Beast Blog

Cafe Baguette -- Good Mediterranean near Campus

On the recommendation of a Beast Blog reader, a bunch of us headed to Cafe Baguette (2510 Channing, just off of Telegraph Ave., in Berkeley) last night for a Mediterranean meal. Here is what she wrote in:

Basically, it's this tiny place that opened up a coupla weeks ago, called Cafe Baguette, on 2510 Channing (just south of campus). It's all-organic, and the food is *amazing,* not to mention dirt cheap. I think the owners must be a Tunisian family, because they have a bunch of Tunisian stuff on the menu (including lamb couscous and veggie stews), but they also have your traditional falafel and shawarma,
which kick the butts of those at Truly Med and Bongo Burger. I've been looking forever for a place that does this stuff at a price that I (as a student) can handle, and that meets my standards (my parents are Middle Eastern). And oh my God, this so fits the bill; I've eatern there four times in the past week, since I discovered it.

Anyway, so I highly recommend you check it out. I almost feel obliged to go advertise for them everywhere, since they haven't been getting many customers since they opened, and I would die if they went out of business so soon after opening, since they're so damn good. God forbid another independent-run place shuts down to be replaced by another Subway.

Pretty much everyone ended up with a Mediterranean platter. I got lamb. Others got chicken. The lamb one looked like this:

Though less blurry. The lamb people were much happier than the chicken people. The lamb tasted... lamby. Meaty. Juicy. And spicy. It was quite good. As was the hummus. The baba ghanoush was the most eggplant-y I'd ever had (it's up to you to determine if that's a good thing or not). The falafel were the only disappointment -- dry and kind of chewy.

A Favorite Nabe: Euclid Street, North of Hearst

There are many classic neighborhood strips in the East Bay -- Telegraph near Campus, Shattuck in the Gourmet Ghetto, Piedmont Ave in Oakland, College going through Rockridge (I prefer south of BART).

But, when I get on my bike on the weekends, and want a restorative and engaging afternoon away from home, I typically head to Euclid Street, just north of Hearst.

Why Euclid? There are four reasons.

1. Brewed Awakening. A coffeehouse, though I never go for the coffee. I go for the smoothies, which are good, and cheaper than Jamba Juice. I also love the wide open interior:

And there's plenty of free wi-fi, and many outlets to plug in.

3. And then, when I want coffee, wander down the sidewalk to Caffe Nefeli, serving up the what's probably the best cappuccino in the East Bay. All I know is that when I get a double cap, I don't have to tell them to go light on the milk -- most places make what is essentially a latte. Nefeli has a few tables outside that provide a comfortable reading space for nice days.

4. Not photographed, and probably not widely appreciated, but Laval's Northside, the pizzeria, always has a pinball machine in pretty good working order. Today it took $2 from me as I tried to stave off an Attack From Mars.

Do you have a favorite neighborhood that's a bit off the path? Tell us in the comments...

my fave food court spots

food courts can be a great place to get cheap eats, and many of the spots have awesome ethnic food.

Emeryville Public Market has food of practically every ethnicity you can imagine- every configuarion of asian and pan-asian, middle eastern, american, european countries including greece, germany, and italy.

my fave two spots at this food court are:

Wazwan - an indian place with great chaat- samosas with killer cilantro chutney (my fave kind!), and masala dosa.

and Kashmir (i think that's the name), right across the aisle from Wazwan. they serve afghani food. their spinach bulani rocks. i was a little sad that they felt the need to change the name of their food from afghani to persian after 9-11 (perhaps they experienced a boneheaded decline in sales?), but the food remains as good as ever.

another food court worth mentioning is in berkeley, just east off the telegraph haze on durant. there are several places in the court, but i like the pho place. i am a creature of habit, and tend to get the seafood egg noodle soup there, which is great. fresh cilantro leaves really add a freshness to this wonderful soup, which is just as good in the summer as it is on rainy days when you need some warmth.

Weekend To-Dos

The Crucible, Oakland's educational metal foundry, is having it's 6th Annual Student Art Show and Open House on Saturday April 9 and Sunday April 10.

