Annie Chang/Staff

Hidden on Shattuck Avenue, Trattoria Corso is easy to miss in a passing glance. I never noticed it until six months ago while I was walking slowly on the other side of the road and happened to notice windows with “Corso” written on them. Once I got back to my apartment, I looked up the restaurant, and I am sure glad I did. The menu, focusing on Florentine cuisine looked, and was, delicious.

The atmosphere of the restaurant is cozy and relaxing but still has a bustling quality to it. There are two small rooms, each with 15 to 20 tables at most. It is clear that the restaurant prioritizes both the quality of the cuisine and the atmosphere. The dishes were small and finishable in one sitting, which showed dedication by allowing proper crafting of each small dish. The upscale bar and the close proximity of each table reminded me of a busy restaurant in a large city such as New York City, and I found enjoyment in the contrasting feelings of privacy and publicness while talking to my friend in this intimate yet exposed setting.

I ordered a bowl of pappardelle pasta with rabbit ragu and a rich tomato sauce — partly because I really wanted to try rabbit so that I could add it to my list of exotic foods. Pappardelle is a large, flat and broad cut of pasta, and a ragu is a meat-based sauce. The strong egg taste of the pappardelle stood out, making the pasta more filling, satisfying and slightly creamy. The rabbit ragu was scattered between the inch-long sheets of pasta. The well-cooked rabbit took little effort to chew and was similar to soft melting salmon. Unfortunately, the dish was a little too salty for my taste. The pappardelle itself had a lot of salt, and the tomato sauce was not very light either — not due to a lack of freshness but rather because the sauce was too heavily spiced. Another small complaint would be the lack of olives — the menu said there were olives in the dish, yet only two appeared in my bowl. It was difficult to disperse the flavor of olives with only two of them. However, one great aspect of the dishes at this restaurant is the small portion size, which leaves you satisfied but not too full or bursting, leaving room for the wonderful desserts.

For me, desserts are always the shining stars of the meals, and this dessert, a panna cotta with peaches, was no exception. Upon arriving, it appeared white, milky and pure. When I took my first bite, I thought I had gone to heaven. Its melting texture, which I tried to keep in my mouth as long as I could, was extra creamy — like the melted chocolate in a lava cake. There was vanilla bean mixed into the panna cotta, and the slight taste of real vanilla was refreshing and complex. It was definitely the best panna cotta I have ever tasted, and I would come back to Trattoria Corso just for this dessert.

There are not many restaurants like Corso, where every dish is well crafted. Corso’s success is proven by the difficult reservations. Both times I made reservations, I had to make them three weeks in advance, but it was definitely worth the wait. Both times I ate at Trattoria Corso were memorable experiences. Everything that I have tried here was pleasing, and I’m eager to come back for more.

Trattoria Corso is located at 1788 Shattuck Ave., Berkeley, CA 94709. Call 510-704-8004
for reservations.

Contact Annie Chang at achang@dailycal.org.

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Annie Chang/Staff

Be positive, shine bright, be happy, relax, and slow down. Cafe Gratitude reminded these ideologies in me with its highly self-re-affirming and encouraging menu names, such as “I Am Terrific” and “I Am Thriving”. As stated on its website, the organic vegan restaurant practices “Sacred Commerce”, which ties to the menu names. The term means that the restaurant “provides inspired service, honest and transparent communication, and express[es] gratitude for the richness of… lives”. The entire concept ties to a natural, earthy base; the restaurant not only prioritizes gratitude and health, but also expresses these ideas in its architecture. The interior is dark and woody, a representation of a natural, healthy and simple way of life. The outside sitting area houses wooden tables and seats along a row of shrubs. You feel relaxed just by walking into the restaurant.

With such unique menu items, I could not skip ordering a drink. The “I Am Delicious” smoothie, as listed on the menu, is a Maca malted milk with coconut milk, maca, hemp, dates, vanilla bean and salt. Appearance-wise, the combination looks healthy: a light beige color of milk and oatmeal with tiny espresso-brown grains. The first sip tasted like kiwis, but after a few seconds, the taste transformed to a blend of fruit, coconut and a little bit of chocolate. At some point during the meal, it also tasted like bananas. Overall, it is best described as “earthy”, just along the lines of the restaurant’s positive vibe.

My entree, a cooked specialty called “I Am Warm-Hearted”, was polenta with vegetables, ratatouille sauce, cashew ricotta, basil, and almond parmesan. The polenta, being simple cornmeal, tasted like a plain amalgamation of spongy cheesecake and whipped yogurt. Although not very flavorful by itself, combined with the other ingredients, this polenta is one of my favorites in Berkeley.

