What’s for Lunch? Tangerine

Dutch accent, a pleasant smile, and a great food bar called Tangerine on Solano Avenue. He has been there for five years now, and still loves his little place. The inspiration for the name Tangerine comes from the small seasonal fruit that Van Dongen described as “unique and tasty,” and the whole idea of the food bar is to provide fresh, seasonal food all year round.
Van Dongen has been passionate about food and interested in everything to do with it all his life. He was thrilled when a space became available on Solano, and he and his wife jumped at the chance to open their own restaurant. Van Dongen knew from the start that he wanted to provide his customers with fresh, healthy food that they could eat and feel good about afterwards, and he manages to do just that.

These days, it can be challenging to find good, healthy food at a reasonable price. That’s what Tangerine is here for. Van Dongen really aims for quality above anything else, and when choices are available, he always gets the slightly more expensive product that is much better in quality.

Also, there are a lot of options for people with different tastes. Van Dongen serves a large variety of salads from pasta to Greek to fruit, as well as quiches, warm entrées like salmon or chicken, and he just recently started serving sandwiches.

FAST FACTS:

Tangerine Food Bar (1707 Solano Avenue, Berkekley, 510-558-9898)

• Driving distance from AHS: 3-4 minutes
• Walking distance from AHS: 17 minutes
• Average price: $6.99
• Price range: $4.49 – $9.99
• Tasters recommend the…frittatas, the soup of the day, the salmon
• Lines: none
• Service: pleasant, friendly, talkative, quick
• Eat-In AND Take-Out
• Credit cards are accepted

“The big picture is always the same,” he said, “but the food does vary, depending on availability and what’s in season.”

The atmosphere at Tangerine is casual; European style in the sense that it’s small and informal, but comfortable and friendly. Van Dongen said that he hadn’t planned for it to be like that, that’s just how it turned out, but he loves it. Tangerine Food Bar has two small tables and four or five chairs at which customers can sit and eat their lunch and chat with each other, or with Van Dongen. He has a comfortable familiarity with his customers, many of whom are regulars, and he knows many of them by name.

One of Van Dongen’s favorite things about having a space on Solano is the community and comradeship that exists between the store-owners.

“There is no competitive feeling,” he said. “We all feel that there is room for all of us…that we don’t have to compete for customers.”

The most important things that Van Dongen likes his customers to know about Tangerine is that all the food is very fresh, very healthy, and that he really does work for quality over anything else.

“I’m not fancy, but I try to do honest food.”

3 Responses

1. 7:49 AM on December 13th, 2006deshawn freemen:

   lmao

2. 10:57 PM on December 13th, 2006Hakeem:

   that boy on da left is whooped!

3. 4:31 PM on November 12th, 2008Jocelyn Hendrix:

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