Gather

2200 Oxford St./Allston Way; downtown.
(update of this previous post)

Charis Wahl was recently promoted to Executive Chef at Gather and has added some new items to the menu as well as her own touches to some existing items. I began my dinner with an as yet unnamed cocktail made with Tequila, blood orange juice, habenero chiles, and cilantro. It was shaken, served straight up, and delightful.

Tequila cocktail at Gather in Berkeley, California

A starter course followed of Housemade Pickles and Ferments—a delicious and colorful array of six that included cauliflower with curry and mustard seed (my favorite) and pickle-like cucumbers with garlic and dill—served on a wood plank.

housemade pickles and ferments at Gather in Berkeley, California

Keeping our own shared meal 50/50, we had more veggies in the form of the chef’s Crispy Brussels Sprouts spiced up with fermented jalapeno, pickled radish, and cashew butter.

Brussels sprouts at Gather in Berkeley, California

Our next item was Roasted Half Chicken which couldn’t have been more moist and delectable; it came with scrumptious crispy buttermilk polenta and rounds of squash panzanella, one placed jauntily on the leg.

roasted chicken at Gather in Berkeley, California

Our thin-crust Fontinella pizza with tomato sauce, blistered mozzarella, and pancetta was quite delayed, but it gave us time to prepare space for it.

Fontinella pizza at Gather in Berkeley, California

We weren’t able to eat all of the last two items, so we took them home. It turns out I was really pleased to have the delicious leftovers the next day, when I made wonderful sandwiches with the breast meat and a luscious dinner with the reheated pizza slices (unfortunately, they were stuffed into too small of a container and so were quite squished but still very good). But we did wedge in a lovely little Pistachio Cake dessert enhanced with grapefruit curd. Overall, I was impressed with the general full-flavoredness of the dishes.