Page 80 - 2020 Travel Guide to California

BERKELEY
This celebrated university city also hosts
superb performing arts and dining
»DINE, SHOP,
SEE A PLAY
Berkeley Visitor
Information
visitberkeley.com
BERKELEY and the University of
California, above; Sunday street scene
in downtown Berkeley, below.
WORLD-FAMOUS as a historic center of free
speech and 1960s counter-culture, Berkeley, on
the eastern shores of San Francisco Bay, has
morphed into a foodie destination and unique
shopping mecca. But it’s still Berkeley, proudly
offbeat, quirky and fun to visit, especially now.
The Downtown Arts District on Addison Street
showcases the Aurora Theatre Company and the
nationally known Berkeley Repertory Theatre.
The Freight & Salvage—which is both a perform-
ance venue and folk-music learning center—has
recently presented the likes of western swing
band Asleep at the Wheel, Canadian singer-
songwriter Bruce Cockburn, Belgian big band
Flat Earth Society, and the UC Jazz Ensembles.
The 83,000-square-foot Berkeley Art
Museum and Pacific Film Archive (BAMPFA),
near the downtown Berkeley BART station,
opened in 2016. The station and surrounding
BART Plaza, which got a $13 million renova-
tion in the late teens, boasts public art pieces
and a nearby visitor information center on
Addison Street. North Berkeley, along and
near Shattuck, is the city’s prime dining and
food market destination, with its jewel in the
crown, Chez Panisse, the citadel of fresh,
local, seasonal California cuisine. The 1966
original Peet’s Coffee is right nearby, as is the
collectively run Cheese Board cheese shop
and bakery. Edible Excursions runs guided
78 2020 TRAVEL GUIDE TO CALIFORNIA
B Y D A V I D A R M S T R O N G
walking tours of the North Berkeley food
scene, as well as downtown Berkeley brunch
tours on Sundays.
One-of-a-kind shopping and dining
abounds on Fourth Street, in West Berkeley.
Long centered north of University Avenue,
Fourth Street businesses are expanding their
offerings south of University, too.
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. Morgan’s 1930 Berkeley City Club, an
artful mash-up of Gothic and Moorish influ-
ences, includes a 38-room hotel, event space,
indoor pool, Julia’s Restaurant, Morgan’s Bar
& Lounge and a bocce ball court.
On campus, the circa 1903 Greek Theatre
presents headliners in its outdoor amphithe-
ater, while Cal Performances brings
international acts indoors to 2,700-seat Zeller-
bach Hall. You can debate the true meaning of
art in a plentitude of craft microbreweries and
urban winery tasting rooms. Among the urban
winemakers are Donkey & Goat, purveyors of
unfiltered, minimally processed natural wines.
Downtown favorite Triple Rock brewpub, dating
to 1986, recently expanded its space by 50 per-
cent for the production of quaffable brews.
VISIT BERKELEY