Berkeley & The East Bay
- San Francisco|Berkeley/Oakland|Marin|Wine Country|South Bay
- Santa Cruz|South to Monterey/Carmel|North of Santa Cruz|Hiking near Ben Lomond
Berkeley is where N&N did not meet: Both did their graduate studies here, barely overlapping when NH had arrived and NC had not yet left for Paris. Unless you’re a particular university buff who wants to roam the campus, the main attractions we’ll point you to are of the gastronomic variety!
Berkeley sightseeing
- Tour the Berkeley campus—both N’s have spent years here!
- Walk through Sproul Plaza, and look out (actually down) for the Free Speech Monument.
- Telegraph Ave. is not quite the hippie outpost it was in the 1960s, but still interesting for a wander.
- Trivia: NC was spat upon by someone while walking down this street in 1995.
- Not quite on campus, but: International Computer Science Institute, down near Berkeley BART station: NC’s home for years!
- Indian Rock Park: just north of campus—climb up for a great view of the whole Bay
- Berkeley Rose Garden
- Lawrence Hall of Science
- Botanical Garden
- See a play at Berkeley Repertory Theatre (http://www.berkeleyrep.org/)
Berkeley for kids
- Tilden Park (http://www.ebparks.org/parks/tilden.htm) — we highly recommend the steam train. There’s also a carousel and petting zoo!
Berkeley food (around the Gourmet Ghetto)
- The Cheeseboard: Impressive cheese selection (even for those who’ve lived in Paris), delicious bakery goods and a couple doors down get in line for a different (vegetarian) pizza every day! (NC’s favorite pizza!)
- Favorites: Zampano bread, cornbread-cherry scones, ginger cookies, mmm.
- Tip: Take a number to try several of their 300-400 cheeses!
- Gregoire: Scrumptious sandwiches with mostly French inspiration; enjoy the octagonal boxes at this ‘artisan take-out.’
- Favorites: DO NOT MISS the potato puffs! We repeat, DO NOT MISS the potato puffs!!!!!!! THEY ARE THE BEST THING EVER.
- Cesar (Spanish tapas). Reasonable approximation of your favorite tapeo finds, including bacalao! Try the mel y mato (cheese, honey and fruit dessert) or the bread pudding too.
- Masse’s Pastries: Best pastry shop in Bay Area, by NC’s estimation. Come here for a preview of our weekend dessert highlight: fantastic wedding cakes!
- Chez Panisse. The epicenter of California cuisine and stomping ground of Alice Waters. You need to make dinner reservations for the main seating area a month in advance (prix fixe meals), but they also have a more casual cafe. Delicious!
- Nearer the Berkeley BART station, one must mention Jupiter. Lovely courtyard for drinks, pizzas (including gluten-free!), salads and more. Also a good place to meet on a first not-quite-date.
- Not a restaurant, but still a feast for the senses: Berkeley Bowl. If you like groceries and produce, DO NOT MISS IT!! (NC actually likes the smaller Monterey Market in North Berkeley just as much.)
Temescal food
- La Mediterannee (also 2 locations in SF, in the Castro and Pacific Heights)
- Favorites: We always get the Mediterranean Plate and ask for more chicken celicia. The mezze is good if you are hungry and want to try everything.
- Stand in line for ice cream at Ici. Worth the wait!
- Burma Superstar. Yummy tea leaf salad!
- Doña Tomas. Fantastic Oaxacan food! Great margaritas.
- Vik’s Chaat House: If you haven’t tried chaat, PLEASE DO! Indian street food, which started as the back counter in a Berkeley warehouse and has grown into a bustling “not just for Indians” purveyor of dosas, yummy weekend specials and other favorites.
- NC favorite!
- Favorites: aloo tikki chole, bhel poori, chicken kathi kabob, lamb kathi kabob, masala dosa, vegetable dosa, uttapam, dahi papdi chaat
- Zachary’s Pizza (multiple locations). Why go to Uno’s when you can have this deep-dish Berkeley classic? The spinach and chicken favorite is really exactly that.
Rockridge food
- Millenium – this renowned vegan restaurant just moved from SF to Rockridge. Fantastic food, great outdoor garden patio. You don’t have to be vegan to love it!
- Zachary’s for deep dish pizza
- Top Dog for a cheap bite
- Thai Buddhist temple: Wat Mongkolratanarem: Sundays, communal-style Thai brunch, like pad thai, beef noodle soup, mango with sticky rice and coconut pancakes and pudding, for a donation. 1911 Russell St.
Berkeley cafes
- The original Peet’s coffee, including a little coffee museum (Vine & Oxford)
- Caffé Strada, the classic place to sit near campus, read a book about consciousness and—if you’re N&N—meet up for the first time outside of work! 🙂 Also to solve puzzles on a crazy metaproposal hunt.
- Nearby is Cafe Milano, always pleasant for a hangout.
- You want Third Wave Coffee? Go to the Highwhere down at San Pablo & University, or Artis Cafe down on 4th Street.
- We can’t not mention Au Coquelet, where both N&N have spent hours/days/years.
Extra reading
- Read: David Lodges Changing Places