A belly full of Berkeley (and SF)

My parents were visiting for the past week and each night we indulged a bit too much. How can you go wrong when you have some of the best Thai of you life one night, a homely Moroccan feast the next night, a plate of beer battered fish and chips the following evening, then margaritas and Italian, then plate after plate after plate of Vietnamese, then flat iron steak the next night, then Cheeseboard treats and Gregoire to finish it all off! Waistline expanding, oh my! Eating our way through Berkeley and SF really helps me to realize how special it is to live in this area. What do you want for lunch? How ’bout Hawaiian bbq? Or Ethiopian? Or Brazilian? or Indian? or Thai, or Vietnamese, or Italian, or Mexican, or a fantastic Jewish deli, or some of the best deep dish pizza, or even better…Cafe Gratitude where all the dishes have titles like “I am treasured, or I am elated” and the pizza isn’t “pizza” but cashew cheese on top of a cracker of some sort which is covered in greens. My mouth is watering thinking about all this, but then I realized how absolutely stuffed I am and how I need to throw some sort of detox party for myself (but not to the extreme of my brother…I don’t think I could survive on water, lemon juice, maple syrup, and cayenne pepper just to try to flush all the toxins/food out of my body). Perhaps I will just try a salad every now and then.

At Cafe Gratitude the dreadlocked waitress asked before we ordered, “What are you grateful for?” Today my answers include:

Spending some great time with my family. Hopefully this isn’t too much of a copout answer, but I am really truly appreciative of having such a fantastic family. I absolutely love my parents and am so thankful for them.
Being a “square peg” and knowing how great life is with another “square peg.”
Going to Point Isabell with the parents, bro, and dog. Who knew my dad would be so eager to trek through murky mud water to try to find the lost $6 ball that sunk to the bottom of the inlet.
Finding a mamma stingray with baby stingray caught in the rocks at the dog park…crazy to find life that lives in liquid washed up on dry land. May they rest in peace.
Watching big brown dog Finney carry home a doll and purse in his mouth. Such a worker dog.
Beautiful weather in beautiful Berkeley with a belly oh so full.

Yes, I am thankful.

Author: Ali Carras

At a very young age I lost site of my mom in a local grocery store in Boulder, Colorado. I did, however, have the smarts to go to the customer service counter. The kind woman at the counter asked "What is your name little girl?" My reply: "Assi." The woman gave me a look like, "Are you playing with me you little devil?" but she proceeded to blast on the loudspeaker the "We have a lost Assi at the front of the store." Customers throughout the store gagged and giggled, but my mom knew exactly who the woman was referring to: the mullet haired little girl with a tongue too big for her mouth, wearing a leotard, skirt, tights, and jelly shoes (with florescent green laces in them...even though they didn't need the laces). A shy little character for whom every little detail in life was a huge thing. I am pleased to report that today I am able to fully pronounce Allison (aka Ali), but the Assi pseudonym has always stuck, evolving into Aszi. As for the shy little character for whom every little detail in life was a huge thing? Some things never change. I have closed my comments due to mass amounts of spam that no filter could ever control. Feel free to contact me abeckord [at] gmail.com! View all posts by Ali Carras