Chez Panisse Cafe 2
We spent yesterday night dining at the Chez Panisse Cafe with our good friends Tam and Lucy. I had quail for the first time yesterday and it was wonderful, although my one quibble is that the brussels sprouts were too salty. We started off with oysters and some salads to share, and the highlight was the spicy broccoli salad. The rest of the salads were good, but did not stand out as much.
Below are some selected photos of the food I enjoyed last night:
Spicy broccoli di ciccio, marinated beets, anchovy, and egg
Wolfe Ranch quail with fried parsnips, Brussels sprouts, and sage
Frog Hollow Farm pear tart with huckleberry ice cream
My main course and dessert were delicious as usual, but I felt something was a bit lacking in the food experience, and not all was due to the lackluster waiter. For a restaurant (or even casual cafe), the prices are high enough where some artistic plating is necessary, and freshness isn’t enough to satisfy the experience anymore. Alice Waters’ philosophy was very apparent throughout the restaurant and the numerous times we’ve dined at the cafe: use the freshest ingredients possible, and let the natural flavor of the ingredients show through. While this philosophy was revolutionary years ago when Chez Panisse was a new restaurant, I think it’s a bit outdated now as all fine restaurants serve fresh ingredients. The Chez Panisse philosophy doesn’t stand out enough for me to keep choosing to dine there as opposed to another nice restaurant I haven’t tried yet, and it’s pretty much why I’ve only dined at the Cafe and not the downstairs Restaurant, which has a fixed daily menu and is considerably more expensive.
One more thing: as a photographer who loves to eat, I love artistic plating. Part of the dining experience is seeing food presented in creative ways I did not expect nor would arrange myself at home, and I love taking pictures of breathtaking food. So if I’m to spend the money on a wonderful experience at a restaurant and take the effort to lug my huge SLR around, plating is a must.
My taste and expectation for food has changed in the years since we started dining at the Cafe, and I’m ready to try new restaurants. I do have to thank the Cafe for introducing me to fresh, simply prepared and delicious food :)
And of course, Tam and Lucy were awesome company and made the whole night fun and relaxing :)
