The French Laundry

After having visited the French Laundry, I wanted to come back and answer my own questions (some of the answers I was given were out of date) as well as give a review:

We had been looking forward to this meal for a long time...Our expectations were very high... Mine were so high that I was actually nervous on the way there... I have never felt that way about a meal before (at least not one that...+READ After having visited the French Laundry, I wanted to come back and answer my own questions (some of the answers I was given were out of date) as well as give a review:

We had been looking forward to this meal for a long time...Our expectations were very high... Mine were so high that I was actually nervous on the way there... I have never felt that way about a meal before (at least not one that I was not cooking). My SO was quite apprehensive as well... he even had some bizarre dream the week before about going to the French Laundry and having the sommelier be insanely snooty (Brief Dream Summary: Sommelier: "Do you like ," SO: "I don't know what that is." Sommelier: "Hmmm Well that won't do. "). Obviously, we had been thinking about this meal for a long time.

Despite all the build up, it somehow lived up to our ridiculously high expectations. It was an amazing meal, and as soon as we sat down (we were the first ones in the building), the wonderful staff made us feel relaxed and all nervousness faded to excitement. The service was exceptional. Whoever trains the staff must relentlessly drill into them that this is a monumental special occasion for many of their diners. The service was flawless and without any snootiness. We truly felt special to be there and that it was our special day.

The Food - We both chose the regular chef's menu, but they allowed us to have some of the items off the veg menu for courses where there was only one choice (so we got to try more things). So for every course, we each had something different except for the Oyster and Pearls and the lobster course (we shared everything else).
Oyster and Pearls - This dish also lived up to it's reputation and was my favorite dish of the evening and quite possibly the best thing I have ever put in my mouth (so it is a good thing we were not sharing it or there would have been carnage). Oh the sweetness of the oysters! Heavenly!
Tartare of Earshell Clam; Sea Urchin, Young Coconut "Gelee," Grilled Hawaiian Hearts of Palm, Snap Peas, Carrots and Madras Curry "Aigre-Doux" - I'm a sucker for sea urchin, and this sea urchin was so good... so sweet and unctuous! The Earshell clams were wonderfully flavorful and not like any clam I've had before. The snap peas were so fresh, I am sure they had just picked them; the hearts of palm were also outstanding.
Sweet Butter Poached Maine Lobster Tail; Glazed Pear, Black Truffle "Pain Perdu," Piedmont Hazelnuts and Celery Branch - The lobster dish was also one of the highlights; it was cooked to buttery perfection and the truffle "Pain Perdu" was deliciously interesting... I would not have thought that earthy truffle flavor would go so well with lobster.
Roquefort; Ricotta "Gnudi," English Walnuts, Broccolini and Young Fennel - This redefines cheese course for me... The "Gnudi" were pan fried crisp on the outside and creamy and pillow like on the inside. The Roquefort was pungent but did not overwhelm the other components. I now have an new goal: to try and come close to recreating this simple yet very technically difficult dish at home ( I see lots of trial and error, emphasis on error, in my future).
We also had mind blowingly delicious white asparagus dish, foie gras dish, and lamb saddle dish. There was also a rabbit dish that was by far the most flavorful and juicy rabbit I have ever had.
There were just two dishes that were just great and not amazing. They were a black cod (with rice, black garlic, and crispy eggplant) and a milk poach chicken breast. Normally black cod is one of my favorites; however, this one wasn't as flavorful as I had expected (maybe it was because the skin, which to me is the best part of the fish, was removed); I also found the eggplant pairing a bit strange. The chicken breast dish just proved to me (once again) that even in the hands of a master, chicken breast is just not amazing or exciting.
The sorbets and desserts from the menus were delicious as well, but not as memorable as the other dishes. However, it was our anniversary (5 years), so they brought us an extra dessert: a chocolate covered "cake" that was filled with this insanely wonderful super vanilla moose/marshmallow like substance. This extra dessert blew the other desserts out of the water. It was light, fluffy, gooey, heaven.
Also, we found out that they now bring the coffee and donuts dessert to everybody (it was delicious as well, but not near as good as the vanilla cake). They apparently got so many requests for it that they just decided to include it as an extra dessert before the mignardies (maybe this is related to the price increase this year). We were so full that we took the mignardies (6 truffles and chocolate covered macadamia nuts) home; it has been 2 weeks and we still have one truffle and a few nuts left... all the truffles we have eaten so far were very good.

