The Pasta Shop & Teance

This is it from my day trip to Berkeley. {The Pasta Shop - Rockridge Market Hall} and {Teance} were my last two stops of the day. Rockridge Market Hall's "Pasta Shop" location is amazing! I wish, wish, wish we had a market like this in San Luis Obispo. I haven't been somewhere like this, with fresh pasta, a huge selection of cheese, fresh produce, ingredients and products from around the world, sauces, and a great selection of prepared foods. This is pure heaven for anyone who loves to cook! Teance was right next door, where their mission is to promote authentic fine teas and re-introduce the culture of appreciating tea. They carry only the most pure, premium, and seasonal whole leaf teas possible - introducing the consumer to the enjoyment, health benefits, and serenity that comes with drinking tea. In their Berkeley retail store, they have a beautiful tea bar where you can sit and enjoy any of their fine teas. The coolest parts, other than the fact that this was my first experience in a store dedicated to teas with a tea bar in it, was the awesome fountain right in the middle of the store with water pouring down from the shower above and the awesome structural piece hanging from the ceiling!

Acme Bread Company ~ Est. 1983

Another Berkeley, CA gem is the Acme Bread Co - a nationally acclaimed artisan bread bakery. Steve Sullivan, the founder and owner, says that after all these years, the number one goal is to bake outstanding bread. Acme uses only organic flour as well as working closely with farmers - evaluating and selecting grain varieties for its flour every year. They work around the clock - 3 shifts of bakers a day - seven days a week at the Berkeley bakery to meet the high demands. At its newer and only other location, in the bakery in {San Francisco Ferry Building}, breads are baked fresh throughout the day in the hearth oven. It was 25 years ago, as a busboy at Berkeley's famous {Chez Panisse} restaurant where he worked while attending UC Berkeley, that he became interested in baking bread. Eventually after bread baking became a serious hobby, Alice Waters requested that he bake bread in the Chez Panisse kitchen. In 1983 he and his wife opened their first - now legendary - bakery.

On Monday, before heading back to San Luis Obispo from the Bay Area, I stopped at the Berkeley location to snap a few photos and pick up some fresh breads: Herb Slab for panini-making, a sourdough baguette, and a loaf of olive bread!