Restaurant Notes: Café M

Café M
1799 4th St
Ste F
(between Virginia St & Hearst Ave)
Berkeley, CA 94710

     Poached eggs.  I finished these in just a few bites.  A little salty.  But not at all bad!

On the last day of my Tokyo-cousin's stay in the US, we went to Café M for brunch. It was a rainy Sunday but the uber-yuppy, Fourth Street shopping area was buzzing.  We had to put our name on a waitlist, but were able to be seated within 20 minutes, at around 1pm.  Bette's Oceanview Diner had a 90-minute wait when we'd checked in there. (I wanted to try their soufflé pancakes--darn.) 

I ordered poached eggs with lox and spinach; the cousin had an omlette. 

My mom had a crepe...I think. It looked a bit dry to me around the edges. But she liked it. (I compare my crepes to Coupa's elegant, elastic, buckwheat ones.)  

But the real story at Café M was the banana pancakes, which my cousin and I split. They may not have looked like anything special, but they were. Tender, moist and irresistible, even after my plate of eggs.  

Yum, yum, yum.  Especially on a rainy day.  Who am I kidding. These would be great any day, any time.

The service here was average.  But I don't expect service to be notable at a casual breakfast/lunch place like this.  

Café M has large windows on one side and was full until we left around 2pm.  It fit the bill.

Venus Restaurant

2327 Shattuck Ave
Berkeley, CA 94704
(510) 540-5950
venusrestaurant.net

Reviewed 12/30/2009

I love the planets in Berkeley: Jupiter for its live music and pizza, and Venus for its breakfast.

Venus is the place to go for eggs.

Mine were beautifully poached (I ordered Venus Benedict) and my friend's were over-easy. Top ratings from the two of us.

My hollandaise sauce was luscious but light.

The coffee was forgettable, but in the spirit of the holiday season, I'll forgive them that.

Service was efficient and friendly.

Apparently others agree that this place is good--it was hopping at 10AM on a weekday between Christmas and New Year's.

Good thing Venus is not too far away.

Kirala

Japanese
2100 Ward Street
Berkeley, CA 94705
(510) 549-3486

Reviewed 7/19/2009

Man, this is going to be painful.

I have loved Kirala.


But when we went last time, it was all blunders. The friendly-but-goofy waiter got two out of four orders wrong. I had ordered curry soba. But he brought out udon. My friend ordered the OTHER lunch special.

By the time my order came--which seemed to have taken ages--everyone else had finished. So they were all watching me eat. And I was trying my hardest to slurp down boiling hot soup as soon as I could without burning my mouth and resembling a slobbering animal. I was sweating, requiring me to peel myself off the seat later when we finally left.

Indeed quite a bit of time transpired between when I finished my soup, and the time we actually left. We were waiting and waiting and waiting for the check to come. We could see the seasons changing out the window.

Since we had the table waaay in the back of the restaurant which benefits from privacy, it was hard to flag down our waiter. When he finally arrived, he set down two bowls of ice cream instead of the check. They were his apology for being scattered.

It may have been the only occasion in my life when I was actually disappointed to see ice cream. We were stuffed and we needed to get going.

Of course we weren't going to leave ice cream there. So we stabbed it with our spoons and it was delicious.

Still the check was remarkably late, and the ice cream didn't cure all.

AND THERE'S MORE:
Besides what I've already written, there was a rude woman server (helping the main server) who came by and practically dumped our dishes on our table. I might expect such "service" at another type of restaurant. But It was appalling to be treated this way at a Japanese joint.

THAT SAID: the food was great. That was no surprise. My soup was intensely flavorful though I think that udon noodles go better with it.

AND: the hostess at the front was darling. It was clear she has a stake in customers' dining experiences. She made our way to the table once, but unfortunately not a second time when I would have had much to share (because I care!).

I will go back to Kirala because I have had better experiences there, and I have faith in them. Plus, I really want to give this Berkeley institution a better review.

The Cheeseboard Collective

1512 Shattuck Ave
Berkeley, CA 94701
(510) 549-3055
http://cheeseboardcollective.coop

Reviewed 4/12/2009

Not the best pizza I have had, but great for everything else: price, supporting a co-op, atmosphere, open air seating (we got lucky and got one) and Berkeley-esque views of people enjoying pizza on the prohibited median. Plus there were three black dudes supplying great jazz at 5PM on a Saturday. Hearing them play "Girl from Ipanema" on a gorgeous spring day while dining al fresco was an invigorating simple pleasure.

I prefer Delfina pizza, but it's not fair to compare these two. But I will anyway. The Cheeseboard pizza I had was a bit too chewy with cheese and the crust was only moderately thin. Flavor was "Fresh Corn, Chili Passilla, Onions, Mozzarella Cheese, Feta Cheese, Garlic Olive Oil, Key Limes, Cilantro." You could taste these flavors, but...it was too cheesey for me, and the crust was not extraordinary.

