We had reservations at Chez Panisse, the world-renowned restaurant in the local food scene. Alice Waters is the owner and operator, and is a renegade in the world of food. She's an amazing character and all you foodies should read the biography of Alice Waters and Chez Panisse by Thomas McNamee.
We were running late and so I made Tim sprint down the street to make sure we didn't miss our reservation. I parked the car, and started sprinting after him. Not a minute later, a man across the street yelled,
Man: "Hey pretty lady, where ya going in such a rush?"
Oh, Berkeley.
(Of course, Tim won't let me live this one down. :-)
We flew into Chez Panisse and checked out the menu at the bar while we waited for our table.
We were seated and greeted with a huge basket of rustic sourdough bread and delicious butter. I ordered a heirloom salad with chervil, and Tim chose the pounded parsley pizzetta. Delish!
For the entree, T and I both ordered the chanterelle lasagna. I was sort of upset that we didn't order different items, but when I took my first bite, it was all good. This dish was amazing, and the photo does not do it justice. Just close your eyes and taste layers of salty, sharp pecorino cheese, chewy, meaty chanterelle mushrooms and thin, spinachy-green lasagna pasta. It was a huge piece, but I cleaned off every last bit of it.
A-mazing.
We were stuffed, but for "research purposes" we ordered the pear tart with a scoop of pear sorbet and a cup of Blue Bottle Coffee.
We waddled out of there, delightfully full, palates satisfied.
Next, we headed up to the Greek Theatre on the UC Berkeley campus to see Bob Dylan. We thought it'd be a great experience to see this guy at the Greek, but we agreed he was pretty horrible. We enjoyed the ambiance (minus all the marijuana smoke), but left early because it had been a long day!
I HIGHLY recommend checking out Chez Panisse in Berkeley if you are in the Bay Area. Make sure you make reservations a few weeks in advance, and check out the cafe (vs. the restaurant) if you want to save some bucks but still get a delicious, locally-grown meal.
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Your "hey pretty lady" comment was my life in East Boston. There is a very high South and Central American/Mexican immigration rate there. Those Machismos used to love me and could care less if Dennis was with me. The North End is like that too...I've never been to Berkley so I don't know if this is even the same comparison. It just made me laugh when I read it.
I am DYING to go there!!!
love chez panisee, alice waters, berekely and dylan!!
that looks like a delicious meal!
although i must say dylan isn't very good live-i saw him in missoula once and and it was lackluster. he's great but so-so live.
Bob Dylan was also terrible at Great Woods when he was here with Paul Simon in MA a few years back.
Did you read the Art of Simple Food? It's on my wish list and I wonder what you think of it.
I have not read the Art of Simple Food. Those were a stack of books on the bar @ Chez Panisse. THey just looked so pretty, didn't they?
Chez Panisse is definitely on my list for the next visit to the Bay Area. I hope the chanterelle lasagna is still on the menu then.