We checked into the Kissel Uptown Oakland hotel following the museum. Like the best museums, you can easily lose yourself there for an afternoon, emerging squinting into the sunlight, bursting with knowledge and culture, if you will. The newly renovated 300,000 square-foot Museum’s collections feature a wealth of hands-on tools and interactive features as well as new gathering spaces and program areas. The smart, carefully curated collections run the gamut from railroads to the Gold Rush to the early beginnings of the Hollywood film industry, as well as California’s car culture, in all its incarnations. The museum holds more than 1.9 million objects including landmark artworks, historical artifacts, ethnographic objects, and natural specimens.
Opened in 1969, the museum seeks to bring together art, history, and natural sciences under one roof to celebrate the many facets, faces, flaws and fascinations of California.
We might have jumped off the ferry into the bay by the third game.īut we began our visit with culture at the award-winning Oakland Museum of California (OMCA). The Giants stomped the Dodgers three games in a row. As it turned out, that was probably a good thing. While we longed to catch a ferry across the bay to cover the Giants-Dodgers series, we couldn’t make the schedule work. Enough said.Īrriving on a midweek morning, we met our liaison for some shrimp pasta and salad at The Forge Jack London Square across the water from The City-a perfect setting to begin our short week. We traveled north by Amtrak from Union Station by bus to Bakersfield where we caught a train to Oakland, the last stop on the line. Okay, that’s the last overused Oakland joke. You’ll find friendly service and reasonable pricing at the Prime Quarter in the west end of Starved Rock Country.It’s likely a cliche, but mention that you’re traveling to the Bay Area to most people, and the answer inevitably comes back, “Oh, I love San Francisco!” Okay, I love San Francisco too, but Oakland, its sister across the bay, has much to offer on its own.įrom a landmark museum, to its own zoo, to a wealth of restaurants of every stripe, we discovered a lot to like there, Gertrude Stein notwithstanding. Excellent desserts and a large wine list complement the rest of the meal. Texas toast and a giant baked potato round out the meal. Cook it yourself over their indoor wood grills or have one of their chefs do it for you. Start out with the huge, unlimited salad bar before picking out your steak from the glass showcase. Reservations are strongly encouraged on Fridays and Saturdays Cafe 129′s intimate dining area offers compact tables and a counter where customers can eat, and get a great view into the kitchen.ĭating back to the 1970s, the Prime Quarter cornered the market during the grill-your-own-steak craze and has been popular ever since. It focuses on fresh ingredients, and you’ll find a modestly sized fixed menu filled with tempting options, alongside an always evolving selection of daily specials.
Helmed by a Culinary Institute of America graduate and chef instructor at Scott Community College, Cafe 129 is dishing out upscale food served with a side of small-town atmosphere. Past guests have included Alejandro Escovedo, Robbie Fulks, The War and Treaty, and Loudon Wainwright III.Ĭafé 129 is anything but a small-town diner. On select nights, the stage at Uptown’s Playlist Theater hosts popular touring acts.
#411 south bar and grill full#
But in addition to offering great food and a full service bar and lounge (complete with an extensive list of over 100 wines and 12 craft beers on tap), Uptown Grill is home to one of the most exciting music venues in Starved Rock Country. Its charbroiled steaks are cut and aged in-house the seafood, shellfish, and oysters are notable. LaSalle’s Uptown Grill is renowned for its polished take on classics, often lauded as being one of the best places to grab prime rib in the Chicago area on Friday and Saturday nights.
0 kommentar(er)
