Street Party

Alameda’s annual street party, The Park Street Art and Wine Fair” is part block party, part shopping, part high school reunion (for those who went to HS in Alameda) but most of all a whole lot of fun.

For the past six years, I worked the event for my former employer and this year was the first time that I got to enjoy all of the festivities. Many of the bars and restaurants on Park Street set up special deals for the event. Linguini’s had their pizza window and shots of Jägermeister, boy that has the the 20-something crowd written all over it. Cera Una Volta and the new Wine Bar had tastings for those who love the grape.

Because there is so much to write about I will give only highlights.

The Beer: four types were available through the fair, Lagunitas, Fat Tire, Heineken and Pyramid Hefeweizen. None are my favorites, but I tried all four in the spirit of the event. I settled into the Fat Tire.

The Alameda Fire Department Pancake Breakfast was just the right thing for a Sunday morning. The crew was efficient getting the crowd their breakfast and it was cool to see the old fire trucks. The kid in everyone still likes fire trucks.

The music was great. The bands selected gave the entire fair a great vibe. I like the Hitmen they had a great party vibe. The Sun Kings are an Alameda favorite performing covers of Beatles tunes. The great thing about the Sun Kings is the audiences from 20-50 all know the words to the songs. We saw a lot of people rocking and dancing. My favorite was a tottler named Henry who was taking his rocking to the music very seriously.

Big Congrats to Rob Ratto and the volunteer crew who made this event as special as it is every year. Rob only 363 days until the beer starts flowing again for this event.

Alameda’s New Burger Joint

The much anticipated opening of Burgermeister in Alameda cam to fruition this past Tuesday and give the crowds over the past couple of days it looks to be a hit with locals. If you go for dinner and want to sit down be prepared to wait, I went on Wednesday Night and it was a 20 minute wait for table for two.

With any new place there are hiccups, and Burgermeister had a few this evening.

We started with cocktails, the Strawberry Margarita was not good, it was the first time I have sent back a drink in a real long time, and the staff did create the drink but not a good start. The lemon drop was solid, but not great. The bartending needs to be improved.

The real bummer was not wait for table but the long wait for food. Our server forgot to put our order in, and after 20 minutes she noticed. She did apologize and put a rush on the new order, which came very promptly. In the meantime I had twice ordered a beer and never received it, I guess the good part was I did not get billed. I have to say they failed on the execution of service.

The positive was the food. The burger was perfect and the chili cheese curly fries were AWE-Some. So the food was good and I was glad to see all the people dining out in the Park Street District. Of course we ran into several people we know, typical in Alameda. The evening was not a total loss.

I would go back because of the quality of food and give them another shot at improving their service.

2358 Central Avenue (between Oak St & Park St)Alameda, CA 94501
www.burgermeistersf.com/

Celebrating Old School

Live everyone I like to celebrate, be it a birthday, new job or an anniversary. This year I decided to celebrate one of life’s moments at an Eat Bay architectural moment; The Claremont Hotel or more specifically at Paragon in the Hotel. The Claremont has been at its current location since 1906 and has been a resort since 1915.

The Claremont Resort & Spa is a historic hotel that straddles the border between Berkeley and Oakland.. It is located at the foot of Claremont Canyon in the Berkeley Hills, providing the resort with scenic views of San Francisco Bay. It was constructed by a group of real estate developers associated with the Key System. A transbay line ("E" line) ran right to the doors of the Claremont Hotel for those trying to escape San Francisco for the weekend, approaching from between the tennis courts. Thus, Claremont Hotel guests not only had a magnificent view of San Francisco, but they could also go there directly by train. This grand location has kept most of its unique feature of years past.

My wife and I met in Berkeley over 20 years ago but we had never gone to the Claremont together for cocktails or food, so I booked an evening to experience what Paragon had to offer at this unique location. I knew the location would be special. I had arranged a time about 30 minutes before Sunset; it was a little hazy so the Bay View was not as nice as it could have been, but still a great setting.

I have to tell you, that this is location, is a great place for after work, happy hour or getting a group of friends together. The Paragon has a deck and lounge that is perfect to settle in and have a few drinks and talk with friends or a date.

We started with Pomegranate Margarita and Pink Grapefruit from the House Drink menu. Most drink on the menu are $10 and of 14 drinks on the list the diversity offers a little of something for everyone. Paragon offers a limited wine list and a larger after dinner drink list.

For starters we had the asparagus salad and the tuna tartare. The asparagus was crisp and had a lot of flavor. The tuna was spicy with pablano chilies, but it was not overpowering.

We decided on scallops and the pork chop for our entrees. The Paragon has a very limited selection for its entrees, with just six main dishes. The food was consistently prepared, not the best ever, but a solid performance.

Overall the Paragon delivers because its staff was great, the drinks were great, the food was good and the location was outstanding. I would go back, especially to sit on the deck after work and enjoy a few drinks.

http://www.claremontresort.com/

Urban Hike

View from Broadway and Jones Staircase

I can’t remember if we bought the book “Stairway Walks in San Francisco” or it was given to us but yesterday was terrific Bay Area day, to take an Urban Hike. The book has more than 20 walk that navigate you through different neighborhoods, and as you trek the author explains some of the local architecture and sets you up for stunning views.

We decided on the Pacific Heights walk that starts on Broadway and Jones works it way down the hill towards the Russian Embassy, through the neighborhood past the Flood Mansion and some other stunning homes, works its way back up the hill past the Italian Embassy up to the Fillmore crosses over to Alta Vista Park and finishes where you started. In all, it was a good work out and great way to spend the afternoon.

We rewarded our effort by heading down to Union Street to get Mojitos at Betelnut. I wrote about Betelnut in my last post so no big details other than the first Mojito went down real easy. There are several outdoor dining places on Union Street and if you are looking for a bar try the Bus Stop.

More important is the Urban Hike is great for finding new places. If we had more time we would have hung in the Fillmore a little longer. There is always a new place to try.

So give it a shot.

Here is a link to the book on Amazon, this is in no way an endorsement of Amazon, so if you can find the book at you local retail outlet I would encourage you to support your local book store.

http://www.amazon.com/gp/reader/0899974295/ref=sib_dp_pt#reader-link