Zut! in Berkeley

The Fourth Street area of Berkeley is a cool place to hang out. There are a lot of funky stores and eateries and the people on the sidewalks usually smell better than those on Telegraph Avenue! ツ

I went over there on Sunday for brunch with a friend and, while we had wanted to go to Bette's Oceanview Diner, we ended up at Zut! because of the long lines.

It was a little more upscale than we had originally anticipated but there were tables available, so we were able to be seated immediately. Despite the number of folks in the main room (with the mural), the place was well designed so it wasn't noisy at all. It was a working brunch, so the corner they put us in gave us quite a bit of privacy. It also led to the waiter forgetting we were there and had us scrounging on the other tables for salt and pepper and to the bar for refills on the water.

The orange juice was fresh squeezed but it came in a pretty small glass for $5. A couple of swallows later, I finished it before the waiter returned to take our order. I had the chicken fried steak with potatoes and a sunnyside egg. While the gravy was the blandest things I've every eaten, the chicken was good. My dining companion had the eggs but they were out of sausage at 11:30.

From what I understand from talking to others, the brunch menu is still fairly new and that the chef focuses mainly on showcasing his talents for dinner. Based on my experience, however, I won't be finding out that for myself.