I'm back in LA after a week doing some final fact checking for my book in Santa Cruz and Berkeley. Santa Cruz is BIZARRELY unchanged. Students literally look as if they haven't changed clothes or hairstyles since 1979. Berkeley was amazing. I've occasionally said I might have erred in transferring there from Santa Cruz, that Santa Cruz was better for an undergraduate education. But I remember now why I transferred. Santa Cruz was already making me feel isolated after 24 hours, and Berkeley is not about the classroom experience. It is still, of all the places I've been, the most intellectually and socially stimulating environment in the world, always on the cutting edge of everything. And now it has the added attraction of boasting the #2-ranked football team in the nation! I came away energized, inspired, and in possession of a Bears baseball cap.

I'm currently posting a series of pieces on LA Food Crazy about New York style pizza in LA.