Regarding wine: They no longer do wine pairings. Instead we spoke to the very kind, unpretentious, sommelier (who did not speak gibberish) and told him we wanted to spend between around $250 and possibly as high as $300 on wine. Our final wine bill would up being $311, so he mostly listened. Regardless, the wines he chose were fantastic and paired well (my favorites being the glass of Brunello and the half bottle of White Burgundy). We mostly did wines by the glass (7 glasses to be exact) and one half bottle. It was just the right amount of wine, and I could not have touched another drop).

We are so slow! We were there from 11am-3:30pm! That is 4.5 hours! There were others who came in after us but left before us. Also, I was so full that I could hardly eat any dinner (which worked out because the food at Ubuntu was near inedible) or breakfast the next day. I can't imagine doing the extended tasting menu... I would need a second stomach and an intermission! Btw, since we were so slow, my SO had no trouble driving us back to our B&B in Napa after our long lunch.

To summarize: It was definitely a memorable experience; one of the best meals I've ever had... quite possibly the best. It is definitely worth saving up for... I'll take a meal at the French Laundry for an anniversary over pricy jewelry any day.-COLLAPSE / REPLY (11 Replies) (by lrealml, created March 27, 2011)

Not to change the subject, but my experience with getting a reservation at TFL was completely different. I made one call, and asked "when's the next Saturday that you have a reservation open?". And they told me a date 3 months ahead. I booked it, I planned a weekend around it, and went. Wasn't hard to get a reservation at all. REPLY (30 Replies) (by graves666, created October 19, 2010)

»French Laundry- Yountville CA- lunch 10/9/09

First of all, huge props to my husband Tom for getting this reservation. While I'd researched, obsessed, drawn up an internet and telephone game plan, set alarms for logging onto OpenTable in the wee hours of the morning, and hit redial over and over again, my husband calmly googled how to get a reservation, logged onto to Open Table, tried for a lunch table, and got it. While I'm dialling and...+READ First of all, huge props to my husband Tom for getting this reservation. While I'd researched, obsessed, drawn up an internet and telephone game plan, set alarms for logging onto OpenTable in the wee hours of the morning, and hit redial over and over again, my husband calmly googled how to get a reservation, logged onto to Open Table, tried for a lunch table, and got it. While I'm dialling and redialling on both phones he's asking me what my OT logon is and calmly entering our credit card info. Then he shows me the laptop screen that has the reservation confirmation and says, "hey, did I get the reservation?" Crazy French Laundry savant!

I guess OT released the reservation at 10am PST instead of midnight (which is why I was downstairs at 3am EST that morning to no avail.) in concert with the phones being open??

Anyway. We show up super early for our 11:15 reservation and initially pass the place by- it looks like a small house from the road, but something seemed familiar about it (or maybe it was the huge garden across the street) enough that I realized that we'd passed it and we turned around to investigate. We parked in the small lot behind the place (empty at this point) and went into the courtyard to wait. It was a chilly morning but sunny with blue skies, so you knew it was going to be gorgeous as soon as the sun got a little more traction on the day.

At around 11am, the blue door opened up and we (along with another couple who showed up early for their reservation) went inside, gave our name, and waited in the front room. After a few moments, we were shown to our table- it was on the first floor in a room off to the right that had stone walls and 2 other tables. The 2-top next to us was empty till we were about 2/3rds through our meal and they were obviously friends of the chef or the house- they had a note waiting for them and were not given menus or the spiel that we got, just were informed that the chef had a special 15 course menu planned for them. It made me feel a little smaller, momentarily, but I snapped myself out of it, because... really. Being there at all was a wonderful experience.

