Grégoire
2109 Cedar St
Berkeley, CA 94709Grégoire
Everyone craves fast food once in while. When we think of fast food we don’t really think of fancy places or top notch ingredients. But who says it can’t be gourmet? A quaint take-out spot in Berkeley says it can be! This past weekend me and my boyfriend took a mini-vacation to Berkeley’s Gourmet Ghetto, a.k.a North Shattuck. As we walked to our hotel we saw a little spot that caught our eye. I’m really glad we decided to check it out because I will return whenever I’m back in the area.
Just off of Shattuck and Cedar is Grégoire. It’s pretty small and could easily be missed if it weren’t for the constant buzz of hungry customers. As we walked into the spot we immediately arrived at the cashier. We were greeted by a blazing grill and busy workers assembling their take-out boxes. These boxes are pretty adorable, I must say. We quickly glanced at the menu and were surprised to see so many things we would like to try. Soups, salads and sandwiches any tummy would desire. Since we were only grabbing a snack we got the grilled lamb patty with fried artichoke chips and green garlic on pantofolina. And of course we had to try those crispy potato puffs that practically have a cult following.
With four stars on Yelp I was expecting great things, and that lamb sammy definitely delivered. If you like lamb you’ll really enjoy this sandwich(it’s a little more like a burger). It’s grilled right before your eyes and the aioli-like spread is amazing with it! The bread was pretty heavenly too. As for the crispy potato puffs, please try them. They can be a little dense, if you eat them all at once, but they are packed full of flavor. They are like deep fried mashed potato balls, but creamy and a little cheesy. They are served with a spicy mayo which I really enjoyed. We spent a little over $15.00 for both items. The lamb sandwich was under $10!
Overall, Grégoire does gourmet fast-food pretty well. The menu changes monthly in relation to whatever is in season, which is pretty cool. Rumor is that they’ve served scallop quesadillas! Wish I hadn’t missed that! They serve lunch and dinner to-go, but do have a couple seats indoors and out. Do go expecting to wait a little during peak hours and have a couple options in mind because I suspect they could sell out of their most popular items. If you live in Berkeley you probably already know about Grégoire and if you don’t, it’s worth planning a trip for. I can honestly say I’ve never been to a fast-food joint quite like this. The careful details from the menu to the decor will bring on many ‘oohs’ and ‘ahhs.’ And those crispy potato puffs? I’ve been craving them ever since.
Definitely want to try it! Thanks for the tip