Eat Well, Berkeley: Mezzo
So this hot new place just opened up…

Turns out, the space was previously inhabited by Cafe Intermezzo, which burned down in a fire along with its neighbor, Raleigh’s Pub, in late 2011. Rising from its ashes, Mezzo has returned with high hopes of revitalizing the once poppin’ Telegraph Ave. What’s interesting is that Mezzo is now connected to Raleigh’s Pub, which is also open now. Who doesn’t love a little vice with their veggies?


Once you step in, you’re greeted with an assembly line-style serving crew. It’s a common sight in Berkeley, with the rise of restaurants selling salad and quinoa bowls. (I’m actually a huge fan of quinoa bowls, since they help me trick myself into eating leafy greens. We’ll talk more about that later.
The menu is simple; they have hearty sandwiches, overflowing salad bowls, soups, coffee, and new-agey drinks. They’re very busy and the staff seems pretty new, so their workstation can get a little hectic, with bits of ingredients getting mixed with each other. But having worked at a hectic restaurant (Manpuku on College/Ashby), I understand it takes some time getting into rhythm. (Servers, you know what I’m talking about.)
I’ve been there twice now, and for 11 bucks, you can get a lot of good food. I got a whole BLTA sandwich during my first visit and a half green salad and half turkey sandwich combo during my second. Out of the two sandwiches, I prefer the BLTA because it has more flavor, and I freaking love avocado. Next time, I’ll probably get the half BLTA and half sandwich combo (soup also counts for combo!) or their Veggie Delight salad with boiled egg and avocado. I love that they give you a slice of watermelon for each dish.

I’d say this is a great place to go if you’re really hungry but want to eat decently healthily. Definitely coming back for more.
At the end of each of my posts, I want to do a PQQ scale rating. PQQ stands for Price Quality Quantity. It’s actually borrowed from my boyfriend’s system of judging restaurants (Price/Quality). But to him, Quality basically equals Quantity, which is just absurd. (Still love him though.) I added Quantity because I realized how important of a factor that is when you’re on a budget. My score is: P: 9 Q: 8.5 Q: 9.5. I felt that the BLTA sandwich was excellent, but the turkey sandwich and salad could have had a tad more flavor. I gave quantity such a high score because out of all the healthy/salad-y places in Berkeley I’ve tried so far, this place definitely gives you the most I’ve ever seen at that price. If I’m wrong, please let me know on the comments!
Next time, travel with me to Northside and hear about my lunch at Sweetgreen. Till then, eat well, Berkeley!