The other table was a 4-top that seemed to contain a family from Texas, an older couple and either their son AND daughter or son OR daughter and spouse. The younger woman took pictures of all her dishes (which I was forbidden to do by my husband, so I was jealous) and the older woman took a cell phone call shortly after seating, which sort of scandalized me! Hee.

OK. Our server Guillaume came over, introduced himself, and explained the menu. I told him that I'd be driving and would like his recommendations for 2 glasses over the course of the entire meal and non alcoholic beverages for the rest of the meal. He assured me that he knew exactly the plan to execute. My husband said that he really preferred beer and he and Guillaume discussed a plan for that. TFL has a small but really excellent beer menu, and there was a progression that really worked within that list. So it was decided that he would start with the lightest beer, Hitachino Nest, "White Ale," from Japan, followed by Huyghe Brewery, "Delirium Tremens," from Belgium, and then Blue Apron Ale, a beer brewed specifically for Keller's restaurants by Brooklyn Brewing. Since the Blue Apron was a 750ml bottle, he wasn't able to get to the last bottle on the list (which was G. Schneider & Sohn, "Aventinus," Germany.) But he was plenty happy with what he did get.

Drinks discussed, Tom decided to order the tasting of vegetables and I had the regular tasting menu.

1st amuse: we both were served a pate a choux Gruyère gorgere, a lovely cheesy bite.

2nd amuse: they brought out 2 different tartares in a cracker cone, so it looked like a tiny ice cream cone. Tom's was a yellow beet "tartare" and mine was a salmon tartare. They both had slightly differently flavored creme fraiche in the interior of the cone. Salty, creamy, crunchy. So good.

The first wine I was served was the La Cana, Albariño, Rías Baixas, a white wine.

First Course:
me: Cauliflower "panna cotta" with Island Creek oyster glaze and California sturgeon caviar
Tom: Quinine sorbet with green apple, candied ginger, and juniper "Aigre-Doux".
Thoughts: the soft panna cotta with the salty pop of the caviar was amazing. Tom's sorbet was like the best gin & tonic in solid form ever.

We got some bread and butter in here somewhere, also at another point toward the end of the meal. Both were fresh and delicious.

Second Course:
me: I chose the fois gras upgrade which was Moulard duck foie gras en terrine with golden corn genoise, Belgian endive, white honey, huckleberries, and nasturtium.
Tom: Salad of compressed cucumber with watermelon, red chili, cilantro, yogurt, and madras curry
Thoughts: Simply, the fois gras was amazing. Tom's salad was very clean with a kick from the chili and the curry. My fois came with 3 different kinds of salt which was used by Tom to season his bread and butter as well as my terrine.

Third Course:
me: there was a choice between sauteed halibut and California sea urchin. I chose the urchin- Santa Barbara coast sea urchin with akita komachi rice, red radish, edamame, cashew nuts, mizuna, and young ginger.
Tom: Matsutake mushrooms with water eggplant, ginkgo nuts, broccolini, padron peppers, perilla and "sauce Japonaise"
Thoughts: this was my most challenging dish. the sea urchin was intensely flavored and unusually (to me) textured. It was an educational dish. It was too new for me to really "love" but I appreciated it quite a bit.and I was glad I had it. Tom noted that the kind of mushrooms was the same (or at least extremely similar) to the ones he had the night before at Cyrus. Very delicious.

Fourth Course:
me: New Bedford sea scallop with sunchokes, chanterelle mushrooms, hazelnuts, preserved lemon and watercress.
Tom: he had a choice between an omelette or a "degustation of potatoes" which was a touch choice. He ended up choosing the omelette with garden squash "sofrito," pine nuts, and greek basil. And he was glad he did.
Thoughts: this was easily one of Tom's favorite dishes of the day. Something about an egg being prepared simply yet perfectly is really soul enhancing. Also, the garden squash were teeny tiny, adorable, and delicious. My scallop was also perfect. Perfectly cooked, perfectly balanced, perfectly seasoned, perfectly presented.

