Posted in: Games, Pinball, Video Games | Tagged: arcade, Arcade Chaser, data east, Gottlieb, Kickback Pinball Cafe, pinball, Pinball Arcade, pittsburgh, Stern, williams

Arcade Chaser: Kickback Pinball Cafe

Published Sat, 01 Apr 2017 14:45:10 -0500

by Baltimore Lauren

Comments

Arcades at one point were an American past time. For a while they went out of style, being replaced with things like Dave and Busters and other all ages gambling places. But now there's been a renaissance going on where people (usually 30 something year olds) are opening up arcades, be they mixed with a bar, a cafe, or just an old school arcade. It's been an awesome trend to see, and I'm making it my duty as a nerd to visit as many as possible. Welcome to Arcade Chaser.

Kickback opened to the world May of 2013, and according to their FaceBook page,

"Food. Pinball. Coffee.

"We offer made-to-order sandwiches, panini, and salads along with a full espresso menu. Our featured coffee is the Kickback House Blend, created by the owners and only available at Kickback Cafe. While you're here feel free to buy some tokens and enjoy one of our many pinball machines.?Kickback is lit."

I can confirm that their Kickback House Blend is really good and did wake me up. The owners were sadly not there when I popped in one rainy Saturday afternoon, but that's alright. I Traded in $4 for tokens and I was off. 98% of the games worked fine. Since all of the machines appeared to be routed it's understandable when one or two are down. In this case only Monster Bash was truly down, so out of a dozen or so machines that's a win. The two level pinball arcade is beautifully laid out. The first floor looks like a pinball payfield, and the cafe tables are bumpers. The walls are adorned with retro sci-fi art, combined with exposed brick. Kickback is arguably one of the most beautiful arcades I've ever stepped foot into. There's real passion and love for this game in this place. If you're ever in the Pittsburgh area, I strongly urge you to check them out.