Eating Out In Berkeley

There are basically two types of food that I go for while eating out in Berkeley. Perhaps the most commonly preferred dining options while eating out are the countless Indian restaurants that can be found in this city. I hadn’t had much experience with Indian food prior to moving out, however upon tasting the various spices and flavors that such establishments offer, I have rapidly developed a constant craving for Indian dishes. Whether it’s an Indian buffet for lunch, or a more traditional restaurant for dinner, curry, massala, naan, and biryani always leave me feeling extremely satisfied. In general, I prefer very strong and bold flavors, and most of the spicy Indian dishes provide just that.

Another Berkeley favorite is the Cheese Board Pizza Collective, which serves one type of pizza all day long. Because Cheese Board is located in North Berkeley I usually only have time to go there on weekends, however when I am able to make the trip it is always well worth the journey. Perhaps the collective’s self-description will explain why I love this place:

We are currently a collective of twelve people. Everyone who works at the Cheeseboard Pizza is a member of the collective with equal decision-making power. These is no boss, manager, or employees- it is worker-owned.

In general, I prefer to support businesses that are run in an ethical manner, and in choosing to operate as a collective Cheeseboard fulfills this requirement. Communally owned businesses ensure that everybody is treated equally, which promotes cooperation, fair business practices, and an overall better quality product.

In addition to having a great business model, Cheeseboard also cooks up the best pizza in Berkeley. As I said, each day the collective selects one pizza to be the ‘pizza of the day,’ which is then reproduced one after another throughout the day. Despite not having much choice upon arriving, I can always feel confident ordering whatever they happen to be serving on that given day because it is always a great pizza with high quality ingredients. Thin crust, vegetarian, and always containing an amazing cheese, the pizza of the day never fails to make my day. To give you an idea of what kind of pizza I’m talking about, check out this description of today’s pizza: Cremini mushrooms and caramelized onions, baby spinach, fresh Asiago and mozzarella cheeses, pinenuts, garlic olive oil and Italian parsley.

My mouth is watering just thinking about it.

Indian food and Cheeseboard, that’s what I eat on the few occasions in which I’m either too lazy to cook for myself or too carefree not to treat myself to some delicious food.

Here's a link to the Cheeseboard Collective:
http://cheeseboardcollective.coop/Pizza%20Collective/PizzaPage.html

Food Preparation

Okay, so for this post I’d like to describe the process by which I prepare a meal for my assigned cooking day, Wednesday. Typically, I begin thinking about which meal to cook for the house on Tuesday night. What this usually consists of is me having a vague idea of what food item I’d like to use, and then an online search of different websites to find a recipe that incorporates the item in a tasteful and slightly challenging manner. For instance, last week I really wanted to incorporate mushrooms into my meal, so I found two recipes that included the fungus, and proceeded to follow the recipe to the tee.

Upon finding the recipe online (often times from foodnetwork.com or allrecipes.com) I print out the ingredient list and bike to the local grocery store after class on Wednesday. Berkeley Bowl always has every item that I need, so I usually spend about forty-five minutes walking through its aisles locating one item at a time. Once the all the ingredients have been collected I bike back home and by that time it’s usually late enough to begin cooking.

Last week I cooked a “Hungarian Mushroom Soup” and a “Vegetable Pot Pie”, both of which incorporated mushrooms. After getting home and unloading all the required items I start the prep work. For this particular meal this meant that I had to cut and chop really large amounts of mushrooms, carrots, onions, parsley, potatoes, chives, paprika, and fennel (which was my first time using this vegetable). After doing all the chopping I felt kind of overwhelmed by the mass piles of raw vegetables that I saw sitting on my kitchen table.

From there, I tried to work out the timing of when each step of the cooking process would be done, so as to have the whole meal come together at the end, about an hour and a half later. So, overcoming my sense of uneasiness regarding the work that was to come, I began following the instructions for each recipe, one step at a time. Fortunately, once things started cooking and the mountains of vegetables were reduced upon being added in, I started to feel much more confident. While the pot pie was in the oven and the soup was simmering, I was able to put together a quick salad of spinach, tomatoes, walnuts, and raspberries.

About an hour and a half after starting the process, the soup, the pot pie, and the salad were all set on the table, ready to be eaten. At that point I knocked on my roommates doors and they emerged to help me eat all that I had prepared. Luckily, everything came out amazing, and I was rewarded by compliments for both dishes. The sense of accomplishment that I felt upon hearing their comments made the whole process well worth it, especially after having overcome the sense of bewilderment that I first felt upon completing the prep work. Soon after starting the meal the whole house was sufficiently full, so much so that I had leftovers that provided a wonderful lunch the next day.

Below are the links for both recipes, both of which I highly recommend:

http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/aida-mollenkamp/vegetarian-pot-pie-recipe/index.html

http://closetcooking.blogspot.com/2007/05/hungarian-mushroom-soup.html