“Julia Morgan: The Paris Years” with Ph.D. candidate Karen McNeill at 4 p.m. on Saturday, April 9 at the Julia Morgan designed Berkeley City Club, 2315 Durant Ave. Cost is $15.

Ishmael Reed Speaks His Mind

Last night, Ishmael Reed read from his new book, Blues City: A Walk In Oakland at the University Press Bookstore.

It was a good time. Ishmael presentation style is basically his train of thought. At times erratic, usually entertaining. He began the reading by complaining about how initial reviews labelled his book a "rant." He insisted that it's filled with facts, that it's not at all a rant.

He then proceeded to read, and, well, actually, yes, the book is a rant. Very much a rant against Jerry Brown's attempts at gentrifying downtown and West Oakland. Not that his rant is misplaced.

He also addressed Oakland's multicultural stew -- whites, blacks, asians, latinos, even native americans, living and working side by side. Kwanzaa festivals lead by white women. Traditional native american rituals lead by african americans. Etc.

He also touches on a fair amount of Black Panther history, and positions them, to some extent, as unsung heroes.

There was a whiff of conspiratoriality in Reed's dogma, though, again, not without foundation.

The one disappointment is that Reed was terrible in the question and answer session -- I don't think I heard him actually address a single question, instead rambling into some tangential polemic.

Oh, and he lives somewhere near Market and 55th.

And look for more readings at University Press Books.

Notes from the Telegraph Ave Historic Walking Tour

I'd have more than notes if my digital camera weren't acting up -- all the photo files are corrupted somehow.

Anyway.

Telegraph Avenue used to reach all the way to Sather Gate, where it intersected with Allston Way. Meaning that Allston was the southern border of campus. This changed in the 30s or so.

The Berkeley street grid south of campus was once alphabetical. The north/south streets were named for men of science: Audubon (now College), Bowditch, Choate (now Telegraph), Dana, Ellsworth, Fulton, Guyot (now Shattuck), and Henry. The east/west streets were for men of letters: Allston, Bancroft, Channing, and Dwight (Durant and Haste were plowed through later).

The former Unitarian Church, now a dance studio, at Bancroft and Dana, is beautiful. I attended Cal for 4 years and never bothered to notice this building.

(This is where not having photos is frustrating). There's a parking lot, between Channing and Haste, on the block just east of Telegraph. The lot was the gardens of the Anna Head School for girls. The school buildings still exist - beautiful brown shingled edifices used by various university departments. The gardens haven't been wholly removed -- a look around the parking lot reveals a variety of tree species which had been planted many years before.

The Drunken Boat Has The Wireless Free

Reports have come in that La Bateau Ivre, on 2629 Telegraph Avenue, has the free wi-fi. (Thanks, Leslie!)

Telegraph Avenue Walking Tour - Saturday

Learn the history of the school's main drag. Begins at 10am, at Sather Gate, on Saturday the 8th.

EVEN MORE BEAST MOVIE DELIGHTS!

A post to Craigslist draws our attention to Free Movies at the Ramp!

I'm just going to re-post it here:
-------
hat's right, THE RAMP in Berkeley is starting it's bi-weekly FREE
MOVIE series. consisting of all rare and obscure films, all preceeded by a
short 10-15 minute film, shown on a projected screen, and with plenty
of couches. the first movie is going to be shown this SATURDAY, OCTOBER
4. it's at 8pm.

THE RAMP IS LOCATED AT 2236 PARKER STREET IN BERKELEY(BETWEEN SHATTUCK
AND TELEGRAPH) UNDERNEATH THE SDSA CHURCH. here's the schedule:

10/4 - basket case (w/ RARE disney short "der feuhrer's face")
a deformity is separated from his "normal" brother and goes on a vengeful killing spree in new york city. "der feuhrer's face" features bugs bunny like you've never seen him before.

10/18 - home movie (from the director of american movie) w/ jim jarmusch's "coffee & cigarettes (3 shorts starring tom waits, iggy pop, steve buscemi, roberto benigni and stephen wright)

11/1 - for y'ur height only (w/ happy tree friends)
a midget james bond movie. nuff said. happy tree friends are super violent kiddie cartoons

11/15 - frat house (w/ police & the mentally ill)
banned documentary on what really goes on in fraternities. shown with a 15-minute short instructional video showing the police how to deal with the mentally ill.

