Tips Included:
Berkeley's got new sweet spot with Cioccolata di Vino

By Lynn Carey
Oakland Tribune

Sometimes the best ideas come from eating chocolate. That's what happened to Rebecca Bernstein three years ago this month at a chocolate cafe in San Francisco. "I was sitting with my best friend and just said, 'This place is so great. But if I did it, I'd add wine, and a warmer feel.'"

Bernstein, 34, has done that and more with Cioccolata di Vino in Berkeley's Gourmet Ghetto on Shattuck. Her cozy, amber-lit cafe features plenty of chocolate and wine, but also savories. The extensive menu includes small plates such as a prosciutto and goat cheese tartlet ($6.95), and Tre Formaggi -- Robiola, Pecorino Brillo and Cambozola with figs, apricots in liqueur, herbed almonds and chestnut honey ($12.50) along with a creamy risotto pudding with brandied figs ($6.50) and a chocolate polenta cake with finely chopped almonds ($6.50). The wine list features everything from "bubbles" to "sticky." Equator coffee is also served.

Bernstein opened the doors to the 38-seat cafe at the end of January. She admits a couple of things were going against her "... the economy, as well as the name of the restaurant, which implies the offering is, well, chocolate and wine.

"That was my initial idea," she says. "Then I started adding more food, savory items. The menu got bigger and bigger as I found more things I liked."

Bernstein does all the cooking. She learned in her kitchen growing up in Alaska, where everyone in her family cooked. She also hung out in the restaurants owned by her aunt, Susan Kaufman, who currently owns the highly lauded Serafina in Seattle. Aunt and niece also traveled in Italy together, one of the reasons for the cafe's theme.

Kaufman immediately snapped into action when she heard her niece wanted to open a cafe: "She flew down with business plans and a spread sheet!"

The foodie neighborhood is supportive of Cioccolata di Vino, Bernstein says, and thinks buzz will bring the crowds. "People are still going out, but maybe not spending as much money. Here they can treat themselves to a nice night out, but end up spending only about $30."