Stoneleigh Lanes, Baltimore

Ballyhooed by both Baltimore magazine and City Paper, Stoneleigh Lanes sets the scene for friendly bowling battles in a retro 16-lane alley. Strikers lace up rented kicks and hurl three-hole balls at 10 ivory duckpins. Sixteen-inch cheesy pizzas hush fifth-frame tummy grumbles, and sudsy pitchers of soda quench postpizza thirsts. The alley's BYOB policy lets bowlers imbibe brews brought from home, clearing out refrigerator space to be used for snowball storage. Handwritten scoring and gravity-feed ball returns enhance the spot’s retro charm.