We hung the walls with old French movie posters advertising the films of Marcel Pagnol, films that had already provided us with both a name and an ideal: to create a community of friends, lovers, and relatives that span generations and is in tune with the seasons, the land, and human appetites.

So writes Alice Waters of the opening of Berkeley's Chez Panisse Cafe on April Fool's Day, 1980. Located above the more formal Chez Panisse Restaurant, the Cafe is a bustling neighborhood bistro where guests needn't reserve far in advance and can choose from the...