F is for free speech, unless you’re a bar in Anchorage, in which case trolls will try to destroy you

By
Suzanne Downing
-
112

F Street Station, a popular watering hole in downtown Anchorage, is being dragged through the proverbial mud by radical leftists on social media this week, after the bar management posted a clever and brutally honest comment on the company’s well-known comment chalkboard:

“We now live in a world where your kid cannot pretend to be an Indian … But a grown man can pretend to be a woman.”

The leftists went nuts. Several started a social media campaign to destroy the bar: “Allies, time to do your thing,” wrote one, and included the F Street Station phone number.

Another wrote, “…if y’all work there I’d fuckin quit asap…unless of course you’re racist and transphobic too.” It appears the words “transphobic” and “racist” have been the most popular among the haters on Twitter, referring to the popular saying about kids, Indians, and men-as-women that has been making the rounds.

The Mudflats (a former leftist blog with a Twitter account) wrote more civilly than most and with less acidity than usual: “This is F Street Station in Anchorage. Time to learn to make your own French onion soup, people.”

One person suggested that the Anchorage Chamber of Commerce expel the business, and a local nonprofit dedicated to LGBTQ people used the occasion to start a fundraising drive to raise money for its cause of “Celebrating Queer Alaskans.”

The hate came fast and furious over the past few days, with dozens of nasty comments on Twitter and so many negative reviews from fake customers on Yelp that the review website had to shut down the comment section for the bar. It was being bombarded by people who have probably never been to Anchorage and their reviews of reuben sandwiches and French onion soup were smothered with a smearing of fakery.

TripAdvisor also suspended comments on its page for F Street Station. Although the establishment has a four-star rating from nearly 1,000 reviewers, TripAdvisor said that “Due to a recent event that has attracted media attention and has caused an influx of review submissions that do not describe a first-hand experience, we have temporarily suspended publishing new reviews for this listing. If you’ve had a firsthand experience at this property, please check back soon – we’re looking forward to receiving your review.”

Even former gubernatorial candidate Les Gara got in on the Twitter action, calling on the bar to sincerely apologize.

But whether that will dissuade longtime customers is another matter. In 2015, now-Rep. Zack Fields wrote glowingly about F Street Station’s food and ambiance in a long review for the Anchorage Press:

“F Street Station has been serving food and drinks in the same downtown Anchorage location since before statehood. With brass rails at the double bars, honey-toned wood paneling, and white smocked line cooks, it is a space that suspends time for those who enter. The food is unpretentious and impeccable, served straight from the kitchen for patrons who sit at the bar,” Fields wrote.

“Eating a meal at this often-packed establishment is a privilege; in a city full of mediocre and overpriced restaurants, F Street Station is consistently flawless,” Fields wrote, and then proceeded to wax poetic about the thin-sliced roast beef cooked to perfection for the roast beef sandwiches, and the exquisite Friday French dip lunches: “This French dip ($11) is the best I’ve eaten in Anchorage or anywhere else. It is certainly the finest lunch available in Anchorage for less than $20. After countless Friday French dip lunches, I’ve never encountered dry, overdone, or underdone meat. The French bread roll has never been under or over toasted. The cheese has always been perfectly melted, broiled briefly on the rolls until it bubbles slightly. The fries are always cooked correctly, and are real fries from potatoes-a surprisingly rare phenomenon. No wonder, then, that they sell out so quickly. Most Fridays, the line cooks call out ‘last dip’ right around noon.”

Fields went on to exclaim profusely about the buttered clams and calamari, the shrimp, and the pasta. Anyone who knows Rep. Fields knows he does not hand out compliments to conservatives, or to anyone for that matter, but he closed his review by writing:

“In some ways, it isn’t surprising F St has been around for more than a half century. It serves a very limited menu with unpretentious and expertly prepared food. The reason that certain dishes run out is because the food is sourced in limited supplies for maximum freshness. F St doesn’t have or need such trivialities as a website or Facebook page: Judging by the crowds, a significant percentage of Anchorage residents know it continues to be one of the best places to eat in town.”

F Street Station: Where the food is excellent and free speech is still a thing. For now.

112 COMMENTS

    • Because for radical leftist extremists — who are virtually ALL of what constitutes the so-called “left” nowadays —- the denial of truth, and the denial of reality, and the display of absolute conformity to the neo-Bolshevik political and social agenda, is de rigueur.

      • Gtfoh…radical extreme leftist”…????…it’s a bunch of keyboard worriers…it’s not like they tried to overthrow democracy…???….”radical extr…”…don’t be such a snowflake.

