Chez Panisse - Berkeley

You have to really want to go to Chez Panisse. Unless you live in Berkeley, it is a bit out of the way, particularly if you are visiting from afar. We make annual visits to California's wine regions, and on our most recent trip (Fall '07), we actually spent our first night in San Francisco just so we could make the trek to Chez Panisse before heading north to Napa and Sonoma. It is, after all, #2 on Gourmet Magazine's America's Best Restaurant List.

The night we went the Bay Bridge was closed. So, we flew into SFO, took the BART across the Bay, transferred to another line, and finally took a cab to Chez Panisse. Yes folks, it took planes, trains and automobiles - across land, sea and air - we really wanted to dine with Alice...and was it worth the trip!

For years I have heard the rave reviews about Chef Alice Waters, the creator of "California Cuisine" style, who opened Chez Panisse in 1971. Practicing what she preaches, she lives up to the "Slow Food" ideology with her passion for serving dishes featuring the highest quality, organic fresh ingredients, provided to her mostly from a network of local farmers and fisherman.

Upon arrival, we were ushered upstairs to the bar, adjacent to the Cafe, to await our table in the downstairs Restaurant. The Restaurant has one prix-fix menu that changes each night, while the upstairs Cafe offers more moderately priced à la carte menus for both lunch and dinner

The tables in the Cafe were filled, as were the seats at the bar. Fortunately we found an empty table in the corner and began to peruse the wine selection. After waiting several minutes, we realized there was not table service, and approached the bar to order our wine, starting with glasses of '04 Burgogne Blanc. It wasn't long before we were shown to our dining table downstairs, a cozy corner table in the front of the restaurant.

We were given what tasted like thin little pizza crusts topped with sauteed vidalia onion and rice wine vinegar. These tiny treats were served with the most amazing, deep green extra virgin olive oil that I have ever tasted. I could have only had the "bread" and olive oil and been perfectly content that evening.

Our waiter then reviewed the prix fix menu with us; I was allergic to some of the shellfish in one of the courses on the set menu and was quickly offered the vegetarian tasting. Both of our tastings started with a Tomato, Pepper, Cucumber and Eggplant Salad, which our server paired perfectly with a 2005 Leon Beyer Gewurztraminer to create a refreshing and light start to our meal. As expected, the vegetables tasted as though they were picked from the garden outside the door, fresh, succulent and bursting with flavor.

My second course consisted of Pasta with Chanterelles and Green Coriander. Hand-cut ribbons of pasta were tossed with a mushroom medley, topped with fresh lemon juice and the most aromatic parsley I have ever smelled or tasted.

My husband's Grilled Wolfe Ranch Quail was the best I have had - even better than Gary Danko's version. Tender and perfectly cooked, it was stuffed with apples, raisins, cumin, nutmeg and set in a red wine and quail reduction. The wine pairing was a limited production (75 cases), Kendric Vineyards '04 Pinot Noir from Marin County. My entree of Sweet Corn Couscous, Black-eyed Peas and Summer Squash was an excellent display of vegetables served at their peak, and was only enhanced by the bites of Quail my husband generously shared.

A Plum Tart completed our meal; it tasted like a warm, gourmet version of the fruit roll ups I had as a kid, and was served with an interesting "ras el hanout" ice cream, made with 17 Moroccan herbs and spices. Tangy, it complemented the sweet plum well.

Dinner at Chez Panisse is $85 pp, a delightful deviation from the $600+ price tag of the #1 ranked restaurant (by Gourmet Magazine) - Alinea, and the $500+ lunch we had at the #3 ranked French Laundry.

Service (17%) is included in the bill, something we did not notice until the next day when I was reviewing our receipt. Turns out we had a voicemail message from our waiter explaining that the tip was included in the invoice total, and he was quite sure we did not mean to leave him an additional $70, so we processed our credit card without extra we had added. How's that for honesty?!

Though both Alinea and the French Laundry are immensely more creative in their approach to cuisine, and the service at both a bit more refined, I would absolutely return to Chez Panisse. The food is incredible in its simplicity, and the atmosphere is casual and more fun than one would expect from such a highly acclaimed restaurant -- exactly what you should expect from a world class restaurant in Berkeley.