1. No $ sign trick: Price does not have the dollar sign (use 17 instead of $17)
2. Price Not Noticeable trick: Price is listed at the very end of the long description rather at the right justified location.
3. Word adjective trick: Use adjective such as tasty, tender, organic, delicious. (to make you mouth watering first)
4. Description trick: List the recipe for each dish making each ingredient sound ultra-special.
5. High low price trick: Use price contrast: a very high priced item followed by a moderate one. (If all high price you may leave).
6. Special price not written trick: Prices for today’s Specials are not written down. (are you embarrassed to ask?)
7. Small portion trick: Lower price item may be smaller portion
8. Top of the list trick: Profitable item is the first in the section. Unprofitable dishes are usually banished to a corner that’s less noticeable.
9. Box it trick: If you draw a line around the profitable one, people will order.
10. Photos trick: Good photos also sell dishes.
11. Shy trick: Don’t feel obliged to order recommendations made by waiting staff

HERBIVORE
vegan restaurant
2451 Shattuck Ave, Berkeley, California (94704) (at Haste)
Phone number: 510-665-1675
Type of Food: Vegan, Organic, American, International, Juice bar, Beer/Wine, Take-out

NATURE’S EXPRESS
vegan restaurant
1823 Solano Ave, Berkeley, California (94704)
Phone number: 510-527-5331
Type of Food: Vegan, Organic, American, Juice bar, Fast food, Take-out

CHA-YA
vegan restaurant
1686 Shattuck Ave, Berkeley, California (94709) (at Francisco between Cedar & University)
Phone number: 510-981-1213
Type of Food: Vegan, Japanese

MAOZ Vegetarian
vegetarian restaurant
2395 Telegraph Ave, Berkeley, California (94704) (at Channing Way)
Phone number: 510-356-4090
Type of Food: Vegan-friendly, Ovo, Lacto, Middle Eastern, Salad bar, Fast food, Take-out

FLACOS
vegan restaurant
3031 Adeline St, Berkeley, California (94703) (at Ashby Ave)
Phone number: 510-981-8081
Type of Food: Vegan, Organic, Mexican, Take-out, Catering

GREEN PAPAYA Thai Vegetarian Cuisine
vegan restaurant
2016 Shattuck Ave, Berkeley, California (94704) (at University Ave)
Phone number: 510-845-1658
Type of Food: Vegan, Thai, Beer/Wine

UDUPI PALACE
vegetarian restaurant
1901 University Ave, Berkeley, California (94704) (at Martin Luther King Jr Wy / walk from downtown Berkeley BART)
Phone number: 510-843-6600
Type of Food: Lacto, Vegan-friendly, North & South Indian

VEGI FOOD
vegan restaurant
2083 Vine St, Berkeley, California (94709) (at N Berkeley or downtown Berkeley BART walk 15 minutes)
Phone number: 510-548-5244
Type of Food: Vegan, Chinese

CAFE GRATITUDE
vegetarian restaurant
1730 Shattuck Ave, Berkeley, California (94709) (at Virginia Ave)
Phone number: 415-824-4652
Type of Food: Vegan-friendly, Organic, Raw, Juice bar, Take-out

CHEESEBOARD PIZZA
vegetarian restaurant
1512 Shattuck Ave, Berkeley, California (94709) (at /near Vine)
Phone number: 510-549-3055
Type of Food: Lacto, Pizzeria, American, Take-out

CHICK-O-PEAS The Vegetarian Place
vegetarian restaurant
1926 Shattuck Ave, Berkeley, California (94704) (at /near University)
Phone number: 510-540-8880
Type of Food: Vegan-friendly, Ovo, Lacto, Organic, Mediterranean, Salad bar, Fast food

1090 Point Lobos
San Francisco, CA 94121
415-386-3330
www.cliffhouse.com

Just a couple of excerpts from their history to give you an idea:

The first Cliff House was a modest structure built in 1863 by Senator John Buckley and C. C. Butler. Captain Junius Foster eventually leased the Cliff House Restaurant from C. C. Butler and under his management wealthy San Franciscans flocked to the coast to enjoy the unique restaurant and wonderful views.
..

