My Favorite Things to Eat in Berkeley and Oakland, $10 and under
I'm talking about mud pie, pepperoni pizza, eggplant & tofu burritos, key lime cupcakes, and more
Want to sample the best food of Berkeley and Oakland? This list is curated specifically to highlight some of my favorite places in the area with menu items $10 and under:
Standard Fare
You know how sometimes there’s something so good, it makes you mad? The first time I ate at Standard Fare was that. It led to a brief existential crisis: how did I not know of this place? Did any of my friends already know about Standard Fare, and if so, why didn’t they share that with me? Why had I been missing out for so long?
At Standard Fare, the food is seasonal and delicious, the plating is gorgeous, the space is beautiful, the prices are affordable, and they bring your orders out and acknowledge you by name.
Prior to opening Standard Fare, chef-owner Kelsie Kerr worked in Chez Panisse (she also helped co-write The Art of Simple Cooking). Kerr and her staff offer the care, elegance, and standards of upscale dining—but at a fraction of the cost, and without compromise.
$6.75/$7.25 for a half sandwich (veg and meat options, respectively). See more, including menus, at the website for Standard Fare. Standard Fare is located at 2701 Eighth St., Berkeley, CA 94710.
Sfizio
I would have never thought of combining eggplant, peppers, tahini, and salsa verde. I had a similar thought with the fresh tomatoes with olive tapenade and yogurt. Both dishes were like the flavor equivalent of a jazz chord—familiar combinations with an unexpected twist, resulting in something fuller and more vibrant.
Sfizio, a pop-up headed by chef Matt Solimano, does a rotating menu with $8 appetizers (like the dishes above) and $14 mains. Check Instagram to keep up with Sfizio’s current offerings and schedule.
Nick’s Pizza
Every time I get slices to order from Nick’s Pizza, it’s a good day.
Nick’s Pizza hits it out of the park in just about every way. The sourdough crust is whisper thin, giving you maximum floppy pizza effect while still holding up the sauce and toppings. Nothing here is an afterthought. The dough, the sauce, the toppings are, individually, all really good. Walk up and get yourself a slice—or four.
There’s also something moving about the vision of the owner, Nick Yapor-Cox, who has ably and thoughtfully adapted to community needs over the course of the pandemic. But it’s more than just pizza and operations. In just the last year, Nick’s gave 25% of a promotional pizza’s sales to a school three blocks down, Sankofa Elementary. On Halloween, Nick’s gave free pizza to neighbors who stopped by (many in costumes!). Underlying this is a love for North Oakland, palpable at every turn.
Walk up to check slice availability and toppings of the day. Slices range from $3.50-4.25 (depending on toppings—for example, cheese is $3.50, pepperoni is $3.75) and are generous in size. Nick’s Pizza is at 6400 Shattuck Ave., Oakland, CA 94609.
Tacos Sincero
The owner of Tacos Sincero, Sincere Justice, grew up in LA. Incidentally, I did too, surrounded by neighbors with roots in Mexico, Korea, Japan, China, Vietnam, and India.
Tacos Sincero’s burrito fillings, which have included Sriracha Tinga (“chipotle-tomato braised chicken, fish sauce, pickled red onions”), Indian Eggplant and Fried Tofu (“fenugreek-garlic tomato sauce, fried tofu, pecorino, coconut”), and Beans & Cheese (“ginger-lemongrass-chile paste, makrut lime, calamansi kosho”) draw from LA’s crossroads. They are a tribute to the foodways and love of its communities, done with care and respect.
The ingredients, in combination with one another, create flavor profiles that are surprising, creative, and delicious. There’s nothing quite like a Tacos Sincero burrito, which somehow tastes otherworldly, and yet still feels like home.
Burritos are $8/each. Check out Tacos Sincero on IG for more details.
Joodooboo
Eating out can sometimes pose a conundrum. Do I want something delicious, or do I need something healthy? At Joodooboo, I don’t have to choose: the food tastes good and feels right.
Chef-owner Steve Joo’s Joodooboo makes fresh tofu every day. There’s something very satisfying about dropping a spoon into cool tofu on hot rice, drizzled with their DooBoo sauce—I don’t know the exact recipe but it’s something like soy sauce, rice vinegar, sliced scallions, sesame oil, pepper flakes, and tart citrus (kumquat, perhaps?) rind. Pair this with a banchan appetizer, and you have a full, tasty, and nutritious meal that has protein, fiber, and starch.
A side of freshly-made DooBoo (tofu, served with DooBoo sauce) is $4.50. A 6 oz. single portion of banchan is $7.50-12 (see weekly rotating offerings).
See more at Joodooboo’s website. Joodooboo is located at 4201 Market St., Oakland, CA 94608.
Pie Society
Pie Society does a rotating seasonal menu, so if you can get it, try the mud pie. The flavor is amazing. Its texture is so fun too, with its coffee whipped cream, chocolate pudding, chewy brownie, crunchy hazelnut, and the soft snap of its graham cracker crust. And for something as decadent as a mud pie, it wasn’t too much. The balance was just right.
I walked up and got it for $7/slice at Chef Angela Pinkerton’s Pie Society workshop in Berkeley at 2533 Seventh St., Berkeley, CA 94710.
Cupcakin’ Bake Shop
Whenever I’m walking north up Telegraph Ave. in South Berkeley, around Channing Way, I will start rubbernecking at Cupcakin’ Bake Shop. It doesn’t matter if am on my way somewhere else—mid-stride, I’ll get those extruded Looney Tunes eyes and check out the display for the day.
I’m a sucker for their Key Lime and Lemon Cream cupcakes. Each has a buttery sweet graham cracker base, and is filled either with lime or lemon curd, then topped with frosting and more graham cracker crumbs.
Owned by Lila Owens, Cupcakin’ has four locations: two in Berkeley, one in Oakland, and one in Walnut Creek. Cupcakes are $4.25/each. (Often, I opt for discounted day-olds which I think are just as good.) See their full menu and details at the Cupcakin’ website.
Need more?
Classic go-to: A pizza slice from the Cheese Board Collective (the O.G.), Arizmendi, Sliver, or Nabolom will be around $3.50. All of them use a sourdough crust, with different toppings everyday, but always featuring good cheeses and seasonal produce. At Sliver, if you’re looking for a snack and want to keep it around $1.50, ask if you can buy just a sliver (1/3 of a regular slice).
Secret spud: Potato puffs from Grégoire’s have a golden crusty exterior, pillowy soft interior, and are $7.80. They’re kind of like pommes dauphine, but apparently their inspiration and recipe are such tightly kept secrets that “employees sign a non-disclosure agreement before making them.”
Want to spotlight your favorite place to eat? Give it a shout-out in the comment section below.
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