East Bay: Cafés and bars
The many bohemian cafés of Berkeley are full from dawn to near midnight with earnest characters wearing their intellects on their sleeves; if you're not after a caffeine fix, you can generally get a glass of beer or wine. For serious drinking you're better off in one of the many bars , particularly in rough-hewn Oakland. Grittier versions of what you'd find in San Francisco, they're mostly blue-collar, convivial, and almost always less expensive.The Alley 3325 Grand Ave, Oakland tel 510/444-8505. A piano bar where locals come specifically to sing. With local Rod Dibble at the piano (he's not famous, but he should be), the boozy conviviality and the right melody, you will too. Music starts at 9pm.
Bison Brewing Company 2598 Telegraph Ave, Berkeley tel 510/841-7734. Eat and drink at great prices on the terrace, where some of the best Bay Area beers are brewed. Noisy bands on weekends.
Caffe Mediterraneum 2475 Telegraph Ave, Berkeley tel 510/841-5634. Berkeley's oldest café, straight out of the Beat generation archives: beards and berets optional, books de rigueur, and people come specifically to smoke.
Heinhold's First and Last Chance Saloon Jack London Square, Oakland tel 510/839-6761. Authentic waterfront bar that's hardly changed since around 1900, when Jack London himself drank here. They've never even bothered to fix the slanted floor that was caused by the 1906 earthquake.
Jupiter 2181 Shattuck Ave, Berkeley tel 510/843-8277. Many, many beers to select from at this local favorite. Live jazz on weekends and an outdoor beer garden.
Mama Bears 6536 Telegraph Ave, North Oakland tel 510/428-9684. Women's bookstore, doubling as a café and meeting place. Open daily 10.30am-7pm, later for regular author readings.
Pyramid Brewery 901 Gilman St, Berkeley tel 510/528-9880. Great microbrewed beers in a popular pub.
Starry Plough 3101 Shattuck Ave, Berkeley tel 510/841-2082. Convivial Irish bar where you can argue the latest cease-fire over darts. Bargain-price live rock and country many evenings.
The White Horse 6551 Telegraph Ave at 66th St, North Oakland tel 510/652-3820. Oakland's oldest gay bar - a smallish, friendly place, with mixed dancing for men and women nightly.
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