Launching Project Lunching Down Solano

It's fun starting a new project, right? But who has extra time in the day to devote to yet something else? However, I've come up with a project that combines two things that I already do with regularity: eat and write. Are you ready for it?

The year 2014 will be the year that I eat at every lunch spot on Solano Avenue. And since I'm also trying to get in more activity this year, I will walk to each one.

Before starting my quest, I did a bit of research. According to the Solano Avenue Association website, this street that's just over a mile long boasts 65 restaurants. But I'm limiting my project to places that serve lunch, so a few of those 65 will be knocked off the list. (I wonder if Rivoli's would consider opening for lunch...) Without doing too much math in advance, that probably means eating lunch out on Solano about once a week. And of course with the way eateries come and go along this famed Berkeley/Albany thoroughfare, some may disappear before I reach them this year, and more might pop up.

I thought about approaching my lunching alphabetically, from Ajanta's to Zand's, but decided instead to start at the top of Solano where it intersects with the Alameda and eat my way down to San Pablo by year's end.

Now I'm no gourmand, but I have eaten pretty much all my life, so my experience is considerable. In general, I plan to give my opinion on the food, service, prices, and even the décor. I may even include completely unrelated bits of information and personal anecdotes that you would never see in a reputable restaurant review. But I can do that because it's my blog, and I'm paying for my own food. (Well, technically my husband will probably pay most of the time since he'll be coming along too, but it's the same bank account anyway.)

Hope you come along on this epicurious journey with me.