Food & Drink May 29, 2013 at 4:00 am

Twin Peaks and Cherry Pie

A Sad Visit to a Place That Didn't Exist

Bethany Jean Clement
That gum you like is going to come back in style. The Stranger
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Comments

1
The pie was okay, but the coffee was ~terrible~ whenever I visited.
undead ayn rand on May 29, 2013 at 10:07 AM Report this
2
I've had two kinds of their pie, apple and cherry. Very disappointing. Pie isn't even that hard to make good. They got the most amazing free advertising in the world, and could (should) have used that as their mandate to make themselves into the best pie-making diner in the world. But alas. I won't be back.
ohthetrees on May 29, 2013 at 10:43 AM Report this
3
It was better years ago but the last time I went it was horrible.
kamsbry on May 29, 2013 at 12:02 PM Report this
4
I've popped into this place a few times when I've visited North Bend, and popped right back out. It smells weird and the food on diner's plates looked greasy.

Thus, I discovered a small place nearly next door that is the perfect small-town café and bakery - George's. I really don't want to tell people about it, because then I won't be able to get in, but I'm not the only one who knows it's beauty - it's got 5 stars on Trip advisor:

http://www.tripadvisor.com/ShowUserRevie…

Get the quiche. It's a thing of airy beauty. And bring a bag of baked goods home to enjoy for the next few days.
anita772 on May 29, 2013 at 1:11 PM Report this
5
I think even if the food was better, the preternaturally cheery tweety-bird Americana decor would keep me away.

I suppose they want tourists to have a kid-friendly destination?
undead ayn rand on May 29, 2013 at 1:36 PM Report this
6
But, the show was so good that summer (was it really 20 years ago?)!
Then they decided to make it a serial, and it got bad fast.
crone on May 29, 2013 at 8:10 PM Report this
8
This was hands down the worst piece of pie I ever had in my entire life. Ugh. Such a bummer!
on May 30, 2013 at 9:57 AM Report this
9
Nobody mentioned the food other than pie. Best hash browns and the omelettes were perfect with a coffee or beer after morning hike or slopes. We love it but we are low-maintenance. It is a diner in North Bend afterall.
on May 30, 2013 at 12:24 PM Report this
10
I guess life doesn't imitate art in North Bend.
howie in seattle on May 31, 2013 at 8:41 AM Report this
11
@5 - Because nothing says kid-friendly like Twin Peaks tourism.

"Look, Tyler, that's where they found Laura's body! Here, wrap yourself in this plastic sheet and lie down so mommy can take a picture."
MacCrocodile on May 31, 2013 at 8:44 AM Report this
12
"She's dead... wrapped in plastic!"
Joe Szilagyi on May 31, 2013 at 8:48 AM Report this
13
That's too bad, although not a surprise. I have to say that the pie looks good in the photo.
Matt from Denver on May 31, 2013 at 8:48 AM Report this
14
i want to buy twede's, gut it of it's fundie owners and tweety bird crap, and turn it into a twin peaks memorial restaurant/museum. julee cruise on the jukebox all day, all night! #longtermgoals.com
Adrian Ryan on May 31, 2013 at 8:51 AM Report this
15
@14 - I fully support this idea. Can we do a Kickstarter?
MacCrocodile on May 31, 2013 at 9:07 AM Report this
16
I get up to North Bend fairly frequently on my way to Cedar Falls. While the Main Street is still charming and surprisingly low-key, I am dismayed by how much of the timberland has disappeared in the last ten years or so, replaced by either golf courses or tacky large homes on tiny lots.

