The Tustin branch is sprawling inside and deeper than you would've thought, replete with design features expected of the new breed of designer bowling alleys: TV screens right above the pins for maximum distraction, groovy mood lighting, thump-thumpy music, and a sports-bar area that, for now, looks chic and features cushy seats that still have their bounce. At the moment, the fact that it's largely undiscovered means it's less crowded than Lucky Strike in Orange and 300 in Anaheim. There's hardly a wait for a lane, even on Friday nights.
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And the booze? There are beers, of course, and two drinks are inevitably themed with bowling-related names. But then there's the Dessert-ini, an exorbitantly priced martini glass swirled with chocolate syrup before alcohol-imbued chocolate milk with vanilla vodka and your choice of floater are poured in. Pick from banana liqueur, butterscotch, Kahlua, Chambord or Frangelico for the latter; though, no matter which you choose, you come to the realization that it becomes an unintended homage to the White Russians Jeffrey “The Dude” Lebowski would drink. Let the Nihilists have their beers.
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Before becoming an award-winning restaurant critic for OC Weekly in 2007, Edwin Goei went by the alias “elmomonster” on his blog Monster Munching, in which he once wrote a whole review in haiku.