Where to eat:

Note: Every restaurant listed is likely vegetarian friendly unless noted, due to Sarah's ball-and-chain (ethically-minded and morally-superior boyfriend).

Around Downtown Berkeley

• Cheeseboard: $ UGH the Berkeley classic, and probably the only reason your "foodie" friend eats in the East Bay. Spawned a legion of imitators (Sliver), none of which are as good as the original. Every day they only serve one slice, which is always vegetarian, and if I'm being honest, the pizza is really just a vehicle for the green sauce. Line is intimidating but moves fast.
• Ike's: $ It's come to my attention that because many BioEs have never lived in the Bay Area before, many BioEs do not know about Ike's. This is unacceptable, as Ike's is the Bay Area's sandwich chain of choice. Get the dutch crunch bread, and enjoy an overwhelming amount of meat and fake-meat options. (Ball-and-chain recommends the vegan chicken.)
• Imm Thai: $$ It's a Berkeley undergrad hotspot for a reason. Imo, by far the best thai food out of the numerous subpar Berkeley options. They don't take reservations, so the play is to put your name down at the outdoor ipad and head to the Goodwill next door. Best item is the Tom Kha-- and you can fight me on that.
• Tsuruya: $$ At this current moment in time, there are five different ramen places within a 2-minute walk from the Berkeley bart station. Although I've only tried 4/5 of them, I'm pretty sure this is the best one. Walk-ins only, you might have to wait outside on a cuck bench for a bit since the place is small.
• Great China: $$ Your real Chinese friends will tell you this is American bastardization of Chinese food, but to my uncultured, whitewashed, Asian-American palette it's pretty great. Order the mapo tofu, which is loaded to the top with sichuan peppercorns. Randomly they have an award-winning wine menu?
• Rose Pizzeria: $$ Also a University ave babe, a particularly charming sit-down pizza spot. Pretty popular, so you should really try to get a reservation ahead of time. Think cute date night in the neighborhood, feed your valentine a slice of pepperoni with lots of hot honey on top and finish with a glass of natural wine.
• Saul's Restaurant & Delicatessen: $$ If Cheeseboard holds down one side of the Gourmet ghetto, then Saul's holds down the other side. It's a classic New York-style Jewish deli, so you have to try the latkes with homemade applesauce.
• Comal: $$ - $$$ I took my parents here and I feel like that's the appropriate vibe. Food is trendy upscale Mexican, think roasted shisito peppers and reinvented street corn. Late-afternoon, there's always a group of random mid-60-year-olds waiting outside for it to open, and I'm not sure why.
• Chez Panisse: $$$$ I've actually never been here but Alice Waters is the chef to blame for hyperseasonal "California food" restaurant slop (which I unfortunately love). You'll hear Berkeley undergrads and my parents talk about Chez Panisse like an aspirational sugar baby talks about Nobu.

Greater Berkeley & Oakland Area

• Shwarmaji: $ By the time I left New York, my halal cart guys had seen me at every high and low point of my undergraduate career, including getting hit on by a 17-year-old on the Sunday of Halloweekend (very low point). Shwarmaji's takeout is not quite the same as a NY halal cart (more pickles, less embarrassment), but it's just as good. Vi gives it a 7.5/10, which I promise is very good for her.
• Tacos Oscar: $ Hipsters, you've outdone yourself. Another take on inventive street tacos, but they're actually good. Walk up to the literal hole in the wall, order a few, and sit in their colorful covered alleyway patio in the back.
• The Thai Temple (Wat Mongkolratanaram): $ Every Sunday, the Thai temple serves the most authentic and affordable Thai food in Berkeley. Grab three or four friends, exchange cash for tokens, and debate the ethics of Bhuddist monks running a capitalist establishment over steaming bowls of noodles and heaps of rice with curry.
• Manpuku: $ Not the best sushi you've ever tried, but the cheapest around by a 10-mile radius at least.
• Cafe Colucci: $$ My personal favorite restaurant in the East Bay. If you've never tried Ethiopian food, do yourself a favor and make a trip here. Imo the veggie sampler is better than the meat sampler, but both are outstanding and will put you and a friend into matching friendship food comas. They also serve an Ethiopian honey wine, which might be your thing but is too sweet for my taste.
• June's Pizza: $$ Converted warehouse-turned-pizza-oven, June's started as a popup and is run by a high-strung ginger perfectionist. They do only two pizzas a day, one margarita (delicious) and one special. You can track your ticket move through the kitchen as your food is being made, ending with a man whose only job is to grate heaps of fresh parmesean onto every pie.
• Joodooboo: $$ I had never been to a banchan spot before Joodooboo, so I'm not sure if this is a really good restaurant or if I just really like banchan. Pre-vetted by my sister's high school friend's mom, who is a #Real Korean.
• Tanzie's: $$-$$$ Literally the cutest brunch spot you'll have to wait 30 minutes for. The space is tiny, and the menu isn't cheap, but I swear the food makes it worth it. Don't go if you don't fuck with eggs.
• Belotti Ristorante E Bottega: $$$ Me and my sister took my mother here for Mother's day, thinking we had finally outfoxed her and found a new place for her to try. She of course then gasped and exclaimed that it was her favorite Italian spot. Sigh. Anyway, the pasta is fresh and it's in a lovely spot near Rockridge.

San Francisco

• Too expensive and lame. no recs for now

On transit:

As any faithful UC Berkeley - UCSF PhD student will tell you, commuting is truly the worst part of the program. However, keep in mind that for most people, The Commute will only be the antagonist of your life story for one year or less.

That being said, here are some tips for living and loving whilst locked in grisly battle with The Commute.

• Reading is your best friend. In my experience, it just really makes the Bart ride fly by; better than TikTok, better than YouTube. It also has the added benefit of making you look really sexy and intellectual as compared to the Patagonia-clad screen-sucked fintech traders. No joke, if you've ever had the tired conversation of "I just wish I could get back into reading, but I'm just too busy! Waahh!!" now is the time to reconnect with books. If you've never really been into reading, now is the time to try it out. And if you don't really like reading, ew.
• If you're anything like me, scheduling social activities nearby after you get off work is the best way to avoid heading into The Commute already feeling burnt out. Going for a drink with a lab mate or meeting with a friend who works in SF can make the distance between two sides of the Bay feel more manageable. Even if it feels tiring in the moment, it's much better than having to do an extra trip on the weekend to see them.

• Get a good pair of headphones. Long battery is a must for lab + commute time.
• If you have the chance to commute with your cohort mates, do. Especially in your first year, it's a great time to catch up in a relaxed way whilst traveling to some inane required seminar. After your first year, it becomes much harder to see people on the opposite side of the Bay without having to put in substantial effort.
• Biking on either side of the Bart ride is really really nice. It's the one thing I wish I had gotten into sooner. UCSF has also been running a trial membership of Baywheels, which is free Lyft bikes, so if you respond to their email quickly enough you may be able to snag a free pass. There's really nothing more freeing than leaving your dingy lab and taking a bike under the sunshine, along the waterfront from Mission Bay to Embarcadero. For maximum effect on this ride, I'd also recommend listening to the album Fleeting by Sarah Kinsley through a pair of wired earbuds.
• Feeling burnt out from commuting is normal and should be expected. Especially if you're going from one side to the other on a daily basis. However, I would really REALLY discourage you from canceling on plans with your friends on account of being tired. Not doing things to preserve energy for the work week will usually make you feel more tired in the end.