The almond parmesan and cashew ricotta, which taste lighter and sweeter than normal dairy cheeses, enhances the polenta with their gentle saltiness. The vegetables, submerged in the ratatouille sauce, were tender and harmonized with the polenta. The entire dish had little contrast in texture, which made it easy to eat and to mix the flavors in the bowl. It was like eating tomato soup, cheese, corn and mashed nuts, a combination of flavors that I would never have thought to make, but somehow they worked together splendidly.

Each time I leave Cafe Gratitude, I feel genuinely happy and positive because of the unique, wonderfully named foods and drinks, and because of the earthy, sun-lit environment. True to its name, Cafe Gratitude exudes a feeling of appreciation that keeps me coming back.

Cafe Gratitude is located at 1730 Shattuck Ave, Berkeley, CA 94709.

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Mai Truong/Staff

As a waitress led us into the dining room, the first thing we noticed was the open kitchen. The chef and three cooks, only a few feet away from our table, were mixing and chopping while rib-eye steaks sizzled on the grill. Smelling the aroma of roasted pork loins and sauteed onions ready to be plated, my friend and I immediately felt at home.

And that’s exactly the atmosphere that chefs Fred Sassen and Elizabeth Hopkins were going for when they opened Homestead at the beginning of August. They want to bring the diners into their restaurant the same way they invite guests over for dinner.

“We really want to completely knock those barriers down and let people see what’s going on back there,” Hopkins said. “You know, welcome them in. At our house, our kitchen is the dining room. We want to provide that setting.”

In addition to having an open kitchen, the owners of Homestead also try to express their concept of home on the menu, which boasted familiar dishes like gnocchi, ratatouille and roasted pork with cream corn.

“When we come up with food, we like to think about nostalgic dishes,” Sassen said. “Things that everybody ate at some point in their childhood.”

These nostalgic dishes are not tied to any specific cuisine. Hopkins, reflecting on her own mixed-race background, said that the United States has always been “a melting pot of people from all over the place.” Thus, the nostalgia served at Homestead is a harmonious combination of the chefs’ childhood memories, the Sunday suppers with Hopkins’ parents and memories of their trips overseas. You can start with ricotta and gnocchi, move on to salt-baked halibut with hollandaise and end with a pot of pu’er tea.

Homestead menus, like dinners at home, constantly change to capture seasonal products at their best. The restaurant’s ingredients are either homemade — such items include the ricotta, the cured meats and the vinegars — or sourced from local and sustainable providers. The fish and shrimp are caught wild, and the mushrooms are foraged.

“It’s all about using all of the extra energy to really push for the ingredients that you want to use, the quality that you want to use and the people that you want to support,” Hopkins said.

The concept of family also shows in the way the owners and their staff work together. If you don’t know Sassen and Hopkins, you wouldn’t recognize them as the owners. You would see Sassen making the sauces one moment and filleting a halibut the next, alongside a cook stirring a skillet of cream corn. Hopkins was expediting the orders, and minutes later I saw her prepping bean sprouts. Everyone was moving around, focusing on their job and taking care of everything that needed to be done. During our interview, Sassen said that the cooks are also not fixed to just one type of dish. Everyday during practice before the dinner service, the cooks can choose what they want to make that day and become proficient at it.

“In kitchens where the cooks get to do more, they stay because of that,” Sassen said. “We want to create an environment where my cooks bring in a lot of values to this business. We want them to take ownership of everything they do, and be proud and responsible for it.”

Both Sassen and Hopkins have many years of experience in the restaurant industry through serving as managers and chefs in the Bay Area. Three years ago, they decided it was time to open their first restaurant. What followed was an arduous process of finding a location, redesigning the restaurant and sorting through the legal paperwork.

“From nine months ago, when we signed the lease, it’s been totally difficult and completely out of my comfort zone,” Hopkins said. “I know nothing about construction, nothing about anything legal … it can be totally frustrating. But at the same time, you’re learning so much.”

Just two weeks after opening, Homestead was doing well. The down-to-earth menu and homey vibe seem to have resonated with diners — the 48-seat capacity is reached every night, with locals lined up outside.

Unlike many of their contemporaries, Hopkins and Sassen don’t think their food should always be “front and center”. The appeal of their restaurant lies in the guest experience: You’re not just dining with your companions; you can actually watch the chefs and interact with them. You can feel the heat from the brick oven. You can share the dining experience with the whole staff. The menus might not resemble home to me — I didn’t grow up on ricotta or cream corn — but the shared space with the kitchen and the staff made me feel at home. In the end, like a child waiting for her mom to finish cooking dinner, I can hardly wait to return to this lovely place.

Homestead is located at 4029 Piedmont Avenue, Oakland, CA 94611.

