Gourmet Ghetto
The Gourmet Ghetto is a
The neighborhood, anchored by
History
The Gourmet Ghetto can trace its origins to April 1, 1966, when Dutch-born Alfred Peet opened the first Peet's Coffee location at the corner of Walnut and Vine.[2] Peet's was the first coffee retailer in the U.S. to feature specialty beans from around the world, with darker roasts such as French roast. The store initially sold only whole bean, fresh roasted coffee for home preparation—coffee was brewed only to enable customers to sample the product. Peet had a fiery and temperamental character; he insisted that his patrons follow specific instructions for the preparation of European-style coffee at home.[4] Peet's Coffee kicked off a nationwide trend in specialty coffee.[5]
The activist-oriented
Chez Panisse was founded in 1971 by U.C. Berkeley film studies professor Paul Aratow and Alice Waters, who had been a student of the French language, a political activist, and a world traveler. The restaurant opened in an Arts and Crafts-style home on Shattuck Avenue, and featured French-style dinners but made with locally grown ingredients. Waters very actively promoted the idea of an alternate network of food suppliers working together to create flavorful meals. At first, Waters used ingredients bought at the Berkeley Co-op and at smaller markets around Berkeley. The staff foraged for ingredients such as wild blackberries, and neighbors brought produce grown in their backyards.[7] David Lance Goines, Waters's boyfriend and a skilled artist, created posters for the restaurant and other Gourmet Ghetto businesses. With her friends including film scholars Aratow and Tom Luddy, Waters effectively ran a culinary salon at Chez Panisse, to advocate social change with the goal of making locally sourced food economically viable.[3] In February 1973, Waters hired Jeremiah Tower as head chef.[9] Tower increased the focus on salads and local food. Tower says that a turning point in the focus on locally sourced food came in October 1976, when he prepared a regional menu including cream corn soup made in a Mendocino style, oysters from Tomales Bay, cheese from Sonoma, and California-grown fruits and nuts purchased at a farmer's market in San Francisco.[7]
In 1973, Victoria Wise, a former philosophy student and Chez Panisse's first head chef, opened Pig-by-the-Tail, a French-style charcuterie, across the street from Chez Panisse. In December 1973, Alice Medrich began selling her chocolate truffles out of Pig-by-the-Tail; after quickly running out of her first small batch, Wise asked Medrich to deliver 25 dozen every day. This was the start of an American craze for chocolate truffles.[10] Seeking a larger space in July 1975, the Cheese Board Collective moved into the retail space next to Wise. Down Shattuck a couple of blocks was Poulet, a gourmet restaurant which featured the work of Bruce Aidells, who would soon be known for his novel sausage flavors. Later, Aidells founded his own sausage company.[7] Another co-op, the Juice Bar Collective, opened in 1976. In 1977, Medrich opened a chocolate and dessert shop named Cocolat on the same block as Chez Panisse and Pig-by-the-Tail. Medrich's chocolate truffles were somewhat larger and lumpier than their French cousins; these became known as California truffles.[10] Wise says that the arrival of Cocolat was a catalyst, that it "cinched the whole Gourmet Ghetto thing."[11]
In 1980, Chez Panisse opened a more casual dining room upstairs from the original. The second floor cafe operated almost as a second restaurant, with an
Until the late 1980s, the Berkeley Co-op grocery store offered natural foods to residents and chefs of the Gourmet Ghetto. Next door was the French Hotel cafe, which featured cappuccino and espresso coffee.[16]
Location
According to the North Shattuck Association, the Gourmet Ghetto business district runs primarily along Shattuck Avenue, with some shops on Walnut and Vine streets, and is roughly bordered by Rose Street to the north and Delaware Street to the south.[17]
Controversy
The "Gourmet Ghetto" moniker became controversial in 2019 when Nick Cho, co-owner of a new coffee shop in the neighborhood, remarked in an interview with Berkeleyside that he thought it was an inappropriate, offensive name. The North Shattuck Association, which had been using "Gourmet Ghetto" in its marketing, deliberated and decided to drop the phrase and remove the street-side banners that used it.[1]
See also
References
- ^ a b Han, Sarah (16 September 2019). "After ruckus, business association votes to drop 'Gourmet Ghetto' moniker; others say name should stay". Berkeleyside. Retrieved 18 February 2020.
- ^ ISBN 0520956702.
- ^ ISBN 1423602544.
- ISBN 0316026174.
- ISBN 0313364583.
- ^ Goldstein 2013, p. 246
- ^ ISBN 0262517868.
- ISBN 0930588940.
- ISBN 0307575349.
- ^ a b Barron, Cheryll Aimee (September 25, 1988). "Madam Cocolat". The New York Times.
- ^ Kamp 2009, p. 162
- ^ Lauriston, Robert (September 26, 2007). "Pizza Smackdown". San Francisco Chronicle.
- ISBN 022602993X.
- ^ Pearlman 2013, p. 71
- ^ Goldstein 2013, p. 162
- ISBN 0520934253.
- ^ North Shattuck Association
External links
- List of Gourmet Ghetto businesses, SFGate.com
- Berkeley's Fascination with Food, online exhibit by Berkeley Historical Society
- The Gourmet Ghetto is no longer, and Berkeley businesses say they're ready to move on, sfchronicle.com