BERKELEY, Calif. -- Combine the coziness of a small town with the sophistication of a big city, add the serenity of a meditation retreat and the agitation of an antiwar rally, and you've got Berkeley. Nestled between the glistening San Francisco Bay to the west and the tree-lined East Bay Hills, this community is best known for its radical protests of the 1960s. To this day, Berkeley continues its tradition of political activism, adding bite to even the most crunchy-granola California experience.
Ecological activism, the fight for workers' rights, and the campaign to end racial exploitation all go hand in hand with health-conscious living here. Thriving business collectives reflect a market-based commitment to environmental and social justice. From the organic smoothies at the Juice Collective on Vine Street to the fresh, creative pizzas at the Cheese Board on Shattuck Avenue, products are created in a hierarchy-free environment. The advantage for the businesses, says Lisa Bruzzone of the Cheese Board, is that workers are happier and more committed to quality service than in traditional businesses. "Because we're worker owned," Bruzzone elaborates, "we have very high worker satisfaction. I don't know anyone here who doesn't love coming to work." Customers sense this upbeat energy, she says, and enjoy their shopping experience. Thus the block-long lines to get in. Most local collectives are on Shattuck Avenue in North Berkeley, a neighborhood that is also home to an overwhelming choice of restaurants with delicious vegetarian cuisine. The landmark Vegi Foods on Vine Street, with its all-vegetarian Chinese menu, the Cafe de la Paz on Shattuck Avenue, with its cutting-edge Nuevo Latino cuisine, and the slew of Thai, Indian, Mexican, and Mediterranean restaurants puts the world at your fingertips -- minus the meat.
While strolling through the neighborhood, visit the Walk Shop, where sensible shoes are a fashion must. With an assortment of Ecco, Mephisto, and other international brands to choose from, orthopedic style never looked better.
Once your feet are sufficiently comfortable, trot around the corner to Elephant Pharmacy, where alternative medicine lives in harmony with the world of hard-core pharmaceuticals. Leading a drugstore revolution, Elephant sells prescription medication, detergent with bleach, and batteries under the same roof as homeopathic remedies, organic food, and yoga mats. In addition, the store offers daily workshops on topics ranging from "Reducing Your Cholesterol" to "Moving from Self-Hate to Self-Love," and it sponsors events from which proceeds go to the Ecology Center of Berkeley.
For its part, the nonprofit Ecology Center sponsors a must-see organic farmers' market every Saturday from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m., on Center Street, in the heart of the city's downtown, and every Tuesday from 2 to 6 p.m., on Derby Street, near Berkeley's southern border. The center also sponsors numerous environmental projects, including curbside recycling, a community gardening collaborative, and subsidized organic produce stands in Berkeley's low-income neighborhoods, providing access to fresh food in areas where there are no supermarkets.
Equally concerned about economic accessibility is the Epic Arts Center on Ashby Avenue. This venue hosts a packed calendar of local arts programs, all offered on a sliding scale of admission fees based on income. The center is across the street from the Berkeley Flea Market, where locals come not only to sell their goods but to drum and dance in a lively percussion circle that goes on through most of Saturday and Sunday, from 7 a.m. to 6 p.m. A few blocks east, on Shattuck near Ashby, the Berkeley Bowl is a cherished establishment and constant hub of activity. Opened in 1977 as a small corner market in a former bowling alley, the Bowl, as it is affectionately called by locals, expanded into an abandoned
Farther east of this market, right off the University of California at Berkeley campus, Telegraph Avenue has a different Ethiopian restaurant every few blocks. In Berkeley proper, the Blue Nile, Ethiopia, and Finfine offer many tasty vegetarian options and inexpensive combo platters. Also on Telegraph Avenue is the poor vegetarian's paradise, Cafe Intermezzo, where a notoriously huge Veggie Delight Salad -- replete with avocados, eggs, beans, and a huge slice of freshly baked whole-grain honey-wheat bread -- costs a little more than $5.
Telegraph Avenue, however, is most loved for its quintessential Berkeley ambience, with renegade hippies and punk rockers everywhere you turn. Offbeat street artists and vendors, independent music and bookstores, and the colorful campus itself offer an endless array of sights and sounds to while away a day.
Back east toward the Berkeley Hills is College Avenue. Just off its intersection with Ashby, La Mediterranee has operated for more than 20 years, offering mouthwatering vegetarian cuisine. The Grecian spinach and feta wraps are delicious, mushroom quiche is superb, and desserts are heavenly. With heated outdoor seating and moderately priced combo platters, this restaurant is a winner.
A straight shot up Ashby, nestled in the upscale Berkeley Hills, the majestic Claremont Resort & Spa towers. With its stunning white Victorian decor, exquisite views of San Francisco Bay, and decadent array of spa treatments, the Claremont offers Berkeley pampering at its finest. After an excruciating week of saving the world, an aromatic hot body wrap and soak in the scenic Jacuzzi are just what the doctor ordered.
Loolwa Khazzoom is a freelance writer based in Israel and California.