        • Jay, your ignorance, obliviousness and insouciance are clearly on display here. Obviously, you are paying zero attention to what is happening in this country, and what is happening around the world, as the radical leftist extremists continue to push, expand and enforce their totalitarian and insane political and social agenda.
          .
          In other words, you are either a liar, or are in denial. Possibly both.

  5. Guess where I’ll be eating my next meal!!! Well done F Street! I hope your business flourishes! God Bless free speech!

  8. Way to go F street I will eat there more. It’s obvious the left can be rattled with almost any phrase or try comment. They definitely can’t handle the truth. If some simple phrase can set them off then non of them could ever work in the real world. This is what the 49th ranked school system has given us some hard core lost little people. Go F street.

  10. I moved out of Alaska in 2021 and one of the places I do actually miss is F Street.

    So to the rest of these virtue signaling morons crying to get what they want…might I suggest you penetrate yourself anally with a splintering broom handle ??‍♂️

  11. Hope and pray F St can stand firm for free speech and freedom to ask questions. The woke cult is awful. Support this business. I used to eat there occasionally many years ago when I worked in Anchorage. Great place!

  12. These quotable quotes and proverbs cycle out every couple days. Always witty and funny. What is untrue about this one? Shutting their yappers this would be gone in days.
    If you don’t have the capacity to laugh, which at times involves laughing at your self. Truth be told. That individual usually has multiple underlying issues.
    The vocal minority needs to cease the Karenazation of everything they touch.

  14. why’s everyone jumping to conclusions that the writer was referring to trannys perhaps they were referencing drag queens either way it’s true but the ability of the left to see the negative in everything around them knows no end as they’re mostly miserable people on slacktavist missions with no rest from now till eternity

  15. Progressives have no sense of humor.

    It’s always interesting how the tolerance crowd is so wildly intolerant.

    How long before the doxing of staff and vandalism begins?

    • They can start with me. I worked lunches there about 30 years ago for a little extra cash while working legal in downtown Anchorage. Wonderful people, both in staff and customers. A lot of pilots, slopers and yes, lawyers.

  17. Haven’t eaten there for awhile, but I will make a point to eat there whenever I am in Anchorage!

  18. MRAK is a great venue for anonymous trolls exhibiting their inadequacies and fear of people with differing views/biology. The chalkboard message would be less divisive if Native American was used instead of Indian.

    • I’m curious how you “know” this. It’s almost like you think you know us all personally, “Frank”.

    • True. But in the era of when boys were allowed to be boys, they never played “ Cowboys & Native Americans “ ?
      I love their chalkboard there. The wife and I usually read that board before we even have a table.
      (Note for the newcomers)
      There’s a brass spittoon hanging at the corner of the chefs bar. Please Tip those great chefs and team members.

    • I’m Native American. “Indian” is just a term. The ancestor where I got my Native blood was called “Indiana.” Unfortunately, historical records for her background don’t seem to exist. :'(

    • Frank, if that is really your name:
      .
      Fear is not the issue.
      Being forced against your will to celebrate it is the issue.
      .
      Want to transition to a different gender, go ahead, I do not care. Nor do I care what your skin color is, how tall you are, or what religion you follow. It carries ZERO weight in my world.
      .
      What I do care about it being forced to celebrate your life choices, biology, or views. Saying I do not want children to attend drag shows is not fear of drag queens, it is acknowledging that drag shows are PG-13 at best, and inappropriate for young children. Saying a Christian baker should not be required to bake a cake for a gay wedding does not mean I hate gays, it means I support a business owner’s choice to provide or withhold services as they see fit.
      .
      Children, and leftists (sorry to repeat myself) immediately assume there cannot be any other reason than fear or hate for making a decision. How about indifference? How about you be you, and I will be me?
      .
      Nope, leftists cannot accept that. They want to show the world how incredibly tolerant they are and if you are not celebrating loudly or long enough, you become the object of their scorn.
      .
      Sincerely;
      Maury Suttman.
      Or Francine Rast.
      Or maybe Lucifer.
      .
      Or whatever name I just pulled out of my backside to prove I am not an anonymous troll.

      • Excellent statement. Reminds me of sitting in a bar in Tucson years ago. On one end of the bar was a group of hippies. On the other end was a group of real life cowboys. And not a single fight, no stink eye, and not even a harsh word between the two groups. They left each other alone and enjoyed their chosen company. There’s a life lesson there.

        • Unfortunately, those days are over.
          .
          Either comply, or get destroyed. That is the “liberal” (actually, leftists) point of view. And, because they are really just toddlers in adult bodies, they have not qualms against throwing a tantrum to get their way.

    • One may wonder just how obtuse you are, Frank.

