This is Berkeley?

BYJOSHSENS
Thisls
CLOCKIVISE FROM UPPER
LEFT, shopping at Sari Palace; tbe
Carnpanile, UC -Berkeley'sjoTfoottall Satber Tbwer; fromage sltoken
at the Cbeeseboard Collectiae; paddling
into the ntarina.
32 vrn I ann
a recent summer evening, with the sun
9n
hanging low over the Golden Gate Bridge, Anthony
Sandbergstepped aboard a 36-footyacht and easedit
into San Francisco Bay Salt spray licked the bow and
a cool breeze puffed acrossthe water. Another day in
Berkeleywascoming to a close.?&'I7ait. Drop anchor.
i**h.,
Not Berkeley, Calif., aka Berserkeley, renowned
epicenter for all things offbeat? \X/herewere the antiStpofoam activists?The eccentric a-rrists??&,Theyand the rest of Berkeley'sroo,ooo residents-were
milling about onshore somewhere,just acrossthe bay
from SanFrancisco,enjoying avibrant place that exists
beyond the realm ofclunky stereotypes.f*' "Everyone
seemsto have an image of Berkeley" saysSandberg,
founder of the OCSC Sailing school. "They'll tell me,
'Hey
whoa! There's yachting in Berkeley?I never would
have thought that.'Sure, there's yachting, and awhole
lot more." i'&, That much becomesclearwhen you take
time to explore the city from its scenicmarina through
erkeley?
Beyondits premieruniversity,
Berkeleybrims with colorful
boutiques,
hautecuisine,
and a senseof humor.
its vibrant commercial districts to the forested hills of
Tilden RegionalPark. OnIy then doesBerkeleyemerge
in its full dimension as a destination brimming with
outdoor beauty and activities, cultural attractions, and
some of the I7est's finest cuisine. l&. For visitors, the
challengeof Berkeley isn't finding points of interest
but deciding where to start. One solution is to think
like a local and regardBerkeleyastwo entities: the university and everything else. i&'The wodd-renowned
Universityof California invigoratesmuch of Berkeley's
PHOTOGRAPHY
BY ROBERT HOLMES
S E P T E M B E R + O C T O B E2RO O 8 3 3
Dinner at Eccolo can seasona stroll among tbe urban cbarms of Fourth Street.
cultural life. Among the institutions rising from its campus are the Berkeley
Art Museum and Pacific Film Archive,
each ofwhich servesas a vital center
for the visual arts. Exhibits spotlight
works by established masters (Gauguin
and Pollock, for example) and by rising
stars of the avant-garde;digital artist
Jim Campbell sayshis recehtly displayed
"use chilly techmural-size installations
nology to capture feeting rRoments
of human warmth." Screeningrooms
showcasefilms by household names
(Hitchcock, \Telles) and lesserknown
personalitiessuch asvideo pioneerJoan
Jonas.Tvo other UC-run venues,plush
ZellerbachHall and the outdoor
Greek Theatre, provide contrasting settings for some of the
"biggest
draws in the performing
arts - the Alvin Ailey dance company, say,or the Berkeley-born
band Counting Crows.
Retail shopsalong the edge
of campus appeal to student
tastesand budgets:inexpensive
ethnic eateries and trade-inyour-old-jeansclothing stores.
Caf6sabound, as do community
gardens and compelling bookstores; both Black Oak Books
and Moe's stock a broad selection
ofnew and usedtitles.
"The independent bookstore
isnlt exactly a fourishing business
model thesedays,but it's still alive
34 vtn I nne
in Berkeley," saysMoe's manager,Gene
Barone. 'And having the university here
doesrt'thurt."
Just as the school has shapedthe ciry
so has the city helped shapethe school.
ThkeAugust Vollmeq Berkeley'soriginal
police chief. Though he lacked a formal
higher education, Vollmer established
the nation'sfirst criminal justice program
at UC-Berkeley in 1916.
Another first: Berkeley is considered
the birthplace of California cuisine.
Credit goes largely to Alice Waters,
whose Chez Panisseopened here in
ry7r and remains a kind of culinary icon,
known for its emphasison local and sea-
U N I Y E R S J T
J
z
<(
sonalingredients. Other standouts,such
asLalime'sand Rivoli. bolster the notion
that Berkeleyhasone of the finest dining
scenesin the \XZest.
"In Berkeleyyou havepeople who are
willing to put their moneywhere their
mouth is," saysBruce Aidells, cookbook
author and founder ofagourmet sausage
"In other
company bearing his name.
places,people spend their disposable
income on an RV or motorboat. Here,
we don't think rwice about spending $4
on an heirloom tomato."
Ground zero for this mind-set is the
neighborhood surrounding Chez Panisse.
It's known as the Gourmet Ghetto, an
apt name for a district that blends the
bohemian vrith the bourgeois. Here
you'll find the CheeseboardCollective,
a worker-owned cooperative that sells a
staggeringvariety of cheesesand baked
goodsat reasonableprices.It's alsowhere
you'll come acrossEpicurious Garden,an
upscaleculinary mall that features takeout sushi, chocolate trufnes, and champagnesorbetto.
-W'hen
shopping for ingredients to
use in their own kitchens, locals often
go straight to the source.Berkeley farmers' markets, held year-round in three
different locations, teem with the Bay
Area's natural bounty. Customers can
track the change in seasonsthrough
the markets' shifting wares, from the
satsuma mandarins of early winter to
the asparagusthat signalsspring.