Mai Truong is the food editor. Contact her at mtruong@dailycal.org.

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Josh Escobar/Staff

Last night I was invited to a customary media dinner for two at Desco in Old Oakland. Desco is the new, refined Italian restaurant a block west of 9th Street and Broadway. For a guest, I brought my roommate, Cameron Hearne, who was moving out soon. We talked what we planned to do for our last year at UC Berkeley as he drove us to Oakland.

At Desco, they have outdoor seating by the London Plane trees and a full bar, a wood oven, long and small tables inside. Their ambiance made it feel as though we were guests inside a modern Victorian home. It was relaxed and unimposing, as classy as it was cool. They sat us at a bench with back pillows next to the front windows, and gave us menus. From Piemonte to Sicilia, their wine list draws widely from Italy. The staff knows how to pair drinks, so we had one with every course.

For the antipasti, we had a Venetian spritz and glass of lambrusco from Emilia-Romagna with prosciutto di parma; for the paste, a glass of zuani collio bianco vigne with their signature casonsei (pronounced |cass-on-say|). The casonsei, hands down one the best pasta dishes that I’ve ever eaten, is egg pasta wrapped around extremely juicy and soft pork, doused in brown sugar butter and topped with grizzled pig cheek (which my roommate referred to as the most perfect piece of bacon. It’s technically not bacon but perhaps, more poetically, you wished that all bacon tasted this way). By the end of the second course, my roommate and I were in food heaven.

Casonsei at Desco. Photograph by Josh Escobar.

Between courses, Juan Morante, the manager, told us that Desco had opened last Monday and that it had branched off of Donato Enoteca in Redwood City. He pointed out the owner and chef, Donato Scottin, who wore a white, double-breasted jacket and a toque. Chef Scottin looked but a few years older than us. Later, our waitress told us that Chef Scottin is from Bergamo, a small town in Northern Italy where casonsei is a specialty. No wonder the casonsei was phenomenal.

A couple were laughing at the bar and saying sweet nothings to each other. The clientele around us was business professionals and groups of friends who looked like they had been out of college for a few years. Desco is ideal for dates, birthdays, and visits from your parents. The entrees and pizzas are priced at $11-20; desserts, drinks, and appetizers at $7-12. The serving size and the richness of each course make it easy to share.

The ambiance is refined but welcoming, so it felt natural to enjoy a long dinner. As we did, we thought about life after college. It was exhilarating. Cameron, a microbiology major, pointed across the street at the perfect building for his dream-firm. I wished that I had a grown-up job so I could lounge on the patio of Desco, taking swigs of their refreshing Venetian spritz on a sweltering afternoon. For our last two dishes, we had red wine – renato ratto langhe nebbiolo – with their funghi e erbe (pizza topped with sautéed mushrooms, fresh herbs, tomato sauce and fontina), followed by their Angus loin tagliata with grilled potatoes and fresh arugula. The pizza was soft and delectable. The Angus was soft and juicy. It was prepared sous vide, which means it was cooked in a sealed bag steeped in warm water. Like the casonsei, we were taken by its utterly delectable taste. We liked the look of it from the second it hit the table, and let our inner carnivores indulge.

Sitting back against the bench, we gazed out the broad windows next to us for a view of the sunset in August. The dinner was long but each dish was rushing. Altogether, it was a feast. By the end of it, we didn’t know where we were. We got lost several times on the way back home. Having taken the wrong freeway, we ended up on the Bay bridge where we held up the line fumbling for cash for the toll. We had tipped our waitress down to our last dollar.

In the end, everything turned out okay. Cameron put on Imagine Dragons as we drifted through traffic on the drive back to Berkeley. Although we had been lost, I thought it was suiting after a great dinner to take in epic views of San Francisco at night; the new, majestic Bay Bridge on the rise.

When you go to Desco be sure to order the casonsei and tortoni di cioccolato con salsa al caffè, a chocolate cake that skates in a lake of espresso and creme. Desco had just opened a week ago, but it warrants an experience worth savoring.

Desco is located at 499 9th St, Oakland, CA 94607. Call (510) 663-9000 to make a reservation.

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Annie Chang/Staff

Ever since my Turkish friend took me to Turkish Kitchen, I knew I needed to go there often. Situated on Shattuck Avenue, it almost blends in with the other restaurants and shops, but what stood out were the mouth-watering photos of dishes displayed on a sign in front of the restaurant. Although displays like these are usually tacky, the taste of the food tops the display.

My longtime favorites were there: chicken beyti and sutlac.

