“At Chez Panisse we celebrate each year with a re-statement of our commitment to good food, community, and sustainability. We are passionate about supporting purveyors who take care of the environment; we support one Sonoma farm almost entirely, and buy from approximately eighty-five other California farmers throughout the year. We see farming, foraging, cooking, and table service as an unbroken sequence, and the meal as a centerpiece of the human experience. Our purveyors are committed to healthful products and practices that are as pure and natural as possible, without synthetic additives or pollutants, and without the unnecessary complexities of packaging and marketing.”

The grand dame of the sustainable food movement, Chez Panisse, has, since its founding in 1971, become synonymous with the kind of local, farm-to-table eating that has inspired countless restaurants around the world. Alice Waters’ Berkeley establishment is both a restaurant and café: the former is prix fixe and reservations only, while the latter, which opened in 1980, offers more moderately priced à la carte lunch and dinner menus. The selections change daily: in summer, you might find a roasted eggplant and rocket salad or sweetcorn soup with fried stuffed squash blossoms at the restaurant. Regardless of when you visit, you’ll find attentive service on both floors, and a wine list as thoughtfully sourced as the food on your plate.

"No other restaurant has better ingredients or treats them with more respect." –Michael Bauer, San Francisco Chronicle