Chick-O-Pea's restaurant in North Berkeley is a fast and fresh alternative to pricier fare in the Gourmet Ghetto. The restaurant, which opened in 2009 in the storefront next to Triple Rock Brewery, serves healthful and flavorful pan-Mediterranean vegetarian dishes.
Owner Kamran Nassiri opened the restaurant in June 2009 with co-owner and head chef Maria Corse after years of experience at French restaurants and local gourmet burger chain Barney's. Nassiri, who emigrated from Iran in 1971, graduated from San Francisco State University with a degree in industrial design but dreamed of opening his own vegetarian restaurant. He was responsible for bringing numerous vegetarian burger options to the Barney's menu.
The Chick-O-Pea's restaurant space is casual, modern, and airy, with indoor and outdoor seating, an open kitchen design, and a self-serve salad bar that is the heart of the restaurant. Salad bar offerings include an excellent variety of marinated vegetables and legumes, such as cauliflower, Moroccan-style carrots, chick peas, kidney beans, Lebanese cabbage, beets, roasted eggplant, and spiced onions.
A nice variety of freshly made condiments and sauces, above and beyond hummus and tahini, sets Chick-O-Pea's apart from your average Mediterranean restaurant. Moroccan harissa is tasty, but the standout is the highly addictive zchug (pronounced "zhug"), a sauce made with fresh herbs, tomatoes, seasoned hot peppers, garlic, fresh lemon juice, extra virgin olive oil, and Yemenite spices. The sauces are available with plates ($7.50) and the salad bar ($7). If you're in the mood for something wickedly good, try the specialty skinny fries ($2.50), tossed with your choice of zchug, harissa, aioli, or other sauces.
Chef Corse brings a unique, herbaceous touch to Chick-o-Pea's falafel, which, on our visit, was served to our table fresh out of the fryer. Rice oil is used for frying the falafel because it is a more healthful choice for deep-frying, explains Nassiri. Many dishes are available as either plates or burgers.
In response to requests from customers, Nassiri and Corse have judiciously expanded the menu beyond falafel and even beyond Mediterranean food. Two Asian-flavored offerings, Sichuan cabbage cups and a tofu salad with ginger dressing, are the direct result of customer feedback. A vegetable souffle is one of Nassiri's personal favorite dishes. And a marvelous polenta, crusted with asiago cheese and served with ratatouille, is the kind of warm, home-cooked, hearty fare a hungry diner will cherish. With the rich variety, high quality, and lovely presentation of Chick-O-Pea's food, vegetarians and carnivores alike will be delighted.
Nassiri plans to expand the business further by selling frozen falafel and bottled zchug sauce soon. Chick-O-Pea's also has a limited catering menu.
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