.Best Waterfront SnackingSaved by a loyal community

Long a favorite lunch spot with the waterfront crowd, the funky little red building with the picnic tables at the corner of University and the I-80 frontage road acquired near-landmark status last year when public realized it could be threatened by development of the Eastshore State Park. Petitions were circulated and Berkeley city leaders passed a resolution to keep it just the way it is. The fact that co-owner Bob Pickens is also the captain of his own fishing boat out at the nearby Berkeley Marina makes this evocative of what was once a robust tradition of vertically integrated fishing — you own the boat, the catch, and the restaurant. The Seabreeze is also aptly named. On hot summer days there’s almost always a cool breeze blowing in from the West, making it among the nicest places in the East Bay to sit outside with your fish and chips.