So now that we’re East Bay-ites, it’s only appropriate that we patronize our local eateries. That’s why when my husband’s birthday came around yesterday, we went to the venerable Chez Panisse. I’d been told by a co-worker that she’d been somewhat disappointed by the place. After all the hype, she said, it just wasn’t that special. After all, the culinary tradition pioneered by Alice Waters at the Berkeley eatery has now spread across the country (and the world?). Still, we wanted to check it out and experience it for ourselves.
The menu for Tuesday, May 3 (it’s unique every night downstairs and is a prix fixe menu):
- Green asparagus salad with almond vinaigrette and house-cured ham.
- Fried local fish and shellfish with herb mayonnaise.
- Grilled rack and loin of Cattail Creek lamb with new garlic sauce, morel mushroom cake, Chino Ranch greens, and baked new potatoes.
- Lucero Farm strawberry and Marsala feuillete.
Hype or no hype, we really enjoyed ourselves. Keeping in mind that this might be our last big blowout before the baby comes, we really savored every moment and every bite. Mmm…