Twelve chicken beytis are served in a subtle creamy flame orange sauce with scoops of yogurt. Beyti is a Turkish dish with grilled ground meat served in lavash, a West Asian flatbread, and topped with tomato sauce and yogurt. The beyti was salty, strong, and spicy, balanced by the lighter and sourer yogurt. The combined textures of the spongy chicken, the sauce, the thin lavash, and the viscous cold yogurt could easily have turned mushy, but Turkish Kitchen made it pleasing with every ingredient standing out on its own, yet everything also perfectly blended together.

Sutlac is a sweet rice pudding, but it is not the traditional rice pudding. The white rice is soaked in an opaque white sauce made of water, milk, vanilla extract, and sugar, which was neither too watery nor chunky. This sutlac doesn’t taste overwhelmingly or artificially sweet, it simply tastes uniquely sutlac; it also reminded me of a lighter version of vanilla panna cotta. Turkish Kitchen also sprinkles cinnamon powder on the dessert, giving it a nice touch of spice.

Following the chicken beyti, the cold and sweet sutlac calms my craving for desserts and completes an otherwise salty meal. The menu also includes many Turkish specialties such as “kavurmali Turkish calzone” – which has lamb, veggies and spices, chicken doner on lavash or pita bread, and manti – Turkish ravioli with ground beef and onions. For desserts, there are baklava and kadayif, both are phyllo dough pastries.

Turkish Kitchen brings the flavors of Turkey to Berkeley in a convenient location on Shattuck Avenue. The exoticism that it brings to the palate satisfies those days when I crave for something different because in Utah, where I am from, it is very difficult to find authentic and delicious Turkish cuisine.

Turkish Kitchen is located at 1986 Shattuck Avenue, Berkeley, CA 94704.

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Erin Alexander/Staff

Hidden amongst various take-out stalls that line the walls of North Berkeley’s Epicurious Garden lays one of city’s newest culinary gems. Flavor Mediterranean Food, tucked away in the back corner of this “one-stop-shop for gourmet take-out,” is serving up a fresh and delicious combination of Mediterranean and Middle Eastern influences. The staff is friendly and knowledgeable, eager to make suggestions concerning their wide selection of cold dishes, of which there are usually seven or eight, and the choice between a hot lamb or chicken dish. Since their menu is always changing, I would make sure to ask for the staff’s personal favorites. While I have yet to be steered in the wrong direction with their recommendations, some of my own choices turned out slightly disappointing.

Per recommendation, I tried the smooth, smoky Roasted Eggplant, a cold dish smothered in a creamy yet refreshing green tahini sauce with the taste of parsley. The Roasted Cauliflower and Hazelnut Salad, one of my favorites, manages to liven up one of my least favorite vegetables – cauliflower, with a surprisingly tasty blend of sumac (a lemony Middle Eastern spice), leeks, and sweet date syrup. Combined with the crunchiness of the crushed hazelnut, this salad is both refreshing and addictive. Unfortunately, I was a little let down by the Beet Salad, where every ingredient but the beets fell flat, overpowered by the lovely but singular taste of beets.

The hot dishes are where Flavor truly shines, with a choice of either chicken or lamb served over steamed quinoa. On my first visit, I tried the Lamb Kofta, chunks of thick, juicy lamb cooked with an array of aromatic Middle Eastern spices and paired with a thick tomato sauce. During my most recent visit, I opted for the hot chicken dish of the day, which was chicken baked with lemon and herbs. The skin was a crispy perfection and the meat literally fell off the bone.

One of the few negatives is the price. Flavor marks up their dishes a tad high, but you will find value in their combo meal, which includes your choice of a hot dish and two cold side dishes for about $14.00 after tax. With that said, the food at Flavor is well worth its cost and even the hike up to North Berkeley. If you live on the South side, I urge you to make the trek and sit outside in the back garden, a calm oasis of patio tables shaded by umbrellas and soothing Asian-inspired rock fountains. And for those of us that live on the North side, make sure to explore these tasty culinary options that are just a stone’s throw away.

Flavor Mediterranean Food is located at 1511 Shattuck Avenue (inside Epicurious Garden), Berkeley

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Josh Escobar/Staff

Belli Osteria is a restaurant near the southeast corner of Shattuck and University avenues that specializes in ravioli. The ravioli is made daily by hand, and each ravioli is unique for each type of sauce and filling. The menu changes weekly, as the chefs are always coming up with new ideas and eager to realize classic Italian dishes. The passion for making quality and delicious pasta, which is held by all of the restaurant’s chefs, came from Paul Opresco, who both owns and cooks at Belli. His restaurant aims to offer in Downtown Berkeley the skill, the craft and the love of ravioli that he came across in Italy.

