annsan  > On the Road or On Foot > Comfort Diner
exhibit
These were for a small exhibit at a great diner in New York - The Comfort Diner on 23rd street in Manhattan. The exhibit was up for viewing in 2008 . (note: the 23rd street location of the diner is gone - but the 45th street location is definitely still there. Sepia applied in photo shop (note: the images here may have an uneven amount of toning that was standardized in the files used for printing... The actual prints at the diner will not be for sale (they are the property of the Diner's owner, but prints can be ordered here or directly from me by sending me email at annsan@nyc.rr.com. All of the photos were taken with film over a period of 35 years and scanned into photo shop. No manipulation has been done on the computer except for the sepia toning and cleaning up dust and scratches as one would do in a darkroom. Some of these eating places still exist - others have been long gone. The captions on each of the photos here indicate which are which are which. Twelve of these will make up a calendar for 2010 which will be available on cafe press in the late fall.
 
annsan > Cora's Cafe, Tucson Arizona -2002. Cora's is a terrific breakfast and lunch place for Mexican-American food.  I've learned that in February of 2008 it was sold by the family that owned it for years, but is still a cafe.
annsan > Cafe with truck clock art (yeah, the lights on the truck glow.) Near Brawley, California - 1982.  Apparently gone, but may not be.  The
name of the cafe is "The Gate Way" - try searching that on google :-)
annsan > Lester's Diner - Bryan, Ohio - October 1993. Don't think I ate here, had to take the photo for a friend of the same name whose wife is a fabulous cook.
annsan > Globe, Arizona - 1985 (it is gone now, replaced with an Arby's last time I was there.  Justa Cafe appears in both of my sign books and on one of my calendars in straight black and white and in color.
annsan > Café in Boundary, Alaska – 1989.  This is the real Alaska back country It appears this café is gone, but there is still likely to be a gas station there. This is just past  the Alaska/Canada border on a dirt road called the Top-of-the-world Highway that connects Dawson , Yukon the the Alaskan highway.  The café was closed when we passed through in autumn that year but the gas station attendant filled our thermos with coffee from her own  coffee pot and declined any payment – How sweet was that?
annsan > Fans of "Northern Exposure" will recognize this cafe. The TV show about the denizens of an (imaginary) Alaskan town was shot in Roslyn, Washington. I took this shot in 2002.
annsan > Rosie’s Café -  Donnellson, IA – 1993.  This was in the fall, just a while after the terrible floods in the area but Donnellson was not one of the towns flooded – I think I passed through it  because other roads along the way were blocked.  Rosie’s is no more – but I don’t know if that building still houses an eating place.. Got sketchy information from someone in a nearby town.
annsan > Main Street Café – Faulkton, SD – 1993. It is now a beauty shop. It was sweet getting the information on its history from natives gathered in a  current café nearby which I called a few days before gathering this portfolio. I have no notes on the cuisine, it may have been closed when I passed through.
annsan > Helen's Restaurant - Machias, Maine - 2004. It's been there forever... a down east institution. I've chowdered down there for over 30 years.
annsan > The Club Cafe in Santa Rosa, New Mexico - 1991.  The cafe was open, as you see, when I took this photo - but it closed its doors soon after... in fact, later that very year.  The fat man sign and the neon signs were rescued for a museum in town.
annsan > The Diner - Tres Piedras, New Mexico - 1990.
 Apparently still there in 2002 (from a web mention) but not there now.  Called a motel in town to ask if it was still there. The response was “I don’t think so”. I find no notes on food for it.. I think I just liked the look of the place.
annsan > The Manhattan Café in Deming, NM. October, 1985.  Didn’t eat there, which apparently was our loss. When this photo was in a gallery some years later a visitor left me a note that they had the best  Mexican food in Deming.  Alas, it was gone by 2001 – the last time I passed through the town. The photo is in two of my books and my Sign Language wall calendar.
annsan > The actually famous Tuba City Truck stop in Tuba City, Az .  Taken in 1990. We did get our Navajo Taco fix. The fry bread was wonderful.  The claim “where the stars come to eat” is probably true, as it is in an area where many films were shot about the old west – not to mention a ton of commercials. Just read that it is also a thing of the past. Sigh.
annsan > Keeping with the gas station theme, this is the Gasoline Alley, Flying A café in Dayton, WA.  Took this in 1993 and was disappointed it wasn’t open. There is a lot to read on the web about Flying A brand of petroleum.  The café was built around a remnant of a gas station. Couldn’t confirm whether this is gone or not.
annsan > Betsy's Diner - Falmouth, Massachusetts - 1997. Most definitely still there.
annsan > C & E Diner - Harrisonburg, Virginia - 1987. I have just learned
from a local (Thanks, Sandy!) that this diner has been gone for many years.
annsan > Curley's Diner - Stamford, Connecticut - 2002. This diner fended off the long arm of Target Stores to keep itself open and in this very spot.  There is a lot of stuff on the web about it.  So glad it is still alive.
annsan > Palace Car - St Louis,Missouri - 1983,  It's gone, but I don't know
how long ago it closed. This was a diner in the true tradition of diners - an actual railroad dining car.  My St. Louis friends told me it has been gone a long time.
annsan > U Drop In Café – Shamrock, Tx – 1987. If the building’s structure looks familiar it may be because it was next to a  FINA gas station.  Both buildings are now part of a Route 66 historical preservation project so these days at least the funky architecture can be admired.  As I recall the food at the Drop in was pretty awful.
annsan > Aguilera’s Mexican Restaurant – Holbrook, Az – 1990.  I remember yummy baked goods.  A phone call to another spot in Holbrook confirmed my fears it was no longer around.  Holbrook is another Route 66 / I-40 town and often visited by tourists and truckers.
annsan > (Rudy’s) The Weenie Wagon – Whitehorse, Yukon – 1989.  Had a nice dog there.  Was amused to see the  variety of cuisine offered - chili, bratwurst, pirogi, tacos   - I think there were even some Chinese items . Pretty sure this is still in operation ,judging from a few references I found on the web. It is near the old rail station. Rudy also has a restaurant. same Rudy? One thinks so.
annsan > Higway café near Valentine, TX . Here is one that was closed  (long?) before I photographed the building in 1985. We were traveling on the old Route 66 that still ran along side I-40.
annsan > Craig's Bar-B-Q - De Valls Bluff, Arkansas - 1987. We stumbled on it int the Spring of 1987 by staying off the highway when driving through Arkansas east of Little Rock. Great pulled pork sandwiches.  Turns out it was and is a famous place. After congratulating ourselves on the find and savouring our BBQ we looked around the place to see the walls adorned with commendations from food critics.
annsan > Fiesta City Cafe - Greenfield, California - 1987. Still there, mentioned on the web recently.  I had notes in my journal that we
loved the food, ambiance and price.  I noted the decor was "wonderfully tacky".
annsan > Evett’s café – Magdelena, NM – 1988 - On a cold winter’s day along  Route 60. Don’t know when the bank was turned into a café, but it is still a popular café known for its pies.
annsan > Another bank turned café is this one in Lewiston, Id.  Photo taken in
August of 1988.  But unlike Evett’s in New Mexico, the Fergus is no more.
annsan > The Oasis Diner - Burlington, Vt. June, 1978.  Took this shot  early in the morning. Quite  recently I was assured the  diner is still there and functioning.
 

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