Berkeley Goes Foodie

Within the past year, a slew of new restaurants have opened in Berkeley. And, I'm not talking about the ice cream cookie sandwich place that opened in Beard Papa's old storefront, which by the way is possibly cursed because it seems like no business ever does well there. Anyways, Berkeley is getting more and more foodie. Last month I was able to visit/re-visit a few places: Summer Kitchen, Slow, and PIQ.

Summer Kitchen:
Cute, Casual, Family Owned, and all Local, Summer Kitchen is a nice addition to College. Whether you want picnic fare, a boxed lunch or to dine in, they've got it all. Not to mention Blue Bottle. I ordered Pork Sugo and Polenta (which according to the website was actually taken off the menu recently), a Mint Mojito Lemonade, and a Coconut Cream Cupcake. The pork was tender and the polenta was creamy and delicious. Lemonade definitely refreshing, and the cupcake was one of the tastiest I've had (no surprise, since one of the owners used to be a pastry chef at Chez Panisse). If you're up on College, give this place a try, but know that they close at 8pm.

Slow:
I've been wanting to try lunch at Slow for a while now, since the prices are a bit more reasonable than dinner. I finally got to it a couple weeks ago. Slow is yet another all local produce place and is probably named after the Slow Food Movement that began in the '80's by Carlo Petrini (something I learned in Italian class ;)). I ordered a Pulled Pork Sandwich with an Orzo Salad. The sandwich was pretty tasty, but I really prefer pulled pork with bbq sauce. The Orzo Salad was interesting...a bit too fusion-y for my taste. The dressing was made with orange, fennel, and soy beans. To be honest I wasn't too impressed with lunch. I prefer dinner, but the price and portion are another story.

PIQ:
This place first came under my radar as "The place with Ipads". Must've been some kind of publicity stunt, but I'm not quite sure if it worked. Yes, they do have Ipads. Rumor has it, one of the owners has an in and probably got some promotional/test models. Anyways, this place is supposedly tailored after Italian bistros. It actually is quite cute, and the pizzas, pastries, and paninis all look fresh and delicious. K.yo ordered a Prosciutto and Arugula Panini and I ordered something almost exactly the same except it was a Thin French Olive Loaf with Prosciutto. Sorry, I don't have the actual names of the dishes. The menu isn't online. Mine was pretty delicious and definitely worth it at $3.50. However, it was more like a snack than actual dinner, which is one of the complaints I've heard about this place. Even still, the place is pretty cute, so if you're looking for a quick snack/coffee place, check it out. (I haven't tried the coffee, so I'm not actually going to vouch for that yet.)

Summer Kitchen
2944 College Avenue
(Next to Ici)

Slow
1966 University Avenue
(A little past Milvia)

PIQ
91 Shattuck Square
(It's in that awkward median where Shattuck splits.)