All stories about "Chez Panisse"

YOUNTVILLE—Up in Kellertown, Bouchon begins its ten-day sabbatical today, which means that diners who once balked at the portable bathrooms need not worry anymore (though we liked the look, personally). The cause of the hiatus is the Bouchon kitchen expansion, and the restaurant is expected to reopen for dinner service next Thursday, May 1st. In the meantime, reservations are still being accepted online. [EaterWire]

BAY AREA—Speaking of His Highness Keller, Restaurant Magazine has released its annual list of the 50 best restaurants in the world. Once again, El Bulli took top honors, and The French Laundry (#5) managed a spot in the top five, followed closely by its NYC offshoot, Per Se (#6). The only other American entry west of Chicago? Put your hands together for Chez Panisse, at #37. [Bloomberg]

We don't do our own reviews per se here at Eater, but we hear there are plenty of local bloggers that do. Know a blog that should be on our radar? Do share.

7x7's Robin Rinaldi finds a loophole in the wait for a table at the tiny L'Osteria del Forno, and then discovers the place to be a diamond in the roughness of North Beach: "One hour turned to two, which turned to three. Still L'Osteria stayed quiet while we ate and drank and talked and drank some more and ate still more. Outside, as the late afternoon light slanted on the North Beach sidewalks, I could have sworn I'd just returned from a long Italian vacation instead of merely a long lunch." [B+B]

The latest installment of Pizza Fridays takes to the northern Mission, where MB declares Pauline's Pizza: "What other place offers Meyer lemon sauce that gets slathered on the pie along with goat cheese and greens? With its crispy chewy crust with a dusting of cornmeal for extra flavor, Pauline's sets the standards for this style of pizza." [BauerBlog]

· Taking a Belgian Look at Monk's Kettle and La Trappe [What's On Tap]
· Bourdain Reacts to the Food Network and His Show's Return [Travel Channel]
· It Took 35 Years for Chez Panisse to Switch to Local Beer [BBB]
· Homemade Mexican Ice Cream Shop Opens in South City [SJMN]
· Dominique Delanghe of Pac Heights, Old School Pastry Chef [Chron]
· Foreign Tourism Boosts Hotel/Restaurant Revenue 11% [Chron]

SOMA—Fans of The Gallery Lounge and nearby DaDa will be happy to know that Michael Gouddou—the man behind the two aforementioned bars—has a third SoMa project in his sights, this time on the outer fringes of the hood, at 1655 Market (across from Zuni and CAV). The name of his next endeavor—Buck Tavern—doesn't quite lend the same ... artsy sophistication as those prior (it could be the name of a porn star, even), but we're told it's going to be a lower key, casual beer place with pub grub options. [EaterWire]

OAKLAND—On Sunday from noon to 1pm, Jack London Square will host a special crab festival, according to BellyFull. Crabbers will sell Dungeness from the back of their boats and there will be a talk on sustainable fishing. But that's not all: "For an even more delicious time, Chef Tamar Adler of Berkeley's Chez Panisse will do a crab cooking demonstration. And for a dose of zaniness, there will even be crab races on a custom-built racing track." All that in an hour? [BellyFull]

CITY-WIDE—It's well-known that San Francisco doesn't require public displays of health inspections like LA, but SFist sheds some light on the game of cat and mice: "The little card with a numerical score of the most recent inspection is not required to be on public display. However, the complementary Inspection Report must be posted in an obvious place as you walk in. Based on what we've seen, compliance with this public notice requirement might not be fully at 100% yet." [SFist]

[Photo courtesy]

· Woodhouse Fish Co. Owner: "We Are Serving Local Crab Today" [CH]
· Short Woman Looks For Tiny Restaurant [CH]
· In Praise of Sebo, But Not the SF Sushi Scene [Mouthfuls]
· Inner Richmond's Q Restaurant: Neither Here Nor There [CH]
· When It Comes to the Industry, Where Does Flattery Become Imitation? [eG]
· The Search Begins For a Traditional Christmas Dinner [Yelp Convo]
· No Downhill Here: a Glowing Report From Chez Panisse [CH]

