“Summer, I’m Leaving You for Fall.” Pop-Up Dinner at Homemade Cafe in Berkeley

Homemade Cafe in Berkeley, California has announced that Friday, September 28 with seatings at 6:00 and 8:30 p.m. will be the date and times of their next monthly pop-up dinner themed “Summer, I’m Leaving You for Fall.” The four-course prix fixe menu will be priced at $85.00 inclusive of tax and gratuity and there will also be an optional pairing of wines by the glass for an additional $24.00. A vegetarian option for $65.00 will be available but must be requested in advance. Reservations can be made by calling (510) 845-1940 or emailing to collindoran@yahoo.com.

The September dinner menu will include a Fall Fritter, fig, blue cheese and bacon fritters served over arugula and candied pecans; Summer Succotash, local halibut served over a late-summer succotash of corn, summer squash and cranberry beans with a summer herb drizzle; Fall Flyer, crispy duck breast with parsnip purée, roasted turnips and cider-gravy covered greens; and Cray-Cray Brulée, range-turmeric crème brulée with gingered stone fruit.

Homemade Cafe was opened in 1979 by Norm Berzon and Janet Hinze who sold it to longtime employee Collin Doran in 2011. Doran grew up in Berkeley eating at Homemade and subsequently worked as a busboy at the cafe’s Hollis Street location (now closed). Doran’s first restaurant job was at Bay Wolf. Over the years he has worked as everything from dishwasher to kitchen manager to chef and is currently active in all day-to-day activities at Homemade that is soon to celebrate its 40th anniversary. Over nearly four decades, the venue has been renowned for serving breakfast and lunch. Pop-up dinners debuted in 2018.

Highlights of the casual 50-seat dining room include booth seating, fanciful chandeliers and an exhibition kitchen fronted by counter seats plus, weather permitting, there are sidewalk tables for 12 guests.

Homemade Cafe is located at 2454 Sacramento Street, at the corner of Dwight Way, in Berkeley, California. When not serving monthly pop-up dinners, the restaurant is open Monday through Friday from 7:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m. and on Saturday and Sunday from 8:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m. Neighborhood street parking is often an option. For more information, call (510) 845-1940. The web address is http://www.homemade-cafe.com/.