![]() ![]() Almost as if it was fate, Kronner lived above Tartine and paid Robertson $200 a month (!!) to live there. Kronner hails from North Carolina originally and came to San Francisco for cooking school. ![]() To jog your San Francisco dining memory back in time a little bit, remember Bar Tartine (owned by Robertson and Prueitt) before Nick Balla and Cortney Burns were its trailblazing chefs and they steered the restaurants towards Central Europe and pickling and fermentation became the main theme? You got it - Kronner was the chef. Kronner has been a friend of Robertson and his wife (and Tartine co-owner) Elizabeth Prueitt since 2001. ![]() You will not find the croissants or morning buns or chocolate soufflé cake or loaves of bread for sale at Henry’s. Let’s get one thing clear that has been incorrectly stated by many people in advance of Henry’s opening - Tartine is not a partner in the restaurant. Those fries are also available on their own with cheddar mayo for dipping ($7). Both burgers come with crisp medium-thick fries that are coated in a forest green fines herbs powder. Or, you can opt for the messier CheeseBoy ($15) that adds roasted tomato (sort of like ketchup in flavor but has a jammy consistency) and white American cheese, while subtracting the lettuce. Guests can customize the burger with bacon, cheddar or blue cheese. The Henry’s Burger is a simpler affair with pickles, roasted onions, lettuce and a thousand island-like Henry’s sauce. Henry's CheeseBoy on a Tartine sweet potato bun with herbed fries (Wendy Goodfriend) You’ll almost want to eat the buns by themselves. This is no slight at all on those buns but Tartine’s slightly denser sweet potato buns are a perfect, sturdy partner for the gloriously juicy four-ounce burgers at Henry’s. At KronnerBurger, the potato pain de mie buns are custom-baked by the also excellent and Oakland-based, Starter Bakery. Tartine is also baking the other breads served at Henry’s. Yes, it’s truly a burger dream duo now where Tartine bakes the buns for this Kronner-designed burger. The other difference answers the big question of how can you improve the already close to perfect original KronnerBurger? Answer: bring in Chad Robertson, a good friend of Kronner’s and the baking virtuoso from Tartine. Holstein cattle butchered between the ages of 7 and 12 years old. In both cases, the meat comes from top quality, grass-fed, pasture-raised Cream Co. The KronnerBurger is 100% dry-aged beef, while the Henry’s Burger ($14) has just 20% and then 80% fresh ground beef. The main difference between the burgers is the amount of dry-aged beef incorporated into the patty. ![]() The bar area Inside Henry's (Wendy Goodfriend) It’s just not the KronnerBurger like at his (temporarily closed due to a fire) restaurant on Piedmont Ave. Of course, by mentioning Kronner’s name with a restaurant, the immediate question posed by his many avid followers will be, “Is there a KronnerBurger?” Well, there is indeed a burger by Kronner. Chef Chris Kronner at Henry's (Wendy Goodfriend) Henry’s is striving to be both an accessible, casual spot for the local community but also has enough going for it that the entire Bay Area will take notice. Along with his immense cooking talent combined with a slick design revamp, the sweeping changes make Henry’s far more than just a destination for tailgating before heading to nearby Memorial Stadium or for students to be treated to dinner by parents if all of the Chez Panisse and Corso reservations are taken. Oski couldn’t be happier this spring.Ĭhris Kronner ( KronnerBurger) has arrived. Luckily for Bay Area diners and Golden Bear students, staff and fans alike, things have dramatically changed at Henry’s. It wasn’t a place for anything ‘craft’ and you certainly couldn’t call it a ‘gastropub’ when it came to food quality. Despite being in the land of Chez Panisse and all things artisanal and organic, Henry’s really has always just been a pub. He lives on with Durant Street and the Hotel Durant located on his namesake thoroughfare right by the now-named UC Berkeley campus, along with the 90-year old watering hole attached to the hotel, Henry’s. Yes, that’s right - the visionary higher education pioneer of the 19th century, who founded the University of California, is back in the spotlight. However, in Berkeley, it’s all about a different Durant at the moment - Henry Durant. Kevin Durant might be the biggest ‘Durant’ celebrity around the Bay Area these days. With Chris Kronner’s exciting small plates and irresistible burgers, plus Tartine bread and cocktails from an industry star, Berkeley’s venerable pub is now a major destination beyond tailgates and happy hour. ![]()
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