Spice Of Life Festival

The Spice of Life Festival is very LOCAL. It is smaller than in years past.
The food is good; the almost nonexistent samples are forgettable.
Loved the music and other entertainment.
Was glad to have Google Offers.
This is a festival where AC Transit buses were available.

TIP #1: This is very much a local festival – meaning that pretty much every vendor and booth there is local. Great way to learn about the neighborhood.
TIP #2: The food samples aren’t generous. Pay up for food at the variety of vendors – some are food trucks, some are outposts by restaurants that are just down the street in the Gourmet Ghetto.
I just got back from the Spice of Life Festival in the Gourmet Ghetto! In my opinion, there wasn’t much spice there. I was expecting it to be somewhat larger and more focused on foodie stuff, but what was there didn’t disappoint. It was a sunny day too, so it was enjoyable in that sense.
I appreciated all of the local vendors! The Local Butchershop did a cooking demo on meatloaf, Lush Gelato had a booth, and various bakeries that I have never visited (but are in the neighborhood) were selling their wares. I definitely learned a lot about Gourmet Ghetto.
What felt missing was the variety of food choices that events like Off the Grid provide – though I understand that this isn’t strictly a food festival. Maybe I’m cheap, but there weren’t that many samples! Hapa SF was there, and I got the sisig plate, which was extremely satisfying after forking over $ 6 for a pint of beer. My boyfriend got chicken and sausage paella from some other vendors.
Overall, it wasn’t terribly exciting, but it was a nice thing to do on Saturday. The people are kind and happy, there are many other non-​food booths to browse, and everything is in the neighborhood. I’ll go again next year!

This festival really shows how to do a great free local festival. Lots of unique local businesses, support from larger local chains to provide demos, and plenty of music and free samples. Despite rainy weather this year, everyone was friendly and glad to tell us about their products. Liason Bistro put on an especially enjoyable cooking demo and handed out free butternut squash soup.

I feel bad writing giving this thing such a low review but I blame it on the weather more than anything.
I went at 11 when it was sprinkling so it was pretty difficult trying to taste samples without hitting people on accident with my umbrella. I wasn’t really interested in any of the products either. The vendors seemed a little miserable sitting there in the cold. My roommates’ sister in law had a booth but she packed up after an hour because of the rain.
The best thing I tried was Andronico’s «adult» brownie. We kept wondering what made it an adult brownie, but turns out its because of the type of chocolate they used — it was also half fudge/​half brownie. Quite tasty I must say! And the free hummus sample wasn’t bad. The selection offered by the food truck was a bit disappointing.

This was pretty much awesome. The rain was a bit bad at times but I didn’t let that stop me from having a blast. I had many free samples and all of which were good. I also thoroughly enjoyed the demonstrations by Kitchen on Fire and the samples they gave out were absolutely delicious. Nothing better than getting free food and recipes from some of the top chefs in the Bay Area. They also gave away free wine bottles and kitchen equipment to people who answered some questions. Unfortunately I didn’t know any of them so I didn’t get anything !
The bands they had were also pretty cool. I really enjoyed sipping on some wine while watching some good jazz bands play out in the rain. It was my first time at this festival and I’m definitely coming again next year. Highly recommended to anyone.

We went to Spice of Life Festival our first time on Sunday 10÷17÷10. It was forecast rain, but we didn’t think it would be too bad. We did get pretty wet though.
Walking from Downtown Berkeley Bart to Gourmet Ghetto is not very far, maybe 1 mile (15 – 20 min).
FREE Black re-​usable bag from Thornwall Properties — nice & some candy.
FREE wooden spoon from
FREE Tribe Origins Classic Hummus
FREE
pen — best pen so smooth — I love it.
FREE DVD of YES MAN starring Jim Carrey from KOFY TV 20 — Cable 13.
FREE sample Oren’s Kitchen slow roasted artisan nuts
FREE sample of soup from cooking demo — ok.
FREE samples Scream Sorbet — tried Seascape Strawberry & Peanut Brittle. Fine. Lady told me they will have a shop at 51^st & Telegraph near Bakesale Betty — not sure when.
Bought to eat:
Chairman Bao — tofu steamed bun (B. tried & liked it) + Pineapple Salted Caramel drink (I got no pearl, fine).
Cheeseboard Pizza was Open! It’s normally Closed on Sun so happy to get some slices. $ 2.50 a slice. Cash or check only.
Paella — $ 7 tried it, still hate Paellas. Crunchy rice, hate it.
Lush Gelato — tried all the flavors. Got 1 scoop $ 2.95 of Banana Basil Gelato — Card given — Buy1 get 1 FREE scoop! Good 10÷18−11÷17.
Cioccolata di Vino Chocolate chip cookie $ 1.5 — just ok & small. Not that good.
John’s Street Eats — mac & cheese cake w/​salad $ 3. Just ok. Pork taco $ 3 — ok. I should have tried the Duck Rillette — foie gras on toast looked good 2pcs.
Tiny Farmer’s Market. Apples, Three Twins, Moonlite Bakery — looked good cookie $ 2 should have bought one: chocolate chunk or chewy ginger. Plants for sale.
Kid games/​rides near CVS.
Recommended. I’ll go back next yr.