But the late 80's-early 90's were sort of a golden age for NW themed shows, weren't they?
Catalina Vel-DuRay on May 31, 2013 at 9:09 AM Report this
17
Oh come on, I've been there a couple of times and its not that bad. Sure its not as good as what you'd find it Seattle but it has it's charm.
j2patter on May 31, 2013 at 9:12 AM Report this
18
"The old jukebox, the wood-paneled walls, and the mustard Formica counter with its red and silver stools are all gone."
They were never there. Interior shots of the RR were filmed in a studio, just like every other interior shot. The few views of the exterior were from several takes early in the show's development.
Eastpike on May 31, 2013 at 9:13 AM Report this
19
Nostalgia never works in the end, because there is no end. Because the diner is now show nostalgia instead of real life nostalgia, i.e., twice-removed, it can't possibly remain interesting, just like old photographs can be interesting but our interest in them cannot.
Fnarf on May 31, 2013 at 9:20 AM Report this
20
@11: Hey, if you can find a better explanation for the corn-syrupy decor, go for it. It's young child's birthday party on the inside, not noirish.
undead ayn rand on May 31, 2013 at 9:26 AM Report this
21
The last time I was there they had "freedom fries" on the menu.
SPG on May 31, 2013 at 10:00 AM Report this
22
@14 Somebody's got to do this. Just from a tourism standpoint Twede's is flushing a ton of money down the toilet by driving so many tourists away, who would flock if the atmosphere had any whiff of Twin Peaks to it.
DavidG on May 31, 2013 at 10:24 AM Report this
23
@20 - I'd say it's more that the owners want to have their impossible, 1950s-dream diner and don't seem to care much for that horrible Lynch fellow and his devil movies. They'll happily capitalize on the people who come to see the exterior, but they don't support that nonsense, no sir.
MacCrocodile on May 31, 2013 at 10:34 AM Report this
24
I went when it was still the Mar-T and it was the worst piece of cherry pie that I have ever had. It was a miracle that I didn't break a tooth on the cherry pit that was in it. Never gone back.

@14 - I'd totally help fund that.
Red Spandex Guy from Airpocalypse on May 31, 2013 at 10:44 AM Report this
25
@23 - Ironic, given the vast number of Twin Peaks-influenced diners and bars across the country and especially in Seattle, such as Linda's and Lost Lake, that the Original Twin Peaks Diner is so far off the mark. Seems like it should be the flagship of northwest blue-collar noir!
DavidG on May 31, 2013 at 11:43 AM Report this
26
@25 - And this is why we need a Kickstarter to buy the place and "restore" it to its proper aesthetic.
MacCrocodile on May 31, 2013 at 12:11 PM Report this
27
I've had pie there twice and it was delicious both times. I think it's just one of those things people like to complain about.
Amanda on May 31, 2013 at 12:17 PM Report this
28
@18: They shot the interiors for the pilot and early episodes on-site. Only later did they re-create the diner on a studio lot in California, for which they copied the layout and accoutrements of the original Mar-T.

So yes, all that Bethany describes did in fact exist before the fire.
d.p. on May 31, 2013 at 1:30 PM Report this
29
And yet, there she is: Audrey... still dancing to the jukebox... in my mind's eye. And that is somehow more than enough for Me.
Jude Fawley on May 31, 2013 at 2:49 PM Report this
30
Kickstarter idea... Count me in.
Log Lady on May 31, 2013 at 7:23 PM Report this
31
i don't understand. Isn't there any place better to review than some mediocre diner in North Bend? So the place doesn't live up to the tv show, is that a surprise? I still want to go to Fantasy Island, but that doesn't mean it exists.
ritzidean on June 1, 2013 at 12:00 PM Report this
32
@31: It's oft-reviewed because of the jarring difference between the noirish ambiance of TP and the cloying (TERRIBLE COFFEE)reality.

"I still want to go to Fantasy Island, but that doesn't mean it exists."

http://www.yelp.com/biz/los-angeles-coun…
undead ayn rand on June 3, 2013 at 3:19 PM Report this
33
Mar-T /tweeds was never about dinner service. For locals it is all about breakfast. It has changed lots over the years and just isnt the same without the big haired former owner and pie maker Marty.
on June 4, 2013 at 4:09 PM Report this
34
Whenever I get to hankering to sate myself with pie and coffee up in the deep, dark, Lynchonian mountains, I make a bee line out of Bellingham on the 542 to hit up Frosty Inn in Maple Falls. It's very dark and very weird in there (logger weird). Plus, it's just about five miles south of the Canadian border so therefore more like the real Twin Peaks would be. Anyway, much closer to the outer fringes of the known world (+way better pie!) than North Bend.
the shirtcocker on June 6, 2013 at 5:22 PM Report this
35
I used to live out there. The place was always a dump. Bad food. Bad service.
on June 16, 2013 at 9:51 AM Report this
36
You could just eat this instead:

http://www.geekychef.com/2015/05/garmonb…
on May 24, 2015 at 12:06 PM Report this

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