InBerkeley

You are absolutely right that Berkeley’s “Gourmet Ghetto” is not “so last decade. Really, it is “so 15 or 20 years ago”. To an extent, it is really “so 30 years ago”.

30 some odd years ago (and they were, by all accounts, odd years) the Ghetto was cutting edge. The Chez Panisse take on fine dining. The Pete’s take on fine coffee. The two collectives and so forth. There was a font of innovation. A few blocks away, Goines was refreshing the print-making industry. The glow of Ginsberg still drifted over the neighborhood. The tension of the civilized and heavily policed north side vs. the chaos downtown and near telegraph – yet their union in the creative spirit of the day… it was (one of) The Place(s).

In the 80s there was quite a bit of innovation and some surprise imports. Some of the best sushi to be had in the region, for a while, for example.

It really has lost its creative spark and cultural relevance. That started in the 90s and keeps getting worse. It ain’t any more close to what it was when it got its nickname, unfortunately.

-t

Blue Bottle Coffee got it’s start in a tiny space on a hidden courtyard very near to Pizzaiolo, which serves Blue Bottle Coffee. Every time I’d visit my friend’s art studio, which used to share the same courtyard, I’d be overwhelmed by the aroma of coffee beans being hand roasted by James in a small table-top machine.

I love Berkeley but I have to concede that there seems to be a lot more innovation and excitement in the arts, food and culture in Oakland right now than in the Cal city. It’s normal — and to be welcomed. Oakland deserves its turn in the spotlight.

@Tracey Taylor

It’s “by design” to a small extent. A “conspiracy” if you will, of the food technicians. Some (ala starbucks) would seek to teach a man to franchise. Others (ala Berkeley anonymous) would teach a man to “grow his own”. And there was talk, really there was talk – about 15 years ago – to the effect of “let’s make this happen again, but this time in oakland, and not by our hand because, y’know, that’d be The Right Thing to do”.

Really.

-t

All you need do is spend an evening at Commis to see how Oakland has finally brought real gastronomy to the East Bay. This is studied, intelligent food done by a dedicated artist. Long in training, patient in coming forth and no bs, ego or attitude. And certainly not kids pretending to know how to cook or run restaurants because they think they have magic beans in their pants.

I read the Sunset Magazine article last night. I’ve lived near the Berkeley gourmet ghetto for 20 years and it continues to grow and change (though Chez Panisse will always be the anchor). It’s far from stagnant and in that way is not “so last decade.”

The Temescal area gastronomical growth is awesome. In fact, because I’m currently looking to move, I’m tempted to check out apartments in the area… but the thought of leaving my beloved Berkeley – even by just a few blocks – is more than I can bare.

After some 20-odd years in San Francisco, I moved to Oakland several years ago when SF housing prices got to be unaffordable. I think a lot of creative people did the same thing, which is why we’re beginning to see lots of things here in Oakland that only SF could claim back in the day. Berkeley is *just* OK; the city sometimes seems like a well-worn tapestry that’s frayed at the edges. Chez Panisse is solid, but far from unique or even original these days –I don’t like the current trend of politicizing food, a la Alice Waters. Rockridge, Piedmont, Lake Merritt — those areas are buzzing with new things — art galleries, really good restaurants, etc. It’s a good time to live in the East Bay, especially Oakland. Despite the city’s crime, the weather is great, the people are super friendly, and it’s quite diverse.

@Jen Sing
May I suggest that food is political and Alice Waters isn’t completely crazy however…. she tends to politicize it in a way oblivious to the realities of economic classes, cultural norms, and relative needs. That is, by the time you are serving people who are paying more per plate for a meal than many spend on food in a week, or working on school lunch improvements heavily subsidized by the local well off patrons, then isn’t your politics about something other than the quality and sustainability of the nation’s food supply?

-t

There is more to Berkeley than Alice Waters, in any case. Why do we need to get into a Jets and Sharks thing about it. I like Temescal, and I also like Berkeley. We are spoiled for choice in the east bay!

The problem is not Waters’ politicizing (I like it) but rather the lazy media and others who only go to her for stories.