The Alice Waters Tour

Darcy and I found ourselves in Berkeley after a graduate portfolio advisement event last weekend so on a whim I called the Chez Panisse Cafe to see about a last minute reservation.. We nabbed the only one they had, at 10:30 on Saturday night! By then they were unfortunately out of the pork dish with polenta and figs I dreamed of ordering, but we had the famed baked goat cheese and garden lettuces salad and it was superb, and pizzetta with Monteray Bay squid and marjoram. For dinner I ordered the chicken pillard with fried onions, little turnips and mustard, and Darcy went for the pan-fried halibut with peperonata, capers, green olives and meyer lemon. I have to say I was so tired that I about half remember the whole thing.. it was different than the restaurant, much less formal, and ordering off the menu made for more of a familiar restaurant experience, than waiting in anticipation for what's next to come on the prix fix. It was fun, and to top it off I also brought Darcy to cafe Fanny the next morning, but they were out of beneighs by 1:00.

The Night at Chez Panisse

So this is it, our legendary night at Chez Panisse. We booked a hotel on Shattuck ave, 10 blocks from the restaurant on Friday, August 28th, 2009 which was the 38th anniversary. We were so happy to be there on such a festive night, with a menu that far exceeded our expectations. There was as first course, a bowl of fresh slices of about 6 different veggies from Alice's edible schoolyard... they tasted as if they were still alive. Also served in the first course was an appertif of of kava (a spanish sparkling wine) with fennel syrup. I cannot describe how good it was, I never tasted anything like it. The second course, fried olives and little fishes, was my favorite. Served with Alice's favorite french rose, the plate had fried sardines and halibut strips, gorgeous heirloom tomatoes than were so red and rich they looked like they were bleeding, fried olives, mache and garlic aioli. Superb. Next was the squash blossom souflee in a corn puree. It was perfect, very light and fluffy and went so nicely with the rose. I believe it was during this course that Alice Waters appeared at the side of our table. She said hello, shook all of our hands and endearingly would place her hand on the top of your back.. she was so genuine and thanked us each for coming, for being there, and I couldn't believe we were talking to her.. Eventually she went to say hello to some friends at another table. I thought we'd catch her on the way back, but here is where I confessed that I missed our photo-op with the great Alice Waters. My dear friend Jason Wallerstein once told me that a memory will always last longer and more vividly in your mind when you know you don't have a picture of it. I guess I have no choice but to hope that's true. At the time the main course arrived, which was the beautiful grilled squab with white beans, wine grapes and figs, we were switched over to a rhone that went so nicely with the darker meat. A plate of fresh garden lettuces followed, and the desert was mulberry ice cream with buckwheat crepes flambes. Howie, our wonderful server, kept the wine flowing all night. He also took us on a tour of the kitchen, which Alice herself encouraged, explaining that "the kitchen is what it's all about". Very true. This kitchen, it's gorgeous. To begin with, it occupies much more space than the dining room does. There are these huge amazing copper ovens, one for a wood fire, long blonde butcher block tables, arrangements of fruit and breads and vegetables everywhere. It's like a food lovers dream come true. If you ever go there you MUST see the kitchen. We even got to go way in the back, to all the walk-ins and fun stuff like that. Thanks Howie, for making our night at Chez Panisse so magical, it was way more than we ever thought it would be. I will be back.

Cafe Fanny

The morning after our dream dinner at Chez Panisse, Katie, Mae, Megan and I checked out of our fabulous hotel on Shattuck Avenue and headed to Cafe Fanny for breakfast. Alice Waters and her sister opened Cafe Fanny in 1984 and named it after Alice's then baby daughter, whose name was inspired by Marcel Pagnol's 1930 trilogy of films, Marius, Fanny and Cesar, about waterfront life in Marseille. (The restaurant itself was named after Honore Panisse, the main character in these films). Cafe Fanny is much more casual, serves breakfast and lunch fare, simple, rustic and of course unbelievably delicious. Alice has this die hard philosophy that an egg eaten within just hours of coming out from under a chicken, is the best egg you will ever taste, and that cafe au lait should be served in a bowl. I can now report, she is right. After breakfast we stopped next store for a baguette at Acme bread, a staple bakery in Berkeley (yes, started by a Chez Panisse alum) and picked up a few bottles of wine next door on the other side, at Kermit Lynch, the main wine merchant for the restaurant. I bought a bottle of their Rhone, and a Sancerre, my very favorite white wine. Who will I drink it with? Maybe you...