I’m heading there in August. Very much looking forward to it
More info.
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I believe the lemon ice cream and sherbet would properly be attributed to Lindsey Shere, who was Chez Panisse’s pastry chef at the time.
Got to grab a bite there this past Saturday:
Shrimp Grits
pickled jalapeño, shrimp oil
Wylie Dufresne, wd~50
The Forest
quinoa risotto, mushrooms, parsley “moss”
Mauro Colagreco, Mirazur
Lemon ice cream and sherbet
Alice Waters, Chez Panisse
Space was open and bright. Funny hearing the front desk repeatedly telling people that they were “fully committed” despite the number of open tables (my reservation was at 1:15pm). Everything was good. The shrimp grits was exceptional. Portions were much larger than I thought they would be. If I return again, and I would very much like to, I would bring others along. The Forest was much more rich and umami laden than I expected. Very satisfying. Lee’s the real deal. Making me itch to go back to Benu again as well.
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The rest of my meal
uni, nori, panko.
ronin
brown oyster stew
husk
octopus and the coral
central
spicy pork sausage rice cakes
momofuku ssam bar
interpretation of vanity
mugaritz
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Fabulous
Do you guys know if we can order both lounge and dining room menus, or only in their respective sections? Might go in a couple of weeks when I’m in town.
The menu’s explicit that you can’t order the dining room menu in the lounge. From what I’ve read, not vice-versa, either.
Awww. Thank you sir.
When I went, I was asked to wait in the “lounge” (which is really a bunch of long tables at one end of the front room) while my table was being readied. I ordered the shot of caramelized carrot soup. I was taken to my seat before it arrived. When I alerted the server that I had ordered the soup, they became rather flustered, stating that they had to go to the kitchen and cancel it posthaste. A pretty vigilant response.
I had wanted to try dishes from both. But from your reports dining room is the way to go?
definitely, make sure you have a reservation.
What @PorkyBelly said. Although my meal was comprised of stuff from the dining room menu, that fried chicken and croque sounded pretty tasty on paper. Truth be told, the dessert options on the lounge menu held more appeal for me than their counterparts. If only I had more than one GI tract, or at least a few others along with me to try a larger number of items. I suppose one could get there a bit early of the reservation and try stuff from the lounge menu if driven to do so. As a matter of fact, if I were to return (and I do hope to do so one day), that might be a strategy I might like to take.
I read that the pine-salt fried chicken was on the dining room menu, but they were overwhelmed by orders for it so moved it to the lounge menu.
Thanks for the tips everyone. Will try to report back - haven’t done that in ages!
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Headed to the dining room tomorrow for lunch. Definitely getting the shrimp grits. Any other must tries? Has anyone tried the duck?
i enjoyed the brown oyster stew with carolina gold rice from husk.
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Awesome, oyster stew is definitely on the list.