Cheers: Oakland's Pacific Coast Brewing Company Turns 21

To celebrate 21 years of creating full-bodied beers in Old Oakland, Pacific Coast Brewing Company is hosting a block party (Washington Street between 9th and 10th streets), and you're invited. Friday October 16, 2009 from 5pm-11pm you can catch a few live acts, grab a piece of birthday cake, and taste (or chug) some ale. Be sure to swing back by PCB on Saturday. There will be more music and beer discounts. With free music and ale the same price it was in '88, it's looking like a recession friendly weekend.

Oakland declared the official home of the Mai Tai

If any of you are not yet aware, the iconic tropical drink known as the Mai Tai was invented in the urban oasis of Oakland, CA in 1944 by Trader Vic (read Coolhand's previous write up HERE). Now, thanks to a grassroots effort by the folks at The Conga Lounge on College Ave and the help of Council Member Rebecca Kaplan, the Mai Tai is being christened as the official drink of Oakland. It seems that the validity of this declaration is still pending some council-wide approval, but I say we all embrace the Mai Tai regardless of what King Ignacio and the Knights of the semi-Round Table decide. Cheers and Aloha from us at 38th Notes!

Props to Ms Woodall

New York Times: Oakland's Cafe Van Kleef

The Oakland, Calif., “renaissance” has been touted for so long that one might become incredulous. (Then again, didn’t the Italian version last 200 years?) But after a trip to Cafe Van Kleef, the dirty-but-dapper cafe-bar at the epicenter of the downtown scene, you’ll need no more convincing that San Francisco finally has a Brooklyn to call its own. The orange sign and rainbow umbrellas that hover above the sidewalk tables emerge from the gray office buildings like a tequila sunrise. And if it’s a bit hard to tell whether the people milling outside are cafe patrons or aggressive panhandlers, who cares? Everyone’s welcome at Peter Van Kleef’s carnivalesque utopia.

Continue article HERE