Reviews from Near and Far
This category is a catch-all for places we occasionally visit.
Oakland Oakland is a patchwork of funky and elite, ethnic enclaves and highly varied urban neighborhoods, right in Berkeley’s back yard. It’s also home to a lot of restaurants.
Kensington Kensington is a small, unincorporated town just to the north of Berkeley’s northwest corner. The main commercial areas are along Arlington, about 1.5 miles north of The Marin Circle, and only Colusa Avenue, at the Kensington Circle.
El Cerrito is Berkeley’s neighbor to the northwest, nestled against Albany and Kensington. Drive up San Pablo Avenue and step back in time architecturally.
Sonoma is a gorgeous stretch of hills and vineyards, with a picture-perfect central town square, and lots of outlying communities worth exploring. Everything there seems infused with wine-growing culture.
Napa and the long north-south valleys that straddlealong HWY 29 and HWY 128 and tends to draw more tourists than Sonoma. Everything has become more expensive. Beyond Napa itself, Oakville, Yountville, St. Helena, and Calistoga all have fantastic food, and of course, world-renowned wine.
Mendocino is a peaceful, redwood-forested, oceanside haven for artists, city escapees, and people living way off the grid.
Marin is a world unto itself….
(more soon).
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