      Differing ‘views’ are one thing, and accepted throughout the MRAK community, whether you wish to believe it or not.

      Differing ‘biology’ is an entirely different aspect of thought. Such a statement is akin to differing mathematics, where one plus one equals seven rather than two.

      There is no such thing as a differing ‘biology’ whereas there are only two sexes, or genders, rather than any more than two sexes or genders, just as there is no such thing as the sum of one plus one equals seven, rather than two.

      Anything beyond this said truth is based upon a mental disease, lacking capacity to understand what is real, and what is not.

      I do not within any way abhor said individuals that believe within themselves of what they are, or are not, mistakenly, but I do pity them.

      What I abhor is that said individuals are used as pawns so as to promote the gains of those that have not the least interest within those that suffer said mental illnesses so as to promote their own gain, both politically and financially.

      Oh, and I am not anonymous, nor a troll, as this is my real name.

      • “…where one plus one equals seven rather than two.”
        Well, if you leave one of the 1s in the vertical position, and rotate the other 1 into the horizontal position, and transpose that 1 to the top of the other 1, you sort have have a seven. Add a small degree of tilt to the vertical 1, and you are getting closer.
        .
        Oh, plus as in addition… Nope, that does not work.

    • Anchorage welcomes you. We have your lodging set up at the Sullivan. Don’t worry about meals, they are provided.

  20. “…if y’all work there I’d fuckin quit asap…unless of course you’re racist and transphobic too.”

    Brilliant advice from the Antifa set. Quit your livelihood for ???

  21. LOVE IT
    Put those snowflakes, right where they belong OUT of “F” street!
    think I will have lunch there, this week!

  22. Went there for lunch on Friday, there wasn’t a seat available. Does that tell you something??
    Free speech is only for the woke, left these days. You go F Street Station. You are the BEST.

  23. Could it be that some women are offended by the misappropriation of their gender by men wearing dresses. Just a thought.

  26. It’s been 20 years since I’ve had lunch at F Street Station. Looks like it is time to return, and return weekly.

    • Because:
      1. They are not liberal at all. They are leftists
      2. They have the emotional/reasoning of a toddler. They can and will throw a tantrum if they do not get what they want.
      3. They are lazy. They want to get recognition, but do not want to put in the effort to earn it. So, cutting others down in an attempt to build themselves up is the norm. (And it is very childlike behavior as well. See point #2.)
      4. Finally, leftists worship at the alter of the all-powerful State. Conformance is paramount, especially in thought/words. Independence is just another word to them, malleable, changeable word. Their “independence” is OK, yours is not.
      .
      In order to inflate their egos, they throw tantrums. It is a lot easier than actually doing something worthy of praise. Unfortunately, there are millions of like minded individuals (drones) on social media that will provide that praise.

  28. I’ll be in Anchorage in Early March , we will definately be spending some money at this Bar Guareented 100% , just say to Hell with these Woke Losers, the only way to deal with them is to tell them to go Pound Sand, they are few in numbers anyway. Most live in basements and have no real jobs anyway, meaning they are totally irrelevant to real life stuff anyways!

  30. Wow!!! A truth bomb and these woke Midwits want to boycott one of the LAST very good restaurants left in Anchorage? They must love mediocrity & bad food! F Street always has the support of people with an actual brain, let’s go!

  31. Been there many times and always a pleasant experience. I will now make a concerted effort to visit F Street more frequently. Long live free speech!

  32. The left believes in free speech, but only as long as you agree 100% with them. Dissenting opinions will not be tolerated. That is why we have the first amendment to the constitution.

  33. If you can’t love how you were born, then you confused about
    God’s love for you believing God will love you more if you can improve what he allowed. He allow babies grow how they grew- male, female, handicapped, gorgeous,plain, kinda ugly, or birth sicknesses /ailments and defects – so through you God may be glorified by his word lived out through you that God can heal, restore, and use our imperfections for his glory .

    • Two questions Jen. Does your god want us to change or improve? I’m overweight. Should I not try to lose weight.? The Christian god is a good guy. Why do you fear him?

      • Once again, Lucinda proves how tolerant she is by mocking someone who is comfortable and confident in their religious beliefs.
        .
        You are no different than the people who “…started a social media campaign to destroy the bar”
        Either everyone conform to your belief system, or they need to be destroyed.
        .
        Grow up, be an adult, and leave people with different thoughts alone. Jen did nothing to warrant your response.

        • CB. Easy there. What prompted you to go all exaggeration on me? My questions are not provocative, I’m just trying to learn about christianity. I’m not mocking. Seems like my courteous and basic theological questions should be welcomed. Here’s a chance for you or Jen to reach out to a non religious person.

