The Best of Berkeley is the Daily Californian’s annual reader-voted contest to find the best people, places, and businesses in Berkeley.

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Dishes

Best Bagel: Noah’s Bagels

Larry McGrath

The benchmark of the best bagel all comes down to variety. Many of we regular bagel consumers grow tired of the same poppy seed bagel with plain cream cheese each day. Measured against all other places early morning Berkeley residents can find a freshly toasted bagel, Noah’s top them all…with a wide variety of shmears. Whether it’s savory or sweet, meaty or veggie (I highly suggest the tomato and basil shmear) Noah’s offers a smorgasbord of bagel-toppings, making it the pinnacle of warm cream and carb delights.  Noah’s also goes beyond the standard bagel fair, offering chocolate, cinnamon and sugar, as well as “gourmet” cheesy and jalapeño flavors. And best of all, they can be ordered as the bread-alternative support for a sandwich of your choosing. This Noah guy got it right when it came to pre-noon sustenance.

Editors' Pick: Noah's Bagels
Honorable Mention: Golden Bear Cafe

Best Breakfast: Ann’s Kitchen

Editors' Pick: La Note
Honorable Mention: Durant Cafe

Best Burger and Fries: Smart Alec's

Louis Peitzman

Full disclosure: I’m a vegetarian. So reviewing Best Burger and Fries—it’s a little strange. But here’s the thing. It doesn’t really matter what kind of patty you get at Smart Alec’s (veggie, regular, and chicken are your choices), because here, it’s all about the sauce.

I don’t know how they make it. Frankly, I don’t want to know. I’m pretty sure special sauce is one part mayo, one part ketchup, and a heaping helping of relish. This stuff, however, is pickle-free, and contains some sort of magical, spicy alternative. Seriously, it goes well on everything.

Including the fries, which are in a class of their own. The best part is, you can get regular or garlic. And no, we’re not talking about a little garlic powder sprinkled on top—this is the real stuff, all chopped up and guaranteed to haunt your breath for days.

Incidentally, I’m told the burgers with meat are pretty good, too.

Editors' Pick: Smart Alec's
Honorable Mention: Barney's Burgers
Also Won For: Best Soup, Best Health Food

Best Dessert: Yogurt Park

Joy Regullano

Yogurt Park—or YoPo, if you prefer that newfangled slang going around—always seems to be crowded, no matter what hour of the day. It always has a selection of interesting flavors to offer, changed up daily, and toppings up the wazoo. This results in infinite combinations, especially since you can put more than one flavor into your serving. Each cup packs a punch, in more ways than one. Not only is each flavor alive and kicking, but the smiling servers really pack it down. More baffling still is the fact that the "small" size is twice as big as the mini, and yet it's 30 cents more. It's like… they want you to eat up all their inventory! And at a great price, too. It's just all too easy to eat too much, what with its location just a block away from campus, so perhaps you can share that fermented milk product—I mean, yogurt—with a special someone.

Editors' Pick: Ici
Honorable Mention: Ici

Best Donut: Kingpin

Zoe Carpou

It is late on a Saturday night.  You are either a) stumbling home from a party, b) hovering over a textbook, or c) catching up on past episodes of "Lost."  At any rate, no matter what situation you may find yourself in, you are likely to have one goal in mind:  a warm, gooey, freshly-glazed donut.

Editors' Pick: Kingpin
Honorable Mention: Bay King

Best Falafel: Sunrise Deli

Stefanie Lee

A dependable falafel source is hard to come by. I’ve certainly had my fair share of mediocre falafel experiences in Berkeley, ranging from too cold to too dry to too bland. But if I am Goldilocks, then Sunrise Deli on Bancroft is that proverbial bowl of “just right” porridge. They’ve truly mastered the art of falafel-making (you know – crispy on the outside, soft on the inside, warm but not scalding), not to mention falafel-pricing, since a container of 12 costs a mere $3.50. Oh, and did I mention that Sunrise Deli is located devastatingly close to campus? The whole situation is too good to be true for Cal students. It’s a wonder that more of us don’t withdraw all of our money from the ATM (conveniently located next door) and exchange our life savings for a stockpile of savory falafels.

