Wednesday, December 14, 2011

The Lucky Wishbone: For when you just need an old-fashioned diner

The reason you are here is for the fried chicken. You are not here for the décor, because the green booths and the World War Two and early Anchorage photos on the wall have not changed in decades. You are not here because of their big flashy sign that enticed you in, because it hasn’t changed in decades, either. You are not here because you made a reservation a month in advance; while it is usually pretty full, they don’t take reservations, and won’t seat you until every person in your party has arrived. The only exception to this is if you tell your waitress that you will order for the person who is late. Opened in 1955 by George and Peg Brown, the Lucky Wishbone has changed very little in the past 30 years. Peg passed away recently, but this is still very much a family operation. New people discover it, but there are also all of us who have been coming for decades. I’ve run into friends eating there, I’ve had kids making faces at me over the tops of the booths, I’ve been waited on by girls I went to school with, and I’ve seen the late Senator Ted Stevens eating dinner there. They started taking credit cards a few years ago, so don’t say they aren’t changing with the times. But honestly, they aren’t really, and they don’t need to be.
The Lucky Wishbone gets all their chicken fresh, and they make fantastic pan-fried chicken. You can order the pop, mom, or junior chicken basket, which comes with 4, 3, or 2 pieces, respectively. If you pay extra, you can try and get all-white or all-dark, if it’s available. I usually get the Junior and my husband gets the Mom, but sometimes we get the Mom and Pop and take some home. The chicken baskets come with a cornbread muffin and French fries. Gone are the days when they make their own fries (before my time), so rather than fill up on frozen shoestring fries, I ask for coleslaw instead, that way I may possibly have room for some of the other delicious things on the menu.
They also make a good burger, one that’s probably in the top ten but not the top five burgers in Anchorage. You can get an unadorned burger, a burger with a square slice of American cheese, or you can get the “Deluxe” which has some shredded iceberg lettuce, pickle, and mayo.
Most of the accompaniments to your meal are fantastic, too, especially the ones not on the menu but on the dry-erase board by the front counter. While the salads on the menu are iceberg lettuce, a tomato slice, and massive amounts of creamy dressings (get it on the side or you will drown!), they make their own soups which are amazing, and which rotate sometimes by the season and by the day of the week. Family favorites for soup are chicken and dumpling and split pea with ham.
For dessert, they usually have pie selections listed on the dry-erase board too. This fall I had a great pumpkin pie, but honestly I don’t usually think to get pie because the Lucky Wishbone is a serious contender for the best milkshakes in town. I get chocolate (obviously), and my husband gets a berry one, blackberry if they have it. We usually get the small, which is very small, because one needs to pace oneself here, after all. They are so thick that I don’t think they even bother to bring you a straw with it. I have started ordering my shake at the end of the meal, because otherwise you get it first thing, and you have to eat it right away while it’s still thick, and milkshake-and-coleslaw, or especially milkshake-and-soup, are not among my favorite food combinations. Other dessert options are the hot fudge sundae – when I was a kid, it was a toss-up between the sundae and the milkshake, now the milkshake generally wins out- or strawberry shortcake with homemade biscuits.
If your fried chicken obsession becomes serious, you can take home buckets of chicken from the take-out counter or the drive through. And because the owners still think family time is important, they aren’t open on Sundays. A dinner for two will average $30-$40 with the tip, depending on whether you get soup, milkshakes, or pay extra for all-white or all-dark chicken. You can also buy a t-shirt or hooded sweatshirt, to declare your love of the best fried chicken and milkshakes in Anchorage. So come to the Lucky Wishbone, as often as my family does, and if you're just visiting, don't miss it. I'll see you there!