          Your defensiveness suggests a weak faith.

          • What makes you think I have any faith at all in any deity?
            .
            And, seriously. Look me in the (figurative) eye and swear that you were not trying to mock a religious individual in any way? Go on, be honest for once in your leftist life.
            .
            Seriously, there is not a single word in your reply that even came close to “trying to learn.”

      • @Lucinda…Proverbs 1:7 “The fear of the Lord is the beginning of knowledge,
        But fools despise wisdom and instruction.” (NKJV)

      • You’ve stated vehemently that you don’t believe in God. So how do you know if he’s good, bad, or otherwise? And if, as you say, he doesn’t exist, then he can’t be ‘good’or ‘bad’, can he?

        And where did you come up with the statement that any of ‘us’ FEAR God? Do explain.

  35. Thank you F Street for stating the obvious. Remember, nobody is obligated to participate in someone elses’ delusions.

    • George. Not true, entirely. I’m obligated to say the pledge of allegiance at council meetings but I don’t believe in any of the delusions held within, religious or otherwise.

      • No, you don’t. Sit quietly, take a knee or simply resign your seat if you don’t believe in our Pledge. You do have a choice, just like employees could choose a compulsory injection to keep their jobs or quit.

      • Who or what says that you are obligated to say the pledge? You aren’t ‘obligated’, you are just to weak to show your true beliefs.
        Flip this around. If I attended a socialist party meeting with you and your friends, I would NOT rise for the pledge to the party. If I was run out or asked to leave, so be it, but I wouldn’t act like an anti American just to get along.

      • Who is forcing you to say anything at all? Name names. Or, are you one of those people who think “If I do not want to hear it, no one can hear it.”
        .
        Tell you what, next time you are at a council meeting, and the Pledge is being said, cover your ears, and yell “LALALALALALALALALALA!” really, REALLY loudly. Not only will you not be able to hear it, no one else will.

        • CB. I’m not forced to say the pledge, but to avoid unwanted attention and conform, I am obligated to adhere to the pledge norm.

          • What an interesting statement, which is completely opposite to your opening comment. YOU make a choice to comply, because it is easier FOR YOU. You are not obligated, you make a choice and then complain about it. Look in the mirror Lucinda blame the right person

          • What? Do you think you are at some council meeting run by leftists?
            Adults do not care whether you conform or not. Be an adult. Stop thinking anyone else on the planet gives a toss about whether you say the pledge or not. .
            Next time, stand there with your hands in your pockets, and your lips sealed, and see how many people even notice.

      • Then, Lucinda, you do not hold true unto your own belief system.

        You abdicate rather than hold firm, which is a lie within yourself.

        A decided weakness, to be sure.

        You either believe, or you do not. There is no try.

        That you do so simply means that you are not an individual of conviction, but of opportunity, a sad state of affairs indeed.

      • That’s because your a neo liberal fascist subvertingly poisoning western society with tyrannical ideology. And your unawareness to this truth is what makes you sound ignorant, uneducated and morally lost. Maybe one day your hardened heart will awaken to what liberty truly means and see the monsterous reality of the modern day tyrannical
        liberal ideology you’ve alined with . You would have made an excellent red guard in shedding off the 4 olds. I pity you.

  36. Most of the comments here seem to be for free speech rights for the person who wrote the statement on the blackboard, but not for the same free speech rights of those who disagree with the statement. They both have the right to express themselves, don’t they?

    • Except we aren’t allowed to harass as destroy a persons reputation- their life- as the bad reviewers attempted by their free speech expressing their differing opinion.

    • You would have it that they would be locked up for what they wrote. That’s the difference. Nobody’s trying to sue or have you arrested for being queer.

    • Are you blind?! Find one post here that says anything on the order of ‘socialists shouldn’t be allowed to say this’. The real citizens here are incensed that these lefties are trying to stifle the free speech of F Street and their employees. Some lefties have even put up social media posts threatening employees and pushing to shut down the restaurant.
      So, who is it that is ‘for free speech’ and who is not? This MRAK pal, we’re here because we are free to state our causes. Most of us understand that that doesn’t guarantee everyone agrees.

    • Difference is the folks that did not like the sentiment on the board have: “…started a social media campaign to destroy the bar.”
      .
      Don’t like what was written, ignore it. See, problem solved.

