We would love to hear from you . . . what are your favorite Berkeley food facts, memories or anecdotes? Do you have photos or artifacts you would contribute to our collection? You can comment below or email BHS.
Berkeley's Fascination With Food
Berkeley Historical Society' s exhibit on the history of food. With archival photos.
Great little snapshot of berkeley history. Gives one a good idea of the early town. More pictures would be nice of street scapes to give a sense of what a small town we had once. Thank you.
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We will add more, although for this exhibit they need to have something to do with food. For a large selection of postcards in the BHS collection, many including buildings, you can now go to https://hub.catalogit.app/1438/.
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Any menus survived? Who were the cooks? Chinese? Irish?
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BHS has quite a few menus, mostly from the last 30 years but some earlier. Some are on display now in the History Center, viewable by appointment: 510-848-0181.
I suspect there were Chinese and Irish cooks and various other ethnicities.
An amazing compilation of food history can be found at foodtimeline.org.
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Two points: The recent Gourmet Ghetto presentation ignored one product–or institution–that preceded the foodie revolution .. Italian cafes, particularly the Med. Anyone raised on the typical American boiled mess who then finds the real thing knows that further tasty wonders await. Who says that the one didn’t lead to the other?
Second: A saunter down Durant, from Bowditch to Telly, places three of my very favorite memories from ’69-70 .. Top Dog, The Great Shanghai Iron and Steel Works and Jerry’s Grossburgers ..
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Yes, espresso coffee was available in Berkeley before Peet’s came along. I’ve been saying all along that “coffee isn’t food,” but we couldn’t ignore Peet’s entirely. Was there particularly good food at the Med? It’s mentioned on the Counterculture page.
’69-70 . . . what a year.
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The Med’s food wasn’t bad when I et there. I went for omelet breakfast fare, preceded by a tall fresh oj (!!!) and taken with a latte, and waddled out. Once, I tried a wonderfully proletarian ‘spaghett privavera; it was the strings, topped with something I’d been raised on but had forgotten in adulthood: stewed tomatoes. So easy, and right out of the can at home. Delish ..
But, for some reason, besides the chawklit layer cake they only offered Neldam’s danish pastries at the counter, and refused! to sell wedges of Italian panforte they sold in boxes arrayed above the ‘bar’.
When I make the now very occasional trip to Telegraph, I see the Med space still readying to become another soulless haunt for laptoppers. How can we smash the state in joints like this? ..
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If you’re willing to encompass Oakland, please welcome Crystal Wahpepah, https://www.wahpepahskitchen.com/.
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Sorry, the exhibit needs to be limited to Berkeley, but we can leave your comment here for others to see. (Crystal Wahpepah does catering and mail order of food based on Kickapoo and other Native American traditions. By the way, the website for Cafe Ohlone (currently closed) is https://www.makamham.com/cafeohlone/.
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This Exhibit is outstanding in all ways, esp. for its content, scope and the research supporting them!!! I especially applaud the fact that the Exhibit is available in this on-line in digital format. It sets a new standard—BRAVO!!!!!!
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I am surprised that there is no mention of the food conspiracies of the 1970’s. They were named for their locations, such as Fulton Fish and Holy Hill. Neighbors got together and took turns going to the Oakland or San Francisco Farmer’s Market on Saturday and distributed the fruits and vegetables in their front yard. Later there was a cheese conspiracy and when it was your turn, you went to someone’s house and cut cheese orders at The Big Cheese, took your orders home and distributed them to your coconspirator neighbors. There was later poultry and eggs that came from Magnani’s. The idea was to save money while getting to know your neighbors, sort of like the co-ops. The Berkeley Co-op stores also have a place in history. Laury Capitelli and Florence McDonald, two people active in politics, were part of our conspiracy in the neighborhood around Sonoma and Colusa.
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Yes. The Berkeley Food Conspiracy is mentioned on the Counterculture page. You can learn more about its history here: https://www.chowhound.com/post/berkeley-food-conspiracy-nostalgia-long-303027 and here: https://www.berkeleyside.com/2018/04/27/hippie-food-jonathan-kauffman
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In the mid to late 1960’s there was Pizza Haven, a hole-in-the-wall joint off Durant which featured Ladies’ Night discounts on Tuesday. That became family night for us for years.
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I noticed you have the exact same newspaper ad for La Val’s in 2 places; the second time, cited as a year later, you mention that it’s the first to have pizza delivery advertised (but it’s not mentioned, only eat there or take out). Perhaps there was a later ad that got misplaced?
