better than the pie I made.
But the awesomeest part is sharing stories. Topics that came up included life in Southern Florida, the College World Series, Nebraska vs. Penn State, how the place has been on TV, glaciers, golfing in Alaska, lengthy drives, and how awesome the food was. I'm sure I'm missing some things, but the atmosphere encourages lots of social interaction. Especially as one group leaves and gets replaced by a new one while you're eating (or waiting for your food to finish cooking).
Marian also told me to explore and talk with the locals. Which I fully intended to do. Except the town was overrun with tourists on excursion from a cruise and some kind of softball event and I did what I naturally do in a crowd: run away. Quietly and politely. The thinking was that all the locals were going to be too busy dealing with the time-constrained tourists to deal with a wanderer. Right or wrong, it doesn't matter.
*Or maybe she has and hasn't released them yet. Or maybe I misunderstood some lyric. :)