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I went to the Bayview Eagles performance space, adjacent to the bar for a fabulous Cajun/Zydeco…read moreperformance by a new friend of mine, Andrew Carriere and his group of extremely talented musicians. He comes from a storied Louisiana family of Cajun and Zydeco musicians. He is versatile, sings, plays the triangle, the harmonica and the washboard. and in my little experience of watching him play with various groups, he lets everyone shine. His band's music was made for dancing and I have two left or right feet. The regular fans know what they are coming for - to dance. One of these days I'll earn without upsetting a partner. But then someone has to pay the price for teaching a newbie. A great place to visit for affordable beer and some wine. If Andre performs there, I'll be prepped to dance :)

The Solano Avenue Association is really active in keeping local people involved in this hub of…read moreAlbany and North Berkeley. It's about a street and the shops on the street, but it's also a state of mind. Lots of people are members of the group even if they are somewhat far afield from the street itself. Alan Cain, the current Executive Director of the Association, is a ball of fire when it comes to keeping things moving and keeping people involved. The Solano Stroll - the September mile-long street faire - is a great coming-together of food and fun and people watching. SAA is ultimately responsible for all that.

From the owner: Solano Avenue is a charming, tree-lined boulevard with convenient parking for shopping. Good…read morelighting and safe neighborhoods make it delightful for window-shopping after dinner or the movies. Spanning 1 1/4 miles through two cities, Solano Avenue hosts over 500 businesses which include 75 restaurants, 150 retail shops, two theaters and pocket parks.

You are driving down San Pablo Avenue in Albany, not going anywhere in particular -- San Pablo is…read morethe kind of road you take when the freeway feels like too much commitment, four lanes of auto body shops and taquerias and nail salons stretching from Richmond to Oakland, the East Bay's long commercial backbone -- and somewhere around Solano Avenue you see a sign that says Club Mallard. You take your foot off the gas. Club Mallard. You need to know. The interior is dark and warm and full of dead birds. Mounted, taxidermied, presiding over the room with the glassy authority of creatures who didn't expect to end up in a bar in Albany but have made their peace with it. The effect is somewhere between hunting lodge and natural history museum after hours, and it shouldn't work on San Pablo Avenue but it does, completely, the way any sufficiently committed aesthetic decision will eventually override its context. I've been once. Midweek happy hour. This is the most honest way to evaluate a bar -- no weekend crowd to inflate the energy, no event to justify the turnout, just the place and whoever shows up on a Tuesday because they want to be there. The happy hour is good. The bartender was gregarious and present and seemed to actually like the job, which sounds like a low bar until you've spent enough time on the other side of it. The regulars were friendly in the East Bay way, which is to say they talked to us without needing anything from us, offered opinions on what to drink, and went back to their conversations. There's an outdoor space for when you want sky. I've driven past since and seen it packed. I was glad. You root for a place like Club Mallard the way you root for any small enterprise that decided to be something specific in a landscape of sameness, and then just held the line.

I've been coming here since about 2019. Not sure how I stumbled upon it, but it was with friends…read moreand it's been our go to bar ever since. It also happens to be somewhat of a meeting point when I'm in Oakland and another friend is in Berkeley. When I was in downtown Oakland it was only 14 minutes away. What a time. I like this bar because the drinks are good, it's affordable, all ages come here and the vibe is nice. There is a pool table downstairs and about two or three upstairs along with a mini bar. The fire place is currently keeping the bar cozy downstairs. So, I've liked Cosmopolitans for some time now and Mallard's has a Mandarin Cosmo. It is so good - it reminds me of an Orange Hi-C.

DON'T LET OTHERS SWAY YOU THIS IS DEFINITLY A STRIP CLUB!…read more These other reviews are gaslighting me! I came in and bought some women several drinks and got NOTHING for it, JUST LIKE A REAL STRIP CLUB! Some even offered to take me to VIP and said I'd only be able to look but no touching! The nice thing about this STRIP CLUB is that the rules are so lax you can EAT THE TACO! Name another STRIP CLUB in America that allows that??? Drink prices are reasonable though.

The Hotsy Totsy club was recently featured on Fox News as a strip club - not true. This is…read morehilarious because it is nothing of the sort. It is a nearly 100-year-old dive bar. The drinks here are poured relatively strong. They have an amazing selection of vodkas and whiskeys. But you'll have no problem finding the tequila that you like as well. For those that don't drink, they have several different juices that you can mix in a variety of ways to make your own mocktail. Parking here is ridiculously easy. The parking is relatively safe. If you park more than a block away, you're good walking to your car late at night. The service here is excellent. The bartenders are quirky and have great sense of humor.

