Foodie Fun In Berkeley with Beautiful People

 The other day I went on a foodie adventure in Berkeley with My Sweet Friend and Fuchsia. I love Berkeley! The sun was shining in Berkeley and especially on us. I would like to welcome guest blogger's Fuchsia. Fuchsia: "Some wonderful women even said, 'Beautiful people are out in Berkeley today' as we passed each other on the street!”

Our first stop was at the Cheese Board.  http://cheeseboardcollective.coop/ .They had legions of cheeses and people at this shop. Here is a photo of the cheese menu.

Because there was so many people packed into this store we decided to go get lunch and come back. They sold pizza but the line was about 50 people long. People were eating their pizza in the median. Apparently, it is the cool place to hang out and eat pizza with your friends. Fuchsia: "We thought it was cool seeing lots of young people eating pizza from the Cheeseboard Collective out in the grassy median  I said it had to be a college tradition." I saw older people eating there as well.  My Sweet Friend and I did not want to eat and inhale car exhaust so we walked down the street.

We found this place called the Crapevine. http://www.crepevine.com/ . I wanted to have a "light" lunch. So I ordered the vegetarian sandwich in honor of many Berkeleyites. It was called the "

"Mediterranean" it had grilled eggplant, roasted peppers, tomatoes,pesto and provolone on sour dough bread. I am not much of a fry person, but these tasted pretty good. Nothing was overly salted! The salad has a sweet vinaigrette on it.  It was good. It tasted even better when I put a dash or two of balsamic vinegar on the sandwich. Just for fun I ordered a pomegranate Italian soda. 

My sweet friend had the " CA Bear" Sandwich. It was a chicken sandwich it came with fries and a salad. The sandwich was grilled chicken, Brie cheese, tomato, lettuce and garlic aioli.

Fuchsia about her lunch: " It was called the Milano.  Ingredients were grilled eggplant, mushrooms, roasted garlic, spinach and tomatoes with cheddar, mozzarella, cottage cheese, and marinara.  Came with a side of perfectly prepared rosemary potatoes, just right fresh salad with just the right amount of light and refreshing dressing."

Here is a section of the menu from the Crepvine

After lunch we headed back to the Cheese Board Collaborative to try some cheese and fresh baked bread.

Fuchsia and my sweet friend bought Moon Light Gouda from Cypress Hill, I got some goat cheese with apricot on the top. The staff said don't worry about refrigerating your cheese "the french never do."  Fuchsia: "I bought a fresh and warm baguette, blueberry/crystal sugared scone, ginger cookie, decadent chocolate cookie, and loaf of bread pudding.  Love my sugar!

It is really hard to drive and park in Berkeley because there are so many people coming from every direction. People on foot, bicycles and cars. Fuchsia and My sweet Friend kept saying "WATCH OUT" They made me a nervous wreck. . Fuchsia talking about me. "Though stressed you navigated your way through the streets of Berkeley well, and we got there and home safely." People were nuttyer then usual in Buzzrerkley that day. At least the ones that were driving.

Next stop was TEANCE  http://www.teance.com/. "Artisans Tea's" It was a great place to calm down. and relax.

Darius is the Tea Master. It was an intriguing experience watching him make art out of seeping and serving tea. He educated us about teas, and gave us suggestions on different teas to try.

 

This is Megan apprentice to the Tea Master.

We each took a "flight" of tea. You get to pick 3 small pots of tea from a large menu. Fuchsia, My sweet friend and I each tried 3 different teas. We shared and compared. We each like very different tasting teas. 

I had Lu Shan Clouds and Mist (Yun Wu) It had a rich mossy taste. Next I had Lichee Red Premium. It was sweeten naturally with Lichee flowers. I was pleasantly surprised how sweet it was. It tasted like dessert. If you like sweet tea this is the one for you. Last I had was Mt. Olympus Tea from Greece. It was spicy/sage tasting. I liked it! Fuchsia and My Sweet friend did not!

Fuchsia : I sampled primarily from the herbal/floral menu for the medicinal and no caffeine qualities. They thought they were out of Chrysanthemum Flower tea, but they found it! It tasted good.  I also tasted Eight Treasures herbal infused tea, my favorite, and what I bought, along with the tea pot which I had to have because it was so sweet looking, especially because of the scalloped edge around the lid.  I also tasted Jasmine Silver Needle, from the white tea menu, it smelled like Hawaii to me. (I was shocked at the strong Jasmin fragrance of her tea.)  My other favorite was the highly caffeinated  the Red Premium (mmm.)

My sweet friend had White Peony, one black tea and one tea that tasted like grass (after all we were in Berkeley!)

I think we would all agree it was a delightful day!