Pizza Alley – Adeline Street, Berkeley, CA

Berkeley, California is a unique community in a unique region. My travels are limited to the U.S. and a good chunk of Europe many years ago but I’ve seen more than a few burghs up close. When you strip the outer onion skin off Berserkeley it’s still wild and unique. Dig deeper and it gets downright weird. The streets were clearly planned with insanity as a desired goal. Tiny roundabouts in residential neighborhoods and speed bumps that appear designed to rip the bottom out of anything other than a hybrid SUV. Wildly divergent architecture and frequently wild paint jobs lend many shades to the colorfulness. Cal Bears form the center of the town’s universe and the crowds of students mixed with aging hippies reading paperbacks on self-improvement make for a visual feast. Visit on a day when class is in session at Cal for the full banquet.