Chez Panisse Cafe, Berkeley CA - Good Taste is the Worst Vice

If this were Jeopardy, the answer would be: Chez Panisse. And the question: Where am I most likely to go for lunch in Berkeley?

Chez Panisse is the grande dame of local, organic California cuisine – or perhaps that title better belongs to Alice Waters, who founded the restaurant in the 1970s and remains a champion of the slow food movement.

My mother and I made plans to meet our cousin for lunch in Berkeley – and I knew that I wanted to go to Chez Panisse, a restaurant I haven’t been to in many years.

We headed into the pretty Arts and Crafts building just before noon, passing the empty formal dining room before walking up the stairs to the cafe. Our table was by a window that was flung open to let in a cool breeze and a view of hanging wisteria.

I chose a garden lettuce salad to start, a tangle of leaves with warm goat cheese rounds on the side. I could practically picture the lettuces being picked from a sunny garden – they were so perfectly fresh and tender that I’d be surprised if they had ever seen the inside of a refrigerator.

My mother and M had fish for their main dishes – wild King salmon and halibut, respectively – and I had the buttermilk-fried rabbit, served with arugula, velvety soft new potatoes, and some sort of long and narrow red peppers that were far sweeter and better than the usual bell peppers. The rabbit, on the bone and ever so juicy beneath its crisp coating and a speckling of sage, was excellent.

There’s something about having dessert at lunch that I just love – after all, isn’t it more sensical to eat something sweet and indulgent before an afternoon of activity, instead of before going to bed?

The dessert menu at Chez Panisse is heavy on fruit, each proudly bearing a name or a provenance – like Lagier Ranches Bronx grapes or Autumn Flame peaches.

Between us, we ordered (admittedly under my influence) two strawberry shortcakes, a slice of fig and raspberry galette, and some stracciatella gelato with chocolate sauce and caramel.

The strawberries in the shortcake were so very good – nothing like the industrial berries that too often appear in the grocery store – especially paired with the crème fraîche. Alas, we all found the shortcake a bit too hard.

The pastry in the galette, on the other hand, was just right – tender and flaky and buttery, with caramelized edges. The baked figs were dense and sweet, offset by the slight tartness of the little raspberries, while the fig ice cream provided richness.

I’m quite sure I won’t wait years for my next visit to Chez Panisse, and another relaxed, delicious meal. There’s a reason it’s still popular after forty years!

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