HOWEVER, if my neighbor made this pizza, I would be like: man, this is good! You made this?!

I do put it up there among the top Berkeley experiences for all the other reasons. And I am definitely a fan.

Thai Delight Cuisine

1700 Shattuck Ave

Berkeley, CA 94709

(510) 549-0611

Reviewed 8/5/2007

Thai Delight fits right in amongst its heavy hitting neighbors in the Gourmet Ghetto. Serving organic veggies and free-range meat, it's a cozy restaurant with walls the color of lettuce leaves, and it The tables are small, the lighting is soft, and the place is quiet, making it a great place for intimate conversation. This was true of a Sunday evening around 8PM, when almost every table was occupied.

The service is inconspicuous and attentive.

You can get cheaper Thai elsewhere, but probably not with such a charming ambiance. (But I could be wrong--not nearly as knowledgeable about Berkeley as I'd like.)

We ordered the organic version of tom yam gai (sour chicken soup) and red curry. These were both beautiful dishes distinct with flavor. Chunks of cabbage and jagged carrots strips floated in the creamy sour soup. The coconut-flavored curry was vibrant with freshly steamed broccoli, string beans, and bits of chicken. (Grrr! I should have taken pictures of these beauties!)

But I had a lil' issue with both dishes. It was the rubbery fragments attached to the bits of chicken. They were impossible to chew and the thought of swallowing them grossed me out so I decided to secretly spit them into my napkin. The problem was I was with someone I wanted to impress, and we were engrossed in conversation. On the one hand, I did not want him to break eye contact with me; on the other hand, I prayed he might suddenly bolt from the table. I just wanted a moment to myself. Anything to avoid ugly table behavior or swallowing! I also wanted to eat more food, which I held off on until I could dispose of this nasty stuff which ended up being secured between my molars and cheek until he finally he looked down. I then did my thing hoping he saw nothing.

Still, everything else about the place was worthy of an excellent review. Next time I will go meatless. There are plenty of options like varieties of tofu, and wild fish. I have much faith that they will not disappoint. And perhaps in ordering those dishes, I'll have better table manners.

Jupiter

2181 Shattuck Ave

Berkeley, CA 94704

(510) 843-8277

Reviewed 7/29/2007

Jupiter represents what I love about Berkeley. It is classy but laid-back, tasty but inexpensive, friendly but sophisticated. It is a "place to be," without being pretentious.

If that's not enough, the place features live jazz, alfresco dining, and is situated in one of the world's bastions of progressive thought.

In a word, it is otherworldly. That will be my last intended pun, but it will be hard to resist cliches and attempts at poetry because I adore the place. Jupiter, O Jupiter...

When I went on a Friday evening at around 7:30, it was packed and festive, with waitstaff bustling and parties of people hovering over little tables. Jupiter's bricky decor makes you feel like you are in a stylish place, and its popularity makes you feel you are where everyone wants to be. We wanted to sit outside, a self-seating section, but our chances looked bleak because every seat was filled. So we put our names down for indoor seating. I was felt a little gypped.

It's not that the indoor section is unattractive--indeed, it is certainly hopping--but knowing how lively and charming the patio is, I would have felt confined and disgruntled there. Outdoors, you'll find impatiens, a fireplace, cooks preparing quesadillas on a grill, and a band! And not just any band. Every time I've been to Jupiter, the band was good enough to Google when I got home. Sure, it may be cozy and a little warmer inside, but there are heat lamps on the patio and stars overhead.

Anyway, I got my wish as we spotted some people getting up and we promptly secured a table. A few moments later, sipping my pomegranate cider and listening to music, I was in bliss. The band wasn't yet playing, but some kind of wonderful jazz was. I indulged the moment of being in one of my favorite cities, at one of my favorite venues. Plus it was Friday, and my favorite cyclist was doing well at the Tour de France.

A lively jazz fusion band called Kapakahi started jamming around 8pm. They were great.

I ordered the spinach and albacore tuna salad, which was simple but satisfying, and later shared a Cassiopeia pizza (grilled chicken drizzled with BBQ sauce) with my friend. I recommend Jupiter's thin-crusted pizzas. They are good, well-priced, and because they are not smothered with cheese, you can taste what else is on them. I like to order them with a big group as you can try a variety.

The service at Jupiter deserves special note, at least on this recent evening. Despite how bustling the place was, with hungry diners everywhere and lingering customers clogging the narrow walkways, everyone I encountered on the staff (and there were many) was friendly.

My friend and I hung out from the time the sun began to set way past the point that you could see stars clearly over head.

Jupiter does not serve dessert, but that might as well be the case because there are two highly rated gelato places, Gelato Naia and Gelato Milano, across the street (Yelp). Not been to the latter, but I have been to Naia some time ago and loved it. Not only were the flavors creative and yummy, but I was quite taken by the displays, which seemed novel at the time (e.g., a real coconut dunked in the bin with the coconut flavored gelato).