StevenD's Profile
Brennan's new digs -- Not quite perfect
Brennan's is the last of a dying breed. The old classic Hoffbrau -- the working-mans cafeteria with self-service counter, melamine plastic trays where you order what's in front of you -- roast beef, turkey, chicken, ham and of course mashed potatoes, gravy, your standard corn, peas and carrots. Yes, good old comfort food grandma made
Located at the foot of University Avenue below Fourth Street, the 1952 building (just demolished) had something genuine from the past. The redone restaurant is right next door in the vintage 1913 Mission style Southern Pacific train station with virtually the exact same interior as the old Brennan's. It seems a bit odd though, especially the very tacky linoleum floor. They just missed the mark here. I'm sure the owners said make it the same so as to not loose their regulars but the architects used zero imagination here. You can "reinterpret" the past and adapt to new locations. I think they could have brought many of the same features over to the new place but revised them and updated the look to fit the classic building taking into account it is a historic train station with a Spanish-style look and a clay tile roof.
When you go in the first thing that hits you is the lighting. It's way too bright and not warm enough, and the sound levels when the place is busy are terrible. With hard surfaces sound just bounces around everywhere. The use of the old sign is cool and there are a few old black and white shots but not nearly enough memorabilia to give you a real sense of the past. As for the serving area, it gets really crowded at lunch and dinner since it runs right to the front entry. Not too well thought out.
On the good side, the food is just as good as ever, classic Americana if you want turkey and mashed potatoes and the works. The bar is not bad and they have a good selection of brews on tap including the local Trumer Pils, Red Tail Ale and Blue Heron Pale Ale as well as well as Sierra Nevada, the German beer Spaten and of course a couple of main stream American brews.
So fix the sound, the lighting and add more of those wonderful old pictures of the restaurant and while your at it West Berkeley and the train station as well. I would recommend it for a very casual night to have a hearty meal and a brew.
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Brennan's Restaurant
700 University Ave, Berkeley, CA 94710
Tea Fragrance House, Berkeley
That's the ever changing corner of Chinese restaurants (except there was a Hawaiian BBQ there for about 7 months). The new place, Tea Fragrance House, was surprisingly good. We are often in need of a quick meal at the last minute for a bunch of hungry kids and busy parents so we tried out this place. It was actually quite good – tasty, fresh vegetables, and not greasy. I'd definitively recommend it. Hey, they deliver too!
We ordered Chicken Chow Mien, Mushu Vegetable, mixed vegetables with tofu and fried rices. Excellent tofu, everything was great and they delivered in about 15 minutes.
This place is good. Let's keep it in business!
