Oakland and the East Bay sit squarely in the San Francisco's shadow. Oakland has a decent sized commercial district. There's new apartment construction. It looks like it's starting to pick up some crumbs from San Francisco. Oakland has a waterfront entertainment complex with restaurants and bars and Jack London's Alaska home (or the type of wood hut with a grass thatched roof that London lived in). The real attraction here is Heinhold's First and Last Chance Saloon that's been here since the 1880s.
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Whether or not Jack London lived in the house, I think there's a much higher chance he grabbed a drink at Heinhold's First and Last Chance Saloon before hopping on a boat. The place is other wordly.
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Berkeley and I do not have a great history. We drove through the town on the "Great Hamill College Tour of 1999" and we didn't even need to reach the campus for me to say "I'm not going to school here, what are you crazy?" Years later I purchased a cook book called Platter of Figs which was produced by Alice Water's of Chez Panisse fame. I said to myself, that if I was ever in San Francisco again I'd shoot over to Berkeley for a meal at Chez Panisse. Mission Accomplished. Twenty years later and I still feel like there was no reason to visit Cal's campus.
Berkeley is also home to the original Peet's coffee and the chain's current flagship store. It's worth a stop.
Berkeley is also home to the original Peet's coffee and the chain's current flagship store. It's worth a stop.
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