I feel the need to begin a page dedicated to all of the amazing places i need to eat. I will just add to the list here as i discover new places to drool in public.
As i have been known to lick a plate or 2. and i would happily do it at any one of these fine dining locals.
I initially took an interest in this place because of Anthony Bourdain’s No Reservations. Because i adore him anyway, i found his experience on Vancouver Island one in which i want to recreate over and over. Not only are these Inn Keepers raising their own meats, they have glorious gardens from which they create their menus and keep the foodie in all of us, charmed and breathless.
#2 Chez Panisse
I discovered this favorite landmark at the library. On my reintroduction to the library, i checked out 2 gorgeous cookbooks that i found appealing as much for the covers as the recipes…at first glance. I apparently was behind the times because Chez Panisse has been around since the 60’s. I still make her stuffed cabbage rolls for friends and cant wait to settle down in Berkeley for one of Alice Water’s glorious meals.
I had the opportunity to dine at the French Laundry and didn’t bite on it..not pun intended. Of course even getting a reservation here is not for the faint of heart but i did not appreciate its magic, until my friend Kate returned with stories of delicacies like i had never imagined. I now own one of his lovely cookbooks and ponder the 5 hour processes it would take to make the first course. Just their website makes my heart flutter. it got its name from the French Laundry service that called it home in the 1920s…after it was a brothel of course.
I recall hearing about this mythical place just north of my home a few years ago. Now, after getting the lowdown from my dear god-parents, I am sold. Not only because these 2 have traveled the world and dined in placed i can only dream, but because the Herb Farm seems to manifest itself in the fundamentals of good food. They cook what is in season and what they can collect from the land and sea around them: everything is fresh! AMEN! They have a bocce ball court for crying out loud, what more does a girl need?
