{"id":372446,"date":"2026-06-24T03:15:58","date_gmt":"2026-06-24T03:15:58","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/372446\/"},"modified":"2026-06-24T03:15:58","modified_gmt":"2026-06-24T03:15:58","slug":"everything-we-ate-at-the-berkeley-juneteenth-festival","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/372446\/","title":{"rendered":"Everything we ate at the Berkeley Juneteenth Festival"},"content":{"rendered":"

On Sunday, June 21, hundreds gathered in South Berkeley for its annual Juneteenth event, celebrating Black liberation and community. Jazz ballads floated through the air as my colleague, Berkeleyside reporter Daniel Ekonde, and I wandered through the bustling street, passing artisan vendors, dance performances and rows of food stalls. Armed with an empty stomach and a little too much confidence in how much we could eat, Daniel and I set out to sample the culinary creations Berkeley\u2019s Juneteenth had to offer. Here is everything we ate.<\/p>\n

Jollof Kitchen<\/p>\n

\"\"The jollof chicken rice plate from Jollof Kitchen comes with chicken drumstick and plantain. Credit: Daniel Ekonde\/Berkeleyside<\/p>\n

What\u2019s Juneteenth without a little African flare? Jollof Kitchen<\/a> is a catering business founded in 2012 by chef and event coordinator Kemi Tijaniqudus. She first started hosting events and selling out her West African dishes at her brother\u2019s nightclub, Air Lounge, before moving to launch her catering business. Today, Tijaniqudus is continuing to share African cuisine with the Bay Area community through events centered around one thing: jollof. On Juneteenth, we snagged her most popular dish \u2014 jollof chicken rice plate. For $20, the plate came piled high with jollof rice, simmered in Tijaniqudus\u2019 spiced tomato sauce with bell peppers, paired with a sauce-glazed chicken drumstick and crispy, golden plantain. The rice had a solid, tomato-forward flavor that I enjoyed, though I would\u2019ve liked a bit more spice. The star of the show, however, was the chicken. The chicken was steamy, and when paired with the tomato-based sauce, it carried the flavor in each bite, giving it a savory flavor that rounded out the plate nicely.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Do it Moving BBQ<\/p>\n

\"\"The St. Louis-style ribs from Do it Moving BBQ are smoked and dry rubbed with a house blend of spices by owner Rochean Chatman. Credit: Daniel Ekonde\/Berkeleyside<\/p>\n

Now, as a Texas-born California transplant, I tend to be very picky with my BBQ (it comes with the territory). That said, the combo plate at the Do it Moving BBQ<\/a> stall did not disappoint. The $25 plate comes with your choice of meat, a side of baked mac and cheese and collard greens packed with bits of smoked turkey. With options ranging from chicken to hotlinks, Daniel and I struggled to choose, but the St. Louis-style ribs won us over. Smoked and dry-rubbed with a houseblend of spices, the ribs were fall-off-the-bone tender. After the chef and owner, Rochean Chatman, brushed them with his tangy barbecue sauce, the flavor of the ribs elevated, striking a nice balance between sweet and savory. Chatman started his business 12 years ago, armed with a small propane camp stove and a few hotlinks, grilling for Tenderloin residents. Today, he\u2019s dishing out his smoked meats at weddings, community events and private parties across Northern California with the mantra that no matter how down on your luck you are, you have to keep pushing, and \u201cdo it moving\u201d.<\/p>\n

Cousins Maine Lobster<\/p>\n

\"\"Los Angeles-based food truck Cousins Maine Lobster expanded after an appearance on Shark Tank. Credit: Daniel Ekonde\/Berkeleyside Credit: Daniel Ekonde\/Berkeleyside<\/p>\n

To switch things up, we stopped by Cousins Maine Lobster<\/a>, an LA-based seafood truck founded by cousins Jim Tselikis and Sabin Lomac, who were born in Maine. After an appearance on Shark Tank, the brand gained national attention and later expanded to multiple states, dishing out New England classics like lobster rolls and clam chowder. At the event, we tried the lobster grilled cheese, which layered buttery Texas-style toasted bread, melted pepper jack and cheddar, with generous, tender chunks of lobster meat, and included a portion of crispy tater tots, all for $21.<\/p>\n

Cinnaholic Berkeley<\/p>\n

\"\"We ate our build-your-cinnamon roll too fast to photograph it, but here\u2019s a picture of Cinnaholic\u2019s \u201cCinnadoodle\u201d cookie. Credit: Daniel Ekonde\/Berkeleyside<\/p>\n

We couldn\u2019t leave without grabbing a sweet treat, so we rounded out our experience with Cinnaholic Berkeley.<\/a> After a brief closure, Cinnaholic returned in full force in April<\/a>, opening up in a food court on Hearst Avenue, right across from the UC Berkeley campus, to continue serving its signature vegan cinnamon rolls. The shop is a family affair, owned and operated by siblings Shannon Zamfirescu and Kevin Slocum. At $7 the stall offered a build-your-cinnamon roll experience, complete with its classic vanilla cinnamon roll, and small containers of sprinkles, frosting and marshmallows for us to customize the roll to our liking (for an additional charge). Building it was half the fun \u2014 though my attempt at decorating leaned more chaos than design, but once we dug in none of that mattered. The roll was gooey, messy, and cinnamon-forward in the best way. As an additional treat for later, I got their Cinnadoodle cookie for $3.75, which made for a soft, chewy finish to our experience.\u00a0<\/p>\n

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