So, I suppose this is a pretty common opinion of people who don’t live in my neighborhood. I live in north Berkeley, but more specifically a neighborhood known as The Gourmet Ghetto. And if the name suggests some sort of downtrodden living arrangements, let me assure you that the fact that I have to move just to be able to afford a house, the name is antiquated, crushed by the past gentrification of the area (though it probably was never even remotely close to a bad placed to live). But I understand the criticism, and at times I feel myself agreeing with it.
I love to eat, and frankly I like to talk about food, but writing about this area is such a tired issue. Let me summarize.
1. Alice Waters and Chez Panisse define the neighborhood. She once used a whole bunch of wood to cook one egg on an episode of 60 Minutes. That being said, I think her message is positive.
2. Peet’s coffee started here. Strange that a city so anti-chain store produced one of the more beloved coffee chains in the U.S.
3. The Cheeseboard Co-op has a great cheese selection and they make some crazy ass vegetarian pizza. I like the stuff, and remarkably is a great deal no matter where the hell you live these days.
The lesser known places don’t seem to get any press, but I feel most are doing well so I don’t need to go into too much detail. But again, a summarized list.
1. Cesar has pretty good tapas. It’s pricey. They make great drinks. It’s loud as fuck.
2. Gregoire is a fancy takeout place. I love this place. It probably belongs in the previous list. Gregoire (the chef) worked his ass off in a location that was just an absolute death zone for restaurants. The effort has shown, and is probably the most immediate business that comes to mind when I think about the virtues of hard work.
3. Juice Bar Collective has a great simple turkey sandwich.
4. Saul’s is a Jewish deli, and is really the only one we have in the area. I can’t comment on how good it is comparatively to other places outside the area.
5. A Crepevine has opened here. I avoid all pun-based restaurant names.
6. There’s a fancy food court here called the Epicurious Garden. It’s got really expensive soup, decent quality sushi, a alright place for burritos, the most condescending chocolate place I’ve could ever see or even fucking imagine, a chain gelato store, an Indian restaurant with full bar, and some sort of Chinese Tea House thingy. I go here at most 5-6 times a year, and it’s usually for a burrito.
So what I plan on doing is some talking with my friend about restaurants that I like and why I like them. None of them will be from my neighborhood, heck some of them might not be in this state. Here’s a few restaurants that you can look forward to me talking about (in no real particular order, I’d say the order changing is a pretty good bet): O.B. Chicken Town, Lois the Pie Queen, Fonda, L’atelier de Joel Robuchon, Kabana, Indus Village, Angeline’s. It’s still going to be quite Berkeley focused, but it’s going to be mostly places that don’t get too much pub. I know Fonda gets pub but I’ve gone there every week for a few years, and there’s a lot of reasons why.
