a cheese board pizza picnic

One of my favorite things about the Hobbit Castle was that it was right by Berkeley's Gourmet Ghetto. Before planning our big night in, we spent the afternoon out having a pizza picnic on the median divide (i.e. between opposite traffic roads) on Shattuck.










The line for Cheese Board Pizza was something ridiculous, but even more surprising was how quickly it went by. Cheese Board is unique in that they only serve one type of pizza each day so everyone's orders are limited to how many pizzas rather than the ingredients on them.

We couldn't find seats but ended up setting up a little pizza picnic of sorts on the grass outside in the perfect California winter weather. The pizza was thin crust, flavorful yet simple, and reminiscent of the pizzas I ate in Italy. In short, we loved it.

PS - A few weeks ago, I did an interview with Tara which is up on her blog now. She asked a lot of insightful questions and even though some of my answers have changed, it's nice to see how I've grown in just a few weeks. She says a lot of kind words (I'd blush if I could) and made me proud to be part of such a loving online community. #2 and #3 in the "7 things" about me section are my favorite.

the hobbit castle weekend

This weekend my friends and I rented this gorgeous Hobbit Castle in Berkeley to host a little dinner-and-games-party-staycation.

Needless to say, there will be a lot of beautiful (food centric) things on the blog this week.

chez panisse

Just as a warning: this post is photo heavy. It's pretty standard for me to go somewhere and take a lot of photos, but I have to be really in love with the photos to share the majority of them.

That's where Chez Panisse comes in. If you haven't heard of world-famous Chez Panisse, I won't judge you. I didn't know what the restaurant was up until a few months ago but it turns out my parents used to eat here a lot in the late 80's, early 90's.

Norris, one of my dearest friends, was an intern for the Office of Alice Waters and wanted to show me and Jamie where she worked (and what she got to eat every day for lunch).





This restaurant was all about the details. The etchings on the glass carafe, old prints of former Chez Panisse menus all over the walls, the fact that the waiters carried around wooden boxes to hold silverware.





We ate family style. We ordered two appetizers, three entrees, a dessert and shared everything:

Crab and scallop endive salad (my favorite)
Nettle and pecorino pizzetta
Mushroom and pea ragu pasta
Quail and squab with persimmons and herb toast
Fried rockfish with potatoes and celery root
Chocolate meringue and mocha ice cream drizzled with espresso caramel sauce

It was the best way to taste everything without getting too full too quickly (which was inevitable anyway).







After taking a long, leisurely lunch in the cafe, Norris took us on a little tour of the restaurant and of Alice's office. Each of the spaces was humble and small-- a real testament to their rustic meals and their approach to food. The kitchen was crowded and busy, humming with warmth.

For an entire week, Chez Panisse only needs two standard sized garbage cans. (You know, the kind that can fit one adult in it and no one else.) Everything else is either composed, reused or recycled. How amazing is that?





And then we walked into Alice's office. Alice's office. An entire wall dedicated to cookbooks. Lemony soap in the bathroom. Striped twine for sending out books to friends. It made me happy to think that even though she's become so well-known for "pioneering California cuisine," she still takes pride in the beautifully simple things.

our last dinner all together

Dinner last Thursday kind of redefined "family style" for me. Jenna moved out early so for our last dinner together, we went to Pizzaiolo and had one of the best meals of my life. I don't even think I had this many courses while I was in Italy!

We began with colorful cocktails-- campari, bourbon, chartreuse-- and split a few appetizers between us. Even though we only got a few bites each, I think that this method was best because it allowed all of us to taste each thing without getting too full. (Their little gems salad was my favorite!)

Somehow I completely forgot to take any photos of the pasta we had... but their puttanesca was fantastic (and I don't really like eggplant). Jenna's mom picked out a really nice bottle of red wine and it went perfectly with the pasta and pizza. But really, their pizza is amazing. Delicate yet flavorful.

And just when I thought I couldn't possibly eat another bite... dessert. With three different dessert wines. Prior to this, I'd only tasted port while visiting a vineyard, but it was really nice to try the Riesling, Malvasia, then the Port in contrast to one another. (And alongside the dessert, of course).

I know that our last meal together wasn't home cooked and I didn't have one of my trademark fiascoes, but just sitting together and talking for hours over amazing food was the perfect way to end our year altogether. Anna, Sarah, and I are all still in our apartment until early June, but it won't be the same without Jenna. Wonderful food and even better roommates perfectly sum up our year together.

pizzaiolo

The best first time to a restaurant imaginable. Driving from Stanford to Berkeley in the rain, Jenna and I left at 4:30 and didn't get there until 6:30. I think it's normally an hour drive. Needless to say we were late for our 5:45 reservation and the restaurant (understandably) gave our table away. The next table wouldn't be ready until almost 7:30, which was the time we needed to get going to head to campus for a Classics lecture.

The sweet, sweet hostess told us that if we could finish by 7:15, we could eat quickly at a table that was reserved. Even though it was 6:40ish by that time, we knew that we had to be out of the door by then so we agreed. Jenna, long time Pizzaiolo veteran, knew exactly what to order. Everything came out so quickly and it was amazing:

Fresh bread
Garden salad with beets
Fresh pasta with crab
Wild mushroom pizza

Seriously, this place is good. Everything is fresh, simple perfection. I'm already trying to plan my next visit!