A Day in Alameda

This Saturday we spent the day in Alameda (mapquest route linked here).  I purchased a coupon on Amazon local for the Pinball Museum so we decided to make a day of it.  The museum normally costs $15 per person but this was a 2-4-1 coupon which was a great deal especially if you are taking kids.  The good thing for me about buying access to the place is that I was able to try more machines than I would have if I had to put quarters in each one.

We started at McGee's Bar and Grill for our first cocktail and some appetizers.  Sit at the bar, order a drink, ask for a menu and make a decision.  You have to order the food yourself from the kitchen but they do deliver it to you at the bar.  We had the pork quesadilla which was small (two 6" tortilla halfs, giving us 4 wedges) but very tasty along with the "so called" Irish Nachos.  I've had Irish nachos before and these were not them, they were just large potato wedge with a slight drizzle of sour cream and barely any cheese.  I do not recommend these unless you want potato hunks.  Price wise it seemed reasonable but then when delivered they were small.  The place was friendly, with locals and regulars.  I got some tips from one of the patrons at the bar for our next visit.  A German restaurant called Speisekammer. 

From here we headed to Swell Bar to hook up with some friends.  It is a local dive bar, which if you know me you know it is my kind of a place.  Only heads up is if you order a tall drink make sure the bartender knows that doesn't mean a double.  Our vodka and beer cost us $16, which is how I realized something must be wrong.  Overall if in the area I would stop by Swell's again.

Next we headed over to the Pacific Pinball Museum.  Not exactly what I expected from the building but the machines ranged from old to new and there were lots to choose from.  The building itself was unimpressive, a strip mall room, with other tiny rooms off shooting from it.  At one point though I even got a bit turned around and couldn't find the exit, the mirror wasn't helpful.  The pictures on the web make it look more impressive.  Plan on a maximum of 2 hours unless you are a pinball fanatic or have teenagers with you.  From here we walked across the street to the Fireside Lounge.  If you are a beer drinker you will find something you haven't tried before. 

We were hoping to go to the Tiki Lounge for dinner but when we drove by initially we noticed a line waiting to get in so when we returned every seat and table was taken so we headed back to McGee's.  Here we had the bruchetta with buratta which didn't look to impressive but if you have never had buratta (a oozy mozzarella cheese) and like bruchetta you must give it a try.  It was full of flavor.  The calamari was pretty good, I liked the chili oil type thin sauce with a touch of sweet.  Different than most calamari sauces.   For an entrée I had the Beef and Pork belly burger which based on the description I thought was going to be ground together but instead it was like bacon on top.  It was OK, but didn't hit my top 5 burger list.  The bun fell apart, too soft and soggy and the bun to meat ratio didn't match up.  The mac & cheese was pretty good, better than the burger, didn't hit my top 5 but I would order it again.  The cheese sauce was smooth and cream, just did deep to get the sauce on the bottom.  The strangest thing about this restaurant was the fact that they sit you, you have a waitress that takes your credit card for drinks but she won't get you your food.  You get your food yourself but then give them your name and they stick it on your credit card but if you have two couples the waitress will only take one card and then the kitchen takes the 2nd card so in the end your drinks are combined with the other peoples food but your food is separate.  The waitress will split off the drinks but it just seemed a bit more complicated that need be.