Two years ago, Oprescu, a Montessori schoolteacher turned chef, went to Italy to travel and to study food. He stayed in Bologna for a stage (guest work) at Drogheria, one of the famous ravioli houses in Bologna, a city recognized for its fresh pastas and raviolis. Oprescu noted that in Bologna, ravioli is not drenched in sauce or overwhelmed with pungent flavors like garlic, onion or tomato. “Instead,” Oprescu says, “value is put on the balance of various elements and local ingredients.”

Many elements compose ravioli: color, bite, taste, thickness, sauce, filling, freshness and consistency of the pasta. The source of the ingredients is just as important as the balance among them in any given recipe, given that in Italy, what seems like one simple ingredient in one city is another city’s specialty.

When it comes to food in Italy, every city has a specialty. Siena is known for its saltless bread. The mountain town of Carrara is known for its lard, cured by rubbing it down with spices and sealing it for months in a marble tomb. Pionella, the city Pope Pius II patronized, specializes in cheeses cultured with mold from the soil. Genova has pesto, Napoli pizza. “Take the salami and hams in Bologna, for instance,” says Paul Oprescu, head chef of Belli Osteria in Downtown Shattuck. “The complexity and know-how that go into making them is far beyond most of what we have here in the United States.”

Oprescu and his business partner, Damien Morrison, started with the idea of making fresh pasta. Oprescu and Morrison had become friends by playing soccer together. Morrison practiced as an attorney in San Francisco until a downturn in his legal practice gave him the drive to pursue pasta-making professionally. The farmers markets provided a great venue to sell homemade pasta, but the competition there was fierce. Oprescu was making his pasta by hand while the other vendors applied machinery. After nine months of trial and error, Oprescu and Damien return to their initial plan of opening a restaurant in the East Bay. Opening one in Downtown Shattuck, given its pricing and popularity, seemed unlikely.

Oprescu based his restaurant off the Italian model of an Osteria. “Osteria” essentially means “neighborhood restaurant,” and they are known for their quick and casual service, homemade food and, Oprescu notes, “good wine.” When it comes to quality food in Italy, young people eat at their parents’ houses every day of the week until they start families of their own. Lunches are eaten lightly because at the end of day, one can expect a good, hearty homemade dinner.

When Italians do eat out at a restaurant instead of a pizza place, a cafe or a bakery, they order multiple courses, take their time and lounge. Dinner may be an activity that takes up the whole evening. Oprescu hopes to promote this sort of experience, enjoyed by people all over the world, through his homemade ravoli restaurant, Belli Osteria. Like many other new local and organic restaurants in Berkeley, Belli Ostetria wants to be affordable and high in quality. It’s a struggle, but it’s worth it. Oprescu believes that getting local, organic ingredients and paying his staff members well are essential to being a part of the neighborhood.

Oprescu is also excited to be in Downtown Berkeley. The restaurant gets noticed by locals and passers-by. Liviu Opresco, Paul Opresco’s brother, helped design the vibrant interior of Belli. Handmade carpentry, matchstick red walls and original artwork make for a welcoming and refined atmosphere.

At Belli Osteria, one finds in the ravioli the same degree of experimentation and craftsmanship that local breweries are regularly celebrated for. In various dishes, the chefs aim to produce key culinary signatures such as sweet, savory, salty, juicy, better, tangy or spicy — but in important new ways. For instance, they source most of their produce, meats and seafood not from distant lands but from California. They walk around Berkeley Bowl and the local farmers markets for inspiration. Between lunch and dinner, they attempt new things, prep dishes and try one another’s creations.

“When it comes to making the menu,” Opresco says, “we do not have a top-down approach. Instead, ours is very open.”

Additionally, the kitchen at Belli Osteria approaches Italian quality unconventionally. The staff maintains the same standards for quality but don’t fret about mixing distinct “ethnic” palates. A single ravioli dish, such as the pasta with wild boar braised in cacao and wine, might have original Italian ingredients, Spanish spices and French preparation methods and be savory like soul food. Although traditional “ethnic” palates inform their choices, the young and energetic chefs do not feel bound to them. Instead, they try achieving the tastes, the textures and the harmonies that are desirable. Another original dish is the black ravioli with crab and scallop filling. The black comes from squid ink, which makes the pasta briny and soft.

Chefs at Belli also love making Italian classics. Given its simplicity, sheep’s milk, a little olive oil, salt and pepper, cacio e pepe was a dish for Roman soldiers. The gnocchi is served with tomatoe sauce, fresh basil and parmigiano.

If you are fortunate enough to have been in Italy, then the smells and tastes of the food at Belli Osteria will take you back there. They are truly gratifying. Oprescu and the other chefs are not just chefs; they are artists.

Belli Osteria is located at 2016 Shattuck Ave., Berkeley, CA 94704.

