HFF has Lunch: Lola's

I want to bring up a place that I've been frequenting lately that is awesome, inexpensive, and unpretentious: Lola's on Solano Avenue. It's solely takeout and while Gregoire it surely isn't in terms of breadth of selection, there's a character to Lola's that Gregoire lacks and an immediacy to that food that is refreshing. Instead of a fixed monthly menu, the limited Lola's lunch offerings change almost daily.

The husband-wife (John and Donna) team spend the day roasting their famous chickens which I admittedly haven't had yet. Rather, I've come to enjoy their tasty focaccia sandwiches. A different sandwich each day, almost always only one, usually pretty eclectic (turkey and guacamole, coppa and roasted peppers, chicken and mango chutney, tuna salad with black olives) and always simply dressed on Donna's perfect lightly salty fresh-baked foccacia.

The sandwiches are on the small-ish side, but when you pair it with a slice of vegetable-studded frittata or savory vegetable tart you've got a rockin' awesome meal for less than $10. Lola's salads are also big and fresh and a nice change of pace.

It's also worth a drop-in for one of Donna's baked goods. Her pound cake in particular is spectacular.

The simplicity and lack of pretension is great. Get there early because they'll probably run out of their sandwiches. They make maybe a dozen or so each day and they're usually gone by 2:30 (sometimes earlier). Same goes for their daily soup and the roast chickens in the evening. While one might mistake it for surliness and poor planning, I see it as efficient food cost management. Why waste?

Lola's

1585 Solano Ave.

Berkeley, Ca

510-558-8600