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(Last Updated 2021-11-01.)
The food here is great! The lamb is delicious. Also, they have a large, tasty selection of fancy pizzas to choose from. The service is classy and friendly.
The food is kind of expensive, but worth it. The decor and atmosphere was pleasant, though not quite as cozy and romantic as an Italian restaurant. There is a lot of Greek-themed decor in the form of columns, vases, stone statues, and paintings.
The restaurant is located on 2nd Avenue downtown, accessible from Illinois street.
This is a retro 1950's diner on South Cushman street, with decor and music to match. The burgers, malts, and other food are good, at a decent price (for Fairbanks). It is a nice place to take your family, with a kids menu. The staff has always been friendly to us. They are closed on Sundays.
Recently (2021) they have been doing a lot to renovate, such as replacing the booths with new ones, and repainting the building, and that has been a big improvement. The parking lot is in pretty bad shape, but I'm hoping that is on the list for next summer.
This Italian restaurant is located on College road near where it intersects with the Johansen expressway. It has a cozy, romantic atmosphere, and makes a nice choice for a dinner date. The staff has always been friendly and the service is good.
As far as the food goes: they have an expensive but fancy pizza menu, where you can build your own pizza out of quality ingredients. I have also had a good experience with the clam pasta alfredo, though they go maybe a little too heavy on the cheese (i.e., cheese to pasta ratio) for my liking. My wife enjoyed the calzone she ordered. They also have a good salad bar that comes included with most of the meals.
Geraldo's does not seem quite as amazing as the Olive Garden down in Anchorage, which is my favorite place to go for pasta, but the food is tasty, the atmosphere is nice, and I think the prices are a little better than the Olive Garden.
Chena Hot Springs Resort is about 55 miles or so east of Fairbanks, at the end of Chena Hot Springs Road. My wife and I like to go there for anniversary celebrations and such like, when we can. The features we enjoy:
During the summer, our family likes to go to Chena Lakes and spend time at the beach and swimming area. It is located out a little ways past the city of North Pole as you are driving out on the Richardson Highway SE from Fairbanks. We usually set up a small tent on the beach (for shade) and let the kids play in the water next to the shore. There is also a designated shallow swimming area, and next to that are some playground sets on a green lawn. Some people like to rent small boats from the park. There are some charcoal grills and picnic tables available on a trail that goes along the lake.
There are some basic bathroom facilities close by — not the cleanest and most beautiful ever, but they are usable. Bring water bottles — the vending machine is not always stocked. Bring properly-fitting life-jackets for the little kids — there is no lifeguard, and the kids could drown in certain areas if your attention slips for a few moments. Dogs are not allowed on the beach but some people get away with breaking the rules. We recommend coming early in the day before the younger party crowds show up and start playing loud, dirty music. There are a lot of people today who won't think twice about exposing your kids to the most vile garbage. In any case, the park is locked up at 10pm.
If you need a place to take the younger kids while the parks aren't open, the Fairbanks Children's Museum is a good option. I don't personally go there much, but my wife takes the kids often. They have a bunch of nice playsets, most of which have some kind of educational theme. Single visit admission is not too expensive, but if you plan on going there all winter, you might want to buy a membership. It is located downtown on Cushman street.
A nice, large, family friendly park at the corner of Peger and Airport roads, open mainly during the summer. You can take younger kids there and they can play in playsets or run around in the grass on the large lawns. There are a number of shops selling food and various tourist items, as well as a train museum and a pioneer museum, and some old historic cabins.
For whatever reason, I've never observed any trouble there with drunks, vagrants, or criminal activity, unlike in downtown Fairbanks or at other city parks.
If you are looking for classy gifts or collectors items, Blue Door is the place to go. It's a three story house filled with a wide variety of antique items such as old records, metal signs, ancient tools, Alaska books, old post-cards, knives, and vintage clothing and kitchenware. For my part, I never go there to find stuff for myself, but often have gone there to find good gifts for others.
The building is on Illinois street, on the right side as you are heading north towards College road.
This is the go-to stop in town for second-hand goods. My wife shops there mainly for clothing and for various household and kitchen items. I like to look through the electronics and office supply sections. I find that if I drop in to Value Village about once a month, that at least every-other visit I'll find some interesting little piece of vintage electronics, like an unusual model of pocket calculator, or a classic electronics kit.
They've got a lot of other sections like used books, DVDs, toys, board games, and small appliances, but near as I can tell they are all worthless items that nobody wants. I picked up a few good music CDs once, however.