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Pros: The decor is really fun, and the staff is casual but efficient. Our nice waitress let me order off the kid’s menu, despite the fact that I am not kid-sized.

I start with the good aspects of Earwax because I want to say something good about this place, but that good thing will not be about the food.

I ordered a mocha cappuccino, and it wasn’t as hot as I would’ve liked, but more importantly, it just wasn’t very good. Strange aftertaste. And the foam was more like a shield than anything.

Food-wise, I got a grilled cheese sandwich with soy cheese and fries. The sandwich just had a whole bunch of problems – again, it wasn’t warm enough, the rye (?!?) bread tasted too dry (not enough fat in the pan) and the soy cheese was just all wrong. Don’t get me wrong – I love soy cheese normally, but this sandwich needed some sprouts or tomato slices or avocado to spruce it up. Non-melted, lukewarm soy cheese on dry rye bread is just so tragic.

But the thing that got me was the boring fries. The serving was generous, but I got bored after my fifth lukewarm, dull fry. They tasted like the fries you buy frozen in the freezer section of a grocery store.

In conclusion, I’ll probably go back, because I want to support them and their plethora of vegan dishes, but next time, I won’t be shy about asking the server to stick everything – coffee included — in the microwave for 60 seconds.

Determined to get a vegan sampling of Philadelphia before we left, my friend and I stopped in at Govinda’s Gourmet To Go. (Well, we actually got confused and went to the Govinda’s next door, which is a sit-down place that was absolutely deserted at 6 PM. It was creepily dark, and the entrees were really expensive. Soy duck? For $16?)
So we got things straightened out and ended up back to the more casual Govinda’s, and we ordered a soy philly cheesesteak with soy cheese.

First of all, it was good. The cheese they use is like a nacho cheese, very oily, and the seitan is oily, and the peppers on it were oily, so my friend and I were both a little stomach-achy when we finished, but that’s kind of the cheesesteak experience, right?
That being said.

A couple of problems: there weren’t really any side dishes (that I saw) beyond soup and salad. No fries or anything? Chips, even?
It’s a very, very casual place – honestly, a little too casual for me. Not a place to take someone you want to impress. We ate with plastic forks, we picked up napkins that were in a pile at the counter, and there were some flies in the place.

Service seemed friendly enough – when I dropped the first plastic fork that the guy behind the counter gave me, he saw it and handed over a new one without me even having to ask, which was sweet.

Taste of the Himalayas – as you can see from peeking in the windows facing Shattuck Ave – has a very old-fashioned look: big, heavy, wood-carved chairs, and oppressive decor. It’s intimidating.

Service was great (though we had a pretty early dinner and were sitting alone in the dining room, but still, attentive service) and the vegetables in my vegetable curry tasted fresh. But it wasn’t spectacular, or particularly memorable; I probably wouldn’t go again, especially considering the sheer number of restaurants in Berkeley.

ETA: Oops, forgot to add in the samosas in the dishes below, ‘cause duh, I didn’t actually forget to order them. Never forget the samosas. Sadly, they turned out to be pretty flavorless and I’ve had better.

(Like most Indian restaurants, and like many Berkeley restaurants, it’s very vegetarian and vegan-friendly; they denote the vegan items on their menu.)

The Morning Due is a cafe-ish setting that sends large coffees flying out from the busy counter. You can go there for caffeine, Wi-Fi, or the used books they sell; as a tourist, I was there for the food. It makes for fun people-watching – it had a relaxed feel, as people leaned over their laptops to chat with each other and eat big muffins.

I just wanted to chime in and say, yes, absolutely, so true, Cheeseboard is delicious. I would’ve waited in a line that stretched to Nevada for this pizza. Thanks for the recommendation, guys!

Herbivore doesn’t offer many surprises for the vegetarian foodie: they push the run-of-the-meal dishes that most vegetarian eaters have come to know and love (lentil loaf, anyone?) and they do it pretty well.

Some interesting exceptions:
They serve some veganize-d cocktails, like a mojito with agave nectar instead of sugar, and a irish coffee with soy milk and whipped cream (that I review below.) Their beer selection is also fun – think pear ciders, raspberry beers, and yes, they have pitchers of fat tire & blue moon.

