My wife and I went to Chez Panisse in Berkeley with my best friend and his wife last night.
I brought a 2001 DRC Romanee St Vivant to celebrate our friendship of 55 years (kindergarten!). And to accompany our meal, which centered around Grilled Sonoma County duck breast with huckleberries, glazed turnips, spinach, chanterelle mushrooms and watercress.
The food and setting were sublime in an old school New California way, if that makes any sense.
The wine absolutely sang out of the glass … florals, loam, orange peel, Asian spice. The wine is in the beginning of optimal drinking window … super fine tannins and luscious blackberry/dark cherry fruit. Super long. Everything you want in a post adolescent DRC. Poster child for RSV precociousness.
My friend Marc, an IPA guy, declared it the “best wine I’ve ever had.” I wouldn’t say that, but it was in the zone.
That’s the great part. But here’s the main gist of my post … the wine glasses at a world famous spot are super meh. A universal glass with just barely passable thickness.
When I asked if they had any bigger bowls, the server apologized.
Not a huge deal, but the stems shaved off 25% of what the wine could be. No one else cared. But just be warned if you go to Chez Panisse to bring stemware if you want to geek out.
That is pretty disappointing - especially for a restaurant that is and has been known for food and wines for so long. Were you able to speak with the somm about this? That might have been beneficial . . .
My partner and I went there this summer and had the same experience with a 2010 d’Angerville Champans we brought. The wine was great, and the food was….good…but I was shocked when the server said they didn’t have appropriate glasses. We didn’t even get an apology, so I guess you have to bring DRC for that.
They have a nice wine list, but they’re really not “known” for being a temple to wine, certainly not the way they’re known as the Mecca of California Cuisine. Plus, their whole shtick (I use that word lovingly) is that such high-quality food should be eaten finely, but with little pretense. I mean, it’s not like drinking Cheval Blanc out of a soda cup.
Sounds nice, except for the glasses; are we really calling 01 post-adolescent though? Per some people they’re pushing late mature, although I don’t agree.
You were eating in the cafe upstairs. Ask the server to bring you glasses from the restaurant downstairs (including, if you are so inclined, an extra one for the server to use to taste–you might even have corkaged waived as a thanks for that).
I’m afraid this is impossible unless the glass had sprung a leak or something. The glass did not transubstantiate the wine into something different, and the wine itself was quite indifferent to the thickness of the glass, which became in any event totally irrelevant to the situation as soon as the wine migrated from the glass into your mouth.
Chez Panisse has not been much about wine in the “big restaurant Michelin” sense. Fun but short list of aged gems when I was there. I think they brought us tumblers after we bought a '59 Pontet Canet off the list.
I get the idea of wanting great stems provided, especially if the corkage is like $100 or more, but in the end we are bringing our own wine and and they are decanting/serving/pouring etc. Seems like a push to want premium stems too. I’m happy with any nice glass…I’m hoping these were not bulk Libby stemware. But always sincerely appreciative if they show up with those grandiose hand blown Riedel giants!
I’ve been to Chez Panisse close to a dozen times and I live on the east coast. I think it’s as good as its reputation; not every world-famous restaurant can say that. I’ve eaten both upstairs and downstairs multiple times.
Can they afford better stems? Well duh.
Do they have space to store them and staff to take care of them? Another question.
As others have mentioned, this is a food destination.
Uh, I ate downstairs in main dining room. I also offered server a glass, which he enjoyed. And no, corkage wasn’t waived. Not that I expected him to do so.
Surprised to see so many people praising Chez Panisse. I was at the Cafe back in May and left in absolute disappointment. The flavors on every dish were weak. The staff were really nice about it all - they offered to cook me a second main after they noticed I didn’t like my first (peas and mushroom pasta) . Unfortunately, the second entree (halibut) was equally disappointing.
I laughed out loud when a buddy of mine who used to be a food writer said “Chez Panisse does grocery shopping, not cooking.”
Im kinda suprised by the ‘stems don’t matter’ sentiment here. For those with that mentality, can you TRULY say you do not enjoy a fine wine significantly more out of a nice stem? I know that i most definitely do
