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Best of Alameda 2006 - Summer

Best Place to Stand United: The Mayor s Fourth of July Parade

If you don't watch the Alameda Fourth of July parade, you're probably in it. Each year, 20,000 patriots-parents, punks, bikers, young 'uns and old-timers-cram Park Street and the rest of the route to honor our country's Independence Day. To see the three-plus-mile, 150-float parade, Alamedans (and their loyally dressed dogs) stake their territory with lawn chairs long before the cavalcade's 10 a.m. start. The parade itself, one of the longest July 4 processions in California, boasts superior floats-the 2006 event included the front end of a fighter jet, a Coast Guard cruiser, sparring martial artists, a funk ensemble and an eight-piece mariachi band. With thousands of families clapping, children shouting and senior citizens waving handheld flags, the Fourth of July offers a rare chance for the whole Island to unite not only as Alamedans but also as Americans.
-C.D.

Best Quick Trip to Tahiti: Forbidden Island Tiki Lounge

Need a vacation? At Forbidden Island Tiki Lounge, the tropics are just a few blocks away. Although this sip of the South Pacific only opened in April, co-owner Martin Cate needs a doorman to control the crowds that pack the summer hideaway each weekend. The former Trader Vic's bartender offers a superlative drink list, including 55 different rums and seven drinks invented at the small island cabana. Cate takes care only to serve the highest-quality fruit juices, which he squeezes himself, and he makes fresh grenadine with real pomegranate. "A tiki bar is an imaginary thing," Cate says. "It's mysterious and exotic." When you look at the fishing nets and bamboo adorning the walls, the multicolored lights glowing through puffer fish lamps and listen to the low-key Hawaiian music flowing through the bar's permanent dusk, he's right. 1304 Lincoln Ave., (510) 746-0332,
www.forbiddenislandalameda.com.
-C.D.

Best One-Stop Shop for Summer Fix-Its: Pagano's

An old window-display effigy of Rudy Giuliani dangles, Muppet-like, from one of Dave Giovannoli's crowded shelves in his Pagano's hardware store office. "We like to have fun with those," says Giovannoli, who has co-owned the hardware store since 1994. Crammed onto two wood-paneled floors and 10-foot high shelves, the massive and eclectic inventory includes welcome mats, Radio Flyer wagons, an entire aisle devoted to light bulbs and more. Come summer, it's jamming with Alameda's best summer home improvement selection: gas and charcoal grills, garden supplies and sprinkler systems. Local handymen are regulars for big undertakings as well as little tasks, like summer paint projects, new light fixtures or, Giovannoli chuckles, Betty Boop collectibles. "Two 300-pound construction guys get their stuff for the job," he says, "and get all excited about the Betty Boop salt shaker. 'Oooh! We don't have one of those!' " 1100 Lincoln Ave., (510) 522-1345,
www.paganoshardware.com.
-C.D.