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Saturn Cafe/Courtesy

As I’m a huge fan of anything pink and sparkly, the interior of Saturn Cafe in Berkeley caught my attention as soon as I walked in. This was no ordinary-looking diner — the walls were hot pink, and the columns around the restaurant were made of silver sparkles. The back corner of the cafe displays its name in graffiti style, which added to the eclectic interior design.

Saturn Cafe’s fare is safe for most diners, even for groups of mixed vegetarians and meat-eaters that tolerate one another. The menu is 100 percent vegetarian, but for the omnivores out there, the veggie patties taste amazingly similar to actual meat. The menu is filled with classics such as the FLT (“fakin’ bacon” instead of real bacon) and burgers as well as unique entrees like “spicy chicken fajita burrito” and “peanut royale,” which is a spicy peanut sauce with vegetables, tofu and chopped peanuts over brown rice.

My barbecue ranch chicken burger is a breaded “chicken” patty with jack cheese and the regular lettuce and onions. The burger comes with fries, and the patty is decorated with beautiful stripes of homemade ranch dressing and barbecue sauce. Neither the burger nor the fries disappointed. The burger was one of those much-needed juicy, filling and satisfying burgers smothered in a hefty amount of barbecue sauce that isn’t overpoweringly salty, sweet and smoky like the usual barbecue sauces. The homemade ranch, with its blend of garlic, herbs and spices, also tastes superior to the common grocery store versions. It is salty, sweet and strong yet refreshing all at once. Most gratifyingly, the breaded “chicken” patty tastes surprisingly like chicken instead of being bready or mushy.

To this meat lover, the vegetarian barbecue ranch chicken burger was a glittery stand-out choice in a glittery atmosphere.

Saturn Cafe is located at 2175 Allston Way, Berkeley, CA 94704.

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Eunice Choi/Staff

If you haven’t indulged in Berkeley’s Indian food scene, you are totally missing out. But that’s all right. Many students who can name a favorite Indian restaurant will probably admit that before coming to Berkeley, they knew absolutely nothing about Indian food. Some might have eaten naan without knowing where it’s from (can’t blame them — carbs are delicious carbs, no matter what form they’re in), and others might be able to prattle off different sorts of curries, vindaloos or chaats. Wherever you are on that spectrum, we’ve got something for you: this guide to Berkeley’s Indian food scene.

Chicken tikka masala with naan. Photograph by Eunice Choi.

Today, we’ll share three relatively well-known Indian places located on Southside and within five blocks of campus, with our opinions of the best among those three in different categories, including “best chicken tikka masala” and “fluffiest naan.” The categories are based on the most popular items to the general population, and the choice are in terms of food quality and service.

Restaurants in this comparison:
1. House of Curries, 2520 Durant Ave., Berkeley, CA 94704
2. Mount Everest, 2593 Telegraph Ave., Berkeley, CA 94704
3. Indian Flavors Express, 2548 Bancroft Way, Berkeley, CA 94704

Best chicken tikka masala:

Mount Everest
Chicken tikka masala is undoubtedly the most popular and well-known Indian dish, although people in Britain say it is their national dish. The dish contains chicken pieces within a creamy, spicy tomato-based sauce and cooked in a tandoori oven. Mount Everest scores in this category because of its incredible authentic mixture of spices, tomato base, some heavy cream and tender, juicy cubes of chicken. Unlike many Indian places in Berkeley, Mount Everest’s use of cream, which Indian food aficionados usually aren’t huge fans of, is judicious. It balances well with the generous, flavorful spices in the deep orange sauce, which reflects a rich tomato flavor. The spices are not overwhelming but provide a pleasing aftertaste. If you decide to try this place out, the chicken tikka masala won’t fail you. Of course, the full, heavy flavor of such a sauce is only appropriately paired with naan or basmati rice!

Least oily/creamy sauces:

Indian Flavors Express
From our experience, Indian Flavors has come out on top with its restrained use of cream and oil compared to its competition. Sure, cream is yummy to some degree, and oil is unavoidable, but Indian Flavors Express does well in holding back on both while providing excellent curries and masalas. Perhaps the food is so flavorful and satisfying because traditionally, Indian dishes don’t use heavy cream to thicken the sauces. Try Indian Flavors Express for guaranteed good food while doing your health a favor. Sometimes, there really can be too much cream. Trust us, we’ve once tried an eggplant dish where the natural dark brown color turned light almond because of an outrageous amount of cream. Needless to say, the disappointed diners quickly abandoned the dish. So, kudos to Indian Flavors Express.

Garlic naan. Photograph by Eunice Choi.