Adolph Sutro spent $75,000 to rebuild and furnish the Cliff House in grandiose style. Fashioned after a French chateau, the second Cliff House opened in February of 1896 and boasted eight stories, four spires, and an observation tower 200 feet above sea level. Though never a hotel, it served as an elegant site for dining, dancing, and entertainment.
… (and now)…
Perched on spectacular cliffs overlooking the Pacific Ocean, the Cliff House is one of the crown jewels of San Francisco’s Golden Gate National Recreation Area (GGNRA). ..The restoration of the Cliff House was a joint undertaking of restaurant owners, Dan and Mary Hountalas, and the National Park Service. The 1909 building was extensively renovated to restore the original neoclassical architecture, and some of the Cliff House history can be seen in the more than 200 autographed pictures of dignitaries and movie stars on display for public viewing.
Cliff House has been rebuilt and sold several times, and entire books written on its history, so that’s all I’ll go into here!

One such is Alioto’s
#8 Fisherman’s Wharf at
the Foot of Taylor, facing
the San Francisco fishing
harbor
415 . 673 . 0183

You can buy from their outdoor crabstand, or you can go inside for formal dining.

According to their website:

“What grew to become an institution in San Francisco dining actually began as a fresh fish stall, founded in 1925 by Nunzio Alioto, Sr., a Sicilian immigrant. At the time, the Wharf consisted of an enormous lumber yard, train tracks, a union hall, canning plants and wholesale fisheries. At Stall #8, Nunzio sold steamed crab, and shrimp and crab cocktails to the Italian laborers.

In 1932, he constructed the first building on Fisherman’s Wharf. After suffering a bout of double pneumonia, Nunzio died suddenly at the age of 41, leaving behind a wife, Rose and three children. Strapped for a way to support her family, Rose took over the business becoming the first woman to work on the Wharf. Initially, she was shunned by her male neighbors, who refused to sell her fish. Luckily, Phil Rubino, who had formerly worked with her husband, stepped in to help.

A number of historical events contributed to the restaurant’s phenomenal growth. With the completion of both the Golden Gate and Bay Bridges in 1937, San Francisco was quickly becoming the urban center of Northern California. In 1939, the San Francisco Exposition and World’s Fair brought tourists from around the world to the City.

The restaurant flourished, yet it wasn’t until the onset of America’s participation in World War II that its reputation became firmly established. Fisherman’s Wharf became one of the Ports of Embarkation for sailors, who were often accompanied by their families. While Rose’s sons, Frank and Mario, were called off to serve in the armed forces, Rose and her daughter Antoinette were kept busy serving fresh seafood and hearty clam chowder to these men and their families–and word about Alioto’s Restaurant’s food quickly spread.

The restaurant continued to expand as public demand grew for Alioto’s delicious seafood. By 1950, Rose enlarged her restaurant by purchasing her neighbor’s stall building a one-story brick building, then adding a second story in 1957 making it the tallest building on the Wharf.

Today, the restaurant remains as popular as ever, with Nunzio and Joe Alioto, the third-generation is in charge. Rose continued to work in the restaurant and lived to see Fisherman’s Wharf become San Francisco’s most popular tourist destination.”

http://www.aliotos.com/fisherman_wharf.htm

Among the best-rated by both critics and the common folk:

Allegro Romano
1701 Jones Street
(between Broadway St & Glover St)
San Francisco, CA 94109

Ame
St. Regis Hotel, San Francisco
689 Mission St.
San Francisco, CA 94105
415-284-4040

Catch
2362 Market St.
San Francisco, CA 94114

Farallon
450 Post St.
San Francisco, CA 94108
415-956-6969
415-431-5000

Ferry Plaza Seafood
Ferry Building Marketplace
1 Ferry Building
San Francisco, CA 94111

La Ciccia
291 30th St
(between Chenery St & Church St)
San Francisco, CA 94131

La Mar Cebicheria Peruana
Pier 1 1/2, The Embarcadero
San Francisco, CA 94111
415-397-8880
415-274-2561

Pesce
2227 Polk St.
San Francisco, CA 94109
415-928-8025

Swan Oyster Depot
1517 Polk St
(between California St & Sacramento St)
San Francisco, CA 94109

Sotto Mare
552 Green St
(between Jasper Pl & Bannam Pl)
San Francisco, CA 94133

Waterbar
399 The Embarcadero
San Francisco, CA 94105
415-284-9922

Or, the seafood stand type:
Captain Mike’s Holy Smoke
1 Ferry Bldg
San Francisco, CA 94111
(707) 585-2000

If you have one you think belongs on this list, please leave a comment!

