Joan goes through the menu, but doesn't discuss the quality of the experience. As I am critical of my own work, so I shall be of theirs.
We were part of the first Friday night seating. The setting, the staff, and our fellow diners were terrific. It was very informal, with people having a better and better time as the night wore on. It was not one of those stuffy temples of food where we were expected to be overawed by virtue of being admitted to the place.
The Brandade de Morue was pretty inspid. Okay texture, not much flavor. Usually, it is prepared with a little garlic, but not in this instance.
I missed the point of the aperitif. It was sweet and seemed out of place. I did not drink it.
The eel salad was the highlight of the meal. Greens were great, properly dressed, eel was tasty and had good texture.
The pasta could have been perfect. It was garnished with fresh peas, and if all the peas had been the same size (and age, I'd guess) it would have been wonderful. As is was, a lot of the peas were very large and starchy, and since they were barely cooked (in deference to the small, sweet tender peas) it was almost like having an uncooked reconstituted legume in the salad. There were crisp, very thin squares of pancetta, which were excellent.
I love squab. But this was overcooked, for my taste, verging on livery.
The wine selections, we were told, came from someone at A16 who'd done some sort of tasting with the Chez Panisse staff earlier in the week. As Joan said, the first wine was delicious. It may have been Austrian rather than Italian, in any case it came from the hills between those nations. The remaining 2 wines were Italian, both from the area around Naples, and tasted for all the world (to me, anyway) like typical overpriced undistinguished California wines--it may as well have been a $25 Kendall-Jackson. Disappointing.
And because it was Friday, there was an extra course, and an extra cost. It was $95 per person, plus the wine, plus a 17% service charge.
Should one expect perfection for $150? Probably not. But everything than I found wrong that night was a result of poor preparation: First rate ingredients, generally well thought out dishes. But undercooked peas and overcooked squab? At the first seating? On a weekend night, when presumably the A team is in the kitchen?
I certainly have paid more for lesser dining experiences, but I really had expected more from Chez Panisse. I still find that, all things being equal, I care less about the pedigree of my peas and squabs than I do about how they taste.
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
Damn, Tomas, you are spot on with your critique: the place, decor, service and general dining mood was friendly, warm, slightly genteel - but thankfully not pretentious. Totally agree about: insipid (watery?) amuse bouche; I didn't get the point of the aperitif either, but I liked it and would make it myself for some sunny afternoon treat; i like eel but i also like a french viniagrette salad so the whole eel salad was light and interesting; i'm sad your peas were uneven - my peas were universally small, tender and sweet and so I really liked the pasta; "livery" squab is EXACTLY the right way to describe it and therefore why it was underwhelming to me; and I totally agree about the wines: I wish I could remember more about the first wine - I would buy more; the other two were forgettable. All in all it was not my favorite menu of the week - there were other (cheaper) nights that week I think I would have preferred. That's the frustration I have with having to book a month in advance - with a set menu/price each night, you just have to trust that you'll like what they offer. I almost didn't want to go, when I saw what our menu was going to be - but it was interesting and better than I feared. Then again, is that what you want to spend $95 on? Better than you fear? And I agree - I care less about where the food comes from than how it tastes. That being said, what I appreciated it is the freshness of flavors that came through. Is it sad to get excited about fresh salad greens, peas, pasta? Yes, it is. But that's how I look to cook - what's fresh at the market, let's cook that - so that's what made me happy about Chez Panisse. I appreciate the effort to cook fresh, local food in way that celebrates the simplicity of fresh ingredients. I'd go again, but I'd gamble on a cheaper night's reservation, and cancel (24 hours notice required or you forfeit a deposit!) if I didn't like the menu.
ReplyDelete