If you’re thinking of the one by Macy’s in downtown, I’m pretty sure that one’s gone, too.
Actually, I think I mispoke earlier–I believe that Farmer’s Market is on Fridays from 8am-2pm. It’s located on 9th St. between Broadway and Clay (so it’s not far from the tunnel you’ll be using).
Maybe we’ll see each other there tomorrow! I’ll be the one in glasses. 
I have heard a lot about not speeding in Alameda. I try to think of it as a positive thing that police here have enough free time to crack down on speeders. I’d rather that than having them be busy with dozens of murders, I guess. That’s what I tell myself, but all of the electronic signs that note your speed in glowing LED numbers seem a little…naggy.
Overall, I think that I’m going to enjoy this move. It’s likely only going to be relatively short term (about 1 year) so I’m just going to focus on getting everything I can out of it and exploring everything. Thanks again you guys, I knew you’d be full of cool suggestions!
I’ll have to check out the movie theater in a funeral chapel. I’ve lived in Alameda for ten years and had no idea it was there. When the new multi screen theater on Lincoln was being planned, it was heavily criticized as not having the “True Spirit” of Alameda. I was just glad that Alameda finally was getting a movie theater (after the small two screen theater went out of business).
You seem to be from the LA area.
Around here, the natives normally don’t put “the” in front of freeway names. It’s subtle and pretty meaningless, really. OTOH, you’ve discovered The Nasty Nimitz (880) Just be glad you weren’t trying to get around a couple months ago after that gasoline tanker fire destroyed part of the Maze.
Oh, if you’ve not noticed already, the map is turned 90 degrees vs the rest of the world, especially around San Jose. North 101 is really heading west, and South 680 goes west until it becomes North 280. It’s impossible to know what direction 580 is going without GPS.
I lived in California for nine years. It’s gotten to the point where, if I see a glass-framed picture over a couch or bed at someone’s house, even somewhere where earthquakes are very unlikely to be an issue, I cringe a little. I doubt I will put any glass-framed pictures or mirrors above beds or couches in my new house, despite the fact that earthquakes are fairly rare in Pittsburgh.
For a stretch of the MacArthur maze, 80 West and 580 East are the same road. At some on-ramps, it won’t say whether you’re getting onto 580 East or 580 West- the choices will be 580 to Oakland or 580 to Stockton (unless they’ve changed that in the last couple of years- they put exit numbers on the freeways this past year or so, which they hadn’t had before).
It’s right on Central Ave, around Webster: http://www.centralcinema.net/
I’m really looking forward to the new theater opening as well, but it looks like it may be a while.
I had no idea there were so many locals on the boards. Howdy Neighbors!
Basic bookstore, check out Laurel Books in Oakland
The owner is a blast to chat with, she used to be my boss when I worked in childrens books. Last I heard a huge chunk of her business is special order so she will happily get whatever you want.
Has anyone mentioned the Speakeasy in Oakland and the Cerrito in, well, in El Cerrito?
Movies and okay food. Wine and beer, too. Kinda fun.
http://www.picturepubpizza.com/
http://www.cerritospeakeasy.com/
If you like junk. and get to El Cerrito too early for the movie, there’s a place called Central Perk (ran by a couple from, guess where 
) right next door. They also have okay coffee and food. And wifi.
Picante, on 6th st in Berkeley, has prety good mexican food. Tortillas made on site all day. Avoid (imo) Juan’s Place. Way too much cheese.
And welcome!
mangeorge
Just a small correction - the theaters being added to the Alameda Theater are on Central near Park Street, not Lincoln…
And if you want a great burrito - you need to go to Ramiro and Sons Taqueria on Alameda Avenue between Oak and Park - and order the Ciccarones Burrito… Just thinking about it now I want to jump on a plane to Oakland, grab a rental car, drive to Alameda and pick one up… (WHY are there no decent Mexican restaurants in Toronto???)
Had lots of burritos in my life, but I swear I could have eaten one of those every night and died happy (and huge!)… And if you stop in during the week around 5 or 6, I can pretty much guarantee you’ll be trapped in a huge line of parents and kids ordering burritos on their way home from swimming lessons…
And speaking of Picante… They opened the first Picante outside of Berkeley in Alameda - right next to the South Shore Center (aka Alameda Towne Centre) and it lasted a couple of years max… Had great Mexican food, but had no customers… Never figured out why… When I moved away, it had become a Sushi restaurant… 
I loved living in Alameda, does it show?
Never utter that blasphemy again.
I will die saying South Shore. God that new name is pretentious.
Pretentious??? Remember BART’s “Oakland West” station? It’s now “West Oakland”.
In Pittsburg, I think it was, the residents forced the change of the name of “Gay” street. :dubious:
Talk about insecure!
Hehehe… The worst part about it is that they had the nerve to pretend it’s actually the center of town…
What really saddens me is that the mayor and her toadies keep wanting to turn Alameda into Walnut Creek or Fourth Street in Berkeley. Alameda is amazing because it’s this old fashioned town a couple of miles from San Francisco - turning it into commuter heaven and filling it with monster homes, suburban shopping malls and traffic is not improving it. (Like that needs to be said…)
Maybe they want to be another Emeryville? Talk about sad.
You know, I’ll strongly second this. I think they’re fully compeititive with most of the burrito joints in SF’s Mission District. Yeah, no tongue, but I don’t like tongue burritos anyway ;).
Wellll…little late, I’m afraid. IMHO it has already happened long since. It sure isn’t anything like the Alameda I remember in ~1980. Once the Drive-in went under and especially after they converted its corpse from a flea market to cookie-cutter housing, that was the death knell for OLD Alameda.
Still a decent place to live though, given the options.
The Alameda flea market is gone? I haven’t been there in a lot of years, but it was a good one.
As of 1995. The whole Island Drive-in site was leveled in 1997 for housing. I remember seeing that cinematic classic The Silent Scream ( the slasher flick, not the anti-abortion screed ) there back around 1980 or '81. Good times.
My God, I never knew there were tongue burritos… and I’ll pretend I never read that so I can keep it that way, thanks!
I always found Ramiro and Sons entertaining… Somehow they can take two orders while they’re still making a Burrito, and remember them and make them right later. All the places in the Mission had a line of staff to make one Burrito…
I wonder if they can ship one Fedex? Oh wait, after Canada Customs adds it’s cut, it would probably cost $42.99
Oh yeah, tacos de lingua at Mi Tierra. On San Pablo Ave, near University, in Berkeley. They also have a market (mercado) with all the traditional alimentos for Mexican comidas.
For the barbacoa, and only for the barbacoa, Chipotle is pretty good. I’ve not tried any of the other stuff on the menu. I like the rice, but it’s not mexiczn rice.
Any corrections to my lame attempt at the Spanish language will be appreciated, not resented.
All good recommendations above - but, sometime, go and check out the Sunday buffet at the Berkeley Thai temple. I don’t know the exact address, but it is on Russell Street, just above (east) of Martin Luther King, a few blocks west of Telegraph, one block norht of Ashby. It’s fabulous; several different types of curries, both vegetarian and non-veg, taro fritters, little coconut-milk custard thingies that are awesome, wonderful thai-type fried chicken, etc. Prices are very reasonable - $4 for (large) two-entree veg, $5 for non-veg. Seating is outside at picnic tables. After 10 am it can get crowded. Buffet is run by the temple as a fund raiser, I think.
Next time the Giants play Toronto, maybe Bonds will bring you a couple. 
Is there still a baseball team in Toronto?