Their desserts (because everyone always wants to know about the desserts) include vegan ice cream in flavors like mudslide and lemon poppy seeds. Also, they’ve got vegan donuts.

Their decor has kind of a diner-with-pretensions look to it.

The Sugar Shack is this quaint little restaurant that got yanked out of obscurity when people started noticing how adorable it was, and came running in to eat pancakes and buy the jugs of maple syrup they make in-house.

You sit at wood tables, next to wood walls, in what looks like the home of a woman who really likes wood decorating, and eat obscenely cheap food. A cooked egg costs eighty-five cents. So does a donut. And it’s delicious. As you eat the home fries (with local potatoes, on a plastic plate) It really feels as though someone very nice is doing you a favor.

If the prices aren’t a good enough reason to come, and the very solid food isn’t enough reason to come, then stop in for a visit just because they support local farmers, and not in that sort of yuppie way where they call it local and jack up the price.
Take a look at their website and you’ll see that they tell you where they’re getting their milk, and their potatoes, and blueberries and eggs. I really respect that.

But respect doesn’t make a restaurant – good food does – so I recommend the home fries and an apple pancake.
And if anyone goes and tries some of their more sugar-y concoctions, like a maple milkshake or a donut with maple cream, let us know how it is, will you? I was tempted, but it was just a little too early for me.

(They’re open at odd hours and close some seasons, so check their website or call before making the trip.)

As we all keep slogging through life, we should occasionally stop and celebrate that journey with food and perhaps a cocktail. I came to Mercat for my birthday dinner and while the reservationist seemed stressed – when I called to reserve my 6:15 reservation for two, there was a moment of silence and she said, very anxiously, “I’m sorry, I’m just not seeing it. You have a reservation for 16 people?” – she also said, “And this is for a birthday celebration?” and I said, “Yes,” in such a way that really meant, “Hell, yes!”

The decorations are very modern – lots of orange, and small lights hanging down from the ceiling, and presumably you’re meant to feel as if you’re attending a very chic picnic where the hostess hands out very small portions of food.

We started out with a white sangria (which was said to be good here, and it was) and a complimentary Spanish-style bruschetta absolutely loaded with garlic.
Our server – who was wonderful, as was the whole team – sweetly brought out a mini-dessert for my birthday, complete with a mini-candle, and thus solved the dessert dilemma of “I don’t know, should we go for it?”

Tip: the servers recommend getting three or four dishes per person; my dining companion and I each got three and that was more than enough.

Fresh Side calls itself “a little eatery and tea place” – blushingly self-aware, as you’re not going to find crumpets and scones here.

The outside of the place, on Amherst’s main drag, is black-and-white nondescript, but the interior is polished and modern.

We got mint tea, which was elegantly served in a clear pot swimming with leaves with shot glasses on the side. Small sprigs of mint were in the glasses, which were aesthetically awesome and made the tea’s flavor even richer.

They’re known for their tea rolls – sort of small Asian burritos, I guess? You can mix and match different tea rolls in one order, so I ordered the Vietnamese tea rolls & the pesto seaweed rice tea rolls. Both were fantastic, and I wouldn’t hesitate to order them again, but I’ll probably branch out and try something new next time.

The people I were with ordered bowls of rice, veggies, and chicken, and everything looked perfectly fresh and well-cooked.

Two things you absolutely gotta know: this place is cheap – you can get four tea rolls (about 2 small ‘burritos’, just so you can imagine the size)) for a little over $4. They know their audience in a college town.
Also, it’s very vegetarian/vegan friendly.

When I visited Black Sheep on a Sunday afternoon around 3, it was packed – there was almost nowhere to sit, and me and four friends had to steal plastic chairs from other tables and cram around a table meant for two.

Yes, there’s a good chance you’re going to end up at a plastic table, and there’s a good chance you will have absolutely nowhere to sit at all.

But the food is superb. I got the East-meets-West sandwich with tofu, garlic and peanut sauces, carrots, onions, and lettuce, and this sandwich was both huge (I mean big enough for two people) and delicious (delicious enough for one person). They also serve lots of pastries – including lots of vegan ones! Thanks, Black Sheep!

I’ve heard good things about their hot chocolate, but have yet to try it.