Chez Panisse Cafe

07/24/08

Great gourmet without an attitude

by maudi at Citysearch

Fresh, local and amazing. Menu changes daily, and is prix-fixe. Be prepare to spend a lot here. The presentation of the food is fantastic, it is delicious and never disappoints.

• Pros: food, casual
• Cons: price

05/09/08

Outdated and Disappointing

by wildhoneys at Citysearch

I can see that this austere, locally sourced "plain" food was a breakthrough 30 years ago but so many other chefs do it so much better now, not to mention farmhouse trattorias and bistros in Italy, Greece, France and countless green markets across North America. It is food as political statement; the pleasure of the diner seems to be irrelevant. Perhaps a reaction to fussy, overly complicated and elaborately presented fine dining, the current fare at Cafe Chez Panisse is too artless, bland instead of honestly full flavored and downright stingy. A dish of fried Halibut consisted of a chunk of greasy fried fish, a small heap of celery root in a too-mustardy sauce with an unintegrated, harsh-tasting herb floating atop and a single (yes, just one), watery, flavorless new potato poised beside a puddle of starkly grassy, pureed parsley that tasted like cow spew. Missing was any brightness or liveliness of flavor or any full or earthy flavor either. Bread was good but the butter was strictly supermarket. The much touted triple-filtered drinking water was dusty and stale tasting as if a glass of nighttime tap water had sat beside your bed all week. The toasted almond ice cream had a good texture but the unappetizing, charcoal taste of burnt nuts detracted. The accompanying cookie was so hard, I was relieved my dental work survived. The citron green ice tea was a unappealing although probably good for you. The tea tasted like scrapings from the side of a lawn mower.

• Pros: Attractive room, lovely flowers
• Cons: indifferent, bored servers, indifferent boring food

01/15/08

Wonderful food!

by gastronomie at Citysearch

I ate here twice in 2007 and both times I had incredible meals. The first time I had an arugula and shaved fennel salad with grated bottarga which was so simple but delicious. A wood fired dish of calamari and chickpeas was divine. The calamari was amazingly tender and the chickpeas held their shape but practically melted in my mouth. I also had the most memorable dessert of my life here (and I'm a pastry chef.) Candied rose petal ice cream with Lucero farm strawberries. Doesn't sound like much, but the combination of the fragrant rose scented ice cream and the sweetness of the berries was mind blowing.

The first time I ate here, it was Saturday lunch and the service was so so. Our waiter was technically good, but when I asked him what part of Italy one of the whites I was unfamiliar with was from, he said he would check and when he came back said, "The bottle didn't say." Hmm.. My second meal, a weekday dinner, was much better service wise. Our server was gracious and very knowledgeable about the wine list, and made my dinner companion and I feel special.

The food here is gracefully prepared with finesse and honesty. I look forward to eating here again and again.