Nortel Lanes

I honestly wasn't expecting much from a bowling alley because, you know, I've BEEN to bowling alleys, LOL. And when we walked in, it was pretty much...a bowling alley. Swarms of people, loud music, and lots of ambient noise. There was smoking, but honestly it wasn't nearly as bad as I expected--there were lots of fans (and what I assumed were exhaust fans as well) running, so you didn't actually get bombarded with smoke unless you physically walked by (or were near) someone who was smoking. The biggest impression, however, was how BIG the place was. Maybe it's just me, coming from a small town (or someone who doesn't go bowling much), but the place seemed HUGE! I think there were 40 lanes.

Our group had made reservations, and when we checked in, we were actually directed to another section (!) where there were another 20 or so lanes! As we later learned, this was the "cosmic bowling" area, and it started at 9pm (which was just about as our group was leaving--it's also when all the kids poured in!). Anyway, I was impressed that they had servers (again, maybe most bowling alleys are like this and I'm just not aware of it) but I really liked that. Our waitress was wonderful--sweet and cute and extremely nice and helpful. I had been worried about the food (knowing we'd have to eat there) but their menu was IMPRESSIVE. I'm used to basics like fries, wings, and nachos--but they had a full menu with your basic appetizers like fries, poppers, and wings (and so much more!), pizza, grinders, wraps...and even Chinese food and breakfast items! WHAT?! At a bowling alley? I know, right? I asked the waitress what the best thing was and she said the pizza--they actually have a pickup window for people to order!! So, we got the spicy curly fries (think Arby's curly fries) with cheese, jalapeno poppers, and a large pizza.

And the taste? Color me impressed. The pizza really was quite good (the toppings on my half were a little messy--I ordered pineapple/bacon and there was one piece with no pineapple and one plastered with bacon--but it wasn't really a big deal). The fried foods were delicious as well. We thought the actual service (i.e. food wait time) seemed a tad slow, but maybe we were just REALLY hungry. But, the place was packed - and as we later found out, the order had to be put in at two separate counters, so maybe that was part of the wait. We do wish we would have gotten our drinks first, however, while waiting for the food.

Now, about the bowling. I wasn't super impressed with the electronics/scoring system - but maybe we just lucked out with the crappy lanes. We had three lanes, and had to request service at least three times over the course of the night. We also seemed to have to do more resets than I expected. The hanging monitor on our lane was jacked up so that we could only see our initials--which meant we had to look at the lower monitor to actually see our scores. Not a big deal, but certainly not the best scenario. You could tell it was an older system, because you didn't get the graphics I've seen at newer places (like when you get a strike). Here, you just got the X on the screen. But, it was still electronic and anything beats having to keep score manually.

I didn't pay specific attention, but I think there were two actual lounges, two restrooms (which were quite clean), lockers...and I swear I saw a Nursery sign! I wasn't impressed with the ball selection--normally there are stacks and stacks to choose from, but I think in our section there were literally 20 balls to choose from. Maybe it was because the place was so busy, but I didn't even see THAT many places for balls. The end result was me having to bowl with either a) a ball that was too heavy or b) a ball that didn't fit my fingers well. It's not like it's a life or death issue, but it was frustrating.

As far as price--I think we got a special deal since we had a group, so we had $3 per game with no shoe rental fee. So my two hours of bowling cost $6 (plus food, so $21 total). Not too shabby for a fun night out with the girls.

If we could give half stars, I'd do a strong 3.5, but I just can't quite go to four stars. Maybe if I was a regular and experienced more on a repeated level, but as a one-time thing, it was definitely an A-OK experience.