Posting from Cesar, a tapas bar co-owned by Alice Waters, right next door to Chez Panisse.

Went to Cesar this evening with 6 friends, and tried a good sampling of their offerings. The restaurant is very comfortable: bright but not glaring, busy but not too amplified, relaxed but still sort of classy, people well-dressed but plenty of kids about. The cocktail list seemed nice, wines by the glass, beer, I had a Gin martini with some sort of orange-colored Spanish bitters which came to the table ice cold, very nice.

The food was all well-executed, but ... (there had to be a but), there was an odd surfeit of paprika! The patatas with tomato and aioli were sprinkled with paprika; the gambas had several heavy shakes of paprika orangeing their shells; the fresh anchovies (yum yum) came with a side of spicy olives, and can you guess the spice? Yes, paprika! Even the garbanzos, which I didn't actually try, looked suspiciously dark orange.

I think Cesar's menu changes, and this was my first visit, so I don't know if they are always so liberal with the paprika, but it was most strange -- especially as P--- is a pretty strong spice that in the home kitchen I use sparingly. Everything was very tasty though, I will no doubt go back and I definitely recommend it. Perhaps someone who has been can speak to whether they had a similar experience?    [18 Aug 2004 11:40:59]

Food: -   Service: -   Ambiance: -   Overall: 

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