Directions to the Diner // Potatoes Primavera
There are two ways to get here, the waitress explains patiently.
There are two ways to find Babette’s Fancy Diner after dark.
First, there is the traditional method: take a roadtrip, any trip by car or truck that lasts more than an hour. You can be a passenger, although drivers are a little more vulnerable to slipping through the cracks without quite meaning to. Just allow your vision to tunnel, until you can no longer perceive whether you are moving forward or standing still. Try counting the white dotted center line.
When you notice your vision darkening, it’s time to snap out of it: the reality you have entered no longer abides by customary conventions. Traveling here comes with risks. It’s always dark in the uncanny niche occupied by the Great Highway. Not “night”, mind you—dark. The beings who subsist there can’t even bear moonlight. But as long as you don’t draw attention to yourself, it’s possible that you’ll make it all the way to the first exit after the interstate sign without attracting anybody’s interest. Turn on your brights and keep an eye on your rearview as you navigate that winding country road. Babette’s will be waiting for you; nothing can harm you there.
The second way to the diner is even simpler. Babette’s is located in the small Appalachian town of Skunk Valley, North Carolina. Anybody who happens to be in the area can drive over to Babette’s in the usual fashion. Owing to the diner’s late hours, eccentric menu, and Babette’s propensity to give food away, an entire ecosystem of sorts has formed around the diner during the graveyard shift. Misfits, vagrants, and lost souls of various kinds value the sanctuary Babette offers. So if you happen to be a local, or just visiting the greater Skunk Valley region, just take the first interstate exit right after the big pink road sign. There’s a seat at the counter for anyone who can act neighborly, and food for anyone with an appetite.
Do you have any more questions, or can I bring out your lunch special?
Today, Babette is serving: The Primavera Baked Potatoes Lunch Special
Potatoes primavera are just baked potatoes with crispy, salty skin and a velvety smooth potato interior, topped with heaps of tender vegetables that have been tossed in a light, garlicky, herby cream sauce. A dusting of Italian cheeses is added right before the second bake to seal the moisture and steam everything together. The texture and crunchiness of the vegetables blends perfectly with the smooth potato, while the bitterness of vegetables is soothed by the creamy sauce, which seeps into nooks and crannies and creates unexpected sauce pockets that gush into your mouth as you bite into it.
If you need to eat a heap of vegetables—and who doesn’t—Babette recommends eating them this way. Unless you can’t, and then Babette apologizes for being exclusive. Eventually, she’ll find a recipe to share that doesn’t have cheese in it. Eventually.
Don't forget to take a mint from the dish by the register on your way out. Printed inside the wrapper is a secret message from the kitchen.
The hitchhiker you passed by was no hitchhiker, but I can’t tell you who they really were. If you were ready for that knowledge, you would have picked them up.