Fifth Course:
me: I had the choice between corned veal tongue and braised pork belly. No contest- when pork belly is in the mix there is no real choice to make. The pork belly was served with butternut squash, maple syrup, pearl onions, swiss chard, and "sauce perigourdine"
Tom: he had a choice between a farro salad and a veal heart salad. He went with the farro, which tomatoes, avacado, parsley, and tartar sauce. (we laughed about veal heart making an appearance on a tasting of vegetables.)
Thoughts: the pork belly was awesome. I loved it. Tom's farro was also delicious Before this course was served, Guillaume brought over a glass of Porter-Bass, Pinot Noir, Russian River Valley to accompany the meat courses.

Sixth Course:
me: Elysian Fields Farm lamb saddle with glazed "ribettes," Thumbalina carrots, "Panisse," Medjool dates, cilantro and madras curry jus.
Tom: Hand-rolled cranberry bean "agnolotti" with Nicoise olives, peppers, arugula, and sweet garlic
Thoughts: the lamb was delicious. I loved it.

Seventh Course:
me: "Val Bagner" Caraway spaetzle cake, braised red cabbage, Michigan sour cherry, and dijon mustard.
Tom: "Bo Peep" cheese with prunes, Belgian endive, Sicilian pistachios, and watercress.
Thoughts: I don't actually remember this dish, though it sounds great and I'm sure it was wonderful. Tom loved his cheese course.

Eighth Course:
me: Moonglow pear sorbet with chai tea sable and roasted pears.
Tom: Pain Perdu sherbet with concord grapes, pili nuts and maple syrup
Thoughts: sorbet course! nice and refreshing. Tom's was sort of a PB&J vibe and also had maple syrup which he loves as much as figs. So a success for sure.

Ninth Course:
me: Bakewell Tart with black mission figs, marcona almonds, and creme fraiche sherbet
Tom: "Opera Cake" with praline "Namelaka", milk granite, and coffee ice cream.
Thoughts: of course I switched desserts with Tom, as this kind of tart was a fondly remembered childhood treat for him (he's British) AND it had figs! The opera cake was chocolate too, which is quite fitting for me. When we looked at the menu and made our decisions, we decided then that we'd order the thing the other one loved and switch at the end. The bakewell tart was probably another highlight along with the omelette for Tom. Also, they inscribed "Happy Anniversary" on little sugar sheets and put on each dessert plate. Aw!

Mignardises:
We ate everything in the three tier little petit four/candy tray. Then Guillaume brought by the housemade chocolate truffles. I had a salted chocolate caramel, and Tom had a pumpkin truffle and a smoked maple truffle, which he said was amazing.

We were presented with the check, which was on a giant laundry ticket thing, very cute. We were stunned to see we spent less than $100 on drinks, so yay. Our credit card was not declined, double yay! Guillaume brought by some shortbread for us to take home and told use we could take the napkin holder clothespins if we wanted to. He also brought over both our menus for me to take home. He walked outside with us and cheerfully observed that the day was a beautiful one.

It really was.

We wandered the gardens across the street and marveled that just hours earlier, the food we enjoyed so much was being plucked from this garden. It was a another wonderful connection to the meal we'd just had. There were a couple guys harvesting for the evening seatings. Very cool.

Final thoughts: we loved this meal and this experience. Tom especially was surprised how comfortable he was there. Although it is of course very high end, the service and atmosphere were comfortable and friendly and non-snobby. Everyone there seemed to love food- eating it, serving it, cooking it. He was completely blissed out from about 2 courses in through the end of the day. Food that makes people that happy is always a good thing.-COLLAPSE / REPLY (15 Replies) (by noradeirdre, created October 17, 2009)

(by hcbk0702, created May 22, 2010)