Tower is a proponent of good tobacco as part of the life well lived. He once wrote an article describing the perfect dinner, in which he fantasized hiring five people to smoke good cigars by the windows just to produce that aroma in the air. He is one of California's best chefs and most celebrated restaurateurs, a cookbook author, a bon vivant and entrepreneur. Tower studied architecture at Harvard, went west and started cooking at Chez Panisse in Berkeley basically by accident in 1971. By his own account, he became a partner with founder Alice Watters, and takes credit for fathering California cuisine.
Stars also touts American wines.
He began serving French Champagne by the glass when Stars opened, and he has many of the other classic French wines on the list. But it's a traditional Francophile's collection. Tower credits his success at Stars to a great Culinary team, featuring chef Mark Franz and pastry chef Emily Luchetti, a menu that changes daily and an ongoing, determined search for the very best raw materials. Best bets at Stars, year in and year out, are fresh oysters as a starter, shellfish appetizers like grilled prawns with sun-dried tomato vinaigrette, bitter greens and pesto, and for a main course, grilled birds. Stars is almost always bustling, but the restaurant doesn't take reservations more than two weeks early unless you're coming from a great distance, and it always saves ten to 15 percent of its seats for walk-ins.