Adeline St, South Berkeley

For me, this section of Adeline is all about Nick’s Lounge. I don’t come to it all the time but every so often when I’m in the neighborhood I might drop in to chill a bit. They also have these pretty cool open mic nights that used to do local poets and that sort of thing--its a very college sort of atmosphere which sometimes makes me feel like I’m still an undergrad but lately more often than not makes me feel over the hill. They are actually doing an open mic for jazz singers which I am looking forward to this weekend.

The other nice thing about this stretch of Adeline is the it is right by the Ashby BART station, which makes it great for commuters. There are a butt load of cool places here too, including the Black Repertory Group, which you can think of as the Berkeley Rep with a focus on African Americans arts; Turtle Island Integrative Health, one of those New-Age Acupuncture massage sorts of places,and the really fabulous Mothership Hackermoms workspace--which is completely amazing. Mothership Hackkermoms is this place--with onsite childcare--where moms can come and explore their creativity and entrepreneurship. Very cool and very, very Berkeley.

There are also stores like The People’s Bazaar--a semi-furniture/antiques shop where you can come across some really cool stuff if you take the time to look hard enough.

As far as places to eat be sure to check out Chen’s Garden, the local Chinese food joint and Vault Cafe, the place to go for breakfast.

Overall this is pretty good stretch and far enough of the UC campus where rents are pretty reasonable. Also with BART nearby, commuting is a cinch.