Chez Panisse Menu

Chez Panisse Restaurant Review:

Trendy restaurants come and go; chefs arrive on the scene and often fade. But after decades of business, Alice Waters' groundbreaking Berkeley restaurant is still one of the most difficult Bay Area reservations to secure. Waters' passion for procuring only the finest and freshest raw materials is legendary. First-time diners may be surprised at the simplicity of the menu, which changes daily and is served to the entire dining room in two nightly seatings. Devotees know that even an elemental-sounding dish such as Maine lobster-chanterelle salad will be brought to new levels, in this case by an orange-oil dressing. You will likely savor every bite of dishes that make the most of bounteous local produce. Despite its renown, Chez Panisse's ambience is informal (and even more so upstairs at Chez Panisse Café, an à la carte experience that makes use of many of the same top-quality ingredients), but the service is as impeccable as the food. The prix-fixe menu is posted each Saturday for the coming week; reservations are recommended a month in advance.