The human race’s 250th Robbie Burns Day passed on January 25, 2009. Our celebration included a marvelous bottle of smooth, mellow, caramel-tinted Balvenie, scotch broth with lamb, and two meat pies with rendered leaf lard infused crusts.

…Care, mad to see a man sae happy, E’en drown’d himsel amang the nappy.
As bees flee hame wi’ [...]

No well meaning trip to the reality resistant bubble of Berkeley is complete without a visit to one of its three major restaurant rows. In the city’s southeast corner, bordering the upscale settlements of North Oakland, is Elmwood, home to such neighborhood favorites as Trattoria La Siciliana and Ici. On the northern edge of the [...]

Having been away from the East Bay for over two years now, I’ve realized that there are only three places I have to visit when I make it back to my alma mater. Despite reports that its quality has been steadily going downhill, Lucky House Thai in downtown Berkeley remains on the short list of [...]

On the eve of November 4, 2008, I found myself outside the Obama campaign’s northern California headquarters, straddling the border between Berkeley and Oakland as crowds of victory-crazed Americans thronged to the street corners of history. When the junior senator from Illinois first announced his candidacy for the office of president of the United [...]