What? Wow! How?

That was my reaction to the news.

For those of you that don’t know my love affair with fried chicken, check out the following link…

Please start here!

For those that do know (and remember), my love affair with fried chicken, you will need to recall where said love of fried chicken stemmed from? (ahem, The Lucky Wishbone).

I need to back up to give context before sharing the “news”. Lucky Wishbone, Anchorage, is the restaurant my grandparents built (by hand), then owned and operated for the rest of their lives. It is an Alaskan institution, still family owned; in fact, in November they will celebrate 70 years of providing the community with a place to congregate, receive genuine hugs, eat comforting food (including the best fried chicken), and feel a sense of family and belonging. Generations of families have worked there, in fact, their first employee, Agnus, worked there her whole career, starting as a waitress and ending up as head cook before she retired. Heidi has also worked there her whole career, having been hired (at age 16) after my grandma saw her sitting on a rock outside a clothing store. Heidi had applied for a job there and was treated rudely by the clerk. My grandma hired her on the spot. Decades later (now a grandma herself) she is part owner (true story).

When my grandpa passed away, he sold the restaurant (for a song), to two of his longtime employees, Carolina Stacey and Heidi Heinrich-Lavaag (the Heidi referenced above). At the time, my mom (Patricia Brown-Heller) was given 10% ownership, and she and her brother still own the land that it sits on. Recently, my mom became the majority owner and partners with Carolina and Heidi.

The News

In a nutshell, Mom called to tell me that The Lucky Wishbone was the recipient of a James Beard Award!!! Again, my response was:

“What? Wow! How?”.

Turns out, there is an “America’s Classics” award, which is (and I quote) “A category of the James Beard Restaurant and Chef Awards, the America’s Classics Award is given to locally and independently owned restaurants with timeless appeal and beloved in their region for food that reflects the character and cultural traditions of its community”.

The Lucky Wishbone in Anchorage, Alaska, was this year’s Northwest & Pacific region recipient.

Again:

“What? Wow! How?”.

Turns out, we don’t know how, it was nominated, somehow, by someone, and WON!

I am a huge food person (and hate the label “foodie”). I have been all about food for most of my life. The Lucky Wishbone is NOT a “foodie” place; it is more of a “yummy and comforting food” kind of place. Think pan-fried chicken (like grandma used to make), local fresh-ground beef burgers steamed on the griddle, home-made onion rings, chili, corn bread and buttermilk biscuits. Oh, and don’t forget the milkshakes, hand-spun, with multiple flavor options; my favorites being the fresh strawberry and the hot fudge shake! I used to make myself mini-shakes during my shift as a waitress. I would set them on the shelf around the corner and steal a moment to take sips between trips from the customer’s table to the kitchen.

I’d be remiss if I didn’t mention the strawberry shortcake, made with home-made buttermilk biscuits, heated and paired with fresh strawberry sauce, vanilla ice cream and topped off with whipped cream. The hot fudge sundae was (and still is) a favorite. Most of our family dinners ended with hot fudge sundaes using hot fudge from the Wishbone. They were topped with both whipped cream and chopped peanuts (with a cherry on top).

What the Lucky Wishbone is famous for though, is the fried chicken. Back in the day, it was hard to come by certain ingredients in Alaska so my grandparents would have the chicken flown in fresh, not frozen.

The Travel

This past Spring, I got a text from mom, asking if I wanted to be her plus-one at the awards ceremony in Chicago. (Um) Yes, please!

For those of you that don’t know, this is like going to the Oscars but for food. I didn’t even know what to expect until I got there and actually experienced it first-hand (more on that in another post).

Since this is a delayed account of the news (if you have been reading for awhile, you might remember that I am a procrastinator), because, well, I procrastinated.

All right, I am super stoked to go and then I get another text from mom saying she wants to go to a Michelin star restaurant while we are there and can I please make the reservations. Yes again! In fact, I was happy to take charge of all the dinner reservations. Unfortunately, the timing of this text was pretty close to the time of travel, therefore, being as our travel coincided with THE JAMES BEARD AWARDS, a few food savvy people were going to be in town and had already scooped up some of my prime targets.

Not to worry, there are plenty of fabulous places to eat in Chicago and we did just fine. We also did a lot of walking (even though I was just 30 days past ACL surgery!), a tiny bit of shopping, and a good deal of mother/daughter bonding.

All-in-all, I would say, this was a peak experience. Thanks to mom and congratulations to all that have put in the work to make the Lucky Wishbone so special. It was a team effort, and I could not be prouder. To learn more about this, check out my mom, Heidi and Carolina on Culinary Characters podcast.

Back to chicken, I am a thigh girl. When I eat at the Lucky Wishbone, I have a very specific order: a Cheeseburger Deluxe, an order of fried gizzards, 2 onion rings, a small salad with roquefort dressing, a “Mom”, all thighs (this equals 3 pieces of chicken, fries and a fresh made biscuit), and a side of roquefort dressing (for dipping).

Now that I have made myself a bit hungry, it is time to make some fried chicken! But not before I wish mom a Happy Birthday! Happy Birthday, Mom!

 

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