Alameda Locations

Baron’s Meat & Poultry

September 27th, 2006

9-11 Memorial at Alameda Fire Department

September 11th, 2006

The Alameda Fire Department set up a memorial for Alameda military men and women in duty. This memorial has each person’s photo and personal information on white pieces of paper shaped into 3-dimensional pieces linked together.


Sushi House

September 6th, 2006

Sushi House on the corner of Shoreline Drive and Park Street has got to be Alameda’s busiest restaurant. Every time I walk by there the place is full, no matter what time it is.

I remember them way back when they were inside the South Shore mall area with a small space, that eventually doubled up to the space next door, and then when that was still not enough space, they took over the old Lyon’s building. For the last ten years it seemed that no one could make a restaurant work on the prime location of the old Lyon’s building overlooking the San Francisco Bay and Alameda Bird Sanctuary. I always wondered why such a perfect spot could not gain success for restaurants like Lyon’s and later Picante Mexican style restaurant. Now that Sushi House has taken over the location, business is booming!

If the weather is nice, ask to be seated outside to enjoy the amazing bay views and fresh air. Way back when Sushi House was a small restaurant we used to go there all the time. Now that they are so busy, we don’t go as often. The food is good, and best of all affordable. Our harshest critique is that the place is often so busy; it’s a little too frenetic an atmosphere for me. During their busy hours, the service is lacking. Whenever I go to Sushi House, I tend to expect a little chaos if I’m going at prime time. Weekends are insane. The sushi rolls are a bit too big and makes it hard to fit in one bite. You definitely get your money’s worth, however. Like I said, it is the busiest restaurant on the island. That alone should be enough to make one want to check it out. It’s food this good with great prices that have made Sushi House a huge success.

Sushi at Sushi House

Nigiri sushi: ama-ebi, tobi-tama, hamachi; Shrimp tempura hand roll; Wakame

Bento from Sushi House

Jay and Malaya share a Bento box

Check out their menu at www.e-sushihouse.com


Toy Safari

September 4th, 2006

On Park Street between Central and Santa Clara Avenues is a big jungle of vintage, lovingly used and new toys. In spite of its recent expansion, Toy Safari still looks like it’s overflowing, lining the store front with bicycles, ponies, wagons and more. There’s a Thomas the Train railroad play area pre-schoolers gravitate toward. Babies can crawl on a rubber mat stocked with toys they can try out. Parents can set up a gift registry for their child’s birthday, or just oogle the display cases full of toys from when they were kids themselves. From vintage Barbie doll houses to books and board games, there’s something for kids of all ages at Toy Safari.

Thomas the Train Railroad Play Area at Toy Safari
Thomas the Train Railroad Play Area

Toy Safari Bike
Malaya trying out a Fisher Price bicycle at the Toy Safari store front