Berkeley

Google Knows a Thing or Two About the Bay Area

I love playing around with the automatic results for Google searches because they're like a window into the public's brain. Often a terrifying window. I decided to plug in the names of Bay Area cities and see what came up. I conducted my experiment as an homage to the "name game," i.e. you type in y ... More >>

Tomorrow's Bake Sale for Haiti Spans the Bay

T. PalmerGet baked for a good cause.​Chef Samin Nosrat has set a fundraising goal of $10,000 for tomorrow afternoon's Bake Sale for Haiti, and has lined up three transbay locations to hawk the tempting baked goods. Stop by Bi-Rite in San Francisco, Gioia in Berkeley, or Pizzaiolo in Oakland to loa ... More >>

This Weekend: Slow Food Potluck in Berkeley

slowfoodusa.org​Slow Food Berkeley has planned its New Year's Potluck for this Saturday, Jan. 9, noon to 3 p.m. in the auditorium of Berkeley Adult School (1701 San Pablo at Francisco). RSVP your attendance, group size, and dish you will bring to events@slowfoodberkeley.com. While it is a free eve ... More >>

Berkeley Sweet Shop Alegio Announces One Gem of a San Francisco Outpost

T. PalmerAlegio's Berkeley shop.​We've long admired the presentation of Joan Coukos' chocolates at Alegio (1511 Shattuck at Vine, Berkeley), arranged under glass just as precious stones would be. So it's only a small shock that Alegio has announced that it now has a second outpost at San Francisco ... More >>

Bay Links: Transportation, Movie Houses, & Dramatic Reenactments

Look out, Berkeley. Here comes John Walsh.​America's Most Wanted comes to Berkeley, reenacts horrific crime. [Crime Scene]Own a fabled piece of cinematic history. [Curbed]"This can't be happening, not to me." The Four Stages of Muni Passenger Grief. [SF Citizen]Will cars take a back seat to bikes ... More >>

Freight & Salvage Announces New Digs, Open House

Ramblin' Man: Ramblin' Jack Elliot​ Before there was freak-folk and alt.country, there was Freight & Salvage. The venerable Berkeley folk music venue and coffeeshop has been around since the days when bluegrass was just "grass," and jug bands were the order of the day--41 years, to be exact. ... More >>

UC Theater to Become Live Music Venue?

The UC Theater in 1917​ Berkeley's venerable UC Theater may be reopening for business, not as a movie house, but as an entertainment venue. According to Leah Matanky of Slim's/the Great American Music Hall, her company has a proposal to renovate the storied building into a "lovely, world class l ... More >>

Doggy Bag: The Day's Odds and Ends

Our favorite morsels from the food blogs and beyond. Local hero: Last week, Bill Fujimoto stepped down as manager of Monterey Market, the watershed Berkeley produce biz that supplied deliciousness to Chez Panisse, Quince, and Zuni Café, among others. His departure came after a family disagreement ... More >>

City of Burgers, Berkeley Edition: Flame

Flame Gourmet Burgers 2985 College (at Ashby), Berkeley; 510-666-8500. The East Bay has many contenders to burger immortality: Barney's, Café Rouge, Christopher's, Wood Tavern. But comparisons are tricky, since each operates in burger genres whose differences range from slight to whopping. There's ... More >>

Chocolate and Chalk: Together at Last

In a few weeks, they'll be eating chalk and drawing with chocolate in the Gourmet Ghetto. Wait! Scratch that, reverse it, as Willy Wonka would say. The annual Chocolate & Chalk Art Festival in Berkeley combines a sidewalk chalk-drawing contest with a wild tasting menu created by area establi ... More >>

Hip-Hop in the Park Keeps the Culture Alive

EKAphotography"Why you trippin? I built your new casa!!" Hip-hop, in Berkeley? Yes yes y'all. Even the threat of rain couldn't stop the 13th Annual Hip-Hop in the Park Festival from going down this past Saturday at People's Park. A core audience mainly culled from all the beats-and-rhymes heads at ... More >>

Michael Bauer Watch: Why So Few Steakhouses?

The Catholics have a name for it: "gluttony of delicacy."

Tomorrow: San Francisco International Chocolate Salon

(Chocolate Mayan calendar by the Xocolate Bar in Berkeley) The San Francisco International Chocolate Salon takes place tomorrow, March 21, from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. at Herbst Pavilion (99 Marina Blvd.). In its third year, the celebration of cacao hosted by online/on-demand Bay Area food channel Taste ... More >>

Master of Puppets

Humphry Slocombe's Foie-Gras Ice Cream Sandwich

I can't say I was able to detect any foie--which might be just as well.

Serious Bread: Vital Vittles Sourdough Rye

Fresh-ground flour gives this bread extra flavor.

Tivo Alert Staycation: Dine with Rachael Ray Around the Bay

As we mentioned some time ago, Rachael Ray spent some time in the Bay Area putting together a show for her latest series, Rachael's Vacation, which aired last week and will run again February 6 at 11 p.m., February 7 at 2:30 a.m., and February 15 at 2:30 p.m. on the Food Network. But for those of y ... More >>

Friday Sundae: Ici's Affogato

Amongst all the temptations of Ici (2948 College Avenue in Berkeley) is the delicious affogato di gelato ($5.75), an Italian sundae of vanilla bean ice cream crowned with freshly brewed warm espresso and chewy candied orange peel. The sundae pictured above is the to-go version, but if you savor it t ... More >>

Andrew Sean Greer

Stella Visits Bay Area in Dec.

Fans of The State, Wet Hot American Summer, and the short-lived Comedy Central series should be happy to note that Stella is bringing their absurdist, dildo-infested comedy stylings on tour this winter. The trio consisting of David Wain, Michael Showalter, and Michael Ian Black is slated to exhibit ... More >>

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Culture Critic Jeff Chang Awarded 50 Grand

Jeff Chang is more than your average music scholar. Tip of the iceberg details? The Berkeley author helped start the SoleSides label -- which became Quannum Projects; penned a number of books on hip-hop culture; interviewed Barack Obama for the cover of Vibe,; and has gotten his byline in New York ... More >>

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Of Election Nights and Comfort Food

MP3 of the Day: Roche

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Laaz Rockit to Release First New Studio Album in 15 Years

Flight of the Monkeys

2008 High School Battle of the Bands Semi-Finalists Announced

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Soon All of Bay Area Will Look Like Second Life

Berkeley vs. Animal Rights Protesters: You're a Terrorist. No, YOU'RE a Terrorist.

State Senate Has a Bone to Pick With UC Berkeley

Local NAACP Head Accuses Berkeley Cops of Wanting to "Kill Every African-American That They Can."

Berkeley's Marine Corp Hatred Not as Cheap as It Used to Be

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Berkeley Tree-Sitters: It's Been A Year Already?

Canadian Lesbian Twins Tegan & Sara at Zellerbach Hall 12/6

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Art Rolls By

The Mother Garden

By Robin Romm (Simon & Schuster, $22)

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Our critics weigh in on local theater

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Literary Events

Lips Like Sugar

Honeycut sweetens soul-pop