$175 pp ? I liked Chez Panisse but that is a pretty steep price increase from $125 about two years ago
The old prices ($75 Monday, $110 weeknights, $120 weekend) seemed like a relative bargain to me compared with other high-end places.
Probably they did some number-crunching while they were closed and came up with a price that would make the downstairs as profitable as the upstairs and high enough that they wouldn’t have to raise it again any time soon.
How Berkeley can you be?
apéritif: vin de pêche with Prosecco
amuse: squab? liver with candied apricot
Polished off two of these by the end of the meal.
The albacore with its herb crust was lovely on its own, so we ate the aioli with the bread. As usual the aioli was quite mild, not very garlicky. Pairing was an Albariño.
Got a bottle of Blanc de Morgex et de la Salle as backup for the pairing.
Very nice even if a little more al dente than I prefer. Tasting blind I’d have thought the broth was chicken. Pairing was a Fiano di Avellino.
Very nice plate. The eggplant fritters were the bite of the evening.
Nice tannic plums were great with the wild fennel (in Berkeley they grow like weeds) ice cream. To pick nits, the raspberries weren’t fully ripe, not something I expect at CP. Pairing was an old favorite, Durban Beaumes de Venise.
Polished off the complementary lemon verbena and mint tisane before I thought to take a picture.
Total bill was a bit of a shock but seemed fair by current standards for the quality and quantity. I think the price increase since before Covid is less about inflation and more about making a profit downstairs instead of having it subsidized by the upstairs, where the prices have not gone up nearly as much.
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Amuse was little toasts with baba ganoush, cucumber, and mint oil? I could have eaten a lot of that.
I neglected to photograph the aperitif, which was prosecco with an infusion? the chef made of mulberry and mint. Couldn’t really taste either but the sharp edges of the prosecco were rounded off.
Went really well with the food. I don’t think I’d had Mataossu before.
The squash blossom was fabulous, I meant to ask if it was fried in ghee because it tasted so buttery. Excellent tomato and frisee salads.
Great pasta and delicious broth. Good thing there was a second loaf of bread to clean the plate.
I was expecting guinea hen to be a small whole bird but these were obviously from a fairly large one. Potaotes, green beans, ratatouille, all excellent.
I guess they bring everyone the tisane now? I liked the old teapot. Maybe they do that for the second seating where they don’t have to turn the tables.
Forgot to photograph the mignardises until after I’d eaten one.
Price actually seems pretty reasonable given how much prices have gone up. After the big disappointmnet at Zuni, our other old favorite, a few months ago, I was happy to see CP still in classic form.
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I liked our previous visits to Chez Panisse but do you think $175 for four courses (which also look relatively small) is even for SF reasonable ? We have some friends who recently went and liked the food quite a lot but also thought it was one of the worst “values” you get for your money in SF
White tablecloth, four courses, amuse, aperitif, mignardises, wood-fire cooking, polished and friendly service, and some good values on unusual bottles on the wine list. I don’t know where I’d get a similar meal for less. Or at all, really. France?
These opinions are obviously highly subjective but I am not sure if white tablecloth is really relevant even in high-end restaurants anymore and we found the service at Chez Panisse OK but lacking compared to other high(er) end places. CP was obviously critical for the restaurant development not only locally but also across the US but now many restaurants use local products and dinners at places like Rich Table, Ernest, Octavia, Anomaly to name few recent ones were more enjoyable at a lower price point (and if we include Europe, several dinners at Italy this year had outstanding/better food and service at perhaps half the price (including white tablecloth)
I enjoyed Ernest but it’s not the same kind of atmosphere, style of food, or level of comfort, the wine list doesn’t have as big or interesting a selection of things under $100, and I don’t believe they have a wood oven or wood grill. I would not go there to celebrate a birthday or anniversary.
More or less the same issues with Octavia and Rich Table, both of which are places I’d probably enjoy a lot (loved Perellos’s other place, Frances) but wouldn’t choose for a celebration. I have no use for tasting menu places like Anomaly.
Acquerello in SF is a place where I could have a meal similar in most ways to CP, and when you add in the 4% surcharge and higher service charge it’s about the same price.
Europe, it’s a lot easier to find great food, atmosphere, and service at a reasonable price.