The East Bay
This page is dedicated to providing Veritas members, both young and old, with a handy list of resources and pointers for living in the East Bay.
If you are new in town and would like someone to talk with about moving to Berkeley, someone to welcome you to town, someone to lend you a helping hand, or just someone to have coffee with contact us and we'll put you in touch with a fellow Veritaser!
Contributions to this site would be welcomed and appreciated!
Please send them to thera (at) berkeley.edu
All-Time Favorite (Cheap) Places to Eat
Cheeseboard pizza
1512 Shattuck Ave; near Vine & Shattuck
They make one kind a day, and it's usually awesome. $2.50 a slice.
House of Curries
2520 Durant Ave.
"I rarely eat out, but the one place I say I find acceptable is House of Curries"
Bobby G's Pizza
2072 University Ave
Great Pizza, relaxed sports bar, free wireless (I believe)
Jupiter's
2181 Shattuck Ave.
Half sandwich soup/or salad all for $6.50, and great pizza too!
La Burrita
2530 Durant Ave; also in Bear's Lair and on Euclid
$2.19 (tax included) veggie taco and the best ground beef burrito in town!
Smart Alec's
2355 Telegraph Ave.
healthy and tasty fast food. Veggie burgers for $3.00 (including tax) (they also have regular burgers, lots of sandwiches, soups, and salads. Free delicious baked fries if you bring in a (recent) A-grade paper or test!
The Racha Cafe
2516 Telegraph Ave; between Blake St & Dwight Way
Considering how good it is, the prices are amazingly low.
LaVal's
1834 Euclid Ave; not too far north of Hearst
If you like pretty good pizza, pretty cheap pizza. There's also a La Burrita and a nice outside-ish eating area.
Gypsy's
2519 Durant Ave; an Italian restaurant in the Asian food court
Gypsy's is soooooo good (and sooooooooo bad for you). Still, if you want really good, fairly cheap Italian it's hard to beat. I have yet to try a calzone there, but it's on my list of life goals
India Palace
2160 University Ave
The all you can eat buffet is fantastic
All-Time Favorite Places to Splurge a Little on a Meal
Cafe Cacao
Scharffenberger chocolate factory cafe (and the factory tour is free!)
Bistro Liaison
1849 Shattuck Ave. (at Hearst)
Masse's Pastries
1469 Shattuck Ave; next to Saul's Diner on the North Side
Nan Yang
6048 College Ave; Claremont and College
Great Burmese food
Gregoire's
If you want something really impressive to take home, I've been told Gregoire's is amazing. It's basically a gourmet restaurant, just takeout.
Great China
Shattuck and Kitteridge
Best Peking duck in the Bay Area (possibly all of California). Delicious Northern Chinese food.
Public Transportation
BART
The Bay Area Rapid Transit system has two stops in Berkeley. The BART is a quick and convenient way to get to San Francisco. Other interesting locations are El Ceritto Plaza and El Cerrito del Norte (Target, Barnes and Noble, Trader Joe's, etc...)
AC Transit
The AC transit bus system is free for Cal students, make sure to get your Class Pass and use the bus!
In particular, the F is a nice, free-to-student alternative to taking BART to San Francisco. Major routes include the 18 (up and down Shattuck) the 1 (up and down Telegraph), and the 51 (up and down University and up and down College -- though it's known to run woefully slowly at peak hours!).
In particular, the F is a nice, free-to-student alternative to taking BART to San Francisco. Major routes include the 18 (up and down Shattuck) the 1 (up and down Telegraph), and the 51 (up and down University and up and down College -- though it's known to run woefully slowly at peak hours!).
Online Resources
While bart.gov and actransit.org are ok, 511.org and nextbus.com are good to know about too. 511.org allows you to plan public transport trips anywhere in the bay area. nextbus.com works with AC transit to provide you with the GPS-based positions of the buses. You can get real-time updates on when the next bus will arrive at nextbus.com
Biking Tips
Bikes are a great way to get around Berkeley. However, bike theft is huge around here. Make sure you have a U-lock that is hefty and that you either remove your front wheel or get a cable to lock your wheels to your bike as well! Note that you can take your bike on BART but not onto the first car.
Good Dentists and Doctors
Dentist | Dr. Denise Alexander and associates
2522 Dana St. (close to campus)
I highly recommend Dr. Denise Alexander and associates. They're super nice; I think they're my favorite dentist(s) of all time.
(510)486-1813
Dentist | Joseph Cortese, DDS
510 Kains Ave, Albany
Takes SHIP and you usually have a good time in their office (appointments can be VERY hard to schedule, though -- seems quite popular).
