Cheeseboard Pizza - Berkeley

Best Pizza - Vegetarian

1512 Shattuck Ave, Berkeley, CA 94709
(510) 549-3055
Parking: street parking
Hours: Closed Mondays
http://cheeseboardcollective.coop/Pizza%20Collective/PizzaPage.html

Last Visited: May 14, 2010

Food: 4 stars
Atmosphere: 2 to 3 stars
Service: 3 stars
Price: $ to $$

Cheese Board is located in the Gourmet Ghetto in Berkeley. It’s a co-op that sells a variety of cheese, and right next door you’ll find Cheese Board Pizza. Though it isn’t open daily, it’s definitely worth going there to try their excellent pizza. Cheese Board only makes one type of pizza daily, but it’s always fresh and scrumptious. The pizza available is listed on the chalkboard near the counter. It’s always vegetarian, but don’t let this deter you. It’s absolutely delightful. You can buy the pie as a whole or by the slice.

It’s a small place, so don’t expect to take a big crowd and be able to fit everyone. The locals and college students go there for the amazing flavor – you can even smell its wondrous aroma when you enter. Their pizza is simple but creative. It’s not always going to have tomato sauce. Just try it – you’ll like it. They also bake fresh bread, so be sure to try that if you get the chance. If you are there before they close, they even offer starving college students the bread for free – isn’t that nice?

Since my initial visits in 2001, Cheese Board has gotten a major overhaul. They took over the adjacent shop and have expanded, so there is a lot more seating and the whole place is brighter.
There is even a live band during lunch time. There may be one for dinner too, but I haven’t been during dinner hours recently. They recently raised prices to $2.50 a slice, but it’s still extremely reasonable and the pizza is as good as I remember it. The lines are out the door, but they’re very efficient at their operation with two registers to serve you. It’s absolutely necessary to try a slice just out of the oven. Leave it in the foil for more than ten minutes and the steam will cause the crust to turn a little soft. Still good, but best eaten right away. For today’s visit, I waited until they opened right at noon and managed to have my pizza about two minutes after I got to the register. I was in and out within five minutes. This is great because the parking in front is for 30 minutes only.

To find out what pizza they’re serving that day, go to their website and click on pizza. Here are descriptions of pizzas from my recent visits.

- Cauliflower, caramelized onions, pistachios, mozzarella cheese, garlic olive oil, Italian parsley (there was another cheese, but I’ve since forgotten what it was)

- Red bell pepper, red onions, kalamata olives, mozzarella cheese, feta cheese, garlic olive oil, Italian parsley

Hot pizzas and light bake pizzas are available for ordering. In 2008, the prices are $2.50 per slice, $10 half a pizza, $20 whole pizza. Still yummy and oh so good. It’s a must try if you’re in Berkeley.

More about the co-op: The co-op offers a wide selection of cheeses and even allows tasting. It’s wholly owned by its members. The beginning of the cheese onion curry bread came about when they had to decide what to do with leftover cheese scraps. The original Cheese Board collective began and soon expanded to grow a Cheese Board Pizza Collective as well. More history can be found on their website.

From the cheese board side:

- Corn Cherry Scones – These scones are light in texture and large in size. Large cherries are baked into a corn scone. Topped with a little bit of sugar, they’re not too sweet and are quite good. $1.50

- Sourdough Cheese Rolls – The cheese is baked on top of these rolls, and the flavor is very good. They don’t keep for long, but are still worth a try if you eat them right away. $1.50

Cheese Board Pizza – you won’t be disappointed. It’s one of the best.