The saga surrounding Alice Waters' involvement in the controversial Ameya Preserve housing project continues. Two weeks ago, the Wall Street Journal reported that Waters—who supports the purchase of the development's $2.3 million homes in a town where the average pricetag is $150K to the point that she'll cook a gourmet meal for anyone who buys a new house—chalked up her involvement to a substantial ($500,000) donation to the Slow Food Nation by the Ameya Preserve. Today, the WSJ issued a correction saying that most of the money didn't actually go to Slow Food:

Wade Dokken, a developer of the Ameya Preserve housing development in Paradise Valley, Mont., paid $100,000 to Slow Food Nation, a nonprofit organization founded by San Francisco Bay area restaurateur Alice Waters in exchange for her help in guiding plans for a cooking school on the property. Mr. Dokken would pay an additional $400,000 directly to Ms. Waters and not Slow Food Nation for additional consulting services under terms of an unsigned contract. Based on erroneous information provided by Mr. Dokken and Ms. Waters, a Nov. 16 Weekend Journal article on new "politically correct" developments incorrectly said that Mr. Dokken pledged $500,000 to Slow Food Nation in exchange for Ms. Waters's participation.

· Mythical Chez Panisse Has Become a "Religion of Yesteryear" [CH]
· Always Empty: Emporio Rulli on Chestnut [CH]
· Invitation to Trouble: Sunday Sushi in Japantown [CH]
· Restaurateurs Ponder Various Applications of the Interwebs [eGullet]
· Suppenkuche Fails to Impress German Lovers [tribe.net]
· Yelper Discovers Wasabi; World Rolls Eyes [Yelp Convo]

Town Hall's got themselves a signature dish. [Photo: Flickr/LFL16]

· Five Great Signature Dishes From San Francisco Restaurants [SFM]
· Local Restaurants Hopping Aboard the Lounge Bandwagon [Chron]
· Pim Plays Judge on The Next Iron Chef [CP]
· Cosentino's Favorite Fall Ingredients: Game Birds [AP]
· What Really Counts As "Local" Food? [NYP]
· French Laundry Pastry Chef Drops Cook Book [SJMN]
· Did Chez Panisse and Zuni Turn Off the Wood-Ovens Last Night? [SFist]

· Post-Thanksgiving Dinners at Meadowood and Kellerville: Straight Decadent [CH]
· Inkas in the Mission: Delicious, But Will It Succeed? [CH]
· Is There Anything Good Around UCSF? [CH]
· For That Matter, How About Around San Bruno Avenue? [CH]
· Check Please! as a "TV Version of Yelp" [CH]
· Everyone Loves the Recital of the Specials [Zagat Discussion]
· Wait! Old Ice Cream Being Served at Chez Panisse? [Mouthfuls]

Earlier this week, we discussed a possible reason for Alice Waters' questionable involvement in a Montana housing project—which interestingly enough, has not yet been addressed by the her camp. Since then, the comments field at Tigers & Strawberries has pretty much exploded, and a surprising majority of the sentiment has been anti-Waters. To wit:

The problem that I have with Alice Waters is not that I think she's elitist, it's that it seems as though everything she says is infused with a mild air of eau de sanctimony. (She also reminds me of those people who drive you up a wall because they're so beatific.) It' not something I could easily explain, but reading the NYT piece and the Salon article, I wanted to scream. It's not a question of her message, it's just something about her that just rubs me the wrong way.

[Photo courtesy]

Because not all posts get deleted...

· "Had an Epic Dinner at 1300 Last Night" [CH]
· Will Chez Panisse Expand Their Tables to Accommodate Seven? [CH]
· The Fine Print of Naming Restaurants [eGullet]
· Looking Ahead to the Big Four's Wild Game Week [CH]
· Can Pho Be Found in Marin? [CH]
· Zoya, Zuni or Absinthe? [Yelp Convo]

In the wake of last week's perplexing revelations that Alice Waters has aligned herself with a controversial, "elitist" Montana housing project comes a possible explanation for the Chez Panisse founder's involvement. To recap, Waters came under fire on The Ethicurean because the new gated community—in which her new culinary school will open—is promising a private gourmet meal by Waters with the purchase of a $2.3 million home. Mind you, the average price tag for a home in the small Montana community is $150,000.

