Note: this list was created in 2000 and many of the links are now dead. However, if you copy the link location and try searching for them at the Internet Archive at http://www.archive.org/ you may find the content these used to point to.

indoor attractions

A Visitor's Guide to the U.C. Berkeley Library

Here is a great place to find "piles of knowledge"--the UC Library system is the largest college library in North America.

UC Berkeley - Sports

If you have any interest in college sports, Berkeley (affectionately known as "Cal") has what it takes!

Blues Joints

Here's a mention of Eli's Mile High Club, one of the best blues joints in the country, right next door in Oakland.

Yoshi's at Jack London Square

Not only is Yoshi's a great jazz venue, it's also a fabulous Japanese restaurant.

UC Berkeley Ballroom Dancers

OK, so we didn't have time to take lessons before the wedding. If you want to go ballroom dancing, for the first or the five hundredth time, this is a place to look

outdoors

GolfCalifornia.com -Review: Berkeley's Distinctive Tilden Park Golf Course

This one's for you, Fred!

Places To Go: Tilden

Places To Go: Wildcat Canyon

Tilden and Wildcat Canyon are two in the system of East Bay Regional Parks, many large enough to go hiking for days in. One of the beautiful things about Northern California is how much "green space" there is woven into the urban landscape. Escape to one of these nearby treasures!

Walking in Berkeley

The Berkeley Path Wanderers Association has a number of nice walk events and descriptions of places to go. Be sure to explore Berkeley's numerous footpaths and public stairways.

Berkeley Rose Garden

The Berkeley Rose Garden is a twenty minute walk from campus (Ondine and I used to sneak up here on her lunch break when she worked at Berkeley.) It's romantic and a must-see for flower lovers. Great view too!

University of California Botanical Garden

A quick walk from the center of campus, this garden is one of the best botanical gardens on the West coast.

Strawberry Canyon

This is a beautiful park and athletic club on the campus of the University of California.

Inspiration Point, Nimitz Way Trail

This is one of the most beautiful spots in the Tilden regional park above campus, and is the starting point for a level, beautiful trail with views of the central valley towards the Sierra Nevada mountains, and views of the Bay towards the ocean.

The Blake House

This may be the best kept outdoor secret in the East Bay. The only reason we know of it is that it was on the way biking from campus to Chris, Nate, Alisa, Shirley, and Dave's old house in El Cerrito. The official residence of the UC system president (not the UC Berkeley campus president, or chancellor), this gorgeous estate is managed by the Berkeley Landscape Architecture department. It's usually only open weekdays during business hours, but is like a mini-Versailles with a stunning view of the Bay. Ondine and I snuck away here at lunch (by car) on one of her last days of work at UC Berkeley.

neighborhoods/shops

VIA Online: Berkeley

A good overview of Berkeley, and also mentions the 4th street area Yuen talks about.

Bancroft Clothing Co.

An example of the kind of clothing stores that abound on the south edge of campus

Fun Shopping & Dining Areas

Discusses a number of areas near campus

SF Gate: Bay Area Traveler: East Bay Neighborhoods: Rockridge, Oakland

Rockridge is a gorgeous, walkable, shopable, livable community on the border between Berkeley and Oakland. This is the place to come for upscale gifts.

SF Gate: Bay Area Traveler: East Bay Neighborhoods: UC Berkeley Campus

What's right near campus

Best of the Bay 1997: Readers' picks: East Bay

A list of Bests from one of our local publications.

Berkeley Bookstores - Half Price Books (Telegraph)

Oakland Bookstores, California USA

Brian's Guide to Berkeley Bookstores

Welcome to Virtual Moe's

I have academic friends who make a detour to Berkeley's bookstores whenever they have a stopover in Northern California. You won't find the giant Border's-style stores here near campus, but with the vast number of choices and the care booksellers put into choosing their stock, you won't need a Home Depot sized bookstore.

Berkeley Telegraph Avenue Photo Album

Telegraph is perhaps Berkeley's most characteristic neighborhood. Cheap student eats, head shops, tie dye, arts and crafts, and much much more.

Albany and Solano Ave.

Solano Ave. is the walkable shopping artery through tiny Albany, just north of Berkeley near our apartment. Once a year the "Solano Stroll" is a street fair where people walk the length of the Ave.

restaurants/eating

mexican

Picante Cocina Mexicana, mexican restaurant

This place is fabulous. If you're not in the mood for one of their killer burritos, try the aztec tortilla soup.

