Off-topic for gaming but questions for folks who know berkeley

dude2003

dude2003

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i heard that there's this pizza place in berkeley that's really good and always crowded. i forgot the name of it and was wondering if any of your berkeley folks can help me out with the name. they are famous for their deep dish pizza. thanks in advance
 
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there is zacharies pizza on college ave and another one on solano ave.

Also there is la vals, the southside la vals has better sauce.

I am guessing the place you are talking about is zacharies because of their deep dish. It is good, but extremely fattening
 
thanks
i think i heard about zacharies but the name slipped my mind. although it is fattening (dont all pizzas do?) i'd like to try it at least once
 
[quote name='dude2003']thanks
i think i heard about zacharies but the name slipped my mind. although it is fattening (dont all pizzas do?) i'd like to try it at least once[/quote]

Make sure you order the Think Crust. Also, they dont accept credit cards (it keeps the prices lower) but its still kinda pricey. Still, the price is worth it. It truely is the best pizza in town....
 
It is definitely Zachary's. Man, how I miss that place... I used to go there 15 years ago (grew up in Berkeley, went to Cal). I haven't found a pizza as good as that anywhere else in the country, and I travel a lot for work.

It's probably a good thing I don't live there any more - as I'm older now the fattening properties would do me in. Wasn't bad when I was 20 and played basketball for 4 hours 3 times a week (good ol' RSF, they still call it that?) :D.

I lived within walking distance of the one on Solano for a short time. And my father still lives up in the Berkeley hills, so I get some Zachary's once every 2 years or so now.
 
Which is the place in Berkeley that had the Chicken Pesto Pizza? I was in Berkeley today during my lunch break at work, but sadly there was no time for food. I always grab Pizza when I'm there.
 
[quote name='ziutek']You gotta try cheeseboard pizza. It's one of my favorite pizzas in Berkeley. (though Zachary's is also good). Though it's not the particular pizza your looking for (no deep dish), it is truely unique and crazy delicious. Here's there website:
http://cheeseboardcollective.coop/Pizza Collective/PizzaPage.html[/QUOTE]

That must be new since my time there...

Is Blondie's still there? That was the big place in the 80's (especially for high school/college students). I lived on Blondie's, Togo's, and Top Dog when I was at Cal.

I'll never forget the time I went to Blondie's after playing basketball. So, I'm there with my gym bag with basketball, my high tops, and I think even my knee brace. The guy taking my order asks "do you have any speed?". Since I'm your average white guy, yet a point guard type, I answered truthfully - "a little I guess". He was very confused by my answer, and I was confused by his confusion. Once I got my slice and left I realized what he was REALLY asking me. Though I still have no fucking idea WHY he asked me that when I was ordering pizza.
 
I love blondies, so good and cheap, its better than zacharys for your buck. also it is a good place to score some weed or speed haha
 
So after reading this thread, I know where to get some good pizza and where to score some illegal substances. I wonder where I can find some hot women? Where can I find a good lamp for my bedroom? What about auto parts?

(I'm just kidding around ;) - except for the hot women part)
 
[quote name='uuaww']I love blondies, so good and cheap, its better than zacharys for your buck. also it is a good place to score some weed or speed haha[/QUOTE]

Well, the thing is the guy asked me if I HAD any, not if I WANTED any. But maybe he was just being cautious. I had heard that they did occasionally sell drugs out of Blondie's. But I was too innocent at the time to know about it myself ('cept for my one experience told above). Keep in mind, though, this was 15-18 years ago or so :D.

Xevious - I know you were just kidding, but let's see, hmmm... some other places. Is Sweet Basil still on Solano? Great Thai food. Of course, there is no where else in the world (and certainly not the US) where you can get so much great food in such a great variety as Berkeley/Oakland. I've been a lot of places and nothing compares.

Car parts? I dunno, my father used to go to some scrapyard down by the bay to get bits and pieces for his Triumph TR-6 when I was a kid.

Lamps? Is that head shop still on Telegraph? I'm sure they have some wacky lamps for you, plus paraphenalia for that stuff you can get at Blondie's :D.

As for hot women, well, I can't help you too much there :D. Just hang out on sorority row (if you're into SoCal types, not my thing really) :D.
 
Blondies is gross. Typical horrible west coast pizza. Cheeseboard is amazing, and Zachary's is very good, if not quite as good as the real Chicago places.
 
[quote name='Freshwillis']Blondies is gross. Typical horrible west coast pizza. Cheeseboard is amazing, and Zachary's is very good, if not quite as good as the real Chicago places.[/QUOTE]

I never said Blondie's was that great, but as a starving college student it was cheap, convenient, and filling :D. Not sure what you mean about "West Coast pizza" - it is just typical pizza, though in large portions. Go to Italy and try the pizza there if you want real pizza (it sucks).

And I've never been to Chicago and don't plan to, so Zachary's is good enough for me :D. I'm just surprised there aren't more places like that in other parts of the country (like I said, I've never seen it - and deep dish at Pizza Hut doesn't count :D).
 