Editors' Pick: Sunrise Deli
Honorable Mention: Eat A Pita

Best Hot Dog: Top Dog

Joy Regullano

Finished wandering up and down frat row and cruising for something to eat? Or perhaps you're up late studying for finals and need something more than nasty energy drinks or adderol to keep you going. Either way, Top Dog will always be there for you, with all sorts of breeds of gourmet dogs at a reasonable price—at least until around 2 a.m., which is an ungodly hour to be awake anyway. It's close and personal, with its hot-dog-stand-in-a-building feel, and the juicy burst of sausage wrapped in crisp bread can feel like deliverance when you need to finish that paper. Polish sausage! Chicken, garlic, and fresh lemon! Apple! I didn't even know so many ingredients could fit into one casing. The widely differentiated menu necessitates multiple visits to even make a taste-testing dent in all they offer. Bet you can't stop at just one.

Editors' Pick: Top Dog
Honorable Mention: Desi Dog

Best Pizza: Cheeseboard

Christine Borden

The sound of upbeat jazz escapes the airy Mecca, and the line hooks out the door and well past its sister cheese/bakery shop. Picnickers sprawl across the grassy meridian, a little slice of heaven between midday passing cars trying to discern the day’s fare. The menu is fixed, there’s never pepperoni and don’t even think about asking for tomato sauce. You don’t mess with something that’s already an obligatory Berkeley gourmand cream dream.
The crust is thin, the mozzarella a canvas for the toppings du jour, brushed with a glisten of oil. One day it’s delicate slices of heirloom tomatoes, the pizza painted in greens, reds, oranges and yellows. Or it’s potato, sprinkled feta, a squirt of lime.

The first bite sends your stomach to gastronomical proportions, and you can’t help but “mmm” over a piece of perfection. And then you realize there’s a baby slice of pizza they added to the one you ordered.

Editors' Pick: Zachary's
Honorable Mention: Blondie's
Also Won For: Best Bakery

Best Sandwich and Salad: Intermezzo

Editors' Pick: Sufficient Grounds
Honorable Mention: Smart Alec's

Best Seafood: Spenger's Fish Grotto

Editors' Pick: Angeline's Louisiana Kitchen
Honorable Mention: Joshuya's

Best Sushi: Joshu-ya

Stephanie M. Lee

Let me introduce you to my friend the Madrid, a sushi conoction of the most awesome kind: baked salmon and shitake, topped with buttery avocado and fresh, salty unagi (that's eel, for you non-conoisseurs). Now that you've wiped your drool off the newsprint, head over to Joshu-ya Sushi Restaurant on Dwight and Telegraph, where the Madrid and more than 50 other kinds of sushi await you. In Berkeley's increasingly crowded sushi market, Joshu-ya continues to reign supreme thanks to its fresh ingredients, creative recipes and generous portions. It may make a dent in your razor-thin student budget, but for a night out on the town, it can't be beat.

Editors' Pick: Joshu-ya
Honorable Mention: Tako Sushi
Also Won For: Best Japanese

Best Coffee: Caffe Strada

Rajesh Srinivasan

Hi, I’m Rajesh Srinivasan, and I have a problem. I am addicted to coffee. I have been to coffee shops everywhere around campus, from Café Nefeli to Caffe Mediterraneum. That’s why today, with all my experience in the world of coffee, that Café Strada makes one damn fine cup of joe.

It’s usually on the stronger side, but it’s the type of smoky perfection that you look for in a dry cappuccino. Prefer it lighter? The au laits and latte revel in creamy perfection. Or maybe you’re averse to all dairy products? Go for the classic espresso that Strada makes so well.

All of this java greatness, coupled with the fact that Strada is conveniently located on the corner of College Ave. and Bancroft Way, make Strada the choice for students and locals alike. So next time your in the area, order, sit and enjoy. You won’t regret a single sip.

Editors' Pick: Cafe Milano
Honorable Mention: Peet's Coffee