Au Coquelet Cafe

Last week Andy and I were in Berkeley to get the oil changed in our car and we decided to grab lunch while we waited. We walked up the main street, University Ave., which we are becoming very familiar with, and found Au Coquelet Cafe.

The first part of the restaurant is a walk-up cafe where you can order cappuccinos and decadent pastries. Oh the pastries, they looked so good! How could a person choose only one? But alas, we were there for lunch, so we continued past the cafe into the restaurant.

The restaurant was very casual and decorated with plenty of fresh greenery and plants. We felt like we were sitting outdoors, it was lovely. Since it was a French restaurant we couldn't pass up the french onion soup as a starter. And let me tell you, it was amazing french onion soup! The cheese was full and stringy, the broth warm and filled with soft onions, and it was served with hard crusted french bread for dipping. Amazing.

For the main course I had a salad and a pastrami swiss on rye sandwich. I wish I had taken a better picture of the sandwich because it was chock full of pastrami and swiss all melted together. It was delicious, and far more than I could eat, so it was a win for leftovers!

We enjoyed Au Coquelet for a drop-in lunch. The service was quick, the food was amazing, and the location is convenient in downtown Berkeley. We have been enjoying Berkeley a lot these days, it seems to fit us better than Oakland. We live in Oakland after all though, so we'll just save Berkeley for occasional weekend visits.

If you find yourself in the area and want to check it out: Au Coquelet Cafe, 2000 University Avenue, Berkeley, CA 9470.

A Chocolate Shop Review - Chocolatier Blue

It is wonderful to live in a city again! All things new and exciting, and an endless supply of restaurants and boutique shops to check out. Andy and I were in Berkeley last weekend and we happened upon a chocolate shop. Now, for one- who doesn't love chocolate, and for two- since owning my own chocolate business (Zest Chocolat), I feel the need to check out all other chocolate offerings in the world.

Upon entering the shop we realized what we saw was what we got. A tiny little shop that does everything right there behind the counter. Now if they had only been making the chocolate at the time we came in. I'm sure it is quite the site when they are making it.

The lady behind the counter greeted us when we entered the shop and offered us each a free Sage Honey Truffle. Um wow, free chocolate, yes please! It was delightful! The ganache was very runny though, which I thought might be a characteristic of only that flavor. (Unfortunately not.)

Andy and I bought a box of six flavors: Passion Fruit Caramel, Cranberry Jalapeno, Sweet Potato Casserole, Whiskey Spice, Root Beer Float, and Peanut Butter & Strawberry Jam. Our favorites were Sweet Potato Casserole and the Peanut Butter & Strawberry Jam. Talk about flavor! The rest were disappointingly bland tasting for their names though.

It was a nice experience, but we probably won't be frequenting this chocolate shop too often. The truffles were quite small for the price ($2/each!) and rather than being a rich soft chocolate they were runny and messy. The only part of the truffle that actually tasted like chocolate was the outer chocolate coating. I give huge kudos for the artistic decorating on the outsides of the truffles though.

If you find yourself in the area and want to check them out for yourselves here's the info:
Chocolatier Blue
1964 University Avenue  Berkeley, CA 94704