Often a Northern California trip focuses on San Francisco but Berkeley, one of the cities across the bay is worth your time too. We had a few hours last weekend so went to our favorite places.
- Sake Tasting- There only a few sake distilleries in the United States and one of these is in Berkeley. Sho Chiku Bai Sake is the brand name for Takara Sake USA. They serve their sake cold and at room temperature and offer a variety of flavors ranging from traditional sake to flavored.
They even offer a bubbly sake along with plum wine. The rice comes from the Sacramento Valley. Tastings are $10 and we learned a lot about sake including how to determine the sweetness by the SMV number on the bottle. The higher the number the more dry the taste. A minus number like -70 means the sake is very sweet. They recommend a reservations but were able to accommodate us as a walk-in. They are open Mon-Fri: 1:30 PM - 6:00 PM; Sat-Sun: 12:00PM - 6:00 PM.
Ninja travel hint: Groupons are available.
- Bike riding: The Bay area has jumped on the bike riding craze and you can rent bikes for $2 for the first 30 minutes. The price goes up afterward so plan accordingly. You can rent a bike from the Bart Station (North Berkeley Station) and ride to Takara and then cruise on down to the bay to see a wonderful view of the San Francisco skyline, The City as the locals call it.
- Mac and Cheese-What I think is the best mac and cheese can be found at Home Room. We Ubered there. I had been craving their mac and cheese where you can pick from their extensive menu or make up your own. Expect to wait for table. It’s worth it and I recommend getting one with bacon. Oooolala
- Walk the Campus- Berkeley is home to Cal State Berkeley or just “Cal,” as it was the first California State School in system. The campus is beautiful with large trees and beautiful buildings. You can lounge around relaxing on the grass or a bench.