Simple atmosphere, with great food at moderate prices, serves primarily Italian but also some other American and European-style items.  Experience an authentic piece of San Jose life.

Original Joe’s

Italian Restaurant, San Jose

The history of Original Joes is as follows:

The name “Joe’s” was a generic name that dates back to the Barbary Coast in San Francisco. During the 1920’s, a group of entrepreneurs decided to open a new restaurant on Broadway Street in San Francisco. The name “Joe’s” had gone dormant for a while and they determined that “New Joe’s” would be a good name. “New Joe’s” became the first restaurant in San Francisco to do exhibition cooking where food was prepared in full view of the customers. It was also the restaurant where the “Joe’s Special” was created. Folklore has it that a customer ordered a spinach omelet very late on night. The customer asked the chef if he had anything else available to cook. The chef replied he had some hamburger left. The customer asked him to throw some of the hamburger into his omelet. The dish became so popular that they eventually put it on the menu.

In 1937, the partners at “New Joe’s” had a falling out. One of the partners teamed up with Louis J. Rocca and Ante Rodin and started a restaurant at 144 Taylor Street in San Francisco. He insisted he was “The Original” so they called the new restaurant “Original Joe’s”. The restaurant became extremely popular.

On May 24, 1956, Louis J. Rocca, Louis J. Rocca, Jr. (Babe), Arthur Tortore (Otto) and Anthony Caramagno (Nino) opened “Original Joe’s” in San Jose. The four partners wanted to bring an authentic San Francisco restaurant to the South Bay. They were convinced that if they could keep it authentic, they could serve the community by producing their traditional home-style Italian-American cuisine. Their desire was so great that they actually transported San Francisco French bread via Greyhound bus everyday for the first two years of operation.

In the early 1970’s, downtown San Jose started to flounder. Businesses were relocating to the outskirts of town. Original Joe’s became one of the cornerstones for an ever changing downtown. As the genres of food have changed over the years, Original Joe’s maintains it traditional roots. Still owned and operated by the Rocca Family, Original Joe’s continues to strive to replicate the dining experience that people have enjoyed for over 51 years.

www.originaljoes.com/history.htm

Asmara

5020 Telegraph Avenue • Oakland, CA 94612
510-547-5100

Cafe Colucci

6427 Telegraph Avenue • Oakland, CA 94612
510-601-7999

Cafe Eritrea d’Afrique

4069 Telegraph Avenue • Oakland, CA 94612
510-547-4520

Dareye Hideaway Ethiopian Restaurant

dareyehideaway.com

6430  Telegraph Ave.
Oakland , CA 94609
(510) 891-1028

Who would have thought there  would be this many Ethiopian restaurants in Oakland?   !

According to http://www.examiner.com/x-7480-SF-Tourism-Examiner

San Francisco comes in at:

5,369: The number of restaurants in the city

However, according to /www.squarefeetblog.com/commercial-real-estate-blog it is somewhat less:

In San Francisco alone, there are some 3500 restaurants, giving the city the highest number of restaurants per capita in the country.

Those are rather far apart!  Looks like we’ll need a third opinion.

In one article, the San Francisco Buisness Times states:

More than 4,000 San Francisco restaurants have been reviewed

/www.bizjournals.com/sanfrancisco/stories/2008/06/30/story1.html

No, not ready to put up a new restaurant yet. In fact, going to take a dive downwards in elegance but perhaps upwards in fun.  Realized that this is indeed a holiday weekend coming up, and one that often calls for a picnic or barbecue rather than going out to eat.  So let’s try some July 4th picnic ideas.  Feel free to contribute!

Angel food cake with blueberries, strawberries and whipped cream

Blue cheese dip topped with dried cranberries & pistachios

Feta cheese or sour cream dip topped with tomatoes & purple-ish black olives

(Blue foods are so few without resorting to food coloring!)

A cabbage or coleslaw dish with red/purple cabbage added in can turn things blue – er.

Blue tortilla chips.

Red foods, so much easier.  Anything with strawberries, cherries, tomatoes, rhubarb, cranberries, red-skinned potatoes, watermelon, and so on obviously fit the bill.