Summer patio at Gambardella's
Holy cats! Gambardella’s is now doing breakfast, and it’s fantastic!
It was just luck that I discovered it, too: I’d had to walk to an ATM before traveling, and my walk back took me along Second Avenue past this classic Fairbanks restaurant. Their door was open, and they’d put out an “Open” sign. I stopped in long enough to find out why, then brought my family back later. (Maybe it wasn’t just luck: I’d never have noticed it if I’d had to drive.)
They have a simple enough breakfast menu: pastries, eggs, bagels, toast, omelettes, coffee, juice, et cetera. Our portions — my wife got a breakfast burrito with eggs, cheese, and bacon, while I got a frittata with sun-dried tomatoes, onions, and broccoli — were modestly sized, not too large; at the same time, the prices were none too high, in the $3-$4 range (omlettes were $7-$8). My experience with many breakfast restaurants is just the opposite: both portions and prices are excessive, and I wish they’d just cut both in half. We also each had a latte — only 99 cents through May 29!
Gambardella's middle dining room
Not only were the food and prices reasonable, but Gambardella’s itself is a beautiful environment in which to have breakfast. The building is colorful, a bright spot in a sometimes-dreary downtown plagued by too much gray and beige. Their interior is comfortable and has high-enough class to make your breakfast feel like a dignified affair — though, as I said, not the prices that would keep you out. (My only quibble with Gambardella’s is their soundproofing: it’s very noisy at dinner. But not at breakfast.)
I’m not in the restaurant-review business, nor in the promotion/advertisement business. But, when something comes into town that gives people something to walk to, gives people a reason to get out of their cars and experience their own neighborhood, that’s exciting. Of course, The Diner (on Illinois) and the Co-op Diner (in the Two Street Co-op) have been serving breakfast downtown for years. What makes this special is that it gives people of no special means a chance to enjoy a morning of beauty and elegance (with somebody else doing the dishes) right in their neighborhood.
Gambardella’s is serving breakfast 7-11 a.m., Monday through Friday. Stop by soon, and help keep this touch of elegance afloat!
This is nice to know. We’ll have to check it out!
Now. If they could just make a decent pizza….
Been to gambardella’s twice and sorry, will never go again.
Went there several years ago, and while it was okay, it was not great. Not worht the coins spent.
Gave it a second chance recently and were VERY dissatisfied with the service. The Waiter bordered on rude and was a zombie. Food was cold in the middle – certainly not fresh faire and when asked to reheat was told it would be remade because we ate part of it! All we needed was a 2 minutes in a microwave! When the food finally arrived, the others in the party had long finished their meal. It was not worth it to say the least. Over priced and undercooked.
What must the poor tourists think who venture into a place like that!
We have since discovered Geraldo’s and they get a big thumbs up for Italian cuisine in Fairbanks!!
And the tourists, as they walk the streets near their hotels — can they find Geraldo’s?
No Paul, but they CAN take the CITY BUS – you remember, that wonderful commodity you so love…. what a stupid reply to my comment! You can’t come up with ANYTHING to say about the lousy service and high cost??? Takes a liberal to change the subject to something that is irrelevant! You just confirmed to me what you are truly all about… go back to San Francisco….. they are YOUR kind of people there.
And also, the tourists might feel safer and more secure walking the streets of Fairbanks IF there was more control in dealing with the drunks! They need to stop the “compassionate people” from feeding these drunk people who CHOOSE not to take care of themselves, and who CHOOSE to drink instead.
Isn’t it wonderful to see a drunk woman sitting on one of the new benches along the River, as she pulls down her pants and pees on the bench in sight of the tourists?? Or a man trying to have sex with a drunk woman on the banks of the Chena in plain sight of anyone walking along the River? Stop feeding them downtown, close the bars and liquor stroes downtown and those people will go somewhere else.
Feeding people like that is not compassionate, it is stupid.
They need to be banished from the city just like they are banished from the villages. The downtown Association should concentrate on things that matter – policing the downtown core – if they really care about the tourist trade. They don’t really care, is the problem.
Their bottom line is that they can’t wait to screw the tourists out of every penny they can because they only get one chance! They won’t be back anyway, so take advantage of them while you can!!
I have compassion for people who are truly in need of help, and whose actions show that they are truly trying to change theor situation. These drunks are chronic and don;t care to do ANYTHING to help themselves.
The Downtown Association and Vision Fairbanks should be paying for policing the downtown area and their businesses, instead of worrying about oh, something like covering the sidewalks so people will like it more in the winter – or making an already crowded street TWO way – as I said before, once that happens, I will just avoid downtown altogether.
There is NOTHING there that makes it a destination for me.
EXCEPT, I will add, the Best Thai food place in town – Bahn Thai. Now THERE is a restaurant that can be walked to by tourists, and is a good decent price for excellent food, and the waitstaff is VERY good.
Now tell me again that Gambardella’s is so wonderful…. just because you can walk there??? Hahahahahahaahha what a joke….
Breakfast is fundamental. Maybe if B. Lynn had more he/she would be less crabby? ;-)
A big part of the successful transformation of my bombed-out inner-city neighborhood in Portland were new breakfast places. They were the first new businesses that arrived in our neighborhood and marked a change for the better. Even the bad ones (not so sure I’d trust B. Lynn’s review of Gambardella’s anyway) were important in bringing people out and into the neighborhood.
Meet your friends for breakfast and change the world!
After living in locations like Ester, Farmer’s Loop and an undisclosed location way beyond-Fox since 1970, I moved downtown, within a short walk of Gambradella’s, about 5 years ago.
Is downtown perfect? No, but I sure enjoy walking to walk, leaving the car at home most days, and even walking to Gamby’s for breakfast before work. I’ve rarely had anything but a good meal there over the years. Is it always perfect? no, but it’s pretty good for the money.
Is there a problem with chronic inebriates? yes, but things are FAR better than in the 1970′s. There’s a famous shot of 2nd Avenue at 5:00 on a July morning, taken from atop the old First national bank. The street if full of drunks who stumbled out of the bars at closing time. Many were still around when I would arrive at work. Unlike those days, the community has responded. Shorter bar hours, more police presence and,
as to B. Lynn’s comment:
“The Downtown Association and Vision Fairbanks should be paying for policing the downtown area and their businesses . . .”
yes, they should — and they do — through the Community Service Patrol and the Downtown Ambassadors. Doing a cost efficient service that relieves the burden on City Police and Paramedics.
Finally, lately you will rarely see a real estate ad for the various condo buildings located near the downtown. That’s because they sell quickly by word of mouth, without a realtor’s ad.