It’s the holiday season, the most complicated time of the year. If you are anything like me, the general vibe of the end of December makes you oscillate wildly between extreme joy and existential dread.
So here are the top 5 places to escape the family, have a cocktail and enjoy the rollercoaster of the dark days, literally and figuratively.
#5: Pancho’s Villa
You could go to Whisky & Ramen and get an Instagramable, holiday curated cocktail in a hip new space. Or, you could go into a windowless bar in a Mexican restaurant on Spenard. I obviously will choose the latter.
Pancho’s is everything you want to escape a cold winter day. It kinda resembles a classic midwestern basement bar, where they give you chips and salsa the second you walk in. Put on some stretchy pants, order some liquid cheese and get yourself a margarita with a Corona in it. Just pretend like you are Snooki in 2009 and plan your next warm weather vacation.
#4: Crossroads
Crossroads is for day drinking. When you need a classic AM cocktail to either reset or wreck your day, Crossroads has all the answers. Their bloody marys come with a side beer, and there is always a lot of free food, especially during the holidays. The hotdogs are better when you get there early. Again, Crossroads is for day drinking. So put “Long December” on the jukebox, order a bloody or a screwdriver, and sit in silence looking at whatever dumb videos are playing on “Chive TV.”
#3: Sullivan’s Steakhouse
Normally I’d put the Roadhouse or Bear Tooth here since their cocktails are generally solid, but the entire point of this list is avoiding every human that you’ve ever met. Therefore, I’d head to the bar at Sullivan’s Steakhouse.
Yes, it’s in a mall. Yes, it’s a chain. But don’t be an elitist. Order the Dirty Bird Martini, listen to someone playing Christmas songs on the piano and get the fuck over yourself. The Dirty Bird is a perfectly salty cocktail for a perfectly salty time of year.
#2: The Fairview Inn
If you REALLY need to get away, drive up to Talkeetna and hit the Fairview Inn. The Fairview on a non-Bachelor, non-Oosik winter night is truly one of the best bar experiences you’ll have in Alaska. It’s filled with locals, and has a super cozy vibe. Order a hot toddy (light on the honey), grab a seat under the buffalo and just sit back and eavesdrop until you are drunk enough to participate in conversation. Plus, if you have too much to drink, you can just rent a room upstairs.
I love this bar so much that this is my living room:
#1: Reilly’s
Drinking an Irish coffee in the front corner tables of Reilly’s is an Alaska holiday tradition. Sitting in the front corner of Reilly’s on a snowy day is like getting a wanted hug from a stranger.
One Christmas I got in a huge fight with my dad that led to my husband, sister, an old high school friend and me spending our Christmas at the dive bar in my Midwestern hometown. It was the worst Holiday of my life, but being in a homey bar, completely miserable at Christmas has become a nostalgic experience. And that is what I love about Reilly’s. It’s a community of people, who seem kinda miserable, drinking warm beverages together. And that is also what I love about the Holidays in a nutshell.