[quote name='io']That must be new since my time there...[/QUOTE]
Well Cheese Board began making pizzas in 1985, but they didn't have a dedicated pizza polar until 1990, so it was possibly out of your time.
 
[quote name='ziutek']Well Cheese Board began making pizzas in 1985, but they didn't have a dedicated pizza polar until 1990, so it was possibly out of your time.[/QUOTE]

I was around then, but I've never heard of it. Like I said, there's such a great variety of restaurants in Berkeley that you could miss half and never know it.

My favorite place there now is Cactus Taqueria. I lived in Arizona for 12 years and never found a burrito place as good as that.

I used to eat at King Yen a lot (before it moved across the street) on College because I grew up 3 blocks from it. That was one of the best Chinese places I've even known.
 
Dang, this thread is making me hungry. Thank god Zachary's is closed right now.

And thanks io for mentioning Mexican food...I am craving it so much that I'm almost tempted to drive down to San Diego to grab a burrito.
 
[quote name='vietgurl']Dang, this thread is making me hungry. Thank god Zachary's is closed right now.

And thanks io for mentioning Mexican food...I am craving it so much that I'm almost tempted to drive down to San Diego to grab a burrito.[/QUOTE]

Just go to Cactus - it's much closer :D.
 
[quote name='vietgurl']Dang, this thread is making me hungry. Thank god Zachary's is closed right now.

And thanks io for mentioning Mexican food...I am craving it so much that I'm almost tempted to drive down to San Diego to grab a burrito.[/quote]

Baha Fresh on Shattuck is a good place but Juans in West Berkeley rules all!!!
 
[quote name='io']I never said Blondie's was that great, but as a starving college student it was cheap, convenient, and filling :D. Not sure what you mean about "West Coast pizza" - it is just typical pizza, though in large portions. Go to Italy and try the pizza there if you want real pizza (it sucks).

And I've never been to Chicago and don't plan to, so Zachary's is good enough for me :D. I'm just surprised there aren't more places like that in other parts of the country (like I said, I've never seen it - and deep dish at Pizza Hut doesn't count :D).[/quote]

The average pizza on the west coast is really bad. On the east coast pretty much any pizza place you go to is going to be at least good. The pizza out here is too bready. :(
 
yeah, west coast doesn't make the best pizza but its not like its horrible, we by far have the best mexican and asian food you can get though. near my house in the east bay area theres a heavy hispanic population and they have there own mexican grocery store called pacific foods. Anyways you get a massive burrito, chips and salso for $4. its EASILY enough food for 2 people, i can rarely eat more than half in one sitting.
 
[quote name='Xevious']So after reading this thread, I know where to get some good pizza and where to score some illegal substances. I wonder where I can find some hot women? Where can I find a good lamp for my bedroom? What about auto parts?

(I'm just kidding around ;) - except for the hot women part)[/QUOTE]


good junkyard= pick your part in oakland by the colliseum

where to score illegal substances, anywhere but people's park, nothing but garbage there, try sproul plaza

good lamp? try target

hot women, sheesh it has been 12 years since ive been in berkeley, and i left that town at age 17, but iirc there was the jupiter on shattuck, i guess your best bet is coffee shops(there are loads on bancroft) or just getting involved in college extra curicular activites and trying to hook up with one of the co eds in berkeley
 
[quote name='Xevious']Baha Fresh on Shattuck is a good place but Juans in West Berkeley rules all!!![/QUOTE]

hi tech burrito(several locations), gordo's(several locations) and there is one that i am forgetting, it wasnt juans, but it had several locations in berkeley as well.
 
[quote name='vietgurl']Dang, this thread is making me hungry. Thank god Zachary's is closed right now.

And thanks io for mentioning Mexican food...I am craving it so much that I'm almost tempted to drive down to San Diego to grab a burrito.[/QUOTE]


mexico viejo had some tasty burritos but gave me some of the most violent indigestion i have ever had, i think it was in encinitas?
 
Man reading this thread is making me miss home. Cheeseboard and zachary's really do have some of the best pizza you can find. Arinell's on shattuck is good too. All 3 have totally different types of pizza but all are good. My favorite is probably deep dish mushroom at zachary's tho.

Gordo's (on solano and college) is my favorite place to get a burrito but there are definitely more authentic places. Have any of you guys been to Taqueria San Jose on International in Oakland? Huge burritos, cheap prices...

That story io told about Blondies is pretty funny. I knew some guy who worked there during the early 90s and he was dealing for sure...I just didn't know it was at work! Going to Cal during that time would've been so much damn fun. Berkeley was a great place to be during the whole grunge/punk period. Good times.
 
Oh a good place for cheap and good chinese food is Lou's kitchen on solano(maybe it was Lew's Kitchen?) Very greasy, but very VERY cheap iirc.

The princess chicken was good there, again fattening but cheap.

Cactus taqueria was the name of the place I couldnt remember but i see it was already mentioned.

I never heard of cheeseboard pizza, La Val's used to be the second best pizza in berkeley

Zacharies sell's pizza by the slice during the daily lunch hour, but it was the regular crust, not the deep dish.