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Thank you for catching that! It’s now been fixed.
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Wonderful combination of commentary with historic photographs! I’m following along with great interest!
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My first date with John Lafler in the early 1950s (we married in 1955) was at a Chinese restaurant on the north side of University Avenue, just below Shattuck. He ordered dishes that I had never heard of when I was growing up in Chicago. Many of the dishes were stir-fries listed in the menu as “chow yuk,” with different vegetables. I was blown away (but that’s not the only reason I married him). The restaurant may have been called the Canton Cafe. Does that ring any bells? I assume that you will have a section on Chinese restaurants in Berkeley.
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In the 1950s, when I was an undergraduate at Berkeley, the Black Sheep was the restaurant where your family took you when they came for a visit. A very special treat, and I miss it. I also miss Potluck, which was run by friends of my parents. Does anyone remember Cruchon’s, Hank Rubin’s first restaurant in Berkeley? Excellent and affordable food for those of us who were students and poor married couples.
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Oh, yes, lots of people remember both the Pot Luck and Cruchon’s. See bio of Hank Rubin in the Celebrities page, and https://berkeleyplaques.org/e-plaque/hank-rubin/
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La Fiesta on Telegraph. Walker’s Pie Shop on Solano. I remember a Polish (maybe) restaurant on N. Shattuck.
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La Fiesta (1959-2011) should definitely be on the list. Walker’s was just over the line in Albany. Warszawa was on North Shattuck only from 1972 to 1979 (where Agrodolce is now).
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Warszawa was the Polish restaurant ..
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Cafe Expresso was always called Cafe Depresso
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For more restaurant nostalgia, check out “11 Shuttered Berkeley Establishments Cal Alumni Still Cry Over,” https://alumni.berkeley.edu/announcements/caa-announcements/11-shuttered-berkeley-establishments-cal-alumni-still-cry-over
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How long did Egg Shop and Apple Press last?
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A few years ago, permits to basically rebuild–down to replacing the original 1910 framing timbers–Jack’s Market at the NW corner of Cedar and Sixth St. led me to undertake a survey and history of Berkeley’s corner and neighborhood markets since oh 1878 (as well as liquor and book stores). I made it through to WWI in the old city directories before Covid. Does anyone have (anecdotal) information on any of them? Should the Cedar Market, as a standing example (since that time) be landmarked? And, where can I find mince pie? ..
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Sounds fascinating! I’d love to see the results
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Researchers can come in to the History Center by appointment, following Covid guidelines.
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Are any newspapers in your collections (on micro- or otherwise) that are not stashed in an attic? Again, I’m still on pre-WWI investigation ..
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There was a corner store at the corner of Prince & Colby. I’m not sure if it was open when I moved to the neighborhood in 1974. It was remodeled into a residence by architect David Baker.
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Sorry about delay. We don’t have any microfilm. In normal times we do bring down bound volumes of newspapers for researchers, as I guess you know. For free access online, there’s https://news.google.com/newspapers?nid=PPAp3RzCAaIC and the 7-day free trial of newspaperarchive.com.
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Looking at the two shopping bags–1990’s and the earlier one–reminded me of my last purchases from the University Ave. Co-op. (Mid-’80’s?) I bought a selection of goods I bought when I moved to town in late ’70 (a bread, large peanut butter, etc.) and more recent fare popular (with me) when it closed. I made a list, now buried ..
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I’m trying to remember the name of a Mexican restaurant on the northwest corner of Telegraph Avenue and Haste Street, in the late 1900s and maybe even into the early 2000 before the building burned down. I especially loved their menudo and flautos.
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Hi Joanne, that was La Fiesta. You can read about its owner’s retirement here: https://www.berkeleyside.com/2011/04/01/after-52-years-two-much-loved-berkeley-restaurateurs-step-down and about the fire here: https://www.berkeleydailyplanet.com/issue/2011-11-18/article/38868?headline=Huge-Fire-Raging-at-Telegraph-and-Haste-in-Berkeley
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Piero Infante remembers this sequence of restaurants at 1974 Shattuck, between University and Berkeley Way:
The Ground Cow (50’s)
The Quest (60’s)
Oleg’s (70’s – 80’s)
Shattuck Avenue Spats (80’s -90’s)
Spats Reloaded (2000’s)
And now the food menu says Smoke Berkeley at Spats
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