La Note, Gregoire, Sketch: A Sunny Day in Berkeley
Sunday I went with a friend to visit the used bookshops in Berkeley and we made a few stops along the way for chow.
Breakfast at La Note was pretty good. It was surprisingly full early in the morning (9?)--I'm not sure if the popularity can be attributed to Father's Day or if there is always a long wait that early. We split brioche french toast, gingerbread and pear pancakes, a ham and cheese omelette, and bacon. The french toast, omelette, and bacon were excellent. The gingerbread pancakes were underwhelming--dry and not complimented by maple syrup, they could have used some type of sauce (lemon? pear?). We also had diavolo sodas (mine was lemon, his was some type of berry) that we both enjoyed.
For lunch we stopped at Gregoire and split the Montana flank steak sandwich, which was excellent. The bread was perfectly toasted on the grill; the green peppercorn sauce cut the fatty meat nicely. I am already sold on Gregoire and took my friend there to impress him with my knowledge of one place in town he's never been: he was suitably impressed.
At Sketch we tried pretty much every flavor before settling on vanilla (for him) and a split of white peach sorbet and natural yogurt for me. I loved the tart, acid taste of the natural yogurt and the natural not-too-sugary taste of the sorbet. The peach, which is made from locally farmed fruit, was recommended by the woman behind the counter, who advised us to try the seasonal fruit flavors, and I'm glad I did.
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Jun 18, 2007 01:24PM
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where is Sketch? I haven't heard of that one. Is it just a dessert place?
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Sketch is located on Berkeley's 4th St, next door to Bette's and across the street from Eccolo. It's my favorite dessert spot in the Bay Area. The two owners worked as pastry chefs at 3 star restaurants in SF before deciding to open their own place. They make everything from scratch, using the best ingredients available. The ice cream focuses on simplicity and purity, so you wont see many flavor combos or chunks. This time of year, with the availability of incredible stone fruit, the ice cream really shines. I had a bowl of balsamic bing cherry yesterday that was simply to die for. They also sell a delicious assortment candies (try the toffee), cookies, and individually sized cakes.
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Morton, may I respectfully ask, am I the only one who prefers Ici to Sketch. I live a scant five blocks from Sketch and could basically go there every day if I wasn't working. I don't get it. They make good ice cream, but I can't say I remember any particular flavor.
On the other hand I love the gingersnap lime ice cream sandwich at Ici and had a very satsifying dish of meaty, slightly sweet spumoni a few weeks ago. After a swim Sunday I had cardamon and chocolate, which was intriguing, but had me wishing I had spent the last $4 in my wallet on a gingersnap lemon ic sandwich.
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Ben and Jerry once wrote that there are two types of ice cream eaters - biters and lickers. Biters prefer ice cream with a high butterfat content, so thick that you can chew it, that is chock full of chunks of cookies, candy, etc. Lickers prefer a lower butterfat content, a smoother mouthfeel, a cleaner flavor, and little or no chunks.
Sketch is for lickers, Ici is for biters. Given your love of ice cream sandwiches, it sounds to me like you are a biter. Intersestingly enough, I was an adamant biter for years, but Sketch has converted me to being a licker.
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Interesting ... I am definitely a licker, so that may explain my preference for Sketch's ice cream to Ici's. Thanks for the post!
(Oh, and to JasmineG, I think you can get your ice cream in a crepe or sandwiched between cookies at Sketch.)
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I love Sketch ice cream, and I love their cookies, but their ice cream sandwiches just aren't what ice cream sandwiches should be. For a proper ice cream sandwich, they need to be made in advance and then frozen, so that they stay a sandwich, and don't just turn into ice cream smeared on a cookie, which while an excellent snack, isn't what I want when I want an ice cream sandwich.
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I absolutely love that gingersnap lemon ice cream sandwich at Ici. I think it's the best thing that they have. I like most of the flavors at Sketch better, though (but man, I wish that Sketch had Ici's cones...).
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Has Sketch become less strict about limiting the number of tastes before purchase?
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There was no line when we visited, so I don't know if the service we received was typical or would be repeated on a busy day, but we were not told of any limit on tastes. I think I tried four flavors and my friend tried three.
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Depends entirely on how busy they are, but they do seem less strict about it than they used to be.
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Thanks, I'll be up for going out of my way for Sketch again. A couple times I hit the two-taste limit without finding either one revelatory and walked away without buying anything when they said I couldn't try anything else. I have found greatness here on other occasions and I'm happy that they can be more flexible about letting me discover it and pay for the experience.
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I can't speak for Eric and Ruthie, but I believe that if you identify yourself as an ice cream fanatic with an intent to buy that they will let you sample until you find the right flavor.
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I'm not an ice cream fanatic, and I've let them know I want to buy, but "no go" in the past. Again, I'm glad to hear they will allow more sampling. Ice cream stores should be happy places.
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Hmm, I don't think I've ever seen anything about a tasting limit, maybe they've relaxed that? I'm sure I've had three tastes probably every time I've been there, but I've usually only been when there's no line.
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It's been at least a year since my last visit to Sketch. IIRC, there used to be sign posted.
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On 4th Street
Sketch Ice Cream www.sketchicecream.com
1809 4th St
Berkeley, CA 94710
(510) 665-5650
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1809 4th St
Berkeley, CA, 94710
Yes, just dessert. They had about 10 different types of ice creams and sorbets as well as a small selection of packaged baked goods.
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Sorry to hear that your lemon gingerbread pancakes with poached pears at La Note were dry. The ones that I had previously were tender and fluffy, and the pears were really succulent ... mmm, just wondering, where's the lemon? The gingerbread flavor was definitely there though.
And omigosh, Sketch! I had the same flavors as you did (the Straus yogurt and the peach) while my mum had the earl grey and coffee when we went there a couple of weeks ago. They were heavenly! The yogurt tasted so natural and I loved its tanginess, which complemented the sweeter peach flavor well. My mum's earl grey was also great, refreshing and brimming with all that tea flavor. Previously I've tried the burnt caramel but the flavor didn't stand out that well. Anyway, their products tasted so simple and were literally what they are called. The owners were also friendly. The higher price was definitely justified by greater satisfaction - yes, I was a happy customer. :)
I believe Sketch uses mostly organic ingredients and their ice creams are only made with milk and not cream, so you don't get the muted flavors from a butterfat overload. The consistency of their ice creams are also more like that of gelato. When we were in there, the lady was making some fudgsicles and chocolate-dipped bananas.
Actually I've been craving their yogurt ice cream ever since I've had it, and I'm tempted to try their cookies and other confections ... I think I'll be back soon! :P
(Here are pictures of the lemon gingerbread pancakes from La Note, the treats from Sketch, and the quaint little ice cream cart outside the store.)
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