A1 Diner

Great Food in Gardiner

I recently got a new listing in Litchfield, less than 15 minutes from downtown Gardiner (my hometown). So naturally, after the final staging and photography was done, my photographer and I headed over for some lunch to one of my favorite childhood memories, the iconic A-1 Diner. The diner is located in an 1946 Worcester Diner Car and has been a fixture on the bridge next to the Cobbossee Stream. I thought it was only fitting to dine at this location as my new listing with waterfront was just aways down this very stream in Litchfield.

The diner has been known by a few names. Originally known as Heald’s, it was later bought in 1952 by Maurice Wakefield and the name was changed to Wakefield’s until 1979 when he sold it. I remember it best as Wakefield’s. It’s been awhile since I last sat in one of its booth seats surrounded by chrome and robins’ egg blue tiles. The memories came flooding back. I vividly recall the waitresses dressed in perfectly starched crisp uniforms with matching aprons and hairnets and one in particular with bright red lipstick that called us “hon”. The food was home cooking at its best.

Now the diner boasts its appearance on Food Network’s Diners, Drive-ins, and Dives and is considered to be “retro meets bistro”. Where else can you get served a plate of liver and onions or baked beans with franks on the same menu with soba noodles in asian broth, beet and arugula salad with goat cheese and almonds and moroccan roasted veggies and hummus?

Oh and did we mention their desserts? Ginger chocolate bread pudding, chocolate kahlua pecan pie, and blueberry slump (aka cobbler), a classic New England dessert.

75 years of home cooking and still going strong. Be sure to stop by and check it out. There is a grilled reuben with side order of pickle waiting for you… and a piece of pie.