Picoso (Berkeley)
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1511 Shattuck Ave |
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Picoso is an excellent take-out Mexican Food place in the upscale Epicurious Garden on Shattuck, two doors up from César, and across the street from the Cheese Board Pizza. They make my favorite burritos in Berkeley, and if you time it wrong, around the dinner hour, you’ll end up waiting around with a nice group of hungry people who share my opinion. 🙂
I love the really flavorful rice; and the beans, salsa, and guacamole always taste exceptionally fresh.
At the counter where they make the burritos, there’s a about three stools where you could wait for your food, or sit and eat. You can also take your meal into the back garden, where the seats and small tables are scattered among an outdoor terraced patio with nice landscaping, although that’s probably a better lunch idea than dinner.
Cha-Ya (Berkeley)
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1686 Shattuck Avenue |
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Cha-Ya is my favorite restaurant in all of Berkeley. A small (20 seat) strictly vegan Japanese kaiseki ryori restaurant in the Gourmet Ghetto. Kaiseki cuisine is an edible art form largely unknown outside of Japan, and most-closely associated with Kyoto. Take me there for my birthday, or any day; I never need an excuse to go.
A vegan meal at Cha Ya consists of many small plates, and there’s a huge variety of dishes and food styles to mix and match. Weekly specials are posted on the wall. You can probably go ten times and never order the same thing twice. It can be overwhelming on your first visit if you’re not familiar with the food. Here’s a little orientation, based on what I usually order.
Among the soups I’ve tried, I prefer the Dobin Mushi, a “pot soup,” with all kinds of delicious veggies and mushrooms. Once you pour off and finish the broth (like tea), you can dive into the pot and eat the veggies. The salads are all incredibly fresh, and come with seasoned hijiki (seaweed), ginkgo seeds, tofu, greens, and sometimes persimmon.
There are a number of small dishes (Kozara) that I love, but my hands down favorite is the Gyoza (vegan pot stickers). Served with gyoza dipping sauce, they’re warm and melt in your mouth as the steam rises from your first bite. They’s sweet and chewy and really a treat. I also recommend the simple and delicious Robata Yaki (which is served as pair of skewers with grilled vegetables, mushroom, and tofu, glazed with a sweet plum sauce).
Cha-Ya has a very wide variety of al la carte veggie rolls: both hosomaki (nori seaweed on the outside), and nigiri vegetables on top of the rice, strapped on with a little nori belt. Among the hosomaki, don’t miss the Kampyo, seasoned gourd. It doesn’t sound impressive, but it has a mouth-watering, sweet, slightly vinegar taste. With the Nigiri I really love the way they do the eggplant. Seasoned perfectly, the eggplant is soft and delicious.
There are some special rolls that are particularly decadent. The Cha-Ya Roll is my guilty pleasure: tempura sushi filled with avocado, yam, and carrots, the entire roll is lightly battered and deep-fried, served with a special house sauce. It’s amazing.
On a cold night, there are noodle soups, and on hot nights, you can order cold noodles, like Zaru soba.
The menu contains six or so Combination Dinner Sets, which come with a bowl of miso soup and a small salad, in addition to an entree. The combos are probably a great deal, but I can never wrap my mind around how they’re organized or what I should choose. If you’re already ordering an entree that’s part of the specials, it makes sense to see if the specials work for you.
I’ve just scratched the surface, but I would be remiss if I didn’t mention that they have a number of vegan desserts. The Vegan (chocolate) Cake is usually excellent, but the Vegan Ice Cream Sundae is the real prize winner, with both azuki beans, and green tea sauce.
The menu features many kinds of fine teas, and a range of sake (hot or cold), including Sho Chiku Bai Sake from Takara, made in Berkeley!
The place is small and popular, so if you get there too late, you might be standing in the cold for a while waiting for a table. Be forewarned.
Khana Peena (Berkeley)
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1889 Solano Ave |
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When Khana Peena moved in across the street from Ajanta a few years ago, I thought it was a bad business decision. Now here it is, 2010: Ajanta is still at the top of it’s game, and Khana Peena is making it work, with a totally different style of Indian food, reasonable prices, and a nice ambiance.
I actually think their food has gotten much better recently. There’s a big vegetarian selection, and they do all of our favorites really well. Chana Masala (spicy garbanzo beans) is great; Aloo Sag (creamy spinach with potatoes) is Kathryn’s favorite; and I really love their Bhindi Masala (okra is a spiced dry sauce). The different kinds of naan (bread) are wonderful.
