There’s nothing broken at the Broken Rack, just next door to Kimball’s East in the Emeryville Public Market. After swaying to soulful jazz at Kimball’s, you can stagger over to the pool hall and chalk up the sticks for a fitting end to the evening. The Broken Rack offers twenty tables, a host of high-octane cocktails, and a comfy lounge complete with that vanishing species, the smoking section. Okay, it seems a little odd to find a pool hall right next to a food court and the high-rise condos of Emeryville, but the atmosphere is relaxed and adult, not suffocating under a wave of college students like some places we could mention. Just the game, no scene, no cruising. Even the chintzy wall paintings are all about pool. Tie one on and sink a few.
Readers’ Pick for Pool Hall: Thalassa