11/29 - crippled heroes (w/gimme gimme octopus)
amputee kung fu! preceeded by a few shorts from "gimme gimme octopus", a really weird live-action japanese kids show.

12/13 - superstar: the karen carpenter story (w/ "your studio and you")
the story of karen carpenter (of the carpenters), only told with BARBIE DOLLS! features short "your studio and you", created by trey parker (of south park fame)

12/27 - how's your news? (w/ GI Joe PSA's)
a group of outgoing, mentally and physically disabled people travel across the country in a van and conduct "man on the street" interviews. touching and hilarious. also features new twists on old GI JOE "public service announcements".

please, show up, bring a friend and some snacks and enjoy some free movies.

any questions, please email: bomarrcus@yahoo.com or ryanwithani@yahoo.com
---------

My comments:
Basket Case is an excellent weird low budget horror flick.

Home Movie is a delightfully quirky documentary.

I've been dying to see Superstar: The Karen Carpenter Story for ages. That's the one show I'll definitely be seeing.

How's Your News? is truly inspiring and uplifting and all those smarmy cliches that are usually poorly used but are apt here.

Celebrate Labor History

On Friday, September 5th, author and lecturer Gray Brechin will introduce a new book for which he provided a foreward, At Work: The Art of California Labor, at Cody's Books. Gray wrote Imperial San Francisco, an amazing work of urban history, including a chapter on the development of UC Berkeley, originally planned as a mining school, which then turned more classical in its approach, but which has always been intertwined with those in power -- particularly the school's involvement in the development of nuclear weaponry and energy.

April Authors at Cody's

One of the joys of living in Berkeley is all the people who UC and related institutions bring in to talk, often for free. I just got the Cody's Books calendar for April, and it is a stellar line-up of authors. Here are my picks:

• Alston Chase on Unabomber: The Making Of An American Terrorist.    Thursday, April 3
• Candace Falk, Barry Pateman, and Jessica Moran present Emma Goldman: A Documentary History Of The American Years, Volume One: Made For America.    Monday, April 7
• John Murray reads from A Few Short Notes On Tropical Butterflies.    Wednesday, April 9
• Oscar Casares on Brownsville.    Monday, April 14
• Atul Gawande on Complications: A Surgeon’s Notes On An Imperfect Science.    Tuesday, April 15. Note Special Time: 12:15 pm At Telegraph Avenue
• Tamim Ansary on West Of Kabul, East Of New York: An Afghan American Story.   Wednesday, April 16
• Wes "scoop" Nisker on The Big Bang, The Buddha, And The Baby Boom.    Monday, April 21
• Robert Stone on Bay Of Souls.    Saturday, April 26

Video Games - Triple Down

For dedicated video game players, Best Buy and Circuit City are depressing. They only sell the straightforward expensive stuff. No old games, no antique consoles. No strange fourth-party peripherals. Few action figures. Toys 'R Us is slightly better but it's frankly a scary store to be in unaccompanied by a minor.

I may not stack my desktop with too many pieces of plastic. But I enjoy shopping for games in the context of game playing - at a store that stocks history and reverence for obscure electronic entertainment.

For a while, the near-East Bay had only one video game store like this - GameStop near Home Depot in Emeryville. East Bay video gaming ground zero - it was the only refuge for urban and urbane gamers alike. People selling pot-smoke reeking PlayStations and people hunting a used copy of the Phantasy Star series reissued for the GBA.

Now the number of used stimulation resellers in the near-East Bay has tripled. In the last month, two EB Games stores have opened: one on Shattuck, one on Telegraph, both near University/Bancroft. They sell nostalgia-riffic NES and SNES and Sega systems. Action figures. Hint guides. Weird peripherals. And, best of all, they sell old games. The prices on games less than a year old aren't much better than a new version, but it extends their stock back into history. If you're looking to save some money and extend the life of an old machine, a $5 copy of Tomb Raider for the Dreamcast might be just the thing.

Free East Bay Wi-Fi #2

Berkeley Espresso, on Shattuck and Hearst.