East Bay: Eating
As befits the birthplace of California cuisine, the East Bay offers a choice of good restaurants . Berkeley is both an upmarket diner's paradise and a student town where you can eat cheaply and well, especially on and around Telegraph Avenue.Breads of India 2448 Sacramento St, Berkeley tel 510/848-7684. A consistently craved and cramped Indian spot, particularly big at lunchtime. Leave lots of room for the breads, the restaurant's specialty.
Café Intermezzo 2442 Telegraph Ave near Haste, Berkeley tel 510/849-4592. Huge sandwiches on homemade bread, even bigger salads, and great coffee.
Café Rouge 1782 4th St, Berkeley tel 510/525-1440. Southern French and Northern Italian food specializing in delicately prepared organic meats. They have their own butcher shop. Dinner entrees are about $16; lunch is cheaper.
Cha-Am 1543 Shattuck Ave, North Berkeley tel 510/848-9664. Climb the stairs up to this unlikely, always crowded small restaurant for deliciously spicy Thai food at bargain prices.
Cheeseboard Pizza 1512 Shattuck Ave, North Berkeley tel 510/549-3055. Incredibly good designer pizza at incredibly low prices: $1.75 a slice.
Chez Panisse 1517 Shattuck Ave, North Berkeley tel 510/548-5525. First and still the best of the modern Californian cuisineries - although at $45, $55 and $65 a head prix fixe (plus wine) on Mondays, Tuesdays-Thursdays and Fridays respectively, you may prefer to try the comparatively inexpensive Café upstairs, especially if you don't have the obligatory three-months-in-advance reservation.
Fenton's Creamery 4226 Piedmont Ave, Oakland tel 510/658-7000.The ultimate old-style ice cream parlor in which to indulge in sweet cravings. Sandwiches, fries and other snacks are available to offset the sundae-buzz.
Homemade Café 2454 Sacramento St, Berkeley tel 510/845-1940. Nontraditional Californian-style Jewish food served for breakfast and lunch - at shared tables when it's crowded. Next to Breads of India .
Juan's Place 941 Carleton St, West Berkeley tel 510/845-6904. The original Berkeley Mexican restaurant, with great food (tons of it) and an interesting mix of people.
La Mediterranee 2936 College Ave, Berkeley tel 510/540-7773. Great Middle Eastern food in a relaxed atmosphere.
La Note 2377 Shattuck Ave, Berkeley tel 510/843-1535. The appropriately sunny cuisine of Provence isn't the only flavor you'll find in this petite dining room: students and teachers from the jazz school next door routinely stop in for casual jam sessions.
Tropix Backyard Café 3814 Piedmont Ave, Oakland tel 510/653-2444. Large portions of fruity Caribbean delicacies at reasonable prices, with authentic jerk sauce and thirst-quenching mango juice. Outside seating on the patio.
Zachary's Chicago Pizza 5801 College Ave, Oakland tel 510/655-6385. Locals flock to this collegial standby for stuffed pizzas, available with whole-wheat crust. Come early; it gets very busy. Open for lunch, dinner and take-out.
More about Eating:
Cafés and bars
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