One of the absolute highlights was a surprise lunch at Chez Panisse, a gift from my sister Bobbie. This, my second visit, was as thrilling as the first, which happened to be in conjunction with a cooking class at Tante Marie’s years ago.
Everything about Alice Waters’ famed restaurant in Berkeley is understatedly elegant, starting with the floral arrangement at the entry.
The waiting area for the upstairs Café where lunch is served.
The narrow open kitchen is visible from the entire dining room. Subdued lighting adds to the romance of the place.
Our choices included a scrumptious roasted carrot salad, a gorgeous clam, black cod and sweet corn chowder, a simple, but delicious pasta, and a nectarine tart with raspberry ice cream. At another table I spotted an eye-catching dessert served in a gold bowl which was filled with large, beautiful grapes and a “Frog Hollow Farm Flavor King” pluot—that was it, a work of art.
At the entry there is a poster promoting Alice Waters’ Edible Schoolyard program, which connects educators around the world to build and share a K-12 edible education curriculum. If you’d like to learn more, watch the video explaining the program on the website.
My sister Sandy lives across the Golden Gate Bridge in Mill Valley. Each time I visit we head to her favorite spot in Sausalito, le garage.
The chickpea fries at the French bistro are marvelous.
There were also quiet morning walks around Richardson Bay, a bird sanctuary in Sandy’s front yard.
Thanks to my niece Meagan Donegan, an extremely talented artist whose drawings adorn the walls of several restaurants in the area including Pizzaiola* in Oakland, I was able to discover new fabric stores in the East Bay. I would like to have picked up one of these special shops, “A Verb for Keeping Warm“ (yes, that’s the name), and drop it in the CWE. Sandy and I also visited Satin Moon on Clement Street in San Francisco, where I have shopped many times over the years. I was so happy to stop in for what turned out to be a final visit, as the Miyamoto sisters are closing their shop after 40 years in business.
It’s always wonderful to get away for a few days and enjoy time with my family in that magical city. At the same time, unless you live in the city of San Francisco, the car becomes your second home and schedules are built around traffic patterns. It’s another reason why I love this small walkable neighborhood we live in.
*As is the case for so many Bay Area restauranteurs, Charlie Hallowell, the proprietor of Pizzaiola, worked in the kitchen at Chez Panisse before opening his own restaurants.