Wednesday, December 16, 2009

Lunch chez Panisse

Berkeley, December 16, 2009—
ANOTHER DELICIOUS LUNCH upstairs in the café today:
salad.jpg
Frisée, tardivo (radicchio), hardcooked egg, garlic and anchovy in a perfect dressing; then
ribs.jpg
braised short ribs with little turnips, mashed potatoes and celery root, and salsa verde. Comfort food. And dessert: panna cotta flavored with bay leaf and drizzled with huckleberry coulis, two words I never expected to juxtapose.
Rosé, Lurton (Semillon, Merlot, Cabernet sauvignon), 2008; Zinfandel, Green and Red, ?2008

2 comments:

Curtis Faville said...

The best Nicoise salad I know is served at Nizza La Bella, on San Pablo, across the street from Bev-Mo. Perhaps a trifle oily, but genuine and rich.

Charles Shere said...

I have fond memories of Nizza la Bella, but I can't get my dining companion to return. I just can't figure it out. Nizza la Bella is vrai Nice, not Provençal but Nissard, revealing the affinities of Niçoise cuisine with that of Piemonte across the border. But I can't get my Piemontese to join me there, and I'm not going without her.