Strawberries with wine? It's not a pairing most people ask Chez Panisse sommelier Jonathan Waters about. In fact, he can't remember anyone ever asking him to take the sweet-tart berry -- which has dotted dessert menus for much of the summer -- and combine it with a crisp, ethereal vino. Champagne, yes, but wine, no.
"It's pretty rare that somebody would have strawberries with wine," says Waters (no relation to that other Chez Panisse Waters), who has worked at the restaurant for more than 20 years.
That said, he thinks the two are a very plausible match and was up to the challenge. We caught up with him to chat strawberries, Alice Waters' practice of finishing a meal with seasonal fruit, and his thoughts on organic wine.
Do you guys ever serve whole strawberries? We do. We serve them at the end of a meal. Alice's idea is that the perfect end of a meal is a fruit. If you have ever read [David Mas] Masumoto's book about peaches ... we only serve strawberries for a very short window because it's a short season when they are perfect.
Does the restaurant serve them other ways? We serve strawberries with other things for a longer period, like macerated strawberries over sherbet or strawberry shortcake.
'A Great American Cook: Recipes from the Home Kitchen of One of Our Most Influential Cooks' Jonathan Waxman with Tom Steele Photographs by John Kernick Houghton Mifflin -- 2007 Buy it on Amazon
It's rather hilarious when a chef's cookbook matches his real-life persona.
It shouldn't have been a surprise that the man who trained Bobby Flay in the kitchen some 20 years ago is a pretty darn good teacher, and we were happily producing pretty decent artichoke specimens within minutes.
That same confident, coaxing voice is present throughout Waxman's cookbook, a hodgepodge of his culinary experiences. From the red-pepper pancakes with corn and caviar he introduced at Alice Waters' Chez Panisse to a potato gratin he picked up while training in France, this is a fine compilation from a man who has trained many of the American greats -- and who used to hobnob with the likes of James Beard and Julia Child.
What we tested and whether the book's worth buying, after the jump.
Looking at this cheese is a little like meditating. It's the most serene, perfect thing we've laid eyes on in the past week -- a little cloud floating innocuously against a blue (OK, teal) sky. The knife at its side hints at its imminent demise, but really, who aside from vegans or the lactose-intolerant wouldn't want to partake of the cheese's ample charms? Former Chez Panisse pastry chef David Lebovitz, the author of numerous wonderful cookbooks and a Paris resident for the past seven years, purchased this silver dollar-sized disc of Rocamadour (a raw goat's milk fromage) for a dinner party he was throwing for friends. While much of his accompanying commentary extols the virtues of the comté he also bought, it's this diminutive beauty that has us dreaming of baguettes, a drizzle of honey and deeply discounted Air France tickets.
Ladies and Gentlemen, we are embarking upon a Bento Boom. The prettily packaged (often very elaborate) box lunch has been around in Japan since the 1600s, has its share of obsessives stateside, and now boasts an upscale San Francisco Bay Area entrepreneur as its, uh, bentoperson. Meet Peko-Peko (Japanese for "hungry").
How can a simple, typically cheap boxed lunch go upscale? Well, owner Sylvan Brackett's restaurant background is at Alice Waters' famed local eatery Chez Panisse. His tribute to the food of his childhood -- his mother is Japanese -- do not come cheap. When they're so gorgeously presented in beautiful "to go" boxes, or on traditional servingware when catered, we'd be inclined to shell out the $25 minimum. (Full disclosure: We sampled Brackett's incredible potstickers as college acquaintances). Seasonal, organic ingredients might include Marin Sun Pork Kakuni (soy and sake-simmered pork belly) with chrysanthemum greens or a layered box of Dungeness crab, pork cutlet, local pickled ginger and Brackett's house-brined umeboshi (pickles).
Though gourmet bento has not yet charmed all of America, Brackett studied the cuisine in Japan and declares, "Beautifully laid out food is common there." How does Mom feel about him taking the casual food she served him as a tot and bringing it to the Alice Waters crowd? "She thinks it's amusing."
Check out this week's New York Times magazine, which features several recipes from Chez Panisse chef David Tanis's new cookbook. The book, "A Platter of Figs and Other Recipes," embodies the Chez Panisse philosophy: "simple cooking meant to illuminate nature's perfect simplicity."
Think strawberries elevated with just a splash rose-petal syrup; braised carrots with a whiff of saffron, simple avocado salad of avocados, scallions, salt and limes. There are three featured recipes in the magazine: no-casing fennel sausage with nothing more than pork, salt, crushed red pepper, fennel seed and garlic; the aforementioned saffron carrots, and a moist, deeply mahogany duck breast with baked figs.
Written by Chez Panisse alum Joanne Weir, Weir Cooking the City is the companion volume to her public television show that aired several years ago. Based in San Francisco, the show and book offer seasonally appropriate recipes that are nicely narrated, thoughtfully organized and not-too complex (although some of the recipes definitely include more steps than you'd want to take on a busy weeknight evening).
I bought my copy for six bucks at the main Goodwill in Portland, OR when I was visiting my parents last December. The previous owner had read it thoroughly and had scattered the pages with yellow sticky notes, marking the recipes that he or she were hoping to try. This is one of the reasons I chose to buy this book over others, I particularly enjoy seeing what appealed to another person.