Trecee DJ'ed a surprise party I hosted and I could't wait to write this review. He is really…read moreresponsive and sent a contract the day I reached out. He arrived an hour before the party started and helped come up with fun details like a walk in song and coordinating the arrival timing. The dance floor was packed at the party. So many great songs were played and I thought his rate was really reasonable. Highly recommend reaching out and working with him if you need a DJ. He was awesome.

DJ Trecee was a thorough professional DJ who enthralled all our grad party guests with the right…read moremusic to get them excited to join on the dance floor. He even had a great set of Bollywood music that pulled the shy dancers on the floor. I surely recommend him and would work with him in the future.

Note the average age range for people attending these events is 40 and above…read more... My OOT friend and I happened to be in one of the hotels where they where hosting an event. We walked passed and heard DJ music and decided to check it out. I inquired with the folks monitoring the check-in desk and asked if we could peek in the door for 5 seconds to check out the crowd. It was around 11:30pm and the music was retro (80's style). The woman "screamed" NO! I thought "geez lady" relax.... Entry fee was $20. So we paid and checked it out. It was very clear why now she did not want us to preview the event---as there were only 2 dozen folks (including the DJ and bartender). The majority of the crowd was female. We stayed for 1 drink and no more people showed or left. We deserted the event about midnight. Overall, RUDE staff, not well attended and a waste of time and money. Definitely PASS on these events by this promoter. YELP the fact that you allow this review to be filtered shows that you are no more than a paid site!

One day, sometime early last year...my friend and I, heard about a singles party being thrown by…read morethe S of SP. We had never been to a singles party, so we thought it would be cool to check it out. The party was going to take place at the Golden Gate Yacht Club in the Marina. So far, so good, right? Um, yeah... So, it's the day of the event, and we finally make it to the parking lot. FIRST THOUGHT - OH.MY.GAWWWD. ARE.YOU.FKNG.KIDDING.ME? NO, FER REEEEEALZ? FER REEEEEALS? ARE WE ON CANDID CAMERA??? THIS IS A JOKE, RIGHT? IT'S NOT?!!!! We're sitting in the car in the parking lot, and I swear to you, everyone walking around, parking, leaving...had to have gone to high school with our grandparents!!! I believe the flyer we saw had read 30's and up crowd. WOW, THIS CROWD WAS DEFINITELY MATURE. Worse yet, these old guys were in button downed polyester shirts with chest hair flowing out!!! Yes, these guys just time-warped back into the 70's!!! *THE.FKNG.HORROR.OF.IT!* *MY.EYES.MY.EYES.ARE.FKNG.BURNING!* Needless to say, we sat in the parking lot for no more than two minutes and high-tailed it outta there!!!! We have since never attempted attendance to any singles party. ONE STAR = SUPER FAIL!!! THE NIGHT'S LESSON - I best stay a cradle robber, than a grave digger! MEEP-MEEEEEP! ========================= UPDATE: Aww, it looks like some of you are offended. When I say old, I definitely don't mean you folks in your 30's and 40's!!! I'm generation X, too! Duh!!

