THE BEST PRODUCE MARKET IN THE BAY AREA

Saveur magazine said recently that if Berkeley Bowl Market doesn’t have the biggest produce selection in America they certainly have the best. Any doubt has been removed with the opening of the second Berkeley Bowl location at 920 Heinz Ave in Berkeley. The problems of congested aisles and clogged parking lots at the original location have been addressed with wider aisles; more check stands and an underground parking garage.

The produce selection is even larger and has a separate section of organic produce, much of it from local farms. The quality is typically better than Whole Foods at half the price. The meat counter offers a selection of grass fed, organic and conventional items. For fish, a better bet is still Monterey Fish or Hopkins.

Best of all for us, the new location is only three blocks from the Componere Fine Catering kitchen and continues the practice of letting chefs in half an hour before the store opens to the general public. They’re very adept at handling large orders and offer a 10% discount for case orders.

HUGE selection of artisan and micro brewed beer, local grass fed beef and the organic produce section.

The cheese section, conventional produce and sausages from the meat counter.