San Francisco is My Home

25
Mar

Tuesday profile: Local ballparks

Author: kris, Category: Landmarks, Oakland, Sports

I don’t write about sports much on this site because, well, I mostly find them boring. But I do enjoy baseball. Not in the sense of following it or understanding it in anyway. I just like going to games. And for this reason, this week’s Tuesday business review deals with the two baseball stadiums available to a local fan.

We begin with AT&T Park* in San Francisco. With its sweeping views of the water, this is a gorgeous place to hang out even if you hate baseball. It’s especially nice on sunny days when the water gets all gemstone-sparkly and all the colors seem crisp and new. The drawback, of course, is that tickets are expensive, even for the cheap seats.

For cheaper and less classy game, I like to head for McAfee Coliseum, current home of the Oakland A’s. I like this place because of the cheap Wednesday night games. For a while, tickets to these games were $2, but I think they might be as high as $4 now. That’s in addition to the cost of ten or so dollar hot dogs (now raised to $2 I think) which are an integral part of the experience. A cheap baseball game isn’t a cheap baseball game unless you sneak in your own hooch and make yourself sick by eating way more hot dogs than you wanted simply because you can pay for them with the loose change you find floating around in your car. This stadium is especially exciting because of the side games being offered such as dot racing (three dots “race” on the message board; every guy I know explodes in a frenzy of ridiculous wagering). It’s like even the people who work for professional baseball know that you need fun distractions when watching professional baseball.

Rumor has it that the A’s are making a bid to move to Cissy Field in Fremont, which will be a great sadness for everyone. Get your cheap games in now, because later you might not have the option.

*I’m sure real baseball curmudgeons have covered this much more adroitly and ad nauseam on the internet, but don’t you hate the branding of sports fields? I don’t even like sports and I hate it. You strip the poetry from sports and all it is is big business. What about the little kid who plays on a Little League team and still dreams about making the major leagues, not because it pays well but because he loves the game? What does the branding tell him about that dream? (Don’t get me started on what’s happening to the little girls who love the game.)

This view could be yours.

11
Mar

The Pacific Coast Brewing Company

Author: kris, Category: Bars and Clubs, Oakland

Tuesday may become a weekly business review. I like structure, you know? It’s un-San Franciscan of me, but it is very Franciscan.

Let’s test this Tuesday review out with a discussion of the Pacific Coast Brewing Company in Oakland. You walk in and you assume this is a chain restaurant. The name alone is generic and, geographically speaking, broad enough to encompass a string of breweries up and down the coast, right? However, it’s actually an independent brewery whose owners sent away for a “How to Build Your Own Brewery” kit.

Like the most of California breweries, this one features dark wood furnishings, slightly dim lighting, big ceilings, great beer and substandard American cuisine. Actually, the burgers are so bad they’re almost English — they have that weird, sponge-like resistance when you bite them, like they were recently frozen and then microwaved.

But the beers are great. Also, I liked the relaxed atmosphere. I was there on a Monday night with some friends, and we were able to play a lengthy board game without being hassled. I’m sure later in the week this place fills up and you can’t park a table, even if at least one of you is always nursing a beer, but for early in the week it’s a good place to chill.

I can’t say if this is always the case, but our waitress was as laid back as we were. If it annoys you to have to flag down your waitstaff then this isn’t ideal for you, but I liked it because it meant she wasn’t rushing us out of there, and also there was a corresponding “human person” element in her dealings with us. I didn’t feel like we had a servant, more like an acquaintance happened to be bringing us more napkins.

On the whole, I would say this place is great for drinks after work or for drinks after dinner, but avoid eating here unless you stick to simple stuff like french fries. Still, it’s worth a trip for the beers alone.

29
Feb

Girl Army

Author: kris, Category: Classes, Oakland

Speaking of worker owned and operated, here is a cool thing: Girl Army. These folks operate self-defense classes for women. They’re comprehensive, useful, and charged on a sliding scale. Got no money? Go for free. Curiously, the Girl Army collective doesn’t seem to think poor women should be defenseless any more than rich ones; no one is turned away for lack of funds.

They also have a truly kickass list of reading materials here, which covers everything from domestic abuse to rape to police brutality. (That last one includes instructions for what to do if police want to enter your home, or search your car, which I think is vital information for everyone to have. Know your rights!)

31
Jan

Fentons

Author: kris, Category: Food, Oakland

I went to Fentons last night. Sometimes I forget that such awesomeness exists just on the other end of the bridge, but there it is.

Fentons is one of the last old-fashioned ice cream parlors in the area. It’s so old-fashioned that I want to spell parlor as parlour, but of course I can’t. Spellcheck won’t let me. At any rate, they serve extremely high quality ice cream in a huge variety of flavors, as well as many, many toppings. You can get one of their sundaes or, and I can’t recommend this enough, create your own. Do not miss out on the peanut butter chocolate fudge topping. Seriously, you will kick yourself for weeks if you don’t order it.

Fentons also serves diner food, which is perfectly fine, but the ice cream is where it’s at. The diner food just confuses me. I order a huge sundae and suddenly I’m craving onion rings when the air from the kitchen wafts out to my table. Fortunately, you can also take stuff to go.

Image is from the Fentons website. That’s me on the left. I don’t even need a spoon, I’ll just shove my face right in there.

31
Jan

The Parkway

Author: kris, Category: Food, Movies, Oakland

The Parkway is maybe the best thing ever. I’m not sure, because I don’t know everything there is in the world, but I think it’s at least in the top ten.

What makes this movie theater so good? Here is a small primer:

1. It’s independently owned.

2. Rather than showing commercials or previews before movies, you get a video of two of the owners — at least I think they’re both owners; Kyle definitely is, but I’m not sure about Will the Thrill — chatting about upcoming films and events and joking around with each other.

3. There are several two-person (three if you’re cozy) couches at the front of the theater where you can kick off your shoes and snuggle like you’re in your living room.

4. The theater is combined with a full-service restaurant. You can get good beers and excellent thin-crust pizza (now with vegan cheese available, made right on the premises). They deliver it to your table while you watch the movie. There’s a lot of other food available, but for me the Parkway will always be about pizza.

5. They show a fantastic selection, from blockbusters to classics, from cult favorites to little-known monster movies.

6. They have great deals and themes. Wednesday is 2-for-1 night, and the first two shows on Mondays are always Baby Brigade — bring your tots. They also do Superbowl and Oscar nights, Rocky Horror shows, and frequent showings of favorites like Joss Whedon shows (i.e. Buffy, Firefly).

7. When you email Will the Thrill, he always emails you back. Immediately and personally. Can you think of any other movie theater where that is true?

They’ve also opened a second theater, the El Cerrito, but I haven’t been there yet. Thoughts on the new place? I’d love to hear a review.

31
Jan

The Trappist in Oakland

Author: kris, Category: Bars and Clubs, Oakland

I don’t know how you feel about Belgian beers, but if you like things that are good then you probably like them. Imagine your excitement, then, to hear that a new bar has opened in downtown Oakland devoted almost entirely to Belgian brews. Called The Trappist, it’s tucked very snugly indeed into a small space on 8th Street. The bar is all lovely dark wood and exposed brick. Get there when they open at 4:00 Wednesday through Friday and ensure you get seats, or show up around 6:00 for the post-work rush. With 15 rotating beers on tap and tons and tons of bottled beers — none from a giant corporation — you can drink here every night and never get bored. Added bonus: the owners, who tend the bar themselves, are both knowledgeable and handsome.

Photo from the Trappist website.