Poking around Yelp, I find La Note and Venus, both on Shattuck near BART. Venus doesn't appear to have availability according to OpenTable, but I'm not sure exactly how that works. Other options close by include Cafe Durant and Ann's Kitchen.
I don't really have a security blanket... unless you count Mr. Pointy.
Buffy ,'Lessons'
F2F5: I forget that everyone isn't us
Plan what to do, what to wear (you can never go wrong with a corset), and get ready for the next BuffistaCon.
Polter-Cow - Apr 22, 2009 2:35:42 pm PDT #1177 of 12685
What else besides ramen can you scoop? YOU CAN SCOOP THIS WORLD FROM DARKNESS!
JZ - Apr 22, 2009 2:56:16 pm PDT #1178 of 12685
See? I gave everybody here an opportunity to tell me what a bad person I am and nobody did, because I fuckin' rule.
La Note is usually mobbed; they take no reservations, and the wait for Sunday brunch is hellish. The upside is that Pegasus Books is half a block away, good for browsing in the event of a half-hour or more wait.
Saul's, on Shattuck two doors down from Black Oak Books, is usually pretty crowded but has enough seating that it moves pretty quick, and is a very good NY-style deli.
On Solano, there's the Sunny Side Cafe and Walker's Pie Shop.
Only 2-3 blocks from the North Berkeley station there's the Monte Cristo Taqueria (listing B on the Googlemap), which is pretty good (amazing nachos) and extremely unlikely to be crowded, and about another block down there's The Bread Workshop, which has unbelievably shitty, lackadaisical service but really good food and coffee when you finally get it (and thus is rarely crowded and almost always easy to walk into with a loosely planned crowd).
eta: Gotta reemphasize that the Monte Cristo is really quite good; it's just at the ass-end of a wee strip mall on a major artery next to a dollar store, so it gets almost no Sunday brunch foot traffic.
Calli - Apr 22, 2009 2:59:12 pm PDT #1179 of 12685
I must obey the inscrutable exhortations of my soul—Calvin and Hobbs
I'll leave the venue choices up to the experts. I'll eat most things you're likely to find in a restaurant and have no food allergies to worry about.
I'm so glad I'll have the chance to meet several buffistae.
Lee - Apr 22, 2009 3:06:29 pm PDT #1180 of 12685
The feeling you get when your brain finally lets your heart get in its pants.
If the Berkeley knowledgeable people pick a place, I'll show up, especially if it's not too early.
eta: Maybe about 12:30 or 1:00?
javachik - Apr 22, 2009 3:36:56 pm PDT #1181 of 12685
Our wings are not tired.
Earlier is better for me, but I can always pop in and out. Will be good to see everyone in between bouts of studying.
Lee - Apr 22, 2009 4:29:31 pm PDT #1182 of 12685
The feeling you get when your brain finally lets your heart get in its pants.
Too much earlier would mean I couldn't go.
-t - Apr 22, 2009 5:58:01 pm PDT #1183 of 12685
I am a woman of various inclinations and only some of the time are they to burn everything down in frustration
Ooh, I want to come brunch with Calli and everybody!
I like the sound of the Monte Cristo - good places tucked away in strip malls are a personal favorite of mine and not crowded sounds wonderful.
Got no druthers as to time.
DavidS - Apr 22, 2009 8:10:31 pm PDT #1184 of 12685
"Look, son, if it's good enough for Shirley Bassey, it's good enough for you."
Sunday I'm booked with my Great Uncle and Aunt in Albany (near the North Berkley Station of the BART, I'm told--I have no idea where it is, aside from near a BART station)
Heh. Emmett goes to school and plays baseball in Albany (which is a tiny five square miles.)
Take her to Cafe Leila.
Sparky1 - Apr 23, 2009 4:25:18 am PDT #1185 of 12685
Librarian Warlord
La Note is usually mobbed; they take no reservations
La Note will take reservations if the party is big enough. I no longer remember, of course, what defines big enough. But sitting outside in the courtyard is lovely on a good weather day.
Kathy A - Apr 23, 2009 6:49:34 am PDT #1186 of 12685
We're very stretchy. - Connie Neil
I wanna go to SF!!
good places tucked away in strip malls are a personal favorite of mine
Two of my favorite restaurants are/were in strip malls (Uzbek food in Buffalo Grove and Tunisian in Chicago which is now no longer serving food, sad to say, damn smoking regulations).