My dad and I have always shared a few things that have kept us close: motored vehicles, Rugby, and (after I turned 21) beer. We shortly realized that there was no better place to incorporate all of these things than a Pub. My dad had the benefit of having lived in England, so he had a good idea of what a Pub “should” be.
While our local pubs have always treated us well, we enjoyed finding new pubs and beers. The problem was, I never have been able to find a place that lists the pubs in the area.
With all of that in mind, I present to you my father’s 60th birthday present. The Rusty Alfa will set out to find and document all pubs we can find. While we will focus on pubs within a few hour radius of the SF Bay Area, California, we certainly will provide feedback on any other pubs we come across.
Each pub will be judged on 6 main metrics, with a score from both myself and my father:
- First Timer Friendly? (Yes or No) When you enter the pub as a stranger, do you feel welcome our out of place.
- Food (1-10) To get a rating of 10, there should be high quality food for anyone who might be in your group.
- Beverage (1-10) Any pub first and foremost must have a good beer selection. PBR (even though it is delicious) and Bud won’t cut it. There should be a full bar just to meet all potential tastes.
- Atmosphere (1-10) To us, a good atmosphere would allow a nice layout that allows both private conversation and mingling with strangers. It should not be too dark/light nor too loud/quiet.
- Overall (1-10) This is a bit more subjective. What is the overall feeling do you get when you are in this place? How much do you like it?
- But Is It A Pub? (Yes or No) Inevitably we will come across places that we like but aren’t as much of a “pub” as they claim.
We will provide both a brief overview of our trip to explain the context, as well as a short paragraph from each of our perspectives on the experience.
Please join us on what I know will be an amazing experience, and feel free to provide any commentary or suggestions!
The Rusty Alfa - Pubs 