Secret Scoop Thai Gelato

Only in Berkeley will you find Indigenous People's Day as a holiday on their parking meters...

I like it!

Before heading back to Thane's, I wanted us to check out a newly opened gelato place but with a twist...

the flavors here were Thai...

University of California Botanical Garden at Berkeley

Cal has a world class botanical garden attached to it's name...

Of all the times we've visited Berkeley, we hadn't been here before...

and TC was excited to take photos of the different plants here...

Spring Break Trip 2017 - Day 2 Highlights

Near Thane's home was a local coffee shop...

(that's an espresso con panna, my new favorite drink)

where Bert and I enjoyed our first caffeine of the day...

Places that are now closed plus dinner & a movie! Little Star Pizza & "Episode IV: A New Hope"

As we left Oakland and headed towards Berkeley,

we could see Sather Tower in the distance...

Rasputin Music

Not too far from Amoeba Records was yet another record store...

that Bert and I were eager to show TC.

Amoeba Records, Berkeley

Now we were in Berkeley after having experienced hipsterdom in Oakland.

The afternoon was still "young" and there were two established vinyl pillars of the community to still visit.  We parked near this brightly painted bathroom which happened to be at the historic People's Park.

More on this later...

As we walked down the street, I noticed this mural in an empty lot. Apparently, it gets painted over a lot.

Our first stop was just down the street on the corner of Telegraph and Haste, Amoeba Records...

Summer Road Trip 2015 - Day 1 Highlights

We were on the road again...

This time in celebration of our upcoming 20 year anniversary...

Yes, twenty years people!

Philz Coffee

If you can't tell, we've been on coffee kicks during this Spring Break. I figure, this is the only time we're ever going to have time to check out these joints, whether in Berkeley or in parts of San Diego. This trip was no exception...

Now that I had my iced drink next door, Bert got in line for his at Philz Coffee, a Berkeley fave, recommended by Thane's cousin.

I thought it was cool that two coffee places were right next door to each other. Nothing like some good old healthy competition, eh...

As Bert walked in, we saw several folks holding a drink that Bert ended up ordering...

Guerilla Cafe

TC had her milk tea from Asha and now it was our turn to get our drinks...

I found a couple of places next to each other a few blocks north on Shattuck, so onward we went that sunny afternoon...

Asha Tea House

A few steps up from Eastwind Books was Asha Tea House...

I'd read about it from Jinxi's post (linked at the end)...

and was curious not to try their tea, but another seemingly random offering here...

Return to Eastwind Books of Berkeley

When Bert and I used to visit Thane in the late 90's, we used to make our rounds at the various bookstores around Berkeley (some of which are now defunct) like Cody's, Moe's, Pegasus, and my favorite, Eastwind Books.

This bookstore's niche is strictly books that are related to all things Asian and Asian American, and for my own collections....Filipino American.  Along with the Asian American Curriculum Project (AACP) in San Mateo, and Arkipelago Books in San Francisco's SoMa, this is one of the few bookstores in the U.S. with an Asian-centric focus...

Chocolatier Blue

After our dim sum brunch in Emeryville, we wanted to grab some coffee, but first, there were a few stops along the way, namely on this stretch of University Ave in Berkeley.

Our original destination was a tea house but we weren't going to get tea there. Parking was a major pain so we parked many blocks away and walked it to where the tea shop was supposed to be, but along the way, we saw this shop first...

Chocolate?

Like the Millenium Falcon, we were inevitably pulled in by the Death Star-like tractor beam of this cute little shop...

Bartavelle Coffee & Wine Bar - Kouign Amann from Starter Bakery

Prior to our trip up to Thane's, I'd asked him to do a big favor for me.

Starter Bakery in Oakland is known for their kouign amann pastries but unfortunately, they do not have a storefront, just a warehouse which does not sell individual orders to people. Instead, the bakery only does local farmer's markets which we didn't have time for. When looking online, I saw that Starter Bakery offered their pastries at several local (to Thane) places, such as Bartavelle...

which used to be Cafe Fanny's (an offshoot cafe started by Bourdain nemesis, Alice Waters) and next to Acme Bread. We went there for their beignets during our 2011 trip. Bartavelle is a Coffee and Wine Bar located on San Pablo Ave (which has so many great eateries) and just "conveniently" a few miles down the road from Thane's, who was kind enough to grab a few kouign amanns that very morning while we were making our way up the 5...

Lush Gelato @ the Epicurious Garden

Someone should have warned me about this area...

because there are just so many tempting places to check out, like this gelato place in what they call, the "Epicurious Garden"...

Masse's Pastries

Of all the times we used to visit Thane back in the 90's and even during our more recent trips, we never ventured into what they call, the "Gourmet Ghetto" in north Berkeley. This is the same area that houses the famed Chez Panisse (helmed by many uppity foodies' wet dream/poster girl and target for Anthony Bourdain's derision, Alice Waters).

The area also has Andronico's Market (an upscale grocery chain), the Cheeseboard Collective, along with a a variety of higher end artisanal shops selling coffee, cupcakes, candy, and in this case, macarons from Masse's Pastries...

Bay Area Roadtrip - Day 2 Highlights

This morning we had dim sum with a view...

You can see the new part of the Oakland Bay Bridge.

This was just the beginning of today's food adventures...

Bay Area Roadtrip - Day 1 Highlights

On the I-80 near the University Ave bike bridge...

on our way to visit Thane and his family in the Bay Area. Here are just a few highlight from our first day...

Return to the Fish House and more!

Mondays must be trash day in Berkeley...

We couldn't pass up the opportunity to look at THIS house again...

Tara's Organic Ice Cream - Berkeley

WTF, another ice cream place???

Mais oui. When on vacay, it's okay to, uh, indulge! Unlike Scream, this place served real ice cream and not exclusively dairy free sorbet (although the did have sorbet). Poor Bert's GI tract. There are two locations of Tara's Organic Ice Cream - this is the one in Berkeley (the other is in Oakland next to Burma Superstar, which will be a few posts away).

Again, one of those bouji/"organic" (seen obviously in the name) places which scream "I'm so environmentally conscious" and "I am holier than thou because I only eat organic and no artificial blah blah and would never set foot in Baskin Robbins' where the peons eat normal ice cream" and  "let's see what wierd flavors we can come up with that people are willing to pay $3 a scoop" for!!!

Jayakarta

After such a long day, we relaxed for a bit before heading out to dinner. I'd always seen this restaurant everytime we'd go to Berkeley. Jayakarta is right next to Eastwind Books on University Avenue (the store specializes in Asian and Asian American studies)...

Indonesian food was also a cuisine that we hardly ever see in San Diego.