America's Cup Is Coming

Alamedans get ready for America's Cup.  The first trials are at the Marina Green in San Francisco from August 21 through 26. The racing will be amazing, exciting and prepping the teams for the main event coming in 2013.  Rumors say the Swedish racing team is training and staying in Alameda. How cool is that.  For now, I haven't seen them or their boats, but I guess I should go hunting for large Swedes.  My first place of interest is Marti's Place on Encinal.

Angela's Catering

The catering arm of Angela's use to be in the Rock Wall Winery. Well for some reason, Angela's has pulled out of Rock Wall about two months ago and has moved its operations to the restaurant.  I wonder what is going on?  John Thiel of Pappo did the same exact move last year with Culina and pulled it out of the Marketplace.   I am sure both of these establishments are making money with their catering, however, can business be that great to pull out of a second location?

Warm Nights...Long Lines at Tucker's

Thank goodness summer is here. Who doesn't love summer.  The days are longer, it's warmer weather (with the exception of San Francisco) and people are more ready to have a good time during the work week.  Warm weather invites people outside and to downtown Alameda where all of the action is.  One night I waited in one of the longest lines that I have experienced at Tucker's Ice Cream. The line was by the bathrooms.  Of course an ice cream joint will be busy on a warm night, but that night especially was jumping. The room was full of busy energy, lots of people coming and going, and watching people eat ice cream with happy and satisfied faces.   It was after 9 pm by the time I placed my order after a twenty minute or so wait. I have come to realize the best flavors for me at Tucker's are the chocolate flavors such as rocky road, health toffee crunch, mocha chip, chocolate chip and mint n chip.  There have been too many times I deviated away from chocolate and was not content.  I know what I like.

Alameda Vintner's Club

If you are into wine and want to join a club, well step right up to the newest wine club in town, Alameda Vintner's Club at Angela's Restaurant.  Five wineries are part of the club: Carica Wines, Ehrenberg Cellars, JC Cellars, R & B Cellars, and Urbano Cellars.  This new club just opened this past weekend (July 28) and it appears to drawing interest. I don't know anything about prices or how many bottles you have to agree upon to join. I am certain that it will impact Karen's business at Alameda Wine Bar.  Karen will not be happy and I hope she doesn't paint her face blue again.


In case you haven't heard or tasted, John Thiel of Pappo has also created his own wines at his restaurant.  His wine labels are water drops that matches the photos at the bar.  It took me a few times to finally get it and then I figured it out with the wine branding.  The message is indirect and clever.  Prices for his wines are less compared to other options on the menu.


Cheers!

Art & Wine Festival

As I strolled through the Art & Wine Festival this past weekend, I realized the vendors and the food were pretty much the same each year. I didn't see any new features, but luckily the weather was warm and everyone was enjoying the weather.  Lockeford Sausages had the lock down on best street food.  People waited in long lines for their products. The smell alone from their grills was quite inviting.  I also noticed the high number of corn dog vendors.  I am a sucker for a corn dog, but the there were too many of them.  Also a good number of the vendors were selling chicken wieners and not beef, which seems sacrilegious.

I ended up eating at The Hob Nob for lunch and had the fish and chips. The fish batter was light, fluffy and amazing and didn't mask the true flavors of the fish. The restaurant always serves decent food and I wanted to sit down and rest my legs instead of standing up and gobbling down food in a hastily manner.

Of course I will return next year and I do each year.  I wonder if I will write the identical blog entry next year?

Best of Alameda 2012

The votes are in and this month's issue of Alameda Magazine has the winners for the Best Of Alameda.

Did your favorite restaurant get nominated and win?  Do you agree with the winners of each category? Check out the link of the article and see if you agree with the magazine.

http://www.alamedamagazine.com/Alameda-Magazine/July-August-2012/Best-of-Alameda-2012/

Some of the categories were a little too obscure for me such as Best Savory Scone, Best Breakfast Sandwich or Best Thin or Thick Crust Pizza.  By the way, only two of the winners were based at the west end, whereas all the other winners were located along Park Street or east of Park.  This is a true indicator of how economic development will continue in Alameda.  I also think some of the winners were slam dunks since they had no competitors in their category.

Bastille Day Celebration

The Bastille Day celebration was in full swing this past Saturday at Cafe Jolie.  The cafe had lots of decorations and the staff got customers excited.  I bought lots of croissants and macaroons, but I forgot to wear my beret.  The plain croissants were flaky and delicious, just like buying one in Paris. The chocolate croissants were unfortunately dry and they did not have enough chocolate inside for my liking.  Nonetheless I  still ate it because I love chocolate.  The colorful macaroons were packaged so nicely in a set of six.  The cookies were tasty, lots of different flavors, slightly chewy texture and bite size.  


It is such a blessing that there is a French cafe on the island. Alameda is in dire need of varied food establishments, especially since Le Bouc closed down about a decade ago.