My trip started with a San Francisco Fodorites GTG at Shanghai House on Balboa Avenue. As a hole in the wall, you’ll probably never find this as a regular tourist; in fact, they apparently have two menus—one for Chinese people, and one for the Round Eye. We were here to eat the traditional Shanghai dumplings, Xiao Long Bao, steamed pi filled with pork and soup. When you pop it into your mouth, it bursts with the soup but is also judged by its flavor. This was deemed by Shanghainese and easytravler to be the best in their city so far. We also had the restaurant’s special salt & pepper pig’s knuckle, which tasted much like duck. The other very popular dish was the bean curd puff.

 

 

 

 

 

Several years ago, I almost got a job at Wells Fargo Bank in San Francisco. My boss-to-be, assuming I got the job, suggested I start looking for a residence in Berkeley. I didn’t get the job, but perhaps my biggest regret about that was not finding that place in Berkeley. This trip drove that home.

 

My friends Bev & Dori, also visiting from Hawaii, stayed in Berkeley while I was in San Francisco, so I BART'ed up to meet them and take a good look at what I missed out on. First order of business: Breakfast. Bev & Dori always order a reuben sandwich for breakfast when at Saul’s Deli. Not just because they can, but because the pastrami is so darn good. I ordered Saul’s Hash ($8.25) and I’ll be damned if that wasn’t the best I’ve ever had. It’s shredded corned beef and pastrami with two poached eggs and green onions. The hash is salty AND peppery, offset by the richness of the eggs. Served with hash brown potatoes and bagel or toast, this will keep you going all day.

Go early to put your name in at Bette’s Oceanview Diner—another breakfast favorite in Berkeley—as it is first come, first served. I finally had “scrapple,” served in the Philadelphia Breakfast ($8.50) with poached eggs and grilled tomato. It tastes like breakfast sausage, but it’s basically leftover pig scraps with cornmeal and spices thrown in, pressed into a loaf and fried up. Mmm! Spam! Haggis! This winner breakfast meat really needs to find its way to Hawaii.

In a previous newsletter, I raved about Tartine’s Bakery. This year, I am raving about Bar Tartine, its sister restaurant on Valencia Street (19^th St. BART Station). I would recommend you go in a group, as it will be difficult to make a choice from its changing daily menu, but just about everything is divine.  Click here to see a sample menu from my evening in heaven. As far as I could see, the chef took various ingredients but didn’t create “twists” on tradition or “fusion” of anything. She blends and steeps and marries different elements for every pupu, every entrée, every dessert, as if each is a science experiment, and is able to call each creation her own. Tartine’s Bakery is a universal favorite, and Bar Tartine follows suit.

We couldn't go to Berkeley without stopping at the culinary superstar of the area. Alice Waters founded Chez Panisse, the original “California cuisine” restaurant in Berkeley and is credited with single-handedly creating a culinary revolution in the United States. With her dedication to using the freshest ingredients from local sources, I was dying to try her offerings. To start, the cucumbers & beets with yogurt, cilantro and preserved lemon ($8.50) would spoil me for other beets forever. At first, I thought the luscious, creamy, buttery taste and texture came from the yogurt, but the beets were like that on their own! Bev didn’t care for the fried Wolfe Ranch quail ($24.50) as she felt it was not gamey enough, but I love quail all the time. And this quail was the largest quail we’d ever seen! I thought it was great. Enough said. For dessert, we had artisan cheeses: Mt. Tam, Pee Wee Pyramid, and Mona ($15). Our favorite was the Pee Wee Pyramid, soft like brie but tangy & pungent. If you have this on a plate, save it for last as it will make you forsake the other cheeses on the plate.