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ReviewZaxTavern

Page history last edited by Mark P 15 years, 3 months ago

Zax Tavern Review

 

After the Scharffen Berger factory tour, we stopped by Zax Tavern in Berkeley for dinner. We were very happy with dinner. Unlike some others we've visited, this is one of those restaurants from the Chronicle's Top 100 list that actually deserves to be on the list.

 

To start, we ordered one of its most famous dishes, a twice-baked goat cheese souffle. I had high hopes for this dish because every review I read about this place mentioned this as its trademark / signature / best / must-order item. The dish was disappointing, tasting like a fairly bland cheese quiche. (It was made of cheese but the cheese was so mild it imparted very little flavor.) Most attendees preferred the salad that accompanied the souffle to the souffle itself. The salad was a mixture of julienned apples, celery, and fennel, tossed with a vinaigrette dressing.

 

The entrees were an improvement and were uniformly quite good. In addition, they were presented very well (and smelled very good too). We all agreed that any one of us would have been happy with any one of the entrees. (This is a rare quality and instantly places this restaurant in the upper echelon of all places we've visited this year.) But each of us had our favorites and these generally differed. Here are the details: 

  • Pork shoulder stew. Tender chunks of pork with potatoes, snap peas, carrots, onions, and what appeared to be fried wontons. Quite good.
  • Chicken breast milanese. Breaded chicken. Quite good, though one person remarked it was a bit salty. Served with an artichoke stuffed with cherry tomatoes, and an arugula salad with vinaigrette, and with some (intentionally) cold Israeli couscous.
  • Lamb brochettes (skewers). Juicy lamb chunks grilled with peppers and onions. Quite good (though this wasn't anyone's favorite). Served with pita bread, a little dish of yogurt, and some cold fava beans.
  • Baked stuffed shells. Pasta shells stuffed with cheese in a tomato-based sauce served in a clay dish that kept this entree warm for larger than the rest. Quite good. One attendee remarked it was like a very good lasagna. Accompanied by some very crunchy garlic bread that one remarked softened up nicely when dipped in the tomato sauce.
  • Salmon, with a spicy blackened skin. Quite good: it was the favorite of two attendees. Served with fried shoestring potatoes, a corn mixture, and a chunk of soft spicy tomato (baked to a uniform mushy consistency throughout). All of these sides for this entree were also very good.

 

For dessert, we split: 

  • An Apple Galette. Like everything else, quite good. Looked "like a slice of apple pizza." Basically, a thin apple pie served with caramel ice cream. (The flavor of the ice cream we couldn't identify during the dinner; it was identified from the menu later. Everyone agreed the ice cream, despite the unidentified flavor, went well with the galette.) One attendee complained the dessert, lacking large chunks of apples, didn't have enough substance. Another remarked (happily) that this causes the crust to impart more flavor. A third would've preferred the apples be more caramelized. In short, everyone had some concern that prevent his or her socks from being knocked off by the dish but everyone was nevertheless pleased with it as it was.
  • "Sgroppino" Dessert Cocktail. A strong drink make of vodka and champagne served in a tall narrow glass with a little mound of lemon sorbet inside. The sorbet flavor diffused into the drink. Like "an adult slushy." Good to try but it didn't thrill us and lasted on the table for a while before it was finished.

 

They also serve a good selection of cocktails and wines by the glass; the people that ordered the wines seemed happy with them. Personally, I had an apple martini I liked, a nice fairly strong mixture combining the acidity of vodka with the sweetness of apple liqueur, with some very tiny shards of apple sprinkled into the drink to add some texture.

 

The total of ~$30/person including tax and tip but not including drinks made this a fairly good deal.

 

Original Announcement

 

Since Zax Tavern was my choice for a place after the Scharffen Berger factory tour, I did not make an official announcement.

 

Comments from Other Attendees

 

Feel free to add remarks here.

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