And now, some detective work, from Tigers & Strawberries:

I think I may have figured out how she got involved with the Ameya Preserve project, though ... back in May on Michael Bauer' blog, Between Meals, there was a post announcing Alice Waters' involvement in Carlo Petrini's 2008 Slow Food Nation expo in San Francisco. The event promises to be fascinating, and full of food and fun and all that good stuff, but what I found most interesting was the mention, down near the end of the post, that the first major donation to Slow Food Nation was "a $500,000 gift from the Ameya Preserve in Montana, which is an 11,000-acre plot of sustainable land."

[Photo courtesy]

It's no secret that Alice Waters is the closest thing the Bay Area—nay, the food world—has to a goddess, but a rather troubling article on The Ethicurean reveals that Waters has (quite strongly) aligned herself with a gated community development in Montana called the Ameya Preserve:

Here’s where Alice Waters comes into the picture. All of the current advertising for the Ameya Preserve — including the 2007 Neiman Marcus Christmas Catalog — trumpets her involvement. Alice may or may not be an elitist in person, but she has aligned herself with a developer and a project that is openly and unabashedly elitist.

The Christmas Catalog promises that Alice herself will cook your dinner if you buy a 10-acre site. The price tag: $2.3 million, in an area where the average home price is around $150,000 and the median income hovers just below $40,000.

Anyone with thoughts, explanations or theories is encouraged to share, either in the comments field or via email.

Like 'em or not, the Michelin stars always cause a buzz, especially in a place that loves its restaurants like San Francisco. Unfortunately for those of you wanting to make a big deal about something this year, not much really changed from last year's inaugural edition. The only movement among San Francisco restaurants was in the one-star category, where bushi-tei bowed out. Ame, Coi and Cortez all joined the club, but in a year devoid of last year's uproar, the restaurant probably garnering the most quizzical looks is One Market.

But that doesn't mean people can't still whine about the guide! In that vein, here is what the Bay Area is saying. (And if you're wondering Michael Bauer's thoughts, well, you'll just have to wait until tomorrow, because he already used up his daily blog entry talking about Vegas or something.)

1) Chef Christopher Kostow of two-star recipient Chez TJ, who was asleep when he got Director Naret's call this morning: "I was completely speechless, I was completely surprised ... I just freaked out." [SJMN]

2) SFGate Community Member mgescuro: "I remember the uproar last year about the Michelin ratings "screwing up" some of the top restaurants in the region -- much the same way Michelin "screwed up" the NYC restaurants when they were initially reviewed. I'm glad to see a few more restaurants getting a star. One surprise... One Market.... REALLY??? Has the food been getting better or something??" [Chron]

It's Friday and that means it's time to take a look at the wonderful world of blog reviews. Know a restaurant-related blog that should be on our radar? Let us know, would you?

[Photo: Flickr/fuzuoko]

1) Yes, House & Garden has a blog, and that blog made its semi-annual appearance at Chez Panisse. But do regulars ever get bored at CP? Hardly:

You never know what the hell is going to pop on the Chez Panisse menu, which is one of the things we love about it. This time the surprise item was beef marrow bones roasted in the wood oven. The marrow bones were worthy of Fergus Henderson.

Next week, the 2008 San Francisco/Bay Area Michelin Guide will be released. While the impact and relevance of the French guide are questionable here in California, there's no denying that at the very least, the little red book provides the fodder for much debate among chefs and diners alike. Looking at last year's rankings, the Bay's restaurants seemed to fall victim to some type of French sensibility apparently absent outside of Yountville. To recap, Thomas Keller's French Laundry, predictably, was the lone recipient of the hallowed trio, an eclectic quartet nabbed a pair of stars, all while the best non-Keller restaurant in the state, Chez Panisse, received a lone star, along with 23 others.

This year's storylines:

1) The most outcry last year involved Chez Panisse and Gary Danko, Zagat's top-rated restaurant for the past six years running. Will either make the jump to two stars?

2) Also surprised/disappointed with a lone star were French stalwarts La Folie and Fleur de Lys, who are pretty much designed to win Michelin stars.

3) Manresa and Cyrus seem to be the only shots to join Keller in the three-star club, but as Bauer pointed out last year, it's virtually impossible to put someone else on equal grounds as The French Laundry.