Page 80 - 2017 Travel Guide to California

BERKELEY
Superb dining, performing arts, and
a bastion of liberal thought
B Y D A V I D A R M S T R O N G
»
DINE,
SHOP, GOLF,
SEE A PLAY
Berkeley Visitor
Information
visitberkeley.com
SATHER TOWER marks the University
of California Berkeley, above;
Berkeley Art Museum and Pacific Film
Archive (BAMPFA), below.
WORLD-FAMOUS as a historic center of
free speech and 1960s counter-culture,
Berkeley, on the eastern shore of San Fran-
cisco Bay, has morphed into a foodie
destination and unique arts and shopping
mecca. But it’s still Berkeley, proudly off-
beat, quirky and fun to visit, especially now.
The Downtown Arts District on Addison
Street showcases the Aurora Theatre Com-
pany and the Freight & Salvage
Coffeehouse—which is both a performance
venue and folk music learning center—and
the Berkeley Repertory Theatre. Berkeley Rep
will host the world premiere of Indian
director Mira Nair’s stage musical adaption of
her hit film Monsoon Wedding, May 5-June 25.
Two more major venues opened down-
town in 2016: the 83,000-square-foot Berkeley
Art Museum and Pacific Film Archive
(BAMPFA), at 2155 Center Street, and the hand-
some renovated UC Theatre, a 1917
cinema-turned-music space that features a
lively and diverse mix of performers, at 2036
University Avenue just west of Shattuck
Avenue. North Berkeley along and near Shat-
tuck is the city’s Gourmet Ghetto, with its
jewel in the crown, Chez Panisse, founded by
the doyenne of fresh, local, seasonal Cali-
fornia cuisine, Alice Waters. The 1966 original
Peet’s Coffee and Tea shop is right nearby, as
are excellent food markets, the Cheese Board
cheese shop/bakery and fine restaurants such
as the organic, artisan-minded Mission Heir-
loom eatery.
One-of-a-kind shopping abounds on
Fourth Street, north of University Avenue in
West Berkeley; standouts include Miki’s
Paper, which features hand-made Japanese
stationery and wrapping paper. Also on
Fourth, chef/owner Shotaro Kamio brings
sophisticated Japanese technique and fresh
California ingredients to cuisine inspired by
his native region, Tohoku “snow country.”
Gorgeous brown-shingle wooden homes
and public buildings by celebrated architects
Bernard Maybeck and Julia Morgan—who
adapted Arts and Crafts design to form the
Bay Region style in the early 20th century—
enrich the city. Maybeck’s serene 1910 First
Church of Christ, Scientist, just east of Tele-
graph Avenue and south of the UC Berkeley
campus, is an architectural hymn to silence.
On campus, Cal Performances brings
international headliners to Zellerbach Hall.
You can toast the artists and debate the true
meaning of art in a plentitude of craft
microbreweries near campus and beyond.
Let’s not forget cocktails; they’re original
and inspired at Tupper & Reed, located
downtown. Got golf? Certainly. You can tee
it up at the 18-hole Tilden Park Golf Course,
in the woodsy Berkeley Hills above the bay.
Specifics are available from the Visitor
Information Center, 2030 Addison St.
78 2017 T R AV E L G U I D E TO C A L I F O R N I A
BONDROCKETIMAGES/SHUTTERSTOCK; IWAN BAAN