I like to pair a movie with lunch as often as possible, and had been wanting to try Home Plate Gastropub for weeks before the timing worked out for me. The Regal Cinemas in Marysville  was open early for some big release, so I had the room to myself for a 10 a.m. showing of Tag and went to Home Plate for lunch afterward.

My movie adventures take me to Marysville as often as Everett Mall, if not more. Both theaters are Regal, and they almost always have the same movies, but the showtimes are usually better for me in Marysville — mainly because of traffic after the film. It's so nice to zoom south during rush hour instead of crawling north in traffic.

GPS is recommended for finding Home Plate. It's in a "blink and miss it" shopping center and its sign is pretty hard to spot among its neighbors.

It's so worth it. Home Plate is the friendliest place I've been to in a long time. Everyone behind the bar said “hi,” and everyone at the bar was chatty. And the food is amazing. It was very hard to choose what to try, but since I was home alone all weekend, I wanted leftovers that would travel well. I had a house salad (comes with garlic toast!) and two slices of the carne asada pizza.

Marinated flank steak, pico de gallo, chipotle sauce, feta, jalapeños. Not too spicy, all too perfect.

The gentleman next to me at the bar was fueling up after a long morning of scouring yard sales for stuff to sell on eBay. The Sega Saturn he found led to him telling me about the arcade at Another Castle, and a dark arcade sounded perfect on a sunny day. As I settled up my tab, the bartender asked me to wait a moment because another patron had just bought a round of drinks for everyone and he wanted to print me a voucher so I could have my free drink when I visit again. Score!

Not sure what I'll order when I go back. The chorizo burger sounds great, but it seems a shame to order something with so many of the same ingredients as the only other thing I've had there. Guess I just have to keep going!

Another Castle - Arcade Edition calls itself a “craft beercade”. There's a bar in the back corner where you can relax for a while if you've been on your feet playing games too long. And it's the biggest selection of video games and pinball I've gotten to choose from in years.

Careful not to kick your beer over while you play pinball.

The pinball machines I played were 50 cents, and the video games were a quarter. Several of those video games (like the Nintendo PlayChoice-10 machine) are multi-games, so there are even more choices than you notice at first glance. I played Super Mario Brothers and realized I'm not longer good at it at all. I'm still good enough at Joust to never be killed by another knight, but then be killed immediately by the pterodactyl.

Another Castle was originally a retail store for gaming, and that's next door. I didn't go in, because it's really for the best that I don't play at home. Years later, my thumbs still haven't recovered from weeks of abuse with We Love Katamari, and I once lost an entire weekend to Super Castlevania. I even spent a lot of money I didn't have on a full-size Tron arcade game for my apartment once. With that in mind, it sure is nice to have a little inexpensive retro arcade fun available a few minutes up the road that I can leave behind after an awesome afternoon in Marysville.

Home Plate Gastropub
9713 State Ave #B
Marysville, WA 98270
(360) 653-9308

Hours:
Seven Days a Week 11 a.m.-1:30 a.m.

Another Castle: Arcade Edition
8628 36th Ave NE
Marysville, WA 98270
(360) 322-7571

Hours:
Mon.-Thurs. 3 p.m.-12 a.m.
Fri. 3 p.m.-2 a.m.
Sat. 12 p.m.-2 a.m.
Sun. 12 p.m.-12 a.m.

Christopher Bragg works from home in Everett and loves walking, swimming, and cats. You can find him all over town, but only if you keep weird hours and avoid crowds like he does.