Solano Ave, Baja Key Route (Lower)

The Albany part of Solano begins at the Safeway, if you are coming from Berkeley. This is the main supermarket in this part of town and it is comparable to the one on Solano on the Berkeley side of the tunnel. Solano is a store lined wide two lane street all the way down to San Pablo. You can find everything from copy makers to Laundromats to fly fishing and every kind of food on Solano. The traffic is always busy, but if you live nearby, it is good place to walk.

The new House of Curry on the corner with Curtis is decent for Indian food although it lacks the character of the progenitor on Durant in Berkeley. The Sunnyside Café right next door is a great place if you want to take in the sunshine—a great place to have breakfast on weekends.

On the corner with Sante Fe there is a great Native American handmade jewelry store. If you’re looking for an exotic gift with a little bit of a story behind it, this is definitely the place to go. A little further down there is a pretty standard Chinese food place that I only mention because I’ve been to it like a million times when I used to live in the area. Its nothing special but it is serviceable if you’re in the mood for Chinese.

The Church on the Corner is what you find at Pomona. I’ve never been there but I’ve always liked the unpretentious name. Solano gets a little ugly as you pass under the BART. There’s no station here.

There’s YMCA, futon shop, florist and an art gallery (not in that order) as you approach San Pablo. At the corner with Kains there is the Albany Twin theater, which often plays smaller independent movies. A good older theater—kind of a seventies style so not really attractive, though it is well-kept by the management.

After Solano it all residential streets that resemble a slightly better kept version of Berkeley at around San Pablo. It all houses, apartment buildings and streets named after 19th century presidents here until Solano ends at the corner of Cleveland right by the 580.