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1515 Shattuck Avenue Berkeley, CA 94709 510.883.0222

Monday was a triple feature, and the finale was César, a tapas bar on Shattuck next to Chez Panisse. Very nice atmosphere for a bar; the music was not too loud and as always in cali, no smokers! We went with the intent of getting some strawberries and cream, but I guess they are already out of season, so we had to settle for some chocolate pudding which was so think and rich it was almost like fudge. But somehow, it managed not to be heavy. It was covered on top with fresh whipped cream. I had a sour cherry soda to drink which was absolutely delicious. Definitely a nice place to chill out after some other activity. I’m not a big fan of tapas for meals because it would cost me about $100 to get full. But in this case, it was the perfect fit.

1984 Shattuck St. Berkeley, CA 94704 (510) 540-9997

Another winner here. I had dinner there on Monday with Stefani–it wasn’t the first time, but it was the first time that I rememered in time to write a fair impression. The interior of the place is pretty plain, with maybe 20 tables and a few booths. It does have an open kitchen, which I always find encouraging. It was pretty empty when we went in around 9, so the service was fast. The staff is very helpful and attentive (I’m no expert at this kind of food). We started with some “arabic tea with mint” that was delicious. I’m not sure what kind of tea it was but it came with several fresh mint leaves floating in it that I let infuse until I was done drinking it–very soothing. I had sabanekh (lamb and spinach stew) with saffroned rice on the side, and Stef had roasted chicken. Previously I’ve had roasted lamb, falafels, dolmas, hummus, baba, tabouleh, cucumber salad, and kanafeh for dessert, which is sort of a spin on baklavah.

It’s all been very tasty. Fresh, hot, and convincing enough to fool a neophyte like me into believing it’s “truly” mediterranean. I’ve already been back to this place twice, and I can see the pattern continuing. Cheap, fast, filling, friendly.

1700 Shattuck Ave Berkeley, CA 94709 (510) 849-4983

Jackpot! Monday lunch was had with Jen, a third-year Berkeley undergrad who knows plenty of good places. We were going to go to Cheesboard Pizza, which she claims is her favorite place in town, but they’re closed on Mondays, so we decided on Kurry Klub instead on the way back to campus. It’s a little Indian place, as you’ve guessed, and it has very nice interior of carved wood with all-wood tables and carved chairs. The have a $7 lunch buffet, and it is incredible! I spent most of my time putting korma over basmati rice, but I also tried some chicken curry and paneer. It was all wonderful, served with naan and accompanied by a very attentive staff who kept our glasses full of water. The korma was my favorite–creamy but not too heavy. The curry was also great: spicy but manageable (I mellowed it out with some yogurt). For those of you from Austin, I would compare the quality of this buffet to the Clay Pit–it’s that good. I’ll definitely be frequenting this place.

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Comments

Justin Robertson — 2004-12-05 23:54:28

Ya !! I think the same as u do. It is just incredible….. ya….

Ram Shiva Katwal — 2004-12-05 23:56:25

Ya !! I have tried their recipe. I wonder why they cook so well. I was so suprised by their new dish so called “MOMO”

U guys should try it.

Regards

Ram K :D

School really got cooking this past week with plenty o’ problem sets to be done. I really had forgotten just how much harder it was being a student than working my full-time job at Apple. I’m sure there are plenty of jobs out there that work you to death, but I realize now that I never worked as little as 40 hours a week as an undergrad, and I never worked more when I was at Apple. I’ve been basically lazy since I graduated, about 1.5 years ago. My brain is rusty, my work-ethic, everything.

But I’m glad my ass is getting kicked. That horrible, terminal feeling of sameness that pervaded my job just isn’t present. Every semester, reset to some new classes, a new schedule, new people. Clear progress toward a clear goal. I know I can’t go on like this forever, but I’ll take those five more years, thanks. Then maybe I’ll finally venture out into a world where the metrics of success aren’t so clear. But for now, I’m happy to settle for another problem set in the bank.

Next.

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Comments

cameron — 2004-09-13 09:00:27

my friend who just started at berkeley has had lots of away messages involving problem sets and beer. seems like a fun place to be a grad student. :)

amy — 2004-09-14 05:15:11

yep.. homework. up at 7 a.m. so i can finish plowing through this articles and send some semblance of an outline to my advisor before our meeting at 2. i’ve found that, like in the dorm, it’s good if you can turn it into some semblance of a social occasion. i’ve found that, unlike in the dorm, social occasions actually turn into social occasions, and no studying gets done. so. right. outlines. must stop browsing blogs.. cough

Ali — 2004-09-14 22:13:41

Told ya so….