Even Berkeley’s Chez Panisse is doing takeout sandwiches now

Chez Panisse, Alice Waters' acclaimed Berkeley fine dining restaurant, is now trading its signature four-course, upwards of $100 dinner menus for to-go sandwiches. Since March, the restaurant has been selling Cannard Family Farm CSA boxes and pantry items, but its expanded Friday takeout menu is a relatively new addition.

Sandwich lovers can choose from a BLT with Fatted Calf bacon, heirloom tomatoes, basil mayonnaise and rocket ($15), or a vegetarian sandwich with heirloom tomatoes, Belfiore mozzarella, rocket and basil pesto ($15). Also available in the Chez Panisse online marketplace is a sweet pepper and tomato bisque, an eggplant and tomato dish, a whole roasted chicken, a summer fruit tartlet, chewy ginger cookies and a selection of wines and beers.

But according to Berkeleyside, everything sells out quickly -- so you'll want to place your order on Tuesdays at noon, right when the marketplace opens, for pickup on Fridays from noon to 3 p.m.

Chez Panisse is not the only Bay Area fine dining restaurant to shift to a more casual takeout model to weather the pandemic. Lazy Bear in San Francisco's Mission District has also pivoted to sandwiches, pastries and pantry items, and nearby Michelin star restaurant Prairie transformed its dining room into a general store with tamales, cured meats, pasta kits and wines.

Chez Panisse is located at 1517 Shattuck Ave., Berkeley.

Madeline Wells is an SFGATE reporter. Email: madeline.wells@sfgate.com -- Twitter: @madwells22

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