Rivoli Restaurant - 1539 Solano Avenue, Berkeley, CA 94707 (510) 526-2542Last visit Sept. 13, 2008.
Rivoli's Website
It was an odd day in September. To begin, the morning started with me not getting enough sleep from the Friday night of of before. I had been thinking a lot of my radical spending the last few months and how disappointed I was of myself. My constant surfing for internet "deals" created a unwarranted allocation of funds to materials that were rarely used. I woke up with two hours of sleep and had to bring my sister, Sylvia, to the airport. We got into an argument about the way she packed that really aggravated my feelings. But she's family and I could not hold her to it for long.
The day went on as I had to get ready for my friend Ada's wedding. It was the second wedding of the year, and most likely one more before the end of the year. She spoke with me a few nights earlier, apologizing for the last-minute invite, and asked me to attend. I thought about the last ten years and how she's always been on my AIM list. "We are the only peoples that had thoughts like this," I thought as I put on my old blue shirt and black striped tie. I fell asleep for a moment, and I got a call from my girlfriend that she was ready. I picked her up and had her help me with my tie. Embarrassing as it was, she's much better than me at it. Driving to San Francisco was a breeze, and parking was not too bad. We got to Old St. Mary's church in the heart of San Francisco and found out that we were an hour early. The oddness began. My girlfriend, in her teal green dress, and I decided to get a bite to eat in the fast-food across the way. They had ice-cream, hotdogs, and beer. Yes, that's what they advertised. We got a beer and some "lau-mai-gai", which is sticky rice wrapped in a leaf. I never had that wearing a tie.
The wedding began and I was happy to see Ada and her husband-to-be Alfred walk the altar. Intensely happy, nothing could ruin that day for her. I have never seen a pair that at ease at a wedding ceremony. We finished off, I gave her a hug, and we charged back down to down-town.
I thought we could get a table at the Cheesecake Factory within 20-30 minutes, but no, it was impossible. I felt like a big klutz, and I really disappointed my girlfriend at the moment. If anything, I was glad that she was understanding and was nice enough to not get mad at me. She warned me that it wasn't going to be easy.
We got out of San Francisco and drove back to Berkeley, where I had to pick up my computer that's been dead for half a year. I finally took my G4-powerbook into the shop. There was a faulty harddrive and we had to swap it out for a new one. I checked out the new install and was happy to see her alive and well. First thing I did was turn it on, and changed the HD to "Loretta 2.0". Hopefully she'll sail fine from here on.
We tried to get a bite to eat again from a place in Berkeley, and to our dismay the waiter greeted us at the door. We went to the Bistro Liaison on Shattuck and found out that they closed from 3pm - 5pm to get ready for dinner. The waitress was nice enough to alert us that all the restaurants around there did that. What a big jip. In retrospect, I think my tie was cursed. I never got anywhere with that tie; but I did like how it look.
We went back to my girlfriend's house for a break. I needed to rest and she needed to get out of her heels. It was not her thing. Now you're wondering, "where does Rivoli come in?" Thanks for getting through the first 500 words. Yes we decided to go out to dinner and finish off the day nicely. I removed the tie and she went in her tank-top, jeans, and flip-flops to Rivoli's in north berkeley. The greeter told us that the wait was going to be 20 minutes, and I told her that we'd take it. In the back of my mind, I was thinking, this must be Ada's doing. I declined her request for the Chinese Banquet at Milbrae and she's put a hex on me; one that won't allow me to eat in peace for the rest of the day.
--- and now in present tense ---
Rivoli's is a cozy place. They are slow to attend to us, but after they took the order, they got the ball rolling. I felt a bit out of place because of my age, but I am at least dressed for the part - coming straight from a wedding and all. The girlfriend didn't care too much. We ordered the mozarella appetizer.
It is quite good, even for a person that doesn't enjoy cheese much. The lemonade they gave me grabs my attention more. I have to admit it is the best lemonade I ever had, and it came with refills. I order the "two styles of duck", and my girlfriend orders the roast beef. Both are amazing entre's. The duck is tender and the roast beef is the softest I have ever tasted. Finally, food in our stomachs after a long weird day. I look around me at the middle-aged men and women, and spied a table enjoying a round of cappuccinos and espressos. I want one, but I know that it will keep me up all night. I need sleep. My girlfriend orders dessert: chocolate cake with chocolate ice-cream.
Ultimately, through the tiring day of rejects and misses, we end with chocolate cake - and it was delicious!Rivoli is a French/Italian restaurant on the edge of North Berkeley. By no means will you live life any differently if you haven't visited it. But if you do go, you'll enjoy it, even if it's just the lemonade.
Yelp's two cents
Oliveto's is a well-known restaurant in Oakland. It has seasonal menus and a deep selection of wine. The people that go there, are usually well dressed. I guess it's a place to cross off your restaurant list - and that's exactly why I wanted to go. 
