the 8 east bay restaurants i crave most when i'm traveling
absence makes the stomach grow fonder...
I have arrived at that inevitable point in The Europe Trip when the next meal has to be Asian food, or else I’ll lose my will to live.
For context—I have had the best carbonara and tiramisu of my life thus far in Rome. Like, beyond scrumptious!!! Loved it. (Also, the tap water here is so crisp and fresh, I get a lil dopamine hit every time I pass by a drinking fountain).
However, my palette simply isn’t used to eating Roman food back to back to back to back. So here I am now, on Day 4, googling “best pho rome.”
I think it’s also true that Californians miss California cuisine when they’re traveling. Your tastebuds just get so spoiled by the fresh ingredients and bright flavors back home!!! I find myself wishing I could carry a lemon in my purse to douse on everything. And maybe a handful of herbs.
All to say, these circumstances have put me in the perfect headspace to share my favorite East Bay restaurants I eat at regularly. Absence makes the stomach grow fonder.
These are the 8 places that taste and feel like home to me. I am always in the mood for something on this list. Save this for the next time you’re in the Oakland/Berkeley area.
1.) Joodooboo
There are only two restaurants in the world where I’ve eaten and seriously thought, “I think could be vegetarian if this is what I could eat every day.” One of them is (or, was—it closed during the pandemic) Ashirwad the Blessings, a Gujarati restaurant in an Inland Empire strip mall off Route 66.
The other one is Joodooboo. It will make you fall in love with tofu, even if you don’t think you love tofu. They make it in house and everything is so seasonal and fresh and FLAVORFUL. I always feel nourished and cared for after a meal there, like I’m going to magically wake up the next day with clear skin and a thriving gut biome.
Mole menu tip: Go with another person and split the Acorn Noodle Bowl and the Fried Tofu Set. Get the daily fruit juice seltzer before it sells out. I dream of the kiwi guava…
This is probably the first thing I’ll want to eat after the long flight home.
2.) Rose Pizzeria
The pizza I’ve tried in Rome has been just okay to good. I recognize that the style of pizza here and the toppings are regionally specific. While it’s tasty, I am not mind blown. I find it lacking in flavor intensity for my personal taste. Everyone has a style of pizza they consider the benchmark for good pizza, and mine is from Rose in Berkeley. Thin crispy crust and briny savory toppings.
Mole menu tip: Start with the spicy caesar salad. For pizzas, try the She Wolf if you like briny pickled flavors, otherwise you can’t go wrong with the Classic Pep. Definitely get a glass of the L’ambrusco. All the desserts are good.