After Saturday's busy day of eating, we decided to follow up on Sunday by doing what? You got it, eating some more. One of Salsa's requests was to eat at The French Laundry, which we had absolutely no problem with. Basically, any excuse to eat at Thomas Keller's west coast temple of gastronomy works for us. As soon as Salsa made this request, Shweetie and I started strategizing about how to obtain a reservation. Despite all of our phone calls (me on my cell phone, Shweetie on his cell phone and work phone) on the designated day (exactly two months prior to the day we wanted a reservation), we got nothing but busy signals. However, Open Table amazingly came through for us, so we got our first choice day.
So, Sunday morning, we arrived early for our lunch reservation. We entered the lobby and I checked us in. They told us we could wait there or in the garden, so we headed back outside and took some photos in the garden.
A few minutes later, a waiter came out with four glasses of champagne. He walked up to Shweetie, and said, “Welcome back to The French Laundry, Mr. Shweetie. I understand you would like to have champagne and canapés in the garden?” So, when they had called Shweetie a few days before our reservation, Shweetie had requested that we have lunch outside. They let him know they could not serve the meal outside, but we could have our canapés outside, before the meal began.
However, this was not the most notable thing about this short exchange. What was fascinating to all four of us was that the waiter walked straight up to Mr. Shweetie and knew he, and not Chips, was Mr. Shweetie. How did they know that? Chips even mentioned later that he had made eye contact with the waiter and exchanged smiles with him, but that the waiter had still made a beeline for Shweetie. We hypothesized that they have some sort of recording system and that they have files on every person who has ever dined at their restaurant.
We opted to instead just have our champagne and canapés inside, so they brought us into the restaurant and seated us right away. They served us each champagne, but when they went to serve Salsa hers, she politely declined and I told our waiter, Zion (dude, how cool is his name?), “We’ve got a pregnant lady here.” He came back a few minutes later with a sparkling apple juice for Salsa, so that she wouldn’t be left out.
We took a brief look at the menu, and Zion explained that some of the courses offered two different options. Chips made it easy for Zion, by telling him that whenever there was a choice of two different offerings, bring one of each for each couple. Shweetie and I were a little bit more specific, however. I mentioned that none of us really wanted a cheese course, for various reasons, so we had a long discussion about what to substitute in for cheese. I requested one of their signature items that is not on the menu, coffee and doughnuts. Zion insisted that he did not want to put a dessert course in place of the cheese course, but that he would still see to it that we received the dish I requested. Shweetie then suggested another of their signature dishes, egg truffle, which he had received in lieu of the cheese course the last time we were there. Zion then confessed that he’d already planned to serve us the egg truffle sometime during the course of our meal. (See? This is why we swear they must keep files on all of their customers. I mean, he knew that we’d requested it at our previous visit!) Anyway, Zion talked to the kitchen and then came back and suggested a truffle salad. I initially agreed, until Shweetie said incredulously, “Really?” He then had to explain to Zion that we don’t know how to appreciate truffles. Zion again returned to the kitchen and came back and offered us a pasta dish, at which point, Shweetie piped up, “Could we do an agnolotti?” So, with our courses finally planned out, the canapés/amuse bouches began arriving.
