One $25 gift certificate to Bette's Ocean View Diner (1807A Fourth Street, Berkeley, bettesdiner.com).

It's 6:00 a.m. in Berkeley, California, and already people are gathering in front of Bette's Ocean View Diner. They've been lining up like this ever since we opened the place in 1982. . . .

It's an eclectic crowd, but then this is Berkeley. The birthplace of free speech. The epicenter of eclecticism. With their love of good food, strong coffee and lively conversation, our customers give new meaning to the phrase "counter culture."

Settle into a plush red Naugahyde booth, or find a place at the counter, and you're likely to be waited on by a cartoonist, a performance artist, a Doctor of Theology or a rock musician. Drop a quarter into the jukebox and you can choose from country, to rock, to classical, to opera. Anything goes. This is no ordinary diner.