First Look: ‘Cool beans’ gets new meaning at Berkeley’s charming Bar Panisse

Bar Panisse is the new little sister to Berkeley’s legendary Chez Panisse. Located next door, it’s a little hipper, a little cheaper and a lot of fun.

Alice Waters, the chef responsible for so much of America’s farm-to-table philosophy, is not doing the cooking. That would be Amelia Telc, who’s worked at Mission Chinese Food in New York and operated pop-ups in Sonoma County, including at the Bodega Bay’s hidden gem Casino Bar & Grill. Telc keeps her focus on uncluttered, surgically...