Monthly Archives: June 2014

Things To Do: Green Space in Berkeley

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Summer’s here, and many places that means it’s time to emerge from inside and finally enjoy the sunshine and good weather. Here in Berkeley, however, we’re lucky enough to have beautiful days sprinkled throughout the year – it could be 50 degrees in August and 70 in January (and often is). However, in the spirit of summer, here are 5 parks in Berkeley worth visiting on those sunny, balmy days.

1. Tilden Park

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Berkeley sits on the edge of Tilden Park, an East Bay regional park, comprised of wooded or partially-wooded hills separating the coastal and inland areas. It’s a lovely place for a hike or bike ride, with almost 40 miles of trails. Or, if hiking isn’t your cup of tea but you still want to enjoy the beauty of nature and breath in the relaxing smell of eucalyptus trees covering the park, there are a plethora of other attractions to take part in. Activities include golfing, fishing, camping, equestrian camping, visiting the Botanic Garden, and swimming in Lake Anza. If you’re looking for kid-oriented activities, check out the Little Farm, Merry-Go-Round (this site is decorated for Christmas, and is a must-see for December visitors), and the Steam Train.

Directions

2. Berkeley Marina

On the western boarder of Berkeley, opposite Tilden Park, is the Berkeley Marina and waterfront. Visitors can stay onshore and enjoy a direct view of the Golden Gate Bridge and the San Francisco skyline, or can take to the bay with classes and clinics from Cal Adventures. The Marina also features an off-leash area for dogs, the Berkeley Yacht Club, and Adventure Playground: a hands-on building and playing experience for kids.

Directions

3. Ohlone Greenway & Park

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The Ohlone Greenway is any green space that pops up along the East Bay bicycle and pedestrian path. Ohlone Park is made up of a four-block stretch of the Greenway, spanning from North Berkeley Bart station at Sacramento St and Delaware to Martin Luther King Jr. Way and Hearst. This long, skinny park includes a baseball field, a soccer field, basketball courts, jungle gym equipment, a dog park, and multipurpose grassy areas. On any given afternoon, you can see little league games, amateur tightrope walkers, Frisbee throwers, pick-up basketball games, and children playing on the large spider web-style climbing structure.

Directions

4. Berkeley Rose Garden and Corodnices Park

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The Berkeley Rose Garden is perched on a terraced hill, creating a cascade of roses down the slope when the flowers are in full bloom. It is a popular site for weddings, prom pictures, and local gardeners who volunteer to prune the roses. Just across from the garden is Corodnices Park (pronounced cord-uh-nee-sees by the locals). The park begins as a large expanse of grass and transitions to a wooded area with park benches and grills, perfect for birthday barbeques. There is traditional play equipment, but the park is most famous for its large concrete slide. To the dread of many parents and the delight of their children, kids of all ages can be seen careening down the slide on squares of cardboard (so they don’t shred their pants). It should be mentioned that in all my years frequenting this park, I have never seen anyone injured on this slide.

Directions

5. Indian Rock

For a spectacular view of the entire San Francisco bay, head up to Indian rock. This park includes a grassy area for lounging, picnicking, or hosting potlucks and a giant rock across the street. For the view, one must make his or her way up to the top of the rock. This can be done by nimbly scaling one of the sets of steps carved into the rock or, for the more adventurous and athletically inclined, by attempting to climb up the side. Personally, I do not recommend the latter option; the view is not worth a broken neck, though it is spectacular.

Directions

Things To Do: Summer Baseball Game

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Now that summer is here and the weather is getting warmer (at least in most of the country) the People of Berkeley are heading outside to enjoy the long, balmy days. With baseball season in full swing, it’s the perfect time to head to your team’s stadium to catch a game (puns intended). Here in Berkeley, we are lucky to be just a stone’s throw from two teams worth following: the Oakland Athletics and the San Francisco Giants.

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The Oakland Athletics:

As of June 2014, the Oakland A’s are leading with the most wins of any team in both the American league and the National league. They obviously aren’t struggling for wins, and yet low attendance and dilapidated stands makes watching a game at the Coliseum feel like rooting for the underdog – which is practically an American pastime in itself. Oakland’s weather is always a couple of degrees warmer than Berkeley’s, and sometimes there is nothing better than a sunny day game at the Oakland Coliseum with a beer and some garlic fries. Bonus: the home team just might win.

