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U C Berkeley

As we did.  Through this blog.  When we visited its campus.  It was part of the weekend foodie outing.  Nice day to be out.  And about.  For us it was about exploring the gastronomic angles the old city in the east bay had to offer.

So BART in and stroll.  Walk, Sip, Repeat.

Below are what we saw and you will see in and around the U C Berkeley campus.  Largely ringed by homeless dudes and buildings that are a 100 years old the campus sits amidst eucalyptus groves and old growth redwood on the slopes of the hills that straddle two counties.

Period structures - standing the test of time

We started with catching some flying (the chef tossed them into the product) falafel (a fried ball made from chickpea and millet batter) inserted in a pita (bread) pocket containing lettuce and dressed with yogurt sauce along with tangy cucumber, radish and chili paste.
Ballers at Work



Then we wandered across the street to get Poked (as in eat some Poke - pronounced as Poh-Kay), which is basically a bowl of carbs like rice or noodle topped with raw fish like Tuna or Salmon along with savory nutrients like Edamame (Soy bean), fish eggs, seaweed in various forms and a soy based dressing to finish.  That was delicious.

Crossed the street to wander into the relatively newly open Museum dedicated to Film and Art..  BAMPFA on Center Street.   Designed and converted from an old print press by a NY based firm the building is remarkable amidst the older brick landscape that surrounds it.



Gehry like metal skinned exterior

Various contemporary art including some art film screenings in the evenings (for which we did not stay) after which we strolled into the UC campus.  It was quite a surprise to see Big B from Bollywood (that would be Amitabh Bachchan - a legendary film actor in India) plastered on the Varsity Library's walls.


Literally (the movie title was 'Deewar' which means 'A Wall').  It so happened that there is a temporary exhibit of the films from SE Asia and the posters for popular films from the past five decades adorn the library hallways.  His son Abhishekh also made it to the wall.

Post said wanderings brought us to a Fork in the Road. 

Again Literally.  Some dude dropped his utensil on his way to school?

At the fork we chose the path well traveled and wound our way through more food places including a queue at the nearest chain coffee stop to sample their seasonal caffeine branded as a Maple Pecan Latte.  My latte was right after a witch brew!



A hot cup to compensate for a somewhat chilly afternoon and we headed on back home.

Good day to be out.  See map below for what to see where.

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