Juan's Place Mexican Best of the East Bay 99

Scroll down this page to "best Mexican" and find Juan's--great wine margaritas and they play a real mean happy birthday if you're there on your special day. Other bests are lurking on this page for you.

bars/pubs

The Albatross

This is a mellow, English style pub. The best parts: darts, boardgames, and (nearly) free popcorn. In a bizzare twist, the place was purchased by Ondine's former landlord. Curl up by the fireplace with a Guinness!

Triple Rock Brewery

This is a classic, and my best men Nate and Brian began a happyhour tradition here for our department at Berkeley that lasted through grad school. A favorite hangout for local homebrew mavens and arguably the home of the microbrewery movement.

Jupiter Beer

This is the inheritor of the happyhour tradition at TripleRock--run by the same owners as Triple Rock, the space is much more modern. Good free local music on weekends, gourmet pizzas, and the outdoor patio are all draws.

coffeehouses

Peet's Stores | The Original Peet's

Peet's is great. Beware the extremely brown coffee--even I find it a bit strong. Half and Half helps!

Caffe Nefeli

This web site calls Nefeli "the most important place on campus." I call it a quiet, airy cafe with good greek and italian coffee and tasty (if a little expensive) sandwiches and salads. They also have nice outdoor seating.

French Hotel Cafe

The "Frotel" as Robin, our officiant, likes to call it has a devoted clientele of locals, great coffee, and great peoplewatching.

asian

chinese/japanese

The Solano Avenue Guide - Chinese Food

Try Renee's or Kirin. Renee's is amazingly elegant, inexpensive, and tasty (our favorite dish: the vegetarian lemon "chicken" made with soy). Kirin has great noodles (try the DanDan noodles in spicy peanut sauce). Their tea service is amazing.

Kirala, japanese restaurant: CitySearch

This is the best sushi on the planet. An incredible restaurant. And I don't even like raw fish! Try the grilled corn on the cob, or the salted soybeans (a lot like lima beans!) The spicy tuna roll is my favorite.

other asian

Pasand Indian Restaurant

This Indian restaurant is most notable for the live music that plays here on weekends.

Plearn Thai Cuisine

This Berkeley restaurant is a good one. Try the "Tom Ka Gai" chicken soup; creamy and spicy. We also like the name of the dish "Flying Squid," whether or not you eat it. Right next to the awesome UC theatre.

An Essay on Cha'am and North Berkeley

Cha'am is really one of the best Thai restaurants around and is our personal favorite. We love the Tom Ka Gai, the Cha'am Noodles (like Pad Thai), and the papaya salad. The specials are the best, be sure to check them out.

south american

Nino's Brazilian Restaurant and Pizzeria

This review describes a number of Brazilian restaurants, including Nino's, right in our neighborhood. Weekend visitors get treated to specials that they don't have during the week. Mmm!

european

Mangia Mangia, italian restaurant

This is our favorite Italian restaurant. Ondine and I come here for our anniversaries, and this is where our parents got to meet each other. Be sure to try the risotto, a cooked, creamy rice dish that reminds me of a very highbrow mac and cheese.

Caffe e Ristorante Venezia

This Berkeley Italian restaurant reminds Ondine and I of our trip to Venice. It is our second favorite Italian restaurant, where we had anniversary dinners until we discovered Mangia Mangia. The place is decorated like a Venetian Piazza (Plaza)!

Crepes A Go Go

Crepes A Go Go

Nutella: a gooey chocolate hazelnut spread from Europe. On a crepe, it's divine!

mediterranean

Bongo Burgers

This place is very amusing. Falafel, Hummus, French Fries, and fresh orange and carrot juice. I personally like the Bongo Salad. The name may make it sound like one of those mall chains where pimply teenagers wear ridiculous red and yellow outfits, but in fact it's a middle eastern fast food joint with an American twist.

Mangia Mangia, italian restaurant: CitySearch

This is our favorite Italian restaurant. Ondine and I come here for our anniversaries, and this is where our parents got to meet each other. Be sure to try the risotto, a cooked, creamy rice dish that reminds me of a very highbrow mac and cheese.

Caffe e Ristorante Venezia

This Berkeley Italian restaurant reminds Ondine and I of our trip to Venice. It is our second favorite Italian restaurant, where we had anniversary dinners until we discovered Mangia Mangia. The place is decorated like an Italian Piazza!