ATT PARK NIGHT

San Francisco Giants:

There are many reasons to see a game at the Giant’s stadium, AT&T Park: the quirky, character-filled team, easy access by Muni, cheap nosebleed and standing tickets. But one of the best reasons to visit the stadium is the stadium itself. AT&T Park is the most beautiful stadium in baseball. The park sits on the water, with a phenomenal view of the San Francisco bay. There are fun traditions like the splash count (the number of balls that have gone into the bay) and the crowd singing Journey’s Lights at the 8th inning stretch. I recommend going to a night game sitting behind home plate (even if it is in the cheap seats). It gets a little chilly, but you can watch the sun set over the bay without it glaring in your eyes.

Find tickets at www.stubhub.com

Affordable Eats in Berkeley

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Berkeley, CA is a culinary center, and to comprehensively discuss Berkeley’s best food would require an anthology. Therefore, I have decided to concentrate on just some of my favorite affordable spots in the area. Berkeley is culinarily fantastic for someone, like myself, who is living on a college student’s (nonexistent) budget. For me, eating out is often too pricey, but when I do go out I head to these spots for awesome food at moderate prices. These are some of my favorites, but feel free to share some of yours in the comments below!

1.The Cheese Board Collective

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The first on my list is a Berkeley institution. The Cheese Board Collective has been around since 1971, and is really two shops for the price of one – the storefront at 1504 Shattuck Avenue is a bread and cheese shop, boasting an expansive selection of fine cheeses and fresh pastries every morning. The storefront at 1512 Shattuck Avenue is a pizza shop serving lunch and dinner. Each day the pizzeria has just one pizza flavor, always vegetarian, and one salad selection. If you visit the pizzeria you can also catch live music by local artists. Pioneers of the California pizza style, the pies rarely feature classic tomato sauce, and the worker-owners often experiment with creative flavor combinations. The daily flavors for the week and a list of musicians performing each day are available ahead of time on The Cheese Board Collective’s website, http://cheeseboardcollective.coop. You may also want to check ahead of time to ensure the collective will be open during your planned visit – the shop closes for a couple weeks each December.

Recommended: Daily pizza from the pizzeria, cheese rolls and scones from the bakery

http://cheeseboardcollective.coop

1504/1512 Shattuck Avenue Berkeley, CA 94709

Bakery: Monday 7am-1pm

Tuesday – Friday 7am-6pm

Saturday 8am-5pm

Closed Sunday

Pizzeria: Tuesday – Saturday 11:30-3:00, 4:30-8:00

2. Peet’s Coffee & Tea

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Another Berkeley classic is Peet’s Coffee & Tea. Now a chain that has (slowly) expanded down the California coast and across the country to many major cities, the original café sits on the southwest corner of Walnut and Vine, just a block up from The Cheese Board Collective. Peet’s is the place for Berkeley natives to grab their morning coffee – Starbucks is a word rarely spoken by Berkeleyites. Known for strong coffee and the funky neo-grunge style of many of their employees, Peet’s Coffe & Tea shops in Berkeley surpass their out-of-town counterparts. In Berkeley, the coffee is stronger and the workers are cooler.

Recommended: drip coffee, lattes if you’re not a fan of super strong coffee. Tea coolers in the summer when you want to go the decaf route.

www.peets.com

2124 Vine Street Berkeley, CA 94709

Monday – Sunday 6am-8pm

3. Vik’s Chaat & Market

There are many Indian restaurants in Berkeley, and there is sure to be a debate over which is better. But for me, Vik’s Chaat & Market beats out the competition. Located in an industrial building in west Berkeley, this South Indian cafeteria-like restaurant manages to come across very warm and welcoming despite this utilitarian layout. The menu options range from meat-laden to vegetarian and vegan, and the dishes are reasonably priced and well portioned. There is also a small market on the 4th street side of the shop, boasting an assortment of Indian groceries. Just be sure to check the hours before you go – Vik’s closes very early during the week.

