Chez Panisse: I Have a Lot to Say
By far and away the best meal we had in California was at Chez Panisse. I have, obviously, heard about it for years. Decades actually. It is THE California restaurant. The whole farm to table movement? Cooking with what’s in season and local? Yeah that whole thing? That comes from Chez Panisse. Of course there were others but when you think of cubism you think of Picasso right?.
In the Café
We went to the café upstairs, not the tasting menu restaurant on the ground floor. There was 6 of us, we had gone wine tasting in Berkeley (Broc Cellars is so fun) and were trying to find somewhere to eat at 7pm on a Friday in Berkeley. We had pretty much resigned ourselves to eating pizza somewhere until a friend suggested Chez Panisse. Impossible I said. Let me just call and see, he said. And they had a table at 9pm.
Great Start…
We showed up and from the first moment it was great. The staff were so friendly, so professional, just so good at their jobs. While waiting for our table we got drinks at the bar and quickly discovered the bartender was Swedish! and so kind!
Grilled grass-fed rib-eye with fried onions, garlicky greens, and red wine-shallot butter Chicken al mattone with butternut squash pureé, Belgian endvie, and hazelnut sals Baked Andante Dairy goat cheese with garden lettuces Chicories Caeser salad with garlic croutons, anchovy dressing, black pepper, and Parmesan
Beautiful Dinner
Dinner was perfect in its imperfections. Was everything perfectly cooked? No, but it was so delicious. Was everything plated with absolute precision? No but it was still so beautiful.
Great Finish…
And the desserts. Oh my god. I almost never like the desserts at restaurant. After working in fine dining and being a pastry chef for years I just…don’t like anything. Restaurant desserts are always either overly ambitious, not tasty, or what-were-they-thinking? Or they are incredibly boring (you put a panna cotta on the menu? wow. so innovative). But the desserts here? Delicious. Beautiful. Simple. Elegant. Perfect.
Figs on a Plate
While we didn’t have figs on a plate (IYKYK) we did order a plate of mandarins and dates. That’s it. That was the dessert. Mandarins and dates. On a plate. No salt, no sugar, no nothing. This is a dish that is iconic and lampooned constantly. It is the epitome of how “lazy” California restaurants are. But I can tell you. They hype is worth it. They were the BEST dates, the BEST mandarins. The were mandarins so teeny tiny and sweet like candy. I just couldn’t get over it.
The Best!
The whole night was dream. Places like this are exactly why I fell in love with restaurants in the first place. Because dining out should be delicious and easy and fun and little luxurious.