In the (gourmet) ghetto

A recent article in Alameda Magazine has highlighted all the newish restaurants that have opened on Park Street.   I have to say I really enjoyed the article because, unfortunately, I don’t get out much these days so I have to often live vicariously through these “going out” articles.  Because even if I do get a chance to go out for dinner, we have to go on the early side (when I mean early I mean early, like early bird dinner special early) and some of the restaurants haven’t opened for dinner service yet.

Excerpt from the article:

…“Alameda is becoming a new destination,” says Giovanni Khazri, general manager of Havana, which opened on Park Street in December 2007. “I even have people coming from Sacramento.”

Wander around Park Street on a typically slow Wednesday night, and restaurants, cafes and bars are packed. The crowd is composed of people who range in age from 25 to 65, but everyone is chatting, drinking and dining. On Fridays or Saturdays, forget about walking into Pappo or Barceluna and getting a table—you’ll wait at least 20 minutes and you might even be turned away.

And, on weekends, the crowds are bigger, and you’ll find a younger, hipper crowd on Park Street. Everyone’s staying out later, too, and it’s not unusual to see groups migrating from place to place past 11 p.m. 

“Alameda is staying up past its bedtime,” chuckles John Thiel, owner of Pappo on Central Avenue, a half block off Park…

And while Alameda is still largely a sleepy town slightly off the beaten track, I think this comment by John Thiel of Pappo hit the nail on the head:

…A turning point, he says, was around 2002 when Starbucks, Peet’s Coffee & Tea and Trader Joe’s all decided to open in Alameda. He figured, rightly, that those corporations had done the demographic research to show that upscale coffee houses and boutique groceries would do well in Alameda. A hip, urban restaurant is also appealing to that demographic, and Thiel seized the opportunity…

While the article hit a lot of the familiar names: Pappos, Angela’s, Barceluna, etc… they missed other restaurants like Burma Superstar, which appeared packed last time I was on Park Street and has apparently been that way since the article in the Journal where the owners were contemplating moving out of Alameda because this location was not nearly as busy as their highly successful San Francisco location.   Also there is a newish Asian small plates place near Barceluna’s off Park street, I can’t remember the name of it though.

Speaking of new openings though on Park Street, there is a new yogurt shop off of Park around the corner from Starbucks called Tutti Melon that serves the faddish tart yogurt a la Pinkberry.  I’m not so into the tart yogurt but they do have a sugar free chocolate one that is good enough that you don’t even miss the sugar.

And speaking of booming locations, in addition to Park Street seeing additional folks on its streets, has anyone been to Alameda Towne Centre lately?   I’ve been there a lot recently and each time we go the parking lot is packed and the new corner with Daphne’s, Chiptole, and Jamba Juice is super active.   Also, Lenscrafters opened last weekend and I ordered a new pair of prescription sunglasses, fun!