Berkeley

Sandwiches from CREAM

Clock tower at UCB

Part of the produce section at the Berkeley Bowl

View from the Hills on a hazy day

     Berkeley has so much diversity, I can't even begin to name it all - but I'll try.  It's a big city with a BART station, business men and an incredible variety of restaurants.  It's a college town where hipsters and hippies meet and rigorous academics spill into tie-dye t-shirts and religious pot smoking.  It's a family town with bike lanes, shady streets and adorable single-family bungalows - and the biggest co-op grocery store I've ever seen!  In it's proximity to San Francisco, Berkeley is urban, with big city amenities such as great public transportation and vibrant culture.  But Berkeley is also rural - deer and squirrels galavant in the hills, quiet jogging trails loop around the lake in the wilderness of Tilden Regional Park and cyclists whoosh under canopied trees.

     As I stood on the deck of the classy 70's cabin where we were staying with our friends in the Berkeley Hills, I saw blue jays and hummingbirds in the pines and conifers, a deer darting underneath us, and curious squirrels getting a peek at us. But just lifting my gaze from the forest scene below, I could see over the trees to the city spilling out into the Bay, the Bay Bridge connecting to the outline of cityscape, and the Golden Gate Bridge hiding in the haze. It was amazing - and a perfect example of the dichotomy that is Berkeley.

     After a day in San Francisco, we got off the BART station in downtown Berkeley, popping out of the subterranean on Shattuck Avenue, one of the many enclaves of Berkeley. We wandered up and down, looking at fun shops and interesting restaurants. Feeling a tad hungry ourselves, we stopped in at a liquor store advertising sandwiches, burritos and curry. Something for everyone; how could we resist?  For a couple bucks we ordered steaming fresh Indian food from the Mexican man at the counter, who recommended the spinach and potato curry. As we sat on the little stools at the counter eating our steaming Aloo Saag and listening to Mariachi, I thought I had never been anywhere quite like this cornucopia of authenticity. 

     I was surprised and excited at all the different enclaves we saw in Berkeley. Driving into town from the Hills, we passed through a cute area I later found out was called the Gourmet Ghetto. This is the area where a pizza restaurant called the Cheeseboard Collective makes only one type of fresh vegetarian pizza for the day, and the line usually runs out the door, but daily live music makes the wait enjoyable. The original Peets Coffee is located in this "ghetto", as well as the legendary Chez Panisse, founded by Alice Waters, creator of the "slow food" movement.
     University of California, Berkeley is known throughout the world for it's prestige, but what you won't know unless you go is that it's beautiful as well. Any trip to Berkeley should incorporate a walk around the grounds, which include old brick buildings, big leafy trees, quiet sidewalks, amazing architecture, and the learning/doing/active vibe found on any great campus. The university streams out onto Telegraph Avenue, the college kids' downtown area. Thrift stores, street vendors, cheap ethnic food and hand blown bongs galore! Telegraph is laid back but exciting, a little gritty and a feast for the senses.
    As we walked along, I kept noticing people eating delicious looking ice cream sandwiches, sparking an instant craving. When we ran into a line that was out the building and around the corner, I looked up at the sign to see what the hullabaloo was about,  and in big letters was C.R.E.A.M. - Cookies Rule Everything Around Me.  "Get in Line!" I yelled, as I grabbed my husband and squeezed into place. I didn't care that ice cream usually makes me sick, this looked like something we couldn't miss. The line moved fairly quickly, and once inside I saw that you could have your choice of a variety of vegan or regular cookies and a variety of soy or regular ice cream. I got cherry chocolate chip soy ice cream on a double chocolate chip cookie - it was divine! (Although the ice cream was soy, the cookies were intense and I still suffered slightly afterwards).
     After our $2 treats, we regrettably ran into some guy who was deciding to put a still-living-but-almost-roadkill rat out of it's misery with some iron tool, preaching his humanity while girls screamed and I turned right out of there as I heard the clang - enough Telegraph Ave for one stomach!
     We walked around Shattuck some more, which is just one street over from Telegraph, and then made our way to  College Avenue (parallel to Telegraph on the other side) to find a pizza place my aunt had recommended. Once again we were astounded when we entered a whole new downtown area, bustling with activity, and even more shops and restaurants to explore. We finally found Zachary's Pizza, in Rockridge - the area of College Ave bordering Oakland. There's another area of College Ave closer to the University called Elmwood, but we unfortunately didn't get a chance to walk around there. We successfully ordered a pizza in the loud busy joint, but still feeling the CREAM bombs, we opted for thin crust even though Chicago style is their specialty. Zachary's definition of thin crust is most people's definition of soft and chewy, but it was warm and spectacular. We headed back up to the house on the hill, sharing our pizza with friends and watching the glorious sunset over the forest and city beneath us. That was our last night in Berkeley, and the end to a fantastic weekend in the Bay Area. I didn't feel like I had nearly enough time in this interesting, cute and eclectic town - next time I can't wait to check out the many places we passed by or heard of, (or wrote about!) but didn't get to visit. What's one of your favorite things about Berkeley?

Special thanks to contributors and Berkeley lovers:
Melanie Wasserman
Lauren Baker
Laura Pertl
Jay Kurtzman