August 18, 2010

road trippin 2: berkeley, point reyes, russian river!

well rested, i continued my trek up north, stopping by bakesale betty's in berkeley for lunch. the menu is simple: fried chicken sandwich, chicken pot pie, and whatever baked goods they happen to be making. i opted for the sandwich. i'm not a big fried chicken fan, but i found this to be pretty good. the coating of the chicken was still crispy when i got it. the simple slaw comprised of cabbage, peppers, and i think parsley or cilantro, dressed in some kind of olive oil/lemon dressing. put some tapatio on that, and this was a pretty tasty and filling sandwich. also picked up a slice of banana bread, which honestly was the best i've ever had (no picture tho, ate it for dinner).
i planned my trip to explore parts of cali i hadn't been before, so i kept goin up, across the richmond bridge to point reyes.
did an enjoyable hike although i have to admit i was a bit scared as i had never really hiked alone before. paranoid thoughts ran rampant of being killed and my body never being found. luckily, my backpack has a built in rape whistle, which gave me confidence and quelled my fears.
stayed at a hostel for the first time (never thought there were any in the us for some reason)
room shot.
after a rather sleepless night, i explored the area a bit more the next morning (curiously enough, it had rained the night before), then made my way up to santa rosa to visit the russian river brewery. sound familiar? they make pliny the elder.
it was around lunchtime, so i ordered the meatball sandwich with a side salad. the sandwich was nothing special (meatballs tasted frozen), but i really did enjoy the vinaigrette on the salad.
but really, who cares about the food? it's all about the beers here. i sampled a few of their brews, my favorite being damnation, a strong belgian style golden ale. i ended up buying a few bottles to bring home.
as much as i wanted to try them all, i had to show some restraint because i still had to drive a few more hours up north to caspar. remember not to drink and drive kids!

3 rah rah rahs:

Mike said...

I think I stayed in that hostel once - a long time ago.

Love Russian River. Damnation is a pretty tasty beer. When I'm there, though, I have a hard time keeping myself from just drinking Pliny.

Dennis K. said...

That chicken sandwich looks mighty good.. I like that you're taking your camera everywhere with you. Fun post!

imjustatree said...

mike: that's pretty awesome and so is rr! i really did want to stay longer and sample them all. but i'll be a lot closer to them in a week so i'll def. be paying another visit soon!
dennis: amen brother, it was delicious and i encourage you to try it if you're ever in berkeley.

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