The 'Bay' Favorite
If ever a friend or acquaintance visits the San Francisco Bay Area, particularly the East side of the bay, I tell them that the search for cheap and cheerful meals stop at Lilly's Chinese restaurant on Monterey Avenue in Berkeley. It is the apotheosis of quality: unpretentious service, heaping plates of delicious, fresh food, comfortable seating, and the constant buzz of happy chatter. When I am in Bloomington, I regularly dream of their crisp scallion pancakes, roast duck (a plate that must keep local cardiologists buying Tuscan villas -- but worth every bite), and vegetarian dumplings. But when visiting in the summertime, my visit is incomplete without a bowlful of their noodles.