    • Sadly that is not correct, Harry.
      All are welcome to offer an opinion. Agree or disagree that is your right. What is not your privilege is to take it a step further and harass employees or deliberately destroy the person/businesses reputation. If you do not like what they say or do, fine, then say that and don’t do business with them. However telling employees to quit, calling them names and leaving spiteful reviews, that have nothing to do with their food quality or service, is unacceptable. If you do such things you elevate your opinions and feelings to the status of omnipotent decrees ALL have to live by and yourself to the ultimate arbiter of everything, discarding ANY possibility for others to come to another conclusion and live their lives the way they see fit.

  38. I was a regular customer for many years, since 1980. Carlos was my favorite Chef until he passed a few years ago. I had met people from around the world there and became longtime friends with many. The messages on the board were always treasured, humorous, and sometimes just pure truth which made it so much fun. It was always tops on my list of preferred watering holes as well as the best food in town. It eventually became too crowded with the yuppies and when guppies like Fields showed up it just wasn’t my cup of tea anymore. The kitchen and bar staff had so much appeal and were tipped so generously by me at least that I don’t think any will be quitting on account of what someone wrote on the board. I grew up with Indians and we played cowboys and indians all the time. Later in life I worked with Alaska natives and we ALL joked about cowboys and eskimos-no problem. However it seems some people are upset about the statement regarding the feferance of a man pretending to be a woman. If that offends you then maybe you shouldn’t try so hard to dress so extreme as to draw attention to your sex change. I know gay people who you would never know to be gay until they make the choice to share that fact which I absolutely could care less about who they want to sleep with. And then there is the group of gays who parade around town flaunting their most extreme sexual fantasies for all to see in many cases similar to a freak show at a circus. They just seem to get off by parading in front of children, making out in public, lewd behavior such as caressing each others ass at bars and restaurants. And they insist this lewd public behavior is simply their “free speech”. Heterosexuals dont seem to make a public spectacle of their sexual preferences so as to show others such as children lewd behavior. It seems as though some are lacking confidence in themselves and have to exhibit extreme behavior so as to attract attention to justify their position. When my child was in the fourth grade he had a male teacher and over the summer he got a barrage of surgery and steroids and returned as a woman and expected everyone to address him as a woman and was so offended when someone called him Mr instead of Miss. My son was confused so we decided a different school was the right choice. Everyone transferred out of that class and he/she went elsewhere. Not sure what other results were expected but he/she should have expected confusion from the students at that age.

    Hopefully the woke crowd will go to MAD MYRNA’s and It will be easier to get a seat at my old favorite watering hole. LOL

  39. What a sad way to spend a life. Just think, an individual waits all day for someone to tell them how to think and what to say. Then, like a robot, proceeds to spew lies, hatred, and viciousness to a prepared list of social media that in turn does the same. I wonder if those types ever have an original thought sprout up in that cave they call a mind. It seems to me that is just an existence and a colossal waste of a life.

  40. He’s everybody what else can we do to piss off the libs? This could be fun and make a club out of it the POL Club.Just think we could rattle their cages every other day. We could be a non profit and use the money on our self’s.

  41. Never ate at F Street ….too crowded.
    Now it’s gonna be even more crowded.
    Hear the food is great & it’s hard to get a culinary job there, very low staff turnover.

  42. I’ve been in Alaska since 1978. As far as I can remember F Street has been a part of my life in this town.

    It has always been a place for those to gather who will defend our great country.

    All hail Cheese and Crackers!

  43. The very next time my wife and I are in Anchorage, we will definitely SUPPORT F Street Station! Hopefully they will be courageous and ‘hold the line’ against the STUPID MORONIC leftist trolls. I’m sick of this woke bull—-. Long live our Constitutional Republic .

    • Before we do that, we need to get some powerful magnets, and wrap the leftists in copper wire. The energy generated by their spinning that one could power the green new deal for decades.

  45. Never been to F Street but will make it a destination.
    I also include Kriner’s diner on my Anchorage destinations when I reluctantly visit the big city.

  46. There is one other interesting sidebar this blackboard missive raises.
    This question goes out to Frank et. al, who insist that our biology is fluid and malleable down to our genes and biological gender is what the person chooses. By the same token if biology in the individual is not fixed, then people should be able to change their race from let’s say Caucasian to Native or Asian to African. Yet any individual claiming such a transformation, has been excoriated, shunned and lambasted and told that race can not be changed as it is set in our biology/genes. So Frank what say you???

  47. There is free speech, Harry, and then there is retaliatory response speech.

    That is, speech to oppress free speech within regard to shut down said free speech down within threats to eliminate free speech disagreed upon.

    One cannot agree with the aspect of free speech whilst at the same time demonizing said free speech within an attempt to shut it down at a penalty of disagreed free speech.

  48. Good, We have tried to go in there a few times to eat and can never find a seat. Maybe now we can finally get in and try the food during Iditarod.

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