Nothing feels as good as it does to give back to the community in joint efforts to make a positive…read moredifference and lend a hand to those in need. I would like to compose this review to spread awareness of this incredible Non-Profit! At this point in my life journey, I feel it is an absolute necessity to do whatever I can in some small way to show my appreciation for all I am blessed with and in turn, hope to inspire others to do the very same. This said, I was very happy to have been a recent participant with a very big volunteer opportunity organized by HandsOn Bay Area along with my employer, Kaiser Permanente in honor of Martin Luther King Jr. Day - instead of the "day off" mentality for the holiday, it is a day of service in his name for a wonderful MLK day ON! Volunteers within my organization were able to sign up and were greeted to a very warm reception by BFN's very own Executive Director, Sara Webber. Sara graciously gave us a brief tour and summary of how BFN was established and how they serve as the primary hub and distribution center for all who are in need of food - be it those who work hard and are employed and just down on their luck, to schools who offer meals to children in the Berkeley area, to those seniors who are retired and simply just don't have enough money to live on their Social Security and the expenses of life. There is such a sense of pride and human compassion that goes into everything at BFN. We happily got to work on various tasks within the warehouse including painting the large community room under the instruction of a local painter who offered his services, spreading mulch in the outdoor property and planting lemon trees as well as weeding, assembling industrial shelving that would be utilized in storing some of the canned goods, etc. Here is a direct exerpt from BFN's website that better describes what they are all about: Our Work The Berkeley Food Network (BFN) was founded in 2016 as an innovative, community-centered network of agencies that provide services to the food insecure residents of Berkeley, both housed and homeless, in order to close documented gaps in access to food in Berkeley. In its first year, BFN worked to develop and strengthen its network by increasing BFN membership to more than 40 organizations, hosting quarterly member meetings to raise concerns and share information, delivering trainings to member organizations, coordinating donated food deliveries among various member organizations, and laying the groundwork for a physical distribution hub. This year, BFN is working to expand its coordination of network-level services by opening a physical distribution hub and food pantry, by partnering with advocacy organizations to deliver food to populations not reached by existing services, and by continuing to facilitate network-level collaboration to coordinate services for different populations and share best practices. Food Sourcing and Distribution Hub BFN is working to establish a food sourcing and distribution hub that will be at the core of our work to end hunger in Berkeley. We aim to provide higher quality food, greater quantities, and more variety, including ample fresh foods, to all Berkeleyans who need food. We'll provide both groceries and prepared meals for our city's homeless and marginally housed community members. We will source culturally appropriate foods to accommodate clients' food preferences and reduce waste. BFN will operate an on-site client choice pantry offering healthy shelf-stable foods; fresh dairy, produce, and bread; frozen meat; and prepared foods. The BFN pantry will be open longer hours than other pantries in Berkeley in order to serve populations who find it difficult to attend existing pantry distributions. We'll help smaller food aid programs by transporting food to the places where people need food and expanding access to free food. And we'll work to ensure safe food handling practices every step of the way. Along with food from the Alameda County Community Food Bank, BFN will facilitate donations from local grocery stores, restaurants, and urban farms through a robust recovered food program. We'll offer a convenient and accessible recovery facility with operating hours that match the needs of local businesses. In addition to improving access to healthy and delicious food for food-insecure Berkeley residents, BFN's food recovery program will help Berkeley reduce the amount of edible food sent to landfill, thereby reducing greenhouse gases." As you can see, BFN offers vital services with a heart and amazing humans who run the daily operations. It was such a blessing to have been a part of a positive collaboration of peers and can't wait to lend a hand again! If you are looking for a way to give back in the area, I cannot recommend BFN highly enough!

From the owner: We are a food assistance non-profit supporting the communities of Berkeley and Albany with…read moregroceries. To view our full list of services, locations, and hours, visit bfn.org/getfood.

Any business that supports the health care, education welfare and safety of animals is a go to for…read moreme. Not only do I shop here...all my donations go directly to this Animal Charity Shop as well. As I am told...the thrift store in Albany and (the Elmwood, Berkeley store) are run by a few paid staff members and the rest of the work is by an incredible team of volunteers. The stores always look great, are very well organized, and the staff and volunteers are all very nice! Thank you all who support these stores for helping the animals.

My husband had a few bags of men's dress shirt, casual button down shirts, jackets, and slacks…read more They were very appreciative to receive the donation and said they were in need of more men's clothing. In the meantime, I was able to look at the women's clothing. I have purchased women's tops from this business before. They have a limited but great selection of women's clothing.

Rob was the most professional DJ we could have hoped for--responsive, accommodating, and fully…read morededicated to keeping us and our guests immersed in great music. His energy and enthusiasm matched exactly what we envisioned, and his photo booth made everyone feel like rockstars.

Honestly my favorite vendor! I feel like we lucked out getting Rob for our wedding. Our 200 guests…read moreheard every word of our outdoor ceremony which had no power access (he powers everything up with battery as needed). Then he MC's everyone through the rest of our day from our grand entrance, to the emotional toasts, and capping it off with all the dancing. It was so important to me to have someone who could read the room and keep the energy high, and Rob absolutely delivered. I danced all night long! We also booked his photo booth package, which made things super easy--guests had a blast, and we didn't have to worry about putting together a guest book. The digital album still has us cracking up. Rob was the best and showed up with everything he would need to keep our wedding running smoothly - zero issues.

Likely best free Bay area breakfast oatmeal/grits…read more Likely best free Bay area macaroni and cheese. Though likely dependant of cook. You may complain garbage bins everywhere but, there is recycling and compost. IMPORTANT. Right outside, Farmer's Market.

their breakfast usually suck, but their lunches are top notch. Thank you for everything!read more