On a Friday afternoon after my week’s classes finally wrapped up, I faced a mundane but necessary task: grocery shopping. Despite the longer commute, I decided to make the trip to Berkeley Bowl and trade the monotony of big box stores for a curious adventure. Wandering through the aisles, I was met with an array of produce I’d never seen before, shelves lined with international ingredients, and local brands from the Berkeley area.
Berkeley Bowl Marketplace is a family-owned grocery store that gets its name from the bowling alley that preceded the original location. Best known for its extensive produce selection, the marketplace’s commitment to supporting local brands makes it a great choice for shoppers looking to invest in their community. While this can mean some items don’t work for a student’s budget, Berkeley Bowl is still worth a visit for the variety and visual appeal of its goods.
Diverse Produce
The first time I walked into Berkeley Bowl, I was stunned by the vastness of the produce area. Rows of glistening fruits and vegetables filled the space with vibrant colors and a crisp, earthy air. Entire walls were filled with varieties of mushrooms and radishes I had never heard of, from pom pom and emperor’s club mushrooms to purple ninja and icicle radishes. Even plants I’d only encountered in an evolutionary biology textbook, like kohlrabi, or seen exclusively on cooking shows, like squash blossoms, were readily available for anyone who wished to cook with them.
Global ingredients like mangosteen, Thai eggplant, and nopales (also known as prickly pear cactus leaves) broaden your culinary opportunities. If you’re wondering where to start with cooking these unique foods, The Berkeley Bowl Cookbook offers recipes inspired by the store’s wide variety of fresh produce.
International Selection
Berkeley Bowl provides a plethora of global foods all under one roof. I was excited to find that they carried baby bok choy and enoki mushrooms, ingredients that I would normally have to trek to Richmond for. Multiple brands of Skyr—an Icelandic yogurt known for its thick, velvety texture—were displayed alongside the more widely available yogurts. There were also many creative Lay’s potato chip flavors from China, including the scallion pancake and numb and spicy hot pot flavors. A recent addition to the international inventory is Tao Qi, a popular Chinese peach ice cream treat that’s as aesthetic as it is sweet and creamy.
Local Brands
As an institution deeply rooted in the community, Berkeley Bowl is committed to supporting small, local businesses. Strolling through the aisles, you may recognize popular Bay Area brands on product labels scattered throughout the store. Inna Jam, based in Emeryville, offers many unusual but intriguing jam flavors, like quince, Fresno chili, and plum chutney with mustard and bay laurel.
Featured in the candy aisle is a decadent collaboration between the award-winning TCHO chocolate company and Third Culture Bakery, made in a chocolate factory right here in Berkeley. Their Matcha Oat Milk White Chocolate Bar With A Strawberry Filling is a mouthful—both to say and to eat—but its tangy strawberry flavor delicately balances the nuttiness of the matcha oat milk. Fresh loaves of bread from Starter Bakery and cartons of Humphry Slocombe ice cream are also on display in the store, further highlighting Berkeley Bowl’s celebration of Bay Area food culture.
Eggs Galore
Despite the ongoing egg shortage caused by the avian flu, Berkeley Bowl flaunts its abundance of eggs. Its egg aisle remains fully stocked, unaffected by the current nationwide crisis. This is because Berkeley Bowl owns a farm with its very own flock of chickens in Petaluma, a small city about an hour north of Berkeley, reducing dependency on factory farms. In addition, Berkeley Bowl works with other local egg producers instead of huge factories to supply the ever-increasing demand.
The sprawling in-store assortment of ingredients and products leaves even more to explore. Berkeley Bowl also boasts an expansive cheese section, a gourmet seafood and meats section (featuring ground elk, whole raw squid, and chicken hearts), a bulk section for dry ingredients, and much more. If you’re looking for something closer to campus, the Berkeley Student Food Collective is a great option. However, if you’re ready for an adventure, take a trip to Berkeley Bowl, where you can spice up your meals, discover delicious foods, and get inspired.