Fluffiest naan:

Indian Flavors Express and Mount Everest
A bit of knowledge: Naan is not consumed on a daily basis by Indian families, because naan is refined flour and inevitably unhealthy without moderation. Roti is wheat-based and is a healthier option. So even for those who dine at any of these restaurants and order naan every single time they dine, the advice is to not think that Indian families must eat naan every day and remain healthy. Eat in moderation and mix up with basmati rice or other!

In terms of naan, both Indian Flavors Express and Mount Everest are excellent — the naan is puffy and chewy with a bit of crispiness. While House of Curries isn’t terrible, the texture might be more “rubbery” than “fluffy.” Mount Everest’s naan especially always comes out glistening, piping hot and delicious. Both are great companions to curries and other sauces. We strongly recommend the garlic naan in either restaurant.

Ooh la la — date night, anyone?

Mount Everest
While Mount Everest’s dim ambiance isn’t exactly ideal for flirtatious conversations and formal attire, you’re at the right place if you both are crazy about Indian food. Think of Mount Everest as a more casual date — no dress code and definite comfort from getting your fingers greasy if you order naan (which you will). Indian food isn’t exactly cheap, but sharing two sauces, two orders of naan or basmati rice and one mango lassi will fill you both up while keeping generally around $15 per person. It’s not a cheap dinner for students, but it’s definitely a good one. We also have the waiting staff here, whereas Indian Flavors Express and House of Curries are order-and-pick-up.

Best bang for the buck:

Indian Flavors Express with its buffet. (11 a.m. to 3 p.m., $8.95 + tax)
An all-you-can-eat buffet under $10 — seriously? At Mount Everest, one order of chicken tikka masala is $8.99, but at Indian Flavors Express, you can easily pop in during lunch and have your fill of garlic naan, curries, sauces, tandoori chicken, rice, and all the chai tea you want. Sometimes the naan might be a bit dry and the assortment of sauces not exactly the duo of lamb curry and chicken vindaloo you had been craving since Saturday morning, but heck, college students rarely have the most ideal options when it comes to food. Come here to get a huge, awesome Indian bang for your buck in between classes and whatnot.

Best location:

House of Curries and Indian Flavors Express
Mount Everest is located near Telegraph Avenue and Parker Street, which is much farther than House of Curries and Indian Flavors. House of Curries is easy to see because it is located in a white wooden building structure that is directly across the plaza unanimously known as Asian Ghetto. Indian Flavors is a bit more discreet and not as well-known as House of Curries, but it is right next to Mocaccino Cafe and the Bancroft Clothing Company store, so it is the closest to campus.

Best mango lassi:

Mount Everest
Thick, creamy, smoothielike. Rich and definitely screaming “mango.” Sweet. Frothy on top. While we don’t seriously complain about the lassi at the other two restaurants, Everest’s mango lassi has a thick consistency that is not difficult to sip up with a straw. It is so filling that you should share one between two people to leave plenty of room for the entrees.

Best tandoori chicken:

Indian Flavors Express
The buffet alone gives access to Indian Flavors’ deliciously juicy, tender, well-marinated tandoori chicken. Each bite of the chicken was tender enough to easily tear away from the bone, and you can dip it into curries or eat it alone. Mount Everest’s tandoori — at least the one time we ordered a tandoori plate — ended up disappointingly dry.

Conclusively, Indian Flavors Express wins the most number of categories, Mount Everest scores in food quality and, while House of Curries is great, it doesn’t match up in terms of taste and quality.

The second part of this guide will include the Indian restaurants that are beyond campus!

The post Eating Berkeley’s guide to Berkeley’s Indian food scene (part 1) appeared first on The Daily Californian.

Josh Escobar/Staff

At the new pizzeria in Downtown Shattuck are families with young kids, waiters in black, chefs in white and girls in college with flowers in their hair.

“A flower comes with some of the drinks,” explains owner Lisa Holt, sitting beside the other owner and her husband, David Shapiro.

The cocktail menu is colorful and refreshingly original. Designed by mixologists Scott Beattie and Jay Crabb, drinks such as the “Angry Russian Mule” and the “Autumn on the Amalfi Coast” are made with fresh-squeezed citrus fruits, bitters, some spices and craft spirits from small production distilleries. The cocktails are just some of many noteworthy additions to the food scene along Shattuck.

That evening, Holt and Shapiro were so whipped from running the restaurant that the only time they could eat together was the time of the interview. Holt lived part of her life in Italy, and after working in the hospitality industry for many years, they decided to open a restaurant based on their favorite pizza place in Rome. Hence, BUILD Pizzeria Roma was born.

“We wanted to do something fun,” Holt adds. “Our friends told us that we were crazy.”

