Berkeley/Albany/El Cerrito/Oakland with AC and without Ronald McDonald

(Reviving and expanding an old thread from another place that shall remain nameless …)

Suggestions? Too hot to cook, or even bring something in tomorrow/Saturday, and methinks many of the small places around here are going to be awfully hot.

That would be a useful feature for Yelp to track.

Googling and searching Yelp (frustrating since the majority of hits were complaints that there was no air conditioning on a hot day):

Jong Ga House
Kansai
Mexicali Rose (per their web site)
Royal Rangoon
Sahn Maru
Shakewell

I just remembered that Ordinaire has AC. I suspect Bay Grape does as well, since they have all their stock out on the floor.

Prizefighter in Emeryville.

What sort of snackie menu does Ordinaire offer?

Cheese, charcuterie, sardines.

Enoteca Molinari

Riva Cucina

Good call on Ordinaire. We spent quite some time, first with a glass of rosé, and then a bottle of Melonix from the fridge, along with a tin of the spicy sardines.

Afterward, we walked up the street and had a cocktail at Camino. (Way too hot to stay to eat, but the Rum Drink was great.)

After that, I thought “who else might have AC” so we took UBER back to Beta Lounge in Berkeley, and they had marginal AC, but good enough to stay for a cider.

Finally, we walked up to Turkish Kitchen (no AC) and just got our order to take home, where we had more rosé.

Revival had an “AC” sign on the door yesterday.

Cato’s on Piedmont Avenue had a A/C sign on the door this weekend …

I think Chez Panisse also has air conditioning, but like Revival and Cato’s usually keeps the windows open instead.

I had a (pre-fire) lunch at CP on one of the hottest days that Berkeley ever had, and it was miserable up there. The waitstaff were pouring sweat, and so were we, and by the time we were done, had consumed (and probably sweat) a bottle of white, and a bottle of rose.

Maker’s Common

And Blue’s, though it has just a couple of benches.