This is another place I like to take out of town guests. When you have a bunch of people, ask for one of the booths in the back. You can sit on floor-pillows, at a long low table and have a great private dinner experience.
I should also mention that Khana Peena delivers!
The Ravens (Mendocino)
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Coast Highway and Comptche Ukiah Road |
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Sea Palm Strudel
I couldn’t resist ordering this—I’ve picked up sea palm on the beach, long, brown squishy trunks with tendril-like leaves, and I couldn’t resist the curiosity of it. I also like all sea-vegetables, and they aren’t something I prepare at home.
I wasn’t disappointed: the sea palm came wrapped in a pastry type breading, with a side of sauteed veggies. I actually liked the sea palm more than the pastry–I’m not s fan of bready type food for dinner and would have preferred a grain, but I thoroughly enjoyed the meal and would order it again, just for the novelty.
We also had an appetizer of XX which vanished in moments of arriving at the table. The bread is also excellent here and it’s possible to become quite full before dinner even arrives, which makes packing in dessert even that much more intensive.
Good thing we were staying right at the Stanford Inn–just kind of waddle home.
Mushroom with Creamy Polenta
This was my favorite meal at the The Ravens—it looks simple as the plate arrives, but the flavor of the mushrooms was phenomenal, and the polenta was perfect. All the side veggies must have come from their garden–in any case, the produce was amazingly fresh and I had to pace myself and enjoy this.
It’s such a pleasure to go into a restaurant and have so many options. The Ravens isn’t cheap, but as a vegetarian, it’s a real luxury to have so much choice.
Daily Omelet
I’ve gone long spells being vegan but I’m currently eating eggs for the protein value (also, okay, I really like them!). I had this omelet both days and again I was struck by the freshness of the ingredients.
Dessert Tasting at the Stanford Inn
I have only only one word: YUM. I was pretty adamant on day 2 that we get back to the lodge in time for the afternoon offering. I had the gluten-free fudge both days. This is SERIOUS stuff.
Da Lian (Berkeley)
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1674 Shattuck Avenue |
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Da Lian feels like a second home to me and is among my favorite food spots in Berkeley. It fills the missing go-to Chinese restaurant niche in the Gourmet Ghetto.
Ken and I eat here about once a week and it always feels like a treat. There’s nothing too fancy about Da Lian: the surroundings are clean and modern-cozy, maybe even plain. The entrees we get are basic (Americanized) Chinese. It hits the spot every time.
Like a lot of Chinese restaurants, they menu is huge. Our favorite dishes are the Vegetarian Pot-Stickers and the Spicy Garlic Eggplant with soft tofu added. We sometimes get the Dry-Sauteed Green Beans instead. For us, the one, large appetizer plus entree is enough food for dinner.
The food is reliably delicious, the staff is very sweet, the service is excellent, and you never have to wait for a table. They do excellent takeout, and their space is large enough to handle pretty big groups.
Da Lian for lunch or dinner is a perfect venue for a mixed veg/non-veg group. Ken and I go there with all of our out-of-town guests and it’s always a hit. It’s also quite reasonably priced.
I can’t say enough about how nice the people are here. When I call to order take out, they know me by name and usually finish my order for me. One time I called, and after I got through specifying soft tofu for our eggplant dish, the waitress on the phone said, “Oh, we have Ken’s credit card here. I’ll give it to you when you come in.” (He had been looking all around!)
Shik Do Rock (Albany)
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1137 Solano Ave |
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As recently as 2007 I had never tried Korean Food. But then a fortuitous find in an underground mall in Sapporo, Japan began my love affair with vegetarian dolsot bibimbap—rice, tofu, mushrooms, and veggies served sizzling in a hot stone pot.
Shik Do Rock is a great little neighborhood Korean place we go to all the time. The steam rises from the bowl as the veggies cook. Stir in some not-so-hot sauce, toss it around with a long metal spoon, and let the anticipation build as it’s still way too hot to eat. Before the main meal arrives, the waitress brings six or seven little side dishes to the table. In addition to kimchee, there are two kinds of sprouts, and yam noodles, which are my favorite. I also like the barley tea they serve.
I take work colleagues and Korean visitors there when they’re visiting from out of town, and they all really like it too. It’s also a great place to go before a movie at the Albany Twin.
Mendocino Café (Mendocino)
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10451 Lansing Street |
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