I’ve long wanted to eat at a restaurant in Berekely called Chez Panisse. Anyone interested in food and its preparation has heard of this place. It is known for its fresh food and taste and the founder, Alice Waters, basically started the trend in the States using really fresh food found locally. I called on a whim when we were heading up past San Francisco to see if a reservation could be had at the last minute and to my surprise, there was. We had lunch in the upstairs cafe.

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I love big bouquets of flowers-this was at the top of the stairs.

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The menu. Three really fun ladies from New York set next to us and one of them said, “Can you believe we are here?” You could tell they were really excited, like me, to be there. That sense of anticipation for a new experience with eating is so much fun. Later they said, “Isn’t it nice not to be disappointed?”

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I had gazpacho with shrimp-very tasty but, I have to say that I had some better in a little village in Provence once.

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This was a chicken breast pounded thin and then grilled with onion rings and tomatillos on top. It was really tasty. Neither of us left a crumb on our plates. Dessert was an apple and blueberry crumble. We left not feeling stuffed, which I always like. I also bought her latest cookbook just out called The Art of Simple Food. I’ve barely looked at it but she is a proponant of cooking with local ingredients which seems to be a huge thing right now in the States. I think most of Europe, but at least France, already does that with all of the bi-weekly markets everywhere. Getting fresh fruit and vegetables never seems to be a problem anyway.

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