And now for a snooty restaurant review…
For our first wedding anniversary on Monday we went to Chez Panisse in Berkeley. Alice Waters opened Chez Panisse in 1971 with her philosophy of serving local, naturally grown food in season. You have her to thank for all the mesclun (that baby greens mix) that is everywhere you turn these days. I’d been to the upstairs Cafe a few years ago and what I remember from that lunch was the profoundly fresh taste of a green leaf of some sort. It was as if I had picked it from a plant outside the window and eaten it immediately. I felt that even if I grew my own vegetables I wouldn’t be able to recreate that vivid, clear flavor.

Our anniversary meal began with two small radishes presented on a dish. They looked exactly like the ones depicted by the art on Alice Waters’ bio page, and were cleanly spicy and crisp. The bread basket had a few slices of a tan sourdough and a two little twin loafs of a wonderfully crusty, narrow bread whose air pockets even seemed to carry flavor. The first course was a ratatouille tourte with frisée salad. The tourte was like a frittata, a fluffy egg mixture with various veggies, and it sat in a yummy sauce of unknown origins. The frisée, also known as curly endive, was dressed with the slightest of vinaigrettes and delectable cherry tomato halves, orange and red. There was a bowl of these tomatoes decorating the table by the door and I wanted to grab a handful when we left.

The main course was called “cassoulet d’ête” (summer cassoulet with shellfish sausage, house-cured halibut, and fresh shell beans). Cassoulet is very traditional French comfort food comprised of sausage, beans, and pieces of meat. Recipes vary, but it’s typical to use white beans, duck (with plenty of duck fat), and pork sausage. In this version, the beans were lima and cannellini (extremely fresh, of course). As I remarked to our waiter, I never dreamed I could enjoy eating beans this much. I’m not a fan of lima beans, but these had a subtle goodness instead of the overpowering flavor of usual lima beans, and no crumbly texture. The sausage was mostly lobster meat, extremely tender and sweet. The halibut was a little salty; I think I would’ve preferred a different preparation, but it was flaky and fresh tasting. There was also one lonely shrimp which I cut into tiny savory pieces to make it last. The entire dish was topped with crunchy bits of a crumbed bread, like panko (the Japanese breadcrumbs).

Dessert was Suncrest peach galette with mulberry ice cream. The galette had a crispy crust, but I almost wished I had been able to sample the peaches fresh as well. The ice cream was tart and a lovely shade of purpley red. We finished off with coffee served with cream and sugar (raw, of course). I actually enjoyed the coffee’s taste without sugar and cream, but habit prevailed and it was even yummier sweetened. Mondays at Chez Panisse are a little cheaper at $45 per person, with 3 courses instead of 4, but I didn’t mind the reduced menu in the least. I do wish I had nabbed a handful of those cherry tomatoes though.