Great lunch, happy hour, or dinner recommendations in Alameda?

[vincentlo]

I love the chicken pho ga from Khanh Huong at Grand and Lincoln, and of course sushi from Yume on Park. I have heard good things about the happy hour specials at Zen on Santa Clara close to Park, but I haven't been there myself except passing by. Non-dim sum Lunch at East Ocean on Webster is all right. They don't have Cantonese BBQ or dim sum on their lunch specials for solo diners unlike their Emeryville counterpart, but prices are much lower. Any interesting recommendations in Alameda?

[plainfood]

Personally, I love the carnitas plate at La Pinata--really good meat with a nice selection of guacamole, pico de gallo, roasted jalapeno, pickled carrots, on the plate with rice & beans. Since it is madly popular (less so at lunch, with lower-priced lunch specials), with a rocking bar scene, others must think so too. This is not a high-end restaurant. It's a restaurant of the people. At lunch I observed a conclave of young mothers with baby strollers having a nice lunch in a tucked-away corner with room for all the strollers--good customer service!

[Melanie Wong]

I attended a birthday party in Alameda last month that served up catering platters from various local restaurants. I liked the salsas, guacamole and crispy tacos from La Piñata. The nigiri sushi and maki from Angelfish were also very good.

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La Pinata Restaurant III (now La Penca Azul)
1440 Park St, Alameda, CA 94501

Angelfish Japanese Restaurant
883 Island Dr # C-2, Alameda, CA

[daveena]

My current favorite food in Alameda:

Hand-pulled noodles at Ark
Fish and chips at Hobnob
Philly cheese steak at Yo Philly
Anything at Speisekammer

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Speisekammer
2424 Lincoln Ave, Alameda, CA 94501

[bbulkow]

What about burma superstar?

[daveena]

I like Burma Superstar (and King of Thai as well).

My list is of things that I think are the best I've had of their kind in the Bay Area. I should put Feel Good Bakery's chocolate croissant on there too.

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Feel Good Bakery
1650 Park St, Alameda, CA 94501

[Jumbo_Jack]

Dragon Village is an interesting Chinese food choice. A d****bag on yelp complained about the exterior.

They serve a selection of Rosenblum wines, and one of the tasting staff from Rosenblum also works at Dragon at nite. They have a lot of pictures on the wall of 'special' dishes, named after locals. Some seem decidedly non-traditional chinese, but are still tasty.

Interesting local food, cheap, and deeply infused in local culture. It's very Alameda and very friendly. I got a small taste of a Rosenblum red while waiting for my take-out.
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The cheapest best place to get drunk on the island is at Lemon Tree. It's a place time forgot, and if you show up for happy hour, you can sit down next to someone who's 5 hours ahead of you. The first time I walked in, I was excited to see what I thought were a plate of little white mints for free on the bar... turns out it was a dish of aspirins. Good times.

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Dragon Village
642 Lincoln Ave, Alameda, CA 94501

[Ruth Lafler]

Yeah, the Lemon Tree is one of the last "alky bars" left in Alameda since The Pop Inn went upscale last year. Dragon Village is new-ish -- didn't it used to be China Hut? Ah, apparently yes, because the system put in a link for it. I never ate there because I have a policy never to eat in places with the word "Hut" in the name.

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China Hut
642 Lincoln Ave, Alameda, CA

Dragon Village
642 Lincoln Ave, Alameda, CA 94501

[Jumbo_Jack]

Have you never eaten at the Mutt Hut in San Leandro? Friendly little hot dog counter. A tasty but out of the way option.

If Jabba the Hutt opened a restaurant, wouldn't you go?

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Mutt Hut
1904 Washington Ave, San Leandro, CA 94577

[Ruth Lafler]

No and Hell No.

[OldTimer]

Its been years since I lunched in Alameda, but Acapulco on Lincoln is as good as Mexican gets. Great salsa, good prices.

[Ruth Lafler]

Just for clarification, the Alameda East Ocean is not related to the Emeryville Hong Kong East Ocean.

I think Zen is a great idea for Happy Hour, Havana is more of a scene, and I wasn't impressed by their mojitos. Surprisingly, the best mojito I've had in Alameda is at Ching Hua. Hob Nob is probably the best bet if you want both good food and good drinks.

Lunch options include:
Burma Superstar
King of Thai Noodles
Little House Cafe
Ark

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Ching Hua
1650 Park St, Alameda, CA 94501

Burma Superstar
1345 Park Street, Alameda, CA

Little House Cafe
2300 Blanding Ave, Alameda, CA 94501

[myst]

Zen, Barceluna, and Hob Nob all have good happy hour specials. Hob Nob also used to have $1 sliders on Mondays.

Are you looking for Asian food? Or anything?

If you want to try Cuban, I've only been to Havana once, but I hear the Mojitos are tasty and that you should stick to appetizers (I was pregnant when I went, so no drinks for me).

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Barceluna Cafe
2319 Santa Clara Ave, Alameda, CA 94501