Nightlife in West Albany

One part bowling alley, one part laser-tag arena, and one part sports bar, eSkape Entertainment Center helps guests settle scores with friendly competition before burying rivalries with a post-match toast. Dozens of high-tech bowling lanes aid players’ pursuit of turkeys with electronic score keeping, customized bumper bars, and instructional videos on how to high-five. A dimly lit laser tag course arms players with a phaser gun before sending them in pursuit of the most dangerous game. Partiers can pass birthday parties or bar mitzvahs at The Arena, a party center designed to look like a nightclub with dance floor, neon-lit bar, and sequestered booths with leopard-print seats.

In between strikes, sharpshooting lessons, or surprise parties, guests can refuel with grub from GrillWorks, eSkape's in-house sports bar and lounge, nibbling on fried cheese curds, pulled-pork sliders, or slow-roasted baby back ribs. Attendants can deliver orders directly to each lane, saving bowlers from having to tide themselves over with bites from defective pins.

Behind the rust-red façade of The Brewmaster’s Tavern, a brick fireplace casts rough-hewn pillars and long tables in a soft glow. The historic tavern dates back to 1812 and may have once hosted the nation’s founding fathers for rounds of grog and annual wig swaps. Now, The Brewmaster’s chefs pay homage to New England’s culinary legacy with meats marinated in beer and sherry sauces alongside tender chunks of seafood baked in flaky pastry crusts.

Bringing back the upscale nightclub atmosphere of yore since 2003, the staff at Shakago Martini & Piano Bar pairs an upscale menu of Italian-inspired pastas, seafood dishes, and steakhouse fare with a rotating schedule of entertainment every Wednesday through Saturday. While the downstairs area accommodates diners with a traditional restaurant setting, a combination of dim candlelight and firefly busboys illuminates the newly renovated and intimate upstairs lounge, where guests rest on comfy couches and chairs. The second floor also frequently hosts parties of 25–50 attendees, which Shakago caters with bites ranging from finger food to dinner buffets. Because enjoying the Pink Floyd's cover of Beethoven’s 9th Symphony can often take you into the wee hours, a late-night menu appeases appetites until 1:30 a.m. Monday–Saturday.

At Legends of Aurora, philly cheesesteak could mean a traditional sandwich, a pizza, or a 24-inch sub food challenge. For more than 20 years, Legends of Aurora‘s hand-tossed pizza dough has formed the foundation for this and other pies, including the supreme and the White pizza, a sauceless number with cheese and tomato slices. And though their patrons order enough pizzas each year to pave a route from Peoria to Buckley, they somehow find time to nosh on pepperoni pizza rolls, Rocky Mountain oysters, calzones, chimichangas, salad, and wings as well.

The newly opened eatery serves up a fresh menu, offering soups, salads, sandwiches, and pizzas. Nosh on a Legare salad ($8.25), a mélange of arugula, prosciutto, figs, goat cheese, house-made croutons, and black olives in balsamic vinaigrette, or warm up to the Gadsden pizza ($11.50), topped with hand-cut pepperoni, spinach, black olives, and fresh mozzarella and feta. Justin's Café's sandwich selections feature veggie-dense, herbivore-pleasing tastes, such as the King sandwich ($8.25), which boasts a bed of grilled eggplant and basil mayo under tomato, roasted peppers, zucchini, and spinach, as well as carnivorous dream creations like the Radcliffe wrap ($8.50), which swaddles grilled chicken, Granny Smith apples, and mozzarella cheese in a spinach tortilla.

From lunch until late at night, Blue 82's contemporary lounge fosters delicious moments of synesthesia. Bartenders artfully decorate glasses by pouring bold strokes of specialty drinks such as bright green-tea martinis or Cha Cha mojitos with hints of raspberry, mimicking the green-to-magenta fade of the illuminated wall behind the bar, which doubles as a stoplight for overaggressive segway riders. More than 15 varieties of scotch add distinguished flair to evenings spent on a velvety sofa, and the tunes of live music or those spun by weekend DJs permeate aural canals with mellifluous sustenance. Slider burgers wedded to bacon and Boursin cheese or chicken flatbread pizza with sweet-and-spicy brazilian mustard treat palates to comfort food augmented by gourmet overtones, like a Stephen Foster melody played on a Stradivarius violin. The eatery also presents daily specials, and induces or nurtures merriment by hosting parties.