This was right outside my door, so obviously that was nice — even if I wasn’t at the street fair, I could smell the food and hear the music.
This year’s seemed pretty much like last year’s. I was done with it pretty early. The food was expensive and the same stupid stand that is at EVERY bay area festival was there (spinach knishes, garlic fries, etc). Next year needs some variety.

Another year of grand times at the Spice of Life Festival. Somehow it seemed just a little smaller and less crowded this year. Maybe I’m just jaded from going to festivals every weekend; maybe it’s the demise of the beloved Elephant Pharmacy.
Either way, there were the usual folks with some strong showings in the food department. Kirala came out with a little booth of croquets and California rolls, but if you wanted more you could just go to the store. Dalian had their usual pork and vegetable buns (which are strangely not on the regular menu). Bistro Liaison was out in full force, with the most enthusiastic team of people. I never saw so many people buying a lamb sandwich. And their lemonades and iced teas, with compostable cups, were only $ 1!
It’s always fun being in the Gourmet Ghetto.

My son and I stopped by at the Spice of Life Festival on the early side of the morning to avoid the hordes. Parking was also easy, which in this neighbourhood is no small thing.
My son got his face painted, won a t-​shirt at the KOFY booth, looked at crystals, and repeatedly (and unsuccessfully) asked for money for this and that. But I think he knew that I wasn’t about to spend $ 60 on an amber ring (with no magical powers) that he’d end up losing!
I basically wandered around and chatted with folks at their booths. I did nibble on some tasty samples at the «Kitchen on Fire» area, stocked up on some scones at Cheeseboard, and received some good information from Going Places Travel on honeymoon options.
The Spice of Life Festival has a safe, comfortable and relaxed feel and is just large enough. And since you’re in the Gourmet Ghetto, the food selection and options were second to none.

Spice of Life pretty much reminded me of why I love Berkeley and its crazy good food offerings.
It was fun to take a work break, so with bf in tow, we walked along the Gourmet Ghetto where a bunch of vendors were set up, from food to art to shopping and more. Even up towards Rose St. there were carnival rides for the kiddies and a petting zoo. I also can’t forget to mention how many dogs were out today… yes, I was having a field day.
For lunch, my bf got the duck and fig sausage for $ 7 from Liaison’s cart/​tent. A little pricy, but then again it’s not your average sausage. They also had a giant roasted pig (very exciting, I have to admit…) rotating for hours and hours until 3 p.m. which was when they were planning on serving it. I bet it was delish, even at $ 12 a plate. I got chicken tikka masala with rice and a samosa from Mint Leaf’s serving area for only $ 5.
Bear Flag was there, too! Unfortunately, they weren’t selling their bottled wines at the festival, which was disappointing because after the Unilocal Elite event at Chabot, I went over to Derby Food Center, where they supposedly carry their goods. When I went, they were clueless about a winery called Bear Flag = fail. So… I need to try again. Keep your fingers crossed about Fred’s Market.
With festivals like these, I want to pretty much eat more than my stomach and wallet can handle. Everything was calling out to me, from the corn on the cob to the chicken skewers and the spinach knishes. Sigh, all work and no play (and food and money) make Jane a dull girl.

Spice of Life isn’t as big as the Solano Stroll, and that’s not necessarily a bad thing. It’s a lovely scale, actually, with a few small rides: a little ferris wheel, spinny-​thingy, and even including ponies, at one end, and some good live music at the other. In between, the customary Berkeley mixture of body work, Tibetan jewelry, theater companies, schools, good causes and food.
I have to admit that my fondest thoughts of Berkeley center around the latter two, with food occupying the bulk of my attention today. Strolling with my son and his friend, feeling like I didn’t have to keep any kind of close eye on them, going from Vietnamese food to roast corn, to organic ice cream to great chocolate chip cookies, with many other temptations along the way, we ate ourselves home, running into friends along the way. My little ‘hood, doing what it does best, feeding our stomachs and our souls.