Post #65093 by martiki on Mon, Dec 15, 2003 9:22 PM

In Sunday's SF Chronicle, there was an great article about the best "gin joints" in the San Francisco Bay Area. Basically, any bar that was unique and had real character, some more dives than others. Pleased to report that two of our favorites made the list:

Club Mallard:

752 San Pablo Ave., Albany. (510) 524-8450.
Denizens: Locals, college students.
Decor: Field & Stream aficionados appreciate log walls, duck mural; hipsters dig the tiki vibe. Curved bar. Banquettes. Pool table. Fireplace. Upstairs, Minnesota Fats-style pool hall.
Entertainments: Pool, anyone?
Celebrity bartender: Gil Rosson, 25 years behind the plank.
Jukebox: 4 for $1. Elliot Smith, Porter Wagoner, the Rat Pack.
Extras: Not only are there two outdoor patios (smoke 'em if you got 'em), all torches, totems and vintage geegaws are tiki-fied.

The Mallard sits smack-dab in the middle of what was once Albany's hot strip. Opened in 1934, it was first called the Doghouse because of a nearby dog track. A brief stint as Club Pago Pago. Since 1945 the vintage sign ( a martini glass and a duck) reads Club Mallard.

Go Robin!

AND (you just can't keep a good dive Tiki Bar down, you nattering nabobs of negativity)

TRAD'R SAM'S!!

BUT! (here's the exciting part of the story) Check out what they said in the review:

Co-owner Dorothy Munguia Riedel, whose parents owned the joint before, has tried to track down its lore. Late '30s, a merchant marine named Sam returns home with a stash of rum. In 1939, he erects this tiki temple to South Seas culture. Now comes the sticky part (and not from spilled drinks on the bar): Trad'r Sam or Trader Vic? Riedel's heard that Sam tried to sue Vic when Vic renamed Hinky Dinks, his original Oakland outpost, to Trader Vic's. But published reports say the name change occurred '37.

So, I'm sure Vic's was first. But...what if...what if...it wasn't?!?!

[ Edited by: martiki on 2003-12-15 21:24 ]