Despite going to school nearby for four years, I finally tried Chez Panisse for the first time last week. The BF and I stopped by during lunch and was greeted by an enticing spring menu.

The prix fixe menu for the day looked like a great value: a salad, an entree, and dessert for less than $30. I was curious about the entree, but the garden green salad it came with sounded uninteresting to me, so I just ended up ordering a la carte.

The BF ordered a citrus and avocado salad which came with slices of orange, grapefruit, avocado, and arugula. The salad was simple, but delicious. There’s something magical about the way citrus and slightly bitter salad greens go together so nicely

I had the celery root salad with duck prosciutto, beets, and half an egg. The celery root was crispy, well seasoned, and slightly tangy. The prosciutto was flavorful without being too salty and had a satisfying mouthfeel. It sounds trivial, but the egg was perfectly hard-boiled. A bit of beet, a bite of egg, a slice of prosciutto, topped off the celery root — it was an orgasm in my mouth.

As my entree, I ordered the baked egg with farro, artichoke, and braised celery. I was surprised that an omnivore fine dining restaurant would have a completely vegetarian entree. The dish came piping hot straight from the oven and was full of brothy goodness. The presentation may not have been the best, but the taste was top notch.

The farro was tender but not mushy, the artichokes flavorful, eggs perfectly baked, and even though I always make fun of braised celery for being boring, the braised celery in the dish was anything but. The entire dish was just so flavorful and comforting that it didn’t need anything else.

The BF had mentioned to our server that he wanted a vegan dish and they came up with an alteration of something that was already on the menu. It was couscous with chickpeas, greens, and some fava beans, something he specifically requested. His entree, like mine, was simple, but the fresh ingredients made it leap out. Fresh fava beans are such a pain to prepare that I’m always happy when they’re on a menu and I can save myself the extra shelling.

For dessert, I ordered a white chocolate and coconut tart with strawberries on top. The pastry filling was incredibly rich and sweet — maybe a little too sweet for my tastes, but the tart strawberries helped cut down on the richness. The tart was the perfect size too. If it were any bigger, I’d be overwhelmed with so much sweetness.

The BF ordered the fruit bowl which came with tangerines and figs. It seemed weird for a restaurant to offer a bowl of fruit for dessert, but wow, these were some of the best tangerines and figs I’d ever had the pleasure of eating. I guess that’s what you get for a $9 fruit bowl. We joked that for the price they charged for it, they could have at least peeled the tangerines for us.

I don’t know what I was expecting when I entered Chez Panisse, but when I first glanced at the menu, it looked pretty standard. After lunch, especially after the entree, I was blown away by how the chefs teased such bold and mouthwatering flavors out of simple ingredients. I can’t wait to go back during a different season and see what they come up with.

Chez Panisse
1517 Shattuck Avenue
Berkeley, California 94709
Café Reservations: (510) 548-5049
Restaurant Reservations: (510) 548-5525