Berkeley’s Gourmet Ghetto Food Tour

(Update Note: Unfortunately, the wonderful Cafe de la Paz restaurant has closed, due to the economic challenges of our time.)

Berkeley’s famous Gourmet Ghetto on North Shattuck, near where I live, continues to evolve in pleasing ways for a consumer who likes to travel and enjoy food.

The roots of this food phenomenon go back to the 1960s-70s, when three neighborhood icons started a food revolution with longterm visions that reverberate in the American food scene.

Alice Waters founded her famous restaurant, Chez Panisse. The Cheese Board Collective began its passionate presentation of worldwide and local California artisan cheeses. And Peet’s coffee started educating Americans about the complex pleasures of coffee drinking.

Today those icons still flourish, but many newer players enliven the scene with their specialized passions for food. Moreover, on Thursdays, the ultimate Farmer’s Market occurs here, with a full all-organic assumption, and with robust offerings of everything one would expect, plus fish and meat from local producers.

However, best of all, there is now a sophisticated tour available to the public each Thursday afternoon, offered by a knowledgeable food enthusiast, Lisa Rogovin, and her Epicurean Concierge company.

Lisa guides up to 10 travelers each Thursday afternoons 2-5 pm on a 14-stop tasting parade, during which you meet all the entrepreneurs who make this pageant of tastes possible. The tours are $60, with reservations at 415-806-5970 and [email protected]. No one goes away hungry.

I met Lisa for my tour at Russell Bass’s fine restaurant, Café de la Paz, a fixture in the neighborhood, with its Latin/South American flair. I indulged in a latte and some of his breakfast empanadas, which have a pleasing apple and cinnamon combo, as I waited for Lisa.

With 14 tastings on a three-hour tour, balancing savory and sweet, this subject merits an extensive article, which it will get. However, to whet your appetitive now, I want to emphasize the five things I enjoyed most: Tandoori Dishes in Ajanta Indian Restaurant Berkeley, California

*Homemade soups from Soop. I watched as owner Marc Kelley ladeled up for me a cup of his Thai Red Lentil Soup. Kelley specializes in soups only, and he has the magic. The flavors were a symphony on my palate. I knew I would be back soon with my $11 for a quart of this soup, which, with a fresh baguette from the Cheese Board across the street, would be dinner for two. This is high end takeout, though there is also a garden dining setting in the back, where you can relax and enjoy your soup on site.

*NYC Deli Pastrami sandwich at Saul’s Delicatessen. I am conservative in my use of the English language, so I do not use the phrase “to die for” lightly. But when owner Peter Leavitt served up his pastrami sandwiches, this was the phrase that seemed to spring to everyone’s lips. There is a lot that goes into fine pastrami. First, there is the Niman Ranch beef, raised as beef should be raised. Then there is brine to soak the beef in and the secret dry rub. Finally, not all rye breads are alike. All these ideas floated around as I chomped into Peter’s signature Pastrami sandwich.

*Coffee education at the Original Peet’s Coffee and Tea. In 1966 Alfred Peet founded this establishment and did a lot to improve the overall quality of coffee tasting. I like a strong coffee, and Peet’s has it, as well as a commitment to sustainable farming around the world. I learned that it is best to buy small quantities of coffee beans and use them in a two-week period, for optimal taste. Since green tea is my other beverage of choice (beyond wine, of course), here was another competent source for my required components.

*Cheese tasting at the Cheese Board Collective. During the tour and at my earlier consumer visits to this place, I have never felt rushed. I could taste anything I wished before purchasing. The shop has thousands of the best worldwide cheeses. Every sales person here is an “owner,” since this is a “collective.” You are entering the best of all possible worlds, in terms of taste and owner-energy. They also bake their own baguettes, and, one door down, they serve a one-of-a-kind vegetarian pizza by the slice that changes every day. The lines may be long, but there also may be in- house musicians to celebrate the taste experience.

*Crispy Potato Puffs at Gregoires. This place is the proverbial hole-in-the-wall. You look at it and ask, “What’s the fuss all about?” Then you taste one of Gregoire’s Crispy Potato Puffs. Suddenly, the concept of “artisan food” becomes more alive. When the phrase “ingredient-driven” is bandied about, it takes on new meaning.

It is easy and fun to browse around the North Berkeley Gourmet Ghetto on your own, simply making a list of purveyors and scouting them out. Do a Google Search on my suggestions and you will have a good start list.

My tour with Lisa Rogovin offered two added elements—her knowledgeable background info on the scene and her special knowledge about each food business. Moreover, with Lisa present, we had access to all the entrepreneurial principals, who articulated their visions as we tasted. To taste food with the artist explaining the creation is a special treat.