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Second Helpings

Gastro-Pub Sophisticate

Lori Eanes

     Sports cafés and pub grub. The notion conjures up an image of a bunch of inebriated folk bellied up, several layers thick, to a crowded bar, tussling and shouting for drinks. Above them, big screens on blaring televisions flash with action. Behind them, men and women yell shrill praise or bark raucous insults, depending on the performance of their teams, while spluttering bits of hamburger. 
     Driving with a friend to Meridian International Sports Café in Berkeley for the first time, I wondered, quite frankly, why I was going. Sports bar, dinner at a pub and all that.
     Well, it turned out to be yet another reminder: Beware of preconceived ideas.
     The Meridian has, indeed, eight high-definition televisions. Directly across from where we sat, at the bar, which is table height and has comfy regular chairs, two women, one with a bloody nose, were slugging it out in a boxing ring. But the set was silent. The ambience was British gastro-pub sophisticated. And the duck confit salad ($14) I ordered was sublime: The room-temperature leg was fall-off-the-bone tender, crispy on the outside, and succulent with a mellow in-the-mouth gameyness. The dish was also a visual treat worthy, I would say, of the bird’s demise: The leg rested on a raised bed of green salad, with small triangles of Petit Basque cheese and slivers of strawberry. Plum vinaigrette added an intense hint of sweetness to the savory without overpowering and was artfully drizzled on one side of the plate and sprinkled with pine nuts.
     The Meridian’s 25-year-old executive chef, Brian Burris, is committed to a seasonally inspired global menu, and his menu taught me a lesson. Next time someone says “sports bar” or “pub grub,” unless they’re talking about a South African sports bar with a rugby match on the box (which is where my clichéd idea came from), I’ll be more open to the possibility of gourmet and fine dining.

Meridian International Sports Café, 2050 University Ave., (510) 705-1450, Berkeley, berkeleymeridian.com. Open 5 p.m.–11 p.m. Mon.-Tue., 12 p.m.–11 p.m. Wed.–Fri., 10 a.m.–11 p.m. Sat.–Sun.