This is a chunky cookbook with plenty of tasty and interesting recipes. If you come across this one in a used bookstore, flip through and see if anything jumps out at you. It's not a bad one to have on your shelf (if you still use cookbooks) when you need to make something special for friends or family.
Speaking of apples (I know, you're getting tired of me writing about apples. This is the last one for a while. I promise.) did you guys see the gorgeous apple tart that Deb at Smitten Kitchen just posted? I don't think I've ever, in all my life, made a dessert that looked quite so gorgeous.
The recipe is one that originally comes from Chez Panisse, according to Alice Waters it was created by Jacques Pépin so you know even before you bake it that it's going to be wonderful. And Deb's pictures certain prove that out. This would make a great Thanksgiving dessert if you don't want to bake a traditional pie.
I guess it's not surprising, considering only 8 of the top 50 are here in the United States and none are near me. Thomas Keller's The French Laundry in Yountville, CA is the top U.S. restaurant at #4. Other U.S. spots include Per Se, Jean Georges, Le Bernardin, Charie Trotter's, Daniel, Alinea, and Chez Panisse. The top restaurant is El Bulli in Spain (the site also lists restaurants 51 to 100).
Since we heard about some chefs who are not exactly following the all-natural philosophy of the "Alice Waters school of cooking" yesterday, it seems only fair to take a look at one of her cookbooks today. The Chez Panisse Café Cookbook has a lot of material on her beliefs, her philosophies about food, ingredients and cooking, and even a few recipes to complement the text. Essentially, the core of Waters' beliefs is that food should be produced as sustainably as possible and served when it as fresh as it can be. Her recipes focus on highlighting the flavor of the ingredients in as close to a natural state as possible.
Chez Panisse Café is not exactly the same restaurant as Chez Panisse. It is actually a somewhat more casual restaurant above the Chez Panisse dining room where dishes are ordered a la carte, rather than as part of a prix fixe. Not that the less formal presentation detracts from the food or flavors. Instead it gives the chefs a bit wider range of dishes to work with, both casual and fancy. The recipes in this cookbook are some of both: Beef Carpaccio with Capers, Parmesan and Anchovies, Roast Pork Loin with Rosemary and Fennel, Meyer Lemon Eclairs and Pizzetta with Farm Egg and Prosciutto.
No one would question the fact that the French Laundry deserves all three of its Michelin stars, but what about the rest of the ratings? Michael Bauer, restaurant critic for the San Francisco Chronicle, described the French Laundry as a ringer, a restaurant so good that no other establishment - on either coast - can really stand up to it. Bauer wonders whether the other area restaurants are being handicapped by the fact that the French Laundry sets an impossibly high standard for comparison that the 3-star restaurants in New York could not live up to, either.
He says "the list lacks many of the places that go to the heart of Bay Area dining and define who we are" and considering that the restaurant scene in the area has more high-quality restaurants than just about anywhere in the country, if not the world, it would seem that he has a point. While a great honor for Thomas Keller, the Guide's ratings do not seem sufficient for Bay Area restaurant scene. Does Chez Panisse only deserve 1 star? Does Manresa only deserve two? And how many were left off entirely?
Chef Alice Waters, founder of Chez Panisse in Berkeley, CA, is practically the godmother of the "local" movement. Last year, the chef partnered with the Heath Ceramics, a pottery company owned by Catherine Bailey and Robin Petravic, and clothing designer Christina Kim to design and create tableware that reflects their love of locally-made products. Chef Waters uses the the eight-piece setting at her restaurant, and the line is now available to the public from Heath Ceramics. The classically-styled dinnerware is distinctive and because they are all hand-crafted, have subtle differences in form and color.
I had fun putting together this list because it brought back so many wonderful memories of
dining out with my husband. (Most of these memories are before we had kids, wonder why?) For me a romantic restaurant
isn't just about the food. It's also about atmosphere and marking special occasions and evoking a mood. My top four
restaurants are romantic because they have personal meaning for me. They are:
1. La Folie: There is no more romantic restaurant in all of San Francisco, in
my opinion. The tables are intimate, the food is delicious, the service warm and friendly. We dined at La Folie
for our ninth wedding anniversary dinner. We started the meal with a bottle of Laurent-Perrier vintage brut, and I remember we had caviar and
foie gras...everything else is a blur. But, when dessert arrived, I do remember finding out why the host asked if we
were celebrating a special occasion when me made our reservations. I won't spoil the surprise. You'll just
have to dine there and find out for yourself. (wink! wink!)
Is it bad that I haven't visited any of 
No one would question the fact that the French Laundry deserves 
Chef Alice Waters, founder of 
I had fun putting together this list because it brought back so many wonderful memories of
dining out with my husband. (Most of these memories are before we had kids, wonder why?) For me a romantic restaurant
isn't just about the food. It's also about atmosphere and marking special occasions and evoking a mood. My top four
restaurants are romantic because they have personal meaning for me. They are:
What Can I Get You Folks? - Eating Out for Thanksgiving
In Defense of Guy Fieri
'Top Chef Vegas' - And Then There Were Five
