Jim's Place

Breakfast joints in Alameda are plenty.  Jim's Place is one of the top hot spots on the Island and has long lines and huge portions.    The menu is vast and there are too many choices for such an early meal.  The old standbys of pancakes, waffles and eggs are always a safe bet and you cannot go wrong with these orders.  This is the type of food that customers wait for in line.

I got adventurous the last time I ate there and ordered the chili and cheese omelet.  The portion could feed two, but the flavors were absent.  I did not enjoy the food.  I chewed my food and fed my body, but did not receive any pleasure from the meal.

Of course I would return to Jim's Place, but I would keep my order to what I like.

Extreme Coupons

The idea of on-line coupons has been around for at least a decade, but people have short memories. Groupon, LivingSocial and Buy Me Now all doing local daily coupons are making bank utilizing an old idea. The purchasing of on-line coupons is good and bad, just as long the buyer actually utilizes it. Business owners can jeopardize themselves if they don't cap out the number of sold coupons in the distribution chain. I know businesses are struggling all over the Bay Area and not just Alameda, but the idea of mass distribution of coupons also leads to non loyal customers. I wouldn't want my customer base to go to a competitor solely because their products happen to be 50% off for a day.

The bottom line is cheaper is not always better.

Ohana Hawaiian BBQ

The advertisements of Ohana Hawaiian BBQ in the Nob Hill Shopping Center looks professional and tasty. However, when I ordered food at this place, the result was horrible. I ordered the BBQ Hawaiian Pork that came with the rice and macaroni salad. I also ordered a side order of Spam Musubi. The musubi was good, the sauce was slightly sweet and the saltiness of the spam and seaweed was a good combo. The meal was another story. The texture of the pork was questionable, it was mushy. When I cut the meat with a knife and fork, it was tender, but I wondered if the meat was properly cooked.

There was a brown gravy covering the meat. The gravy was there to hide the taste and texture of the meat. It didn't help or save the meal. I had about one-third of the meal and stopped. Two hours after the meal, my stomach hurt. I did not vomit, but I felt ill. Luckily I felt better after a nap and the food passed through my body. I will never go back. Once is enough for me, especially after my stomach pains and short term illness.

It's Baaaaack!

The former Yo! Philly's Cheesesteak is now called Philly Cheesesteak Express. I wonder if the owner is the same person, but with a different name. Does anyone know?

Alameda Towne Centre Sold to Highest Bidder

Is everyone shocked as much as I am for the amount of money the Germans purchased Alameda Towne Centre for? $181 million dollars. Holy cow! Harsh Investment Properties sold the shopping mall. They must be ecstatic and what a smooth operator. I bet the Germans are not as content when they purchased it in January 2011. Borders and Nine West Shoes are vacant and I didn't even mention the other stores that came and gone. The Germans should know better. You never buy a property in January when tenant vacancy rates are low due to holiday shopping.

The up and coming tenants are small shops, which is great for the community, but bad if they don't have a lot of capital to wait out the weak economy to keep their doors open. Let's hope the Easter Bunny brings prosperity and good fortune to the mall. We still need a rockin' eating place since Pearl's and Zeytini's are not doing it for me. Applebee's is Applebee's, need I say more.

Tuesday Taco Night

The waiting line for tacos at Calafia Tacqueria was long for a Tuesday night. There were plenty of people ordering food and taking it home for dinner. When I finally got to the counter, I ordered a Small Super Quesadilla with carnitas to go. The dish came with guacamole and sour cream for $5.20. The quesadilla tasted good, slightly greasy, and had ample guac and sour cream with a few green leaves and a slice of tomato. The meal was filling. I was satisfied for a $5 meal.

Earth Day

In observance of Earth Day, I decided to ride my bicycle to Washington Park. There were booths, a children's section and one food stand. I am not sure why the City of Alameda only allowed one food vendor to serve a city wide event, but nonetheless, it was only Croll's. The menu was limited with a hot grill in the back cooking hot links, sausages and wieners. I ordered a hot dog for $2.00. The hot dog had grill marks on the wiener, but the dog was barely warm. The bun was cold and I had to wonder how long the wiener sat in a tray waiting for a customer. The popular items were the slices of pizza, but the time I got to the window, pizza was sold out. Many people behind me were upset that they had to wait in line for twenty minutes for nothing.