Solano Ave, Alta Key Route (Upper)

Solano Avenue just past the tunnel on the border with Albany offers a nice little change of pace to the hectic craziness of Berkeley. It still has lots of stores and restaurants and a relatively youthful culture, but the crazies and panhandlers seem to stay on the other side of the tunnel for the most part. This area is home to lots of little restaurants and eateries—there’s a Noah’s Bagels and a Peets, like everywhere else. There is a Zachary’s Chicago Style Pizza, equal to but less frequented than the one on College. Pegasus Books is right there—it’s a bit messy, but every so often you can find a nicely priced older book there. La Farine bakery is really good and there is a variety of different kinds of restaurants—Chinese, Japanese (Mexican, a little bit farther down the street).

It is definitely a pedestrian culture around here. People pack the sidewalks and on weekends eat on the sidewalk patio seating of places like Peet’s that take advantage of the wide streets and nice weather. It’s a great place to go on weekends if you are at student at Cal and want to get away from it for a while.