By Gloria Glyer

It was a strange decision, perhaps, to plan a takeout lunch for the Divas and their guests. It might have been takeout, but it was not drive-through takeout. This was a visit to upscale David Berkley Fine Wines and Specialty Foods in Pavilions.

You can get everything here: appetizers, salads, entrées, made-to-order sandwiches and sweets, plus all the accoutrements, along with produce, meat and wine.

What a place. It’s like a candy store for adults.

Diva Joan Leineke joined me on the shopping excursion. “Great merchandising—everything looks so tempting,” she said. It was October, so the choices emphasized fall and Oktoberfest, which is why sauerbraten (German pot roast) and kraut mit wurst (sauerkraut and sausages) were available. At Berkley’s, you’re apt to find dishes matching a specific holiday as well as the season. Vegetarian choices also are available.

Here’s what we ordered: sausage-beef-noodle casserole, caramelized-onion strudel, sauerbraten, kraut mit wurst, a chicken tamale and a beef burrito. Moving on to salads, we chose hearts of palm with bacon, Stilton cheese, red pepper and artichoke hearts; Asian noodles with chile sesame dressing; pickled beets with onion; crab and whitefish; and lentils with goat cheese.

Appetizers? Of course, beginning with pepper shooters—hot peppers stuffed with provolone, prosciutto and red pepper—and continuing on with smoked Muscovy duck breast; grilled fennel; roasted artichokes; grilled eggplant; glazed figs; smoked scallops; and artichoke lemon pesto, along with a loaf of rustic bread.

From the dessert counter, our choices included triple-layer German chocolate cake with a glistening coconut-pecan frosting; dense chocolate cake; lemon tart; fruit-nut tart; and cookies—pumpkin raisin, white-chocolate chip, snickerdoodle and oatmeal—and a package of beer peanut brittle.

As we waited to check out, David Berkley himself arrived to say hello and see what we had chosen. “Wait,” he said. After tasting the sauerbraten in the display case, he asked the accommodating counterperson to remove the item from our order. Evidently he did not find it to his liking—too much wine. Leineke and I protested, but he was not to be denied.

Now for the best part: sampling, tasting, critiquing. We considered snagging a table in the park, but we needed a microwave to reheat some of the items. So we made use of one of the display rooms at Poggenpohl Kitchens, which Diva Bernice Hagen co-owns with Oliver Aden, who joined us for lunch.

Appetizers

First, we emptied all the treats from their cartons onto plates. Tip: If you host a party featuring takeout specialties, get rid of the cartons. Present the food on plates and the bread in baskets.

Guests Jennifer Peyrucain and her father, Bob Foster, both zeroed in on the pepper shooters. “Excellent,” said Foster, popping a shooter into his mouth. “Nice combination,” Peyrucain added.

The glazed figs and grilled fennel were interesting and innovative. The licorice flavor usually associated with fennel was not too strong, making the appetizer appealing. Figs are becoming trendy again, and the lunchers liked Berkley’s glazed version, especially its slightly sweet sauce.

The thin slices of smoked Muscovy duck breast got rave reviews. “Very delicate taste,” said guest Jean Simmons. “Melted in your mouth,” added guest Bobbi Belton. They both enjoyed the tiny smoked scallops, which were lightly breaded and deep-fried.

Diva Gayla Mace sampled and liked all of the appetizers, but thought the artichoke lemon pesto was a little oily. “Tasty, though,” she noted, especially spread on a thin slice of bread. Diva Paulette Bruce-Miller praised the fennel and the duck: “The duck was great,” she said.

The lentil salad received high marks from both Diva Peg Tomlinson-Poswall and Aden. “Nice balance,” said the former; “nice flavors,” said the latter. Perhaps it was the goat cheese that added the right touch. The beet salad with onions was traditional and slightly sweet.

Entrées

The caramelized onions wrapped in crisply baked strudel made our mouths water. What we wanted, however, were more of the delicately flavored onions. “I liked the onion tart a lot,” said Mace, “but it could have been stuffed with more onions.”

The tamale was tasty. “The masa was a little dry, but the filling was good,” said Tomlinson-Poswall. Peyrucain called the filling “great.” The sauerkraut with sausages was a nice seasonal addition to the meal.

Uh-oh

For eye appeal, the sausage-beef-noodle casserole topped with melted cheese had winner written all over it. But it was tasteless, even with the addition of salt. The burrito, heated for the suggested two minutes in the microwave, also was lacking in flavor and was too dry. The hearts of palm salad was too sweet for most palates.

The Sweets

German native Aden expressed surprise at the German chocolate cake, made with coconut-pecan frosting. “It’s a lot different from chocolate cake in Germany,” he said. It’s a great cake, but I think a teaspoon of vanilla extract might have enhanced the flavor.

We enjoyed the cookies, especially after Hagen explained the calorie rules: “If you split a cookie with a friend, there are no calories. Cookie crumbs have no calories.” She advised making up your own rules, keeping in mind the Diva mantra: If it’s not worth the calories, do not consume.

Foster, Leineke and Peyrucain all had good things to say about the peanut brittle; Mace took the leftovers home to spouse Bruce.

Chatter

Aden may not look the part, but Bernice told us her partner is a drummer in an R&B band called F.B.I.: Formerly Blues Inc. That’s when Foster revealed he was a musician, too. No more information was forthcoming from Foster, however, who tended to be secretive about other things as well—we could not find out how many years ago Leineke catered his 50th birthday party, for one thing.

For the Divas and guests, getting together makes the event a party. “The company was really fun,” said Mace, “and it was so nice to have men, too.”

For those who live to eat—not eat to live—any dining experience is a treat. Whether in a white-tablecloth restaurant or at a picnic table, the opportunity to make new friends while enjoying the old is what it is all about. “It was a comfortable environment for a casual and friendly lunch—I felt very welcomed by all,” said Belton.

David Berkley Fine Wines and Specialty Foods, 515 Pavilions Lane, Sacramento; (916) 929-4422; Open 10 a.m.–6:30 p.m. Monday–Friday, 10 a.m.–6 p.m. Saturday, 11 a.m.–5 p.m. Sunday.

This article appears in the January 2004 issue of Sacramento Magazine.