It’s hard not to love Berkeley. This city on the San Francisco Bay epitomizes California’s hippie culture, counterculture, food culture, and innovation culture all at the same time. Northern Californians come here both to embrace our culture and laugh at it, and those are the reasons I’m here today.
Berkeley
I’ve come to California on a sponsored trip with the tourism board, but I have a free, non-sponsored day today to do whatever I want, wherever I want. Jet lag wakes me up early, so I take advantage of my 5am start and get on the road to Berkeley.
Brunch in Berkeley
It’s Saturday morning and I know exactly where I’m headed: La Note. I’ve read about this restaurant’s legendary brunch, and I’m determined to arrive before long lines form later in the morning.
Lucky for me, I get a parking spot right outside and show up two minutes before they open (I’m still third in line). I ask for a table by the window and order the restaurant’s famous French toast.
Thick slices of cinnamon brioche soaked in a batter with orange flower water soon arrive covered in a dusting of powdered sugar. It’s everything I could have hoped for in its light sweetness.
Coffee in Berkeley
After brunch I go on the hunt for coffee. Jet lag is a cruel mistress, and by 9am I’m feeling tired. Thankfully my remedy is a short drive away.
Rasa Caffe in the southern part of Berkeley is a hole-in-the-wall coffee shop where friendly staff chat to me as they make my latte.
Rasa Caffe was founded by the son of two high-profile Black Panther activists. He spent time in India growing up, and now his cafe is as famous for its coffee as it is for its chai. It’s all very Berkeley.
The coffee lives up to its reputation, and I sit outside to enjoy it in the California sunshine.
Telegraph Avenue
From the cafe, I drive over to Telegraph Avenue. I used to come here with friends in high school to shop at all the vintage clothing stores and pretend we were in college (I don’t think we fooled anyone).
Telegraph Avenue is still full of all the second-hand clothing and record shops I remember from my teenage years.
Market sellers busy themselves setting up their street stands with hippie jewelry and crystals as I walk by, and a token VW camper van rounds out the stereotypical Berkeley scene.
The one new discovery I make is a bookshop called Moe’s Books. This family-run store has been a staple in Berkeley since 1959, and its founder was famous for his anti-authoritarian slant. He defied city ordinance by smoking cigars indoors and offered “Moe Dollars” for used books.
I duck in and find that not much has changed since the 1960s. Titles like Feminist Weed Farmer: Growing Mindful Medicine in Your Own Backyard grace the counter, and the shelves hold every kind of countercultural book I could want.
It’s good to know Berkeley still flies the flag for Northern California’s cultural cliches.
University of California, Berkeley
From Moe’s I take in the street art and catch snippets of political conversations—one man can’t stop talking about “Red China”—as I make my way down Telegraph Avenue to the University of California, Berkeley campus.
This place is known for its 1960s student protests, but it’s also home to world-class research facilities. I’m most interested in its aesthetics today, though. I’ve always loved the way Berkeley’s campus mixes old and new architecture and incorporates nature.
Groves of trees sit next to historic bell towers and Neoclassical columns. This being Berkeley, posters for an exhibition on the world of mind-altering substances grace the lamp posts.
Food Scene in North Berkeley
I spend time walking around the campus before driving over to North Berkeley’s cluster of restaurants. As you might guess, this part of the city is known for its food scene.
Chez Panisse, Alice Waters’ flagship restaurant and the birthplace of California Cuisine, is the main event here. And there’s a lot more to get excited about.
When I lived in San Francisco after college, I used to come here with friends who studied at Berkeley to eat our fill. We would indulge at Cheese Board Pizza, which still has lines down the street, and Gregoire, a gourmet take-away place with outdoor tables.
I stop at the latter for their famous potato puffs. These golden rounds are light as air and heavy on flavor. Eating them takes me back to my former life in California.
Around the corner, the Epicurious Garden food hall is packed with sushi counters, Mexican stalls, chocolate shops, and gelaterias. There’s even a tea house with a secret garden in the back.
Victorian Houses
I explore the area and the shops on the side streets, then wander down some of the residential roads to take in the Victorian houses.
These colorful beauties never cease to amaze me; their whimsical architecture and bright details put a smile on my face every time.
And so does Berkeley. This city of food culture, counterculture, coffee culture, and student culture is one of my favorite places to get a dose of Northern California at its best. At its craziest. At is hippie heart.
It’s good to be home.
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