Sidewalk Street Food — Restaurant in Berkeley

Super fresh banh mi with organic tofu! (4/5 Green Stars) I wish I had tried this place earlier! I had the banh mi with organic tofu for lunch and the total cost, including tax and a 20% tip was $10.50! I was ravenous and had some concerns that it may not be enough – or come fast enough! However, the lady who took my order prepped the sandwich in as much time as it took me to take a few photos. Also, there was really a lot of tofu in the sandwich – two thick layers of it – so in the end it was pretty darn filling.

There were several memorable things about the sandwich, which I ate without any distraction even though I would normally read while eating. The bread was at a perfect state of crispiness – like a proper French roll – very light and also lightly toasted. The crunchy veggies – the daikon in particular, added a freshness to it that counterbalanced the umami of soy and tofu. I’ve only had a couple of banh mi sandwiches in my time but this one was not only the best so far but has also set a pretty high bar to measure others against.

I’m giving the Sidewalk Street Food 4/5 Green Stars for social and environmental impact. It’s a woman-owned and run business that offers affordable food in a fairly unaffordable neighborhood. Every dish option – banh mi, salad bowl, pho, and spring rolls all had a tofu option. Some of the other options – chicken and pork – are among the more sustainable choices for meat eaters. However, beef and shrimp are among the worst options Sidewalk loses a star for that. My sandwich was pretty much zero-waste in that it was wrapped in a sheet of paper and delivered in a...

Arrived at 11:30 to have lunch with a friend. We placed our order with no one on line. It was 12:10PM before we got both meals. They were doing a very large takeout order but did not warn us. Our meal ticket was ignored unless we pointedly asked. And ignored again as soon as we returned to our table. The second meal was not what we specified, but by that time all we wanted to do was get out of the place to eat what we could at an outside table. We were not the only frustrated...

Staying at the Claremont this week, found this little hidden gem and it is amazing. I call it hidden because even though I could see it on the map I'm bad at navigation and had a hard time finding it.

I only got the original sandwich as I have never had one before. It was absolutely amazing and I hope to stop by again before leaving. Their menu prices seem unheard of in this area and they were slammed busy when I went for lunch. They did move...