BUILD opened on April 16 and currently staffs 30 locals and another 30 students. Holt credits BUILD’s initial success to the friends and families of the staff members, who wanted to try out the new restaurant. The business grew as people spotted the restaurant on Shattuck. Word spread around town. By the time graduation came around, entire crowds showed up for dinner; large groups can easily be accommodated, and the food is both quickly made and deeply gratifying. On most nights, BUILD makes 600 to 700 custom-made pizzas. It’s no small feat, but they have the equipment and staff to make up to 1,000.

Customers return to BUILD for the fun atmosphere. Located on the southwest corner of Bancroft Way and Shattuck Avenue in Downtown Berkeley, BUILD is set up like a banquet-hall restaurant, a type that is common in Europe. Many tables are set in one wide room with high windows and ceilings. Beyond the pizza line is a full bar with 15 local beers on tap and a masterful offering of cocktails. With three flat screens at the bar and a laid-back yet classy atmosphere, BUILD is a good place to hang out on a game day, a Thursday afternoon or a Saturday night. The waitresses and waiters sport black dress shirts and jeans. The chefs at the pizza line don their traditional garb, trimmed and buttoned white coats. The staff brings the casual elegance of the restaurant together.

Customers also return to BUILD for the good Roman pizza. Since they first opened, BUILD has been committed to buying ethically raised organic foods. In Italy, each region offers its own specialty foods, so quality produce, cheese or meats of one province may gain recognition throughout the country. The quality at BUILD is measured by freshness and taste. While the menu offers Italian flavors, most of the ingredients are sourced from artisans in Northern and Central California to ensure freshness. All but one of the 16 beers on tap come from Northern California, as do their many of wines. Anything that you order at BUILD, such as the dough, sauces, cheeses, veggies and meats, was made from ethically raised and harvested ingredients. The calamari supplier was recommended by the Monterey Bay Aquarium. The Laughing Bird shrimp is also locally and ethically harvested. The pepperoni comes from San Francisco and Milan. BUILD lives up to the farm-to-table standard set by eateries in Berkeley, notably those along Shattuck.

The “BUILD” in BUILD Pizzeria Roma comes from the way you order pizza. A waiter or waitress gives you a ticket, which you hand to a pizza chef who rolls out your choice of dough: flour or gluten-free. You choose your sauce: “Rosso” (tomato), “Bianca” (house-made garlic butter) or “Pesto.” Then you choose your toppings. It’s as if you’re at the farmers market. Everything looks vibrant and fresh: the mellowing-ripe San Marzano tomato sauce, the basil leaves, choice cuts of chicken, sliced pepperoni, raw and caramelized onions, seasonal mushrooms oven-roasted in truffle oil… The toppings range from $1 to $3 and are selected based on local and seasonal availability. The American classics covered are also covered: jalapenos, black olives and bell peppers. In the end, the pizza you build, fired in a wood oven, is ready in less than three minutes. Such timing makes BUILD the perfect getaway for lunch and for dinner and a contender with fresh and original style.

Besides just pizza, BUILD offers homemade salads, classic Roman dishes and desserts. The butterscotch “Budino” and Strauss Family soft-serve ice cream have already won over some of the locals. The robust drink menu and flavorful ambience add a kick to the local nightlife.

We had a feast, starting off with the BUILD fries, a fast-food favorite to be dipped in a gorgonzola sauce. Then we had some calamari lightly battered with a lemon garlic aioli, which passed my friend’s taste test — and my friend is a lifelong lover of seafood. The Devil’s Canyon Root Beer on tap took me back to when my youth hockey team and I ate at the hometown pizzeria at the end of the season. Its caramel flavors were real, not corny or flat. The local beer speaks for itself, as does the Mista salad with cucumbers, walnuts, tomatoes, champagne vinaigrette and seasonal greens: It had the springiness and bite to it like all good, mean salads do.

The thin pizza crust and its smothered tomato sauce of the pizza were hearty, while each bite of the toppings was robust and fresh. For desserts, while the Strauss Family soft-serve ice cream with melted chocolate was sweet and creamy, the homemade butterscotch budino transported us to Italy.

As our interview continued, it was getting darker outside. Crowds came, left and came back in the twilight. Holt and Shapiro expressed that although their restaurant opened only a few months ago, they felt that it has settled into the community nicely. The more we talked about why the locals like BUILD, the more our conversation elevated to being not only about their restaurant but about restaurants in general.

“A sign of a good restaurant is a happy staff,” Shapiro noted.

BUILD seems to have a happy staff. Throw in amazing food, drink and ambience, and you’ll get BUILD Pizzeria Roma.

BUILD is located at 2286 Shattuck Ave. in Downtown Berkeley.

Contact Josh Escobar at jescobar@dailycal.org

The post BUILD Pizzeria Roma, where everything tastes of happiness appeared first on The Daily Californian.