The Albatross

1822 San Pablo Ave.

Berkeley 94702

(510) 849-4714

by Phaedra Schroeder

I was raised in a family that plays Scattergories late into the night and brings Scrabble to the beach. We are an assortment of card sharks and Pictionary masters who fight over the Jumble and the crossword puzzles in the morning newspaper. My aunt used to wake up everyone in the house at 6:00AM with her incredibly powerful shuffle before playing solitaire. So when I discovered a room full of game players contemplating their next move over their pilsner glasses at the Albatross, I felt right at home.

Set on a dark block of San Pablo Avenue in Berkeley, the friendly Albatross is a stark contrast to the too dark, too crowded, and sometimes smoky pick-up lounges where only stiff drinks make the circumstances bearable. Instead of getting ogled by regulars as I entered the bar, I was the one staring: nearly everyone was engrossed in a game; even those leaning against the bar played dice, cards, dominoes or battleship. The rest were seated at tables with inlaid checker/chess boards and I think I spotted a Scrabble board table, too.

The Albatross has games I hadn't seen since childhood: Yahtzee, Monopoly, backgammon, Trivial Pursuit (dominated by UC Berkeley kids, of course), and games I had never heard of. While the alcohol selection is limited to wine and beer, in the face of so much to do, so many games to play, the drinks hardly mattered.

Although I usually opt for harder liquors, I was happy to buy a Newcastle, exchange my Drivers License for backgammon and head to a little table with my friend, Medha. Farther down the fairly well lighted room, the better to see your game, a fire crackled in a wood burning stove. Between the fire and the Newcastles, we were feeling optimistic, we had played backgammon maybe once before in our lives. To our chagrin, we couldn't remember how to set the board up to play. The bartenders at the Albatross, though, moonlight as game lords as well. Besides distributing good, clean fun to the masses, they are also up on the rules and instructions for many of the games. One trip back to the bar and I was back with the backgammon board sketched out for me on a napkin.

Admittedly, a night of beer and backgammon is not the most exciting bar experience of my life, but it was one of the nicest times I've ever spent at a bar. The Albatross is more about fun and games than hooking or throwing up--and I appreciate that. After my initial time there, I wanted to bring everyone I knew over the Bridge and into Berkeley. There's not much that Berkeley has that San Francisco lacks, but the Albatross is a notable exception.

Next time, I'm bringing my whole family.

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