After leaving the Botanical Building, my mom and I walked next door to the San Diego Zoo. Since I’m a member I got us both in for free. We mainly went to have a nice lunch together and possibly stop to see an animal or two. Our lunch was at the terrific Albert’s Restaurant, by far the nicest eatery at the zoo. My mom had a small Caesar salad and I had the Linguini Pasta with shrimp that was incredibly good. There’s a really nice waterfall that adds a pleasant, if a little loud, ambience to the outdoor eating area. After finishing lunch and a quick stop at the bonobos, our choice of animals to view on this visit were the Western Lowland Gorillas, appropriate since the restaurant was named for Albert, a four-month old silverback that arrived at the zoo from Africa in 1949 and who passed away in 1978. The old gorilla grotto where Albert lived was situated where the restaurant is now located. The gorillas this day weren’t very active, but they were still fun to watch. Any day you can have lunch at Albert’s and then watch a band of gorillas is a good day.
