Berkeley - as in Bohemia

The neighborhoods change in mood and esthetics fairly quickly around here. Telegraph Avenue is pulsing with activity, as one would expect in a town with the median age under 25. It's a combination of Soho, South Street, and London's Camden Lock.

Found a great ceramic store with majolica pieces down University, and an Indian grocery/arts & crafts/bookshope emporium right across the street.

Quick Tips:

Best Way To Get Around:

For more on San Francisco and other Northern California Cities:

San Jose

Healdsburg

Go West!

Petaluma

Sebastopol

Santa Rosa

Slumming in San Francisco

San Francisco II

Rohnert Park

The owners are very proud of their meat market, where they purchase products directly from the growers and are assured that it is hormone free. All of the charcuterie is made by the restaurant's chefs. They offer over a dozen kinds of different sausage and rotisserie chicken is a specialty. Voted in the top 100 restaurants by Chronicle Review. You can view their website at Cafe Rouge

Other Recommended Eateries in Northern California are listed below:

Dojima

Lori's Diner

Bacchus

Café des Croissants

East West Café

The Tides Wharf

Café Bangkok

Taqueria El Sombrero

Original Joe's

This shop would have been passed by, if it had not been for some pieces displayed outside on the sidewalk; it's impossible not to catch the splashes of color on the pots. The store is quite small and narrow. So objects are displayed everywhere, even high up on the walls where there were some wonderfully painted sinks. Not all the pieces had the usual indigo and yellow that is so recognizable as Mexican ceramics. Prices are quite reasonable. You'll see some wonderful examples in the photos.

They have a great selection of teas, including chai, but you'd expect to pay much less from a direct importer. A box containing 20 bags of spiced chai sold for $4.00; Darjeeling was quite predominant, as was ceylon tea, and bulk teas. Aside from the Indian brands, they carried Twinings as well. There was a selection of grains and condiments and canned goods.

Through the mid-section of the right side of the store was an entryway which led to a bookstore which would satisfy the beginner or advanced cook of Indian foods from different regions. There were also children's books, Ayurveda books, and some outdated travel books. In the same section, were also some cards which were printed in India for various occasions.

Incense was available in packs of 20 and up to 500. Carved round and rectangular tables were for sale. Shoes and sandals; henna and face jewelry. Quite an array but hereagain, along University Avenue, there are many similar stores which feature Indian dress and/or foods. This one is one of the largest, and one can order from them online.

I got a henna tattoo in an Indian Shop in Boston; read about it here:
India's Antiques & Music
We also visited a superb Indian area in Singapore:
Little India

The store on Fourth Street is one level, but is ample enough to have their classes on the same level. They are a few notches above a store like Lechter's but in the same price range as New York's Fortunoff's in Wesbury Mall. Being especially fond of ceramics, I'm always looking at dinner sets and have been particularly attracted by the square dish sets which are more and more prominent these days. Every conceivable gadget, product, spice and pot is here. Don't know how to cook? Choose one of hundreds of books they stock and will be happy to sell you. If you can't make it to one of their stores, you can shop on line at Sur La Table. Even if you don't buy anything, there's no denying the pleasure of looking at beautiful things for the kitchen.

It is nearly impossible to park on or around Telegraph Street. You can understand why they have what they have there due to the proximity to the University. In addition to the funky shops and unusual eateries are street vendors who line both sides of the street and sell everything from jewelry to politically incorrect T-Shirts.

We went around the blocks more than 3 times during which time I spotted handmade jewelry, hand-crafted pottery, wind chimes, candles, books, artwork and rastafarian hats, as well as talented henna artists.

Amoeba Music was crowded, and has a sister store in San Francisco which is larger. Here you'll find two huge rooms full of music covering all genres, from jazz to hip-hop to Latin and techno.

The street was animated with activity, and after having gone around more than 3 times, we decided to head back to San Francisco. This is definitely a walking venue, and we will walk it on future visits.