At any time of year, a couple of snarky nicknames for
the city get tossedaround.
The People's Republic of
Berkeley. Cambridge of the
\7est. The monikers have their
roots in r96os campus activism. Berkeley, after all, was
home to the historic Free Speech
Movement, a precursor to student protests acfossthe country,
and People'sPark, a counterculture
landmark that has been the staging ground for countlessrallies.
Today,though, the free market
is alive and well in the People's
Republic. Look towards Fourth
Street. This chic shopping strip
is lined with fine restaurants such
as
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as Eccolo, serving spit-roastedchicken glistening with Indian gold. At Sari the east.The park's merry-go-round and
and handmade ricotta ravioli in rustic Palace,the cloth wraps are availablein scaled-downsteam train make sweet
Cal-Italian dishes,and O Cham6, where kaleidoscopic colors.Just off University diversions, as does Little Farm, where
delicate saladsand soba noodle soups on SanPabloAvenue,IndusVillage cooks kids can pet calvesand feed celery and
stand out on a menu of subtleJapanese up lively curries includingacbaar nzurgb, lettuce (organic or not) to goats.Anyone
cuisine. These restaurants rub elbows a simmered chicken and spicypickle dish possessinga green thumb will enjoy the
with specialty shops including Erica that nearly melts your teeth, though in a Regional Parks Botanic Garden, which
Tanov (women's designer clothing) and pleasantway
featuresthe most complete collection of
the Gardener, purveyor of beautiful,
UniversityAvenue dead-endsat the native California plants you're likely to
functional home accessories.If an albino UC-Berkeley campus,which givesway find anyvhere.
plthon is what you're after, try the East to Tilden Regional Park in the hills to
Berkeley, for its part, features a fairBay Vivarium. Note: That
ly complete collection of
Californians, as evidenced
9o-pound Asian water monitor lizard, is named Taz, and
by the annual "How Berkeley
he'snot for sale.
Can You Be?"celebration.
west
ofFourth
Street,
Participants
have included
Just
Berkeley'sbreezy waterfront
nudists, animal rights paroand elongated pier allow for
dists, and Buddhist monks.
stellarviews of SanFrancisco
Though nudity has been
and the Golden Gate Bridge.
banned(the city doeshaveits
University Avenue, the
limits), the event retains avery
broad thoroughfare stretchlocal spirit. How Berkeleycan
ing up from the bay, refects
you be? Good luck trying to
the ciqy'svaried international
count the ways.o
favors, with Pakistani,Thai,
and\7est African restaurants, GeneBarone of Moe's credits the diperse reading interests
JosH sENShaswritten {or San
taco stands,and jewelry stores of Berheley residentsfor tbe bookstore'sltoltularity.
Franci scoandAm ericanrVay.
Ifyou'regioing: .rr
S*s{ffiKd3$$
Pick up the Northern Callfornla & Nevada TourBook
and Oakland-Berkeleymap, For more information,
contact the BerkeleyChamberof Commerce:(51O)
549-7OOO,berkeleychambercom. Area code is 5lO.
sr* ffi* iil3d's&&3#sg
BerkefeyArt Museum 2626 Bancroft Way, 642-0808,
bampfa.berkeley.edu.Cal PerformancesTickets for
dance, music,and theater at the university,calperfs
.berkeley.edu.
OCSCSalllng1 SpinnakerWay,84342OO, ocsc.corn.Paclflc Fllm Archlve 2575 Bancroft
Way, 6 42-1124,bam pfa.berkeley.edu.
S?*'q)33RPKH{}
BlaekOak Books 1491Shattuck Ave.,486-0698,
blackoakbooks.com.East Bay Vlvarlum 1827-CFifth
St., 841-'l4OO,eastbayvivarium.com. Etlca Tanov 1827
Fourth St., 849-3331,ericatanov.com.The Gardener
1836 Fourth St., 548-4545, thegardener.com. Moe's
B,ooks2476 TeIeg raph Av e., 8 49 -2087, m oesb o o k s
.com. Sarl Palace 1OOOUniversity Ave., 841-8214.
ffidb.Trs
CheeseboardCollective15O4Shattuck Ave.,5493183,cheeseboardcollective.coop.Chez Panlsse1517
Shattu c k Ave., 548- 55 25, c h ez pan /sse.corn.Eccolo
182OFourth St., 644-Q444, eccolo.com. Epicurious
Garden15O9,151'1,
and 1513Shattuck Ave.,
epicuriousgarden.com.Indus Village 192OSan Pablo
Ave.,649-7371.
Lalime's1329Gilman St.,527-9838,
lalimes.com.O Cham61B3OFourth St.,841-8783,fhe
m en up ag e.co m/oc h am e.h t m l. Rlvoli 1539 So Ia no
Ave.,526-2542, rivoIirestauran Lcom.
sg,$ffffitr#
D o u b l e t r e eH o t e l F r o m $ 1 7 9 . 2 O OM a r i n aB l v d . , 5 4 8 792Q,doubletreel.hilton.com. Hotel Durant From
$189.2600 Durant Ave., 845-8981,hoteldurant.com.
F.Xdb"pffRnlf
K*{{ss
How BerkeleyCan You Be? Sept.28. Paradeand
festival. howberkeleycanyoube.com.Spice of Llfe
FestlvalOct. 19.Gourmet food, cooking demos,
Iive music. sp iceofI ifefestivaLcom.
S E P T E M B E R + O C T O B E2RO O 8 3 5