Caffe Nefeli

This web site calls Nefeli "the most important place on campus." I call it a quiet, airy cafe with fabulous coffee and tasty (if a little expensive) sandwiches and salads. They also have nice outdoor seating.

veggie

Cafe Intermezzo

This place makes the best salads in the world. Period. And the bread! Our vegetarian friends Leanne and Ekrem would drive forty minutes to Berkeley to go here even when we weren't around to visit. They also have meaty sandwiches for you carnivores. But prepare to split something, because as one guide says, the salads are "bigger than your head!"

World Guide To Vegetarianism - Berkeley, Alameda County, California, USA

There are a number of Berkeley restaurants listed here, among which is Long Life Vegi House near campus.

american

Cafe Intermezzo

This place makes the best salads in the world. Period. And the bread! Our vegetarian friends Leanne and Ekrem would drive forty minutes to Berkeley to go here even when we weren't around to visit. They also have meaty sandwiches for you carnivores. But prepare to split something, because as one guide says, the salads are "bigger than your head!"

Zachary's Chicago Pizza

This place is not to be missed. Their stuffed pizzas win all the yearly awards; the crust has reached a heavenly merger with the fillings, yielding an almost religious pizza experience. Our friend Geri from Chicago even approves!

Chez Panisse Restaurant

This restaurant is part of what makes Berkeley Berkeley. The birthplace of California cuisine, it's where we celebrated Chris' graduation. Expect to drop $50-100 per person for one of the best meals you'll ever eat anywhere on the planet. I mean it.

Fatapple's Bakery and Restaurant

This is both the closest restaurant to our apartment ('round the corner) and the best place for pie. When Chris lived with Kim and Robin, Ollalieberry Pies from Fatapples replaced cake as the traditional birthday dessert; tart in winter, sweet in summer.

Max's Opera Cafe - San Francisco

This one is actually in SF, but it's a fun place to go when you're taking in SF downtown sights (like the Museum of Modern Art or the 'Zeum childrens' museum.) Max's has all the diner classics and has added more modern and health-conscious tastes. As their slogan says, "This is a good place for a diet. This is a bad place for a diet."

only (or especially) in Berkeley (or California)

Peet's History

Peet's Coffee is a local tradition and this is where the founder of Starbucks got his start.

Queer Berkeley

Welcome

Let's hear it for diversity! San Francisco notwithstanding, Berkeley is a center for tolerance of all sexual persuasions.

Berkeley Buddhist Research Center (BBRC) Home Page

Surprisingly, Berkeley is home to a number of theological schools, seminaries, and religious studies groups, Christian and otherwise. Buddhism is much more prevalent here on the West Coast, and Ondine actually interned at a Buddhist publishing house in Berkeley. BBRC is another example of the vibrant scholarly and religious Buddhist community.

Women's Studies

One of the things we most wanted our wedding to be was nonsexist. Berkeley is a place where gender politics are critically examined.

Days of Cal | Berkeley in the 60s

A Brief History of People's Park

Berkeley's radical past is legendary. Read up on the events around the Free Speech Movement here!

Contemporary Issues: Homelessness

General Housing Info

They say that housing is a spectator sport in California. Read here about why homelessness is an issue here, and what's being done to improve things.

98six.com -- COCKTAILS

One person mentioned drugs as a part of the Berkeley experience. While California did recently legalize medical marijuana, drug use here is not really any different than any other college town. Here's some information on what the drug culture looks like in the early 21st century.

Fire Department Office of Emergency Services

UCPD Campus Safety Programs - University of California, Berkeley

Scared of those California natural disasters? Worried about big city crime? Read here and be prepared.

Smart People

UC Berkeley is generally regarded as the best public university in the US and one of the best universities anywhere. Read more here on some of the great acheivers, the Nobel Laureates from Berkeley. An interesting story--they asked a Nobel Laureate what he most wanted to make his life at Berkeley more productive. He instantly replied, "Parking!" To this day, if you see a parking spot on campus designated for permit "NL", that means only Nobel Laureates can park there!

The Ollallieberry

Chris was so enamored of this berry that he named one of his computers Ollalliberry Pie (the other two were Beignet, a New Orleans doughnut, and Bear Claw, a yummy almond breakfast pastry.) They really are better than blackberries! And no, it's not a made up fruit.