Paddleboards, mini golf, beignets await in Alameda
Two days in this charming city spanning Alameda and Bay Farm Island is hardly enough time to take in all its marvelous activities and scenery, but a weekend getaway is a good start.
Plan an action packed adventure with these recommendations, ranging from paddleboarding with your puppy to grabbing a pint of custom crafted suds.
STAY Hawthorn Suites By Wyndham-Oakland/Alameda
The contemporary hotel offers value-added leisure comfort in kitchenette suites with amenities like a complimentary breakfast, an evening wine reception and parking. The extra treat of free bike rentals includes a helmet, lock and local map for exploring nearby attractions like the Marina Village Shopping Center, Crown Memorial State Beach and USS Hornet Museum featuring displays from the NASA Apollo 11 moon mission.
PLAY Mike’s Paddle
Stand up paddleboarding is as much fun as it is exercise, since it challenges your body and mind to be constantly engaged as your balance on the water constantly changes (The goal: don’t fall off). Some “SUPers” even up the ante with instructor-led paddleboard yoga, or bring their dog along for the ride. Anyone can get into the groove, too, with the introductory classes held in the quiet Ballena Isle Marina. Work on your skills, then join the popular social paddles, where groups gather to traverse open waters toward the Bay Bridge.
Subpar Miniature Golf
This quirky gem might only exist in the eccentric, artsy district of Alameda’s downtown historic Park Street. Owner Michael Taft has created a one-of-a-kind 18hole, indoor golf fantasy focusing on famous landmarks from San Francisco to Napa. That means holes boast model-obstacles like a few-feet-high replica of the Ferry Building, Interstate 880 complete with pothole hazards, skateboard ramps, the Golden Gate Bridge and taco trucks. It’s fun for all ages, really, offering arcade games like air hockey and Skee-Ball, plus Glow Golf with light-up balls in the dark at midnight on weekends.
Alameda Theatre & Cineplex
Movies run the gamut from new releases to obscure (Check out the delightful “Born In China” that follows the adventures of three animal families — pandas, golden monkeys and the elusive snow leopard). For basketball fans, the theatre offers a rare opportunity to watch Golden State Warriors playoff games on a really, really big screen. Be sure to also take in the historic palace’s stunning architecture. Built in 1932, the Art Deco beauty fell into dark times in 1979 before the city stepped in to revitalize it, down (or up) to its spectacular vintage chandeliers. Today, it’s a glorious mix of state-of-the-art cinema and a salute to the Golden Age of Hollywood.
full service kitchen, and the living room morphed into the cozy dining nook. Locals crowd in for classic egg breakfasts and savory mushroom Gruyere crepes, plus lunches like daily quiche or a sumptuous meatloaf sandwich capped in truffled cheese. Tip: come on Fridays, for the special of addictive house made donuts.
Café Jolie
Pamper yourself with lunch at this French American bistro, where every meal simply must include melt-in-your-mouth beignets dusted with powdered sugar alongside seasonal berries and melted chocolate ganache. Croque madame is pure brioche indulgence, layered with ham, Gruyere, fried egg and a side of béchamel, while steak frites are more upscale than usual hanger steak versions, fashioned with juicy rib eye dolloped in lots of herb butter.
American Oak
At dinner, it’s time for a bit o’ whiskey, selected from the menu of more than 120 labels. To help soak up the fine spirits, start with the clever Andouille corndogs dipped in bourbon honey sauce, then power it up with the full-pound bone-in rib eye teamed with straw potatoes, grilled baby leeks and a decadent wash of tarragon butter. Finish up the meal with a scoop of Tucker’s Eagle Rare 10 Year
DINE Little House Café
It really is a little house — a century-old Colonial Revival cottage with a former bedroom turned into a bourbon toffee ice cream served with a shot of Buffalo Trace bourbon alongside.
TREAT Tucker’s Super Creamed Ice Cream
Founders Marshall and Verda Tucker debuted this jewel in 1941, and now, under new family ownership, the original fluffycreamy recipes shine, made the heritage way in batch freezers. The old fashioned soda fountain still churns out shakes, malts and floats. These days the menu is enormous, frolicking across yogurt, sorbets, fresh fudge, cookies, ice cream cakes, brownies and cheesecakes. The ice cream choices speak of modern tastes with flavors matured past bestselling vanilla bean, to chile, Point Reyes bleu cheese, butter beer or blood orange-tarragon.
SIP Alameda Island Brewing Company
The space is massive, sprawling 10,000 square feet of brewery area with a tasting room of 1,500-plus square feet. But the beers support the microbrewery commitment, with at least 16 small-batch beers on tap at all times, plus an assortment of “R&D” (research and development tiny batches) offered for sampling. Certainly, through the summer, beer aficionados — with their dogs, hanging out at a polished wood and iron table next to the vats — covet the Hef-D Hefeweizen, a wheat and German Pilsner malt with banana and clove esters.