Under the Apron Strings: Dinner at Chez Panisse

During our recent trip to California, Alton and I had the pleasure of getting to experience dinner at the Chez Panisse. Chef Alice Waters opened Chez Panisse just over 50 years ago, championing the mantra that food could only be as good as the ingredients used to make it.

After experiencing a meal at Chez Panisse it is safe to say that their use of top quality ingredients produces a top quality meal.

We dined in the cafe, an intimate space where guests can see the food they are about to eat be prepared with careful expertise.

Excited at the prospect of dining at such a renown restaurant, we ordered a little bit of everything, From baked Adante goat cheese with garden lettuce to rigatoni with roasted eggplant, tomato, basil, mint, and ricotta salata, to grass-fed sirloin, and even pizza, we enjoyed every bit of our experience.

Of course no real dining experience is complete without a dessert or two. We ordered a nectarine galette, vanilla-kirsch custard with strawberry coulis, and bittersweet chocolate pavé with hazelnut-praline orange ice cream – each dessert more incredible than the last.

At the bottom of their menu, in small type, Chez Panissee includes a reminder:

The food we serve comes from farms, orchards, ranches, and fisheries guided by principles of regenerative agriculture.

A marker that the care and love that can be seen in the food grown and cooked by our parents, grandparents, and friends can also be found in different ways at fancy restaurants across the country (and world).