We hit the Chez Panisse cafe rather on a whim while shopping in Berkeley. Since we sandwiched it in between two early morning bakery visits (the Buttercream bakery in Napa - a deliciously pink building, and the Bouchon bakery in Yountville), then a hop to Sketch Ice Cream shop in Berkeley and dinner at Zuni Cafe in San Francisco, we had to keep lunch very light.
For some reason, I have been feeling an unnamed animosity towards Alice Waters lately. I really can't explain it, and it probably isn't fair, but everyone told me to have dinner at Chez Panisse and I just sort of brushed it off. I'm glad I went, because it was very nice, and I will have to go again for the full experience.
For starters I had a nice sour cherry soda (my favorite flavor, cherry red); this was one nice thing I noticed about the Bay area - every restaurant we visited offered interesting non-alcoholic drink choices instead of the standard Coke/Pepsi thing. That and every restaurant had really good bread and butter.
I had an avocado and beet salad - two of my favorite things - with a simple citrus and shallot vinaigrette and a sprinkling of sea salt. It was the promised simple, good-ingredient fare that made Alice Waters a legend in the first place.
Next up were chanterelle toasts, which came in a rich mushroom broth. Again a simple dish that allowed the good mushrooms to show through. My dining companion had the pecorino and pine nut salad, which I did not photograph. And that was about all we had there. Simple but tasty.
When we were leaving I took a peek into the huge open kitchen. The open kitchen would be reason enough to go to the main dining room for dinner. A manager was very nice when I asked if I could take pictures, even telling me to "go right in" to the kitchen, but only take pictures of pretty food and people. Fortunately, there were plenty of both (don't you love my super stealthy identity hiding airbrush? someone tell me where to find a pixellation function!):
Info: Chez Panisse 1517 Shattuck Ave Berkeley, CA 510.548.5049