The deep dish pizza has about 10 times the cheese (and fat) of any other pizza in town iirc.
 
Too bad La Val's is closed. Not to diss Norcal but I've tried all of the Mexican places mentioned and nothing is as good as the San Diego's grade B (from the health department, haha) ghetto Mexican places. Those places rock...although the sanitary conditions aren't great.

Call me weird but I like Extreme Pizza just because I love goat cheese pizzas! I love Zacharies but parking + long lines deter me from going there too often (good because I'd end up having to exercise for 4 hours a day if I wanted to maintain my weight, haha).
 
[quote name='vietgurl']Too bad La Val's is closed. Not to diss Norcal but I've tried all of the Mexican places mentioned and nothing is as good as the San Diego's grade B (from the health department, haha) ghetto Mexican places. Those places rock...although the sanitary conditions aren't great.

Call me weird but I like Extreme Pizza just because I love goat cheese pizzas! I love Zacharies but parking + long lines deter me from going there too often (good because I'd end up having to exercise for 4 hours a day if I wanted to maintain my weight, haha).[/QUOTE]

Is LaVal's closed? I used to go over there occasionally since I was an EECS and often on that side of campus.

Well, Cactus is good "lite California style" mexican food - of all the similar places (Baja Fresh, La Salsa, Chipotle, etc) I think it is by far the best, and it is only in Berkeley/Oakland as far as I know. But it is not the authentic stuff, though they do have a wide variety on their menu and lots of things I never tried (I always get Burrito Mejors) - I think it is more authentic than the national chains. There was a place down in West Berkeley that I went to a lot as a kid - don't know if it is still there. Somewhere down by the Humane Society :D. That was more authentic, though not ghetto I suppose. Is that Juan's??

Edit - My mother is visiting and she said that it is Juan's - she said "that's the place where I got $200 stolen from my purse". I totally forgot about that!
 
La Burrita which is off some side street of telegraph is basically voted best burritos in Berkeley ever year. They have a philly cheese steak burrito which is money.
 
[quote name='vietgurl'] Not to diss Norcal but I've tried all of the Mexican places mentioned and nothing is as good as the San Diego's grade B (from the health department, haha) ghetto Mexican places. Those places rock...although the sanitary conditions aren't great.
[/quote]
You haven't been to Juans yet in west berkeley. Its in an area where there are all these warehouses. But that food will kick your ass. Its that good!
 
La Burrita is voted "Best of Berkeley" by the student paper because it's the closest Mexican place to the dorms. That's it. It is not good. The Telegraph area does have a good hot dog place (Top Dog, right next to La Burrita), and a great Indian place called Naan N Curry. Also recommended, for sandwiches on the west side of campus, Brazil Cafe and Grub N Go.

Blondie's and Fat Slice are both pretty terrible. I definitely recommend both Cheeseboard and Zachary's, though. Also, right before I stopped working in Berkeley a pizza place called Pie in the Sky opened up on Center Street, near the BART station. Good pizza in the Cheeseboard style.
 
The best place ever for calzones was Geno's on Ashby right near College. I used to go there every day in the summer to get either a calzone or a slice when I was in high school. Sadly, last time I was there, I noticed it was gone :cry:. They had this great sourdough bread and stuffed the calzone with lots of 'toppings' and sauce. Everywhere else since then I'm always disappointed as they are heavily soaked in oil and consist of nothing but 3-4 lbs of cheese. Blech...

Oh, and I got my video gaming start of course in Berkeley - the 7-11 on College and Russell used to have Asteroids and Battlezone and I dropped many a quarter there. The laundromat next to it used to have Pacman. I lived right around the corner from there, first on Stuart St, then on Cherry St.
 
[quote name='uuaww']yeah, west coast doesn't make the best pizza but its not like its horrible, we by far have the best mexican and asian food you can get though.[/QUOTE]

Yeah.... I was in Milwaukee for college, at the asian restaurants they would ask if you wanted gravy on the rice.... and they weren't just saying gravy instead of 'sauce', it was gravy that you might put on mashed potatoes or meat. wtf. The mexican was decent though... especially when I found Qdoba and Chipotle. (sure it's not authentic, but it's cheap and huge which is great for college)
 
What's the best place for Calzones in Berkeley? ...since io mentioned calzones and I bet that I haven't been eating them at the yummy places, hehe.
 
[quote name='vietgurl']What's the best place for Calzones in Berkeley? ...since io mentioned calzones and I bet that I haven't been eating them at the yummy places, hehe.[/QUOTE]

Well, like I said the best place I knew of is gone. I haven't been around enough in the last 10 years to know of what's good now. But if you find a place let me know. When I'm there it is usually for just a few days at a time and I need to carefully strategerize my meals to get the best of so many choices (usually hit Cactus, and sometimes Zachary's).
 
[quote name='Xevious']You haven't been to Juans yet in west berkeley. Its in an area where there are all these warehouses. But that food will kick your ass. Its that good![/QUOTE]


yeah get the chipotle at juans. That place has some mean enchlada's.
 
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