Berkeley (otherwise known as Bezerkeley) is home to one of the best universities in the world (according to the London Times) and to the most patchouli smelling-anti-corporate-organic eating-yoga practicing-hemp and birkenstock wearing-policitally correct-yuppified-granola crunching-hippy dippies this side of the planet. Berkeley is also the birthplace of California Cuisine. For the most part, we shopped, walked, and ate...and ate....and ate, and ate, and ate. And then...ate. We figured we might as well take advantage of our situation since we can never get this type of high quality food in Belfast! Sorry Belfast but it's the sad truth, your food scene has yet to be desired! FYI...Chips and curry at "the Chinkers" does not qualify as ethnic cuisine.
4th Street:
Our day started off at 4th Street. A chic shopping strip lined with fine restaurants and speciality stores such as my favorite clothing store, Anthropologie, where it pained me to only look and not buy. And Craig's newly discovered favorite, Restoration Hardware where he completely fell in love with this bed which only costs $2,720 plus tax!
Time for brunch at Cafe M. You know you're in Berkeley when you see two young male caucasian hippie dippies were cupping their hands over their eggs benedict and chanting before they dive into their meal. Craig couldn't help but order the same. He said if they had to say a prayer before they stuffed their bakes, then it must be good!
University Avenue:
An international thoroughfare stretching up from the bay and dead ends at the UC Berkeley campus, which reflects the Berkeley's varied international flavors from Thai to Hawaiian to Japanese, to Afghani to West African to Persian to Pakistani to Indian. You will also find that the Indian community is prominent here. You will see blocks and blocks of Indian restaurants, Sari Palaces, Chaat Cafes, and Indian grocery stores. This strip reminds me of London's Brick Lane.
Gourmet Ghetto:
"In Berkeley you have people who are willing to put their money where their mouth is," says Bruce Aidells, cookbook author and founder of a gourmet sausage company bearing his name. "In other places, people spend their disposable income on an RV or motorboat. Here, we don't think twice about spending $4 on an heirloom tomato."
Ground zero for this mind-set is the neighborhood surrounding Chez Panisse. It's known as the Gourmet Ghetto, an apt name for a district that blends the bohemian with the bourgeois. Here you'll find the Cheeseboard Collective, a worker-owned cooperative that sells a staggering variety of cheeses and baked goods at reasonable prices. It's also where you'll come across Epicurious Garden, an upscale culinary mall that features takeout sushi, chocolate truffles, and champagne sorbetto. -www.viamagazine.com
I couldn't have said it better myself. This is how serious they are about food here! I'm not kidding!
Even though we had brunch a few hours earlier, we couldn't help feel a grumble in our stomachs so we took a snack break at Saul's Delicatessen, the closest thing to a New York style Jewish deli this side of the west coast...
UC Berkeley Campus:
Telegraph Avenue (Student Ghetto):
There is something for everyone here from punks to goths to granolas to college co-eds to Vietnam vets. You can get a henna tattoo, a bong, a tongue piercing, a rasta hat, a tye dye shirt, vintage clothing and eat to your heart's content on the cheap. My favorite record store is here. And the best place to get a big ass bowl of salad is at Intermezzo.
Lastly, a pick-me-up at Peet's Coffee and Tea, a longtime Berkeley establishment. Any other coffee is just cigarette butt juice.
Posts
2 comments:
dayum...this post is making me hungry!
Anthologie and Restoration Hardware!!! Damn you guys have got good taste, 2 of my all time fav's as well! Loved this post and all of it's eats, just wonderful, I think you captured California and ethnic cuisine really well. So how did Craig like that eggs benedict? Another fav of mine, made me hungry and want one too.
Post a Comment