Recommended: Cholle bhature, samosa cholle, mix veg pakoras.

www.vikschaatcorner.com

2390 4th Street Berkeley, CA 94710

Vik’s Chaat: Monday – Thursday 11am-6pm

Friday – Sunday 11am-8pm

Vik’s Market: Monday – Thursday 10:30am-6:30pm

Friday – Sunday 10:30am-8pm

4. Zachary’s Chicago Pizza

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There are three pizzerias on this list, each representing a different style of pizza. The first, The Cheese Board Collective, is our classic California pizza. This second pizza genre is thick-crust Chicago style. Zachary’s is the Chicago style pizza in Berkeley. The restaurant is known for their hearty deep-dish pizzas and as their ‘thin’ crust pies, as well as the eclectic fan art (part of a long-running art contest begun in the 1980’s) that covers the restaurant walls. This spot is worth a visit for the multitude of pizza puns present in the art alone.

Recommended: pizza by the slice, deep dish, caesar salad

www.zacharys.com

1853 Solano Avenue Berkeley, Ca 94707

Sunday – Thursday 11am-9:30pm

Friday – Saturday 11am-10:30pm

5. Gordo Taqueria

If you’re looking for a quick lunch in the form of a fantastic burrito (or taco, or quesadilla), Gordo is the place you’re looking for. Customers queue up to order and pay for their burritos, choosing toppings by pointing to their preference from an array beans and meats kept safe from overeager patrons by a sturdy sneeze guard. The shops are small (Gordo has multiple locations in the Berkeley area as well as San Francisco), and it is not uncommon for the line to reach out the door. But don’t be discouraged by the long lines: the staff works so quickly and efficiently that you never have to wait very long for one of the best burritos of your life.

Recommended: Regular carnitas burrito, rice & bean crispy taco.

2989 College Avenue Berkeley, CA 94705

Monday – Sunday 10am-10pm

2404 Telegraph Avenue Berkeley, CA 94702

Monday – Sunday 10am-10pm

1423 Solano Avenue Albany, CA 94706

Monday – Sunday 10am-10pm

6. Lanesplitter Pizza & Pub

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Lanesplitter Pizza is my favorite New York style pizza is the bay area. The pizza, salad, and beer selection is top notch, and it all comes in a biker-cool (but not scary) atmosphere. The best part of the décor is the display case of Barbie Dolls on the wall. These are not your typical Barbies, but rather are portraits of their employees. Barbies and Kens have undergone many changes to reflect the likenesses of the quirky and cool staff. The resemblance of many of the dolls to their human counterparts is uncanny, down to the last tattoo and piercing.

Recommended: Custom 15” Neapolitan pizza, mixed green salad, beer on tap.

http://www.lanesplitterpizza.com

2033 San Pablo Avenue Berkeley, CA 94702

Monday – Sunday 11am-12am

7. Chaam

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Asian cuisine has been grossly underrepresented in this post, and the caliber and variety of Berkeley’s Asian food is worthy of a post unto itself. But one restaurant that has made it on here is Chaam, a Thai restaurant in the gourmet ghetto (it’s on the same block as The Cheese Board Collective and on the same side of the street as the legendary Chez Panisse). This is one of the pricier locations on this list, but I still consider them fairly reasonable. The portions are quite good, and a three items can more than feed four people. The restaurant interior is very charming, with south Asian decoration and solid service. They also offer takeout, which is the option I usually go for. Tip: I enjoy carrying out my food and eating it on one of the grassy areas of Cal’s campus on a nice day.

Recommended: Chicken sa-tay, shrimp pad thai, gaeng keow pak (green curry)

http://www.chaamberkeley.com

1543 Shattuck Avenue Berkeley, CA 94709

Monday – Thursday 11:30am-9:30pm

Friday – Saturday 11:30 am – 10:00pm

Sunday 12pm-9:30am

8. Oscar’s*

Oscar's in 2010

For great burgers (or veggie burgers) and a relaxed environment, go to Oscar’s. This joint is not fancy by any stretch of the imagination, but it has a function-over-form vibe and small-town, college-y atmosphere that makes it downright charming. It has been featured on the NBC show Parenthood, which is set in Berkeley, as a quintessential Berkeley restaurant, and yet has not lost it’s hole-in-the-wall, local’s secret feel. Oscar’s is a great stop for any visitors under the impression that all Berkeley has is hippy-dippy vegan food: thy serve classic, straightforward American food, and their cheeseburgers are definitely not vegan.

Recommended: Cheeseburger, veggie burger, fries.

1890 Shattuck Avenue Berkeley, CA 94709

Monday – Sunday 10am-10pm

*Oscars closed in the fall of 2015. You can read a short article on the closing here.