Medical Care | Tang CenterS
On Bancroft
The Tang Center suffers from typical bureaucratic problems, but I really like my general practioner there, Dr. Bob Kevess. He's super personable and friendly. The best doctor I've ever had.
In general, the staff/doctors/etc at Tang are overworked, but they seem to genuinely care about students, I would say.
In general, the staff/doctors/etc at Tang are overworked, but they seem to genuinely care about students, I would say.
UC Eye Center
Minor Hall by HaasBusiness School, also at Tang Center
UC Eye Center for all your eyecare needs. $5 eye exams with SHIP! Very thorough exams!
Grocery Stores
Berkeley Bowl
2020 Oregon St; Oregon and Shattuck
Best produce selection in the world. Both the 18 and the F bus line goes right there.
Trader Joe's
Locations in Rockridge, Emeryville, and El Cerrito
Great deals and lots of easy-to-prepare, preservative-free food.
Andronico's
4 of its 8 locations are in Berkeley!
Is nice but a bit pricey, although they sometimes have surprising deals
Monterey Market
1550 Hopkins St in North Berkeley
Really great and (relatively) inexpensive produce, plus a reasonable stock of other grocery items. Around the corner, by the way, is a gourmet cheese and coffee shop, a butcher, a baker, (no candlestick maker), a fish shop, a Chinese restaurant, the best New York-style pizza in town (in this writer's opinion), as well as a liquor store and a real-estate agent. And a giant plant nursery.
Farmer's Market
Center and MLK (Saturday 10:00-3:00)
For even more amazing stuff that's only affordable once in a while, the farmers market at Center and MLK (Saturday 10:00-3:00) is a lot of fun. Definitely a good place to visit. Also Tuesdays and Thursdays, in different locations.
Fun Free/Cheap Activities
People watching on AC Transit :)
Swimming in Lake Anza
The Fire Trail
Swimming in Strawberry Canyon Pool
Indian Rock
The Campanile
On the first clear day, take your student ID and yourself to the Campanile and go to the top. It's worth it.
Scharffenberger Chocolate Factory
You can take a free tour of the Scharffenberger Chocolate factory pretty much any day. And they give you lots of amazing chocolate for free!
Best Places to Walk/Run
If you'd like to learn more about these running trails or are looking for a running partner - contact us!
Up Spruce street to Tilden Park
Tilden Park
The Fire Trail
Wildcat Canyon Park
Sibley Volcanic Preserve
Ohlone Trail
Muir woods
Mount Tam
Miscellaneous
Don't forget! There is a whole lot more to Berkeley than Telegraph and Shattuck!
Rasputin
Rasputin is a good used music & video store (generally cheaper than Amoeba, but sometimes more expensive than Amazon.com)
Moe's
2476 Telegraph
4+ incredible floors of new and used books. This may be one of the overwhelming ones. But wow.
Pegasus Books
2349 Shattuck Ave.
A fun collection of new and used books.
Ici
2948 College Ave
Homemade gourmet ice cream. Creative and traditional flavors, and the cones have a sweet little surprise at the bottom. It's worth the wait in line.
Elephant Pharmacy
1607 Shattuck Ave
Oh, so Berkeley. Free yoga classes. Neat-o holistic health stuff and regular pharmaceutical stuff. Excellent photo developing. $1/day movie rentals
Avant Card
2580 Bancroft Way
Stationary/note card store.
Cal Performances
Join the Cal Performances Mailing list and get the opportunity to get two tickets for the price of one (at Berkeley Student Discount- so it is 1/4th the price!) for shows that they advertise in their emails.
Berkeley Public Library
(Locations throughout Berkeley)
Check out books that don't have anything to do with your dissertation, and you can also check out tools (South Berkeley Branch) for those times when you need a hammer or a weed-whacker
Bittersweet Cafe
5427 College Ave in Oakland; about two blocks south of Rockridge BART
The best hot chocolate (and spicy hot chocolate) anywhere + decadent truffles and other chocolate-related items and desserts. Lots of imported chocolates for sale.
Monterey
Whale watching and Sea Kayaking are both great things to do in Monterey
Planet Juice
2202 Shattuck Ave
For a treat on a hot day, I LOVE Planet Juice . It's definitely splurging, since they are overpriced, but they have really, really fresh squeezed juices (both fruit and vegetable). You can get anything from fresh carrot juice to a blueberry/raspberry milkshake/smoothie (Hint: I don't go for the carrot juice.)