SFist Reprint

Staggering Through Fog

A weekly foray into the not-so-fine art of sitting on a barstool and gettin' loaded. By Drew. East Bay Roadtrip edition!

Besides brainy college kids and Pixar employees, just what is there across the bay? Quite a bit as it turns out. Sure, everyone knows about the breakneck gentrification of Emeryville and Albany, but there's just as many areas in and around Oakland that remain as they have been for many years.

The College Avenue/Rockridge area, conveniently sitting right on the border of Oakland and Berkeley, is a pubcrawler's dream. For about 6 or 7 blocks, you're pretty much guaranteed at least three or four bars per block, and some of them are even relatively inexpensive and quiet!

Ben & Nicks on College and Ocean View Drive is probably the best pub amongst a crowded sea of Rockridge watering holes. Beer selection is what makes this place, because you've got the complete spectrum from decent mid-priced brands like Full Sail and Anchor Steam to pitchers of Pabst Blue Ribbon for next to nothing. We like a place that lets you choose a dirt cheap beer, because the next morning when you crack your wallet open expecting moths to fly out, you'll be pleasantly surprised to find some grip left over for cab fare/bail.

Ben n' Nick's proximity to BART is another plus, and makes it an ideal place to meet up with those sell-out friends of yours that emigrated to the East bay so they could 'afford to buy food' or some such nonsense.

So put on your adventure gear and check out Ben n' Nicks. On your way over the bridge or through the tunnel, you can wave at the suckers going the other way.

Liver...Out!!