Gougères: warm cheese puffy goodness
Scottish Salmon Coronets: salmon “ice cream” cones, with a beet cone for Salsa, which Zion took the liberty of ordering for her, since I’d told him she’s preggo
Carrot Soup
And then the real fun began…
First course: Cauliflower “Panna Cotta” with Island Creek Oyster Glaze and California Sturgeon Caviar
Extra Course #1: Egg Truffle
Warm bread
Second course (option #1): Salad of Jacobsen’s Orchard Apples: Celery Branch, Tokyo Turnip and Pickled Walnuts
Second course (option #2): Moulard Duck “Foie Gras au Torchon”: Hazelnut Glaze, Pineapple Relish, Gingerbread, Compressed Endive and Perilla
Third course (option #1): Crispy Everglades Frog Legs: Toybox Tomatoes, Globe Artichokes, Niçoise Olive, Sweet Garlic Pudding and Parsley
Third course (option #2): Sautéed Fillet of Atlantic Striped Bass: Hen-of-the-Woods Mushrooms, Zucchini, San Marzano Tomato Compote and Yellow Squash-Extra Virgin Olive Oil Emulsion
Fourth course: Sweet Butter-Poached Maine Lobster “Mitts”: Potato “Rissolée,” Cucumbers, Baby Beets, Horseradish Crème Fraîche and Red Ribbon Sorrel
Fifth course (option #1): Four Story Hills Farm “Poularde”: Kanzuri, Broccolini, Navel Orange, Cashew, Akita Komachi Rice and “Sauce Japonaise”
Fifth course (option #2): Marcho Farms Veal Tongue: Caraway Spätzle, Red Peppers, Pearl Onions, Frisée and “Sauce Goulash”
Sixth course: Elysian Fields Farm Lamb Saddle: Mission Figs, Fennel, “Petit Salé,” Arugula and Sumac Jus
Seventh course: Yukon Gold Potato “Agnolotti”: Ibérico Ham, Sugar Snap Peas and Pea Shoots
Eighth course: Honeydew Melon Sorbet: Compressed Watermelon and Basil “Nuage”
Extra course #2: Coffee and Doughnuts
Tableside pouring of strawberry consommé
Ninth course (option #1): Lemon Verbena “Vacherin”: Tellicherry Pepper Cream, Lemon Verbena Sherbet and Chilled Silverado Trail Strawberry Consommé
Ninth course (option #2): “Gâteau Saint Nizier au Manjari”: Mango-Chili Relish, Valrhona Chocolate Cocoa Nibs, Lime Foam and Coconut Milk Sorbet
Mignardises
The French Laundry is still our favorite restaurant in the world, but we do have to admit that the food was not up to par with our last two visits there. Course for course, each of the dishes we had was not as good as the comparable course the last two times, with one exception, the poularde, which was the first and only dish we had during this visit that made us stop and say, “Oooooohhh…” The compressed watermelon course was also noteworthy. However, the rest of the dishes, though quite delicious, were not as amazing as we’d hoped they would be. Corey Lee, the Chef de Cuisine who was with The French Laundry for many years and had been there during our first two visits, recently left at the end of July, and it seems they are still adjusting to his absence. The food was still wonderful, but not blow-us-away fabulous. I have faith that they will eventually bring the level back up to the level I know they’re capable of attaining. We gave this visit a 9.00.
I have to say, the service here is impeccable, and it seems like it gets better with each subsequent visit. Zion was great, and we loved that they treated us as returning customers and remembered details about our last visit. We gave it a perfect 10.00. Our goal is to eventually be such VIPs that we get super special treatment, like the two dudes who were eating at the table right by us. They had prearranged to have the 20-course menu (which is not listed anywhere on their web site or on the menu they present to you at the beginning of the meal – you just have to know about it and request it, kind of like the “special” menu at In-n-Out, except that we’re pretty sure you have to pay extra for all those courses). They got some crazy dishes, like the dish that was presented in an orb of fog, and some awesome dishes, like the lobster tail course that we’d gotten at our last visit there, which is to die for. We were also very impressed that, when two of the waiters collided and spilled some salt on the floor, Zion swooped in and cleaned it all up within 30 seconds and with hardly anyone noticing. Shweetie and I saw it because we were facing and looking at the two servers when it happened. Oh, and we were impressed with how Zion anticipated any modifications Salsa would need to her meal because of being preggo.
Décor was as lovely as ever, and this time we sat in the little stone alcove off of the main dining room, which had a little window looking into the wine cellar. We also got another tour of the kitchen (which Zion offered to us, along with take-home menus, without us even needing to ask), and we got to see the flat-screen television that was displaying the Per Se kitchen in real-time, which Chef Keller uses to monitor his east coast gastronomic temple. Again, we gave it a 9.00.
One of the sous chefs, Jeff Lee (no relation to Corey Lee)...I guess Chef Keller likes Korean people?
Overall we gave The French Laundry a 92.00. Like I said before, it wasn’t as high a score as they achieved last time, but still a higher score than any of our other favorite restaurants. This place is definitely head and shoulders above the rest, and we think everyone should try it at least once in their lifetime.
*For a refresher on our rating system, check out this previous post.*
***
Oh ho! You thought this post was over, but you thought WRONG, didn’t you? After our four hour meal, we headed down the street to Bistro Jeanty, one of our other favorite Napa Valley haunts, and Salsa picked up some crème caramels to go.
We then headed back home to rest from our strenuous afternoon of indulging. Salsa went to work right away on her crème caramel, but Shweetie and I were still full. After doing nothing but laze about the house for a couple of hours, Chips and Salsa decided they were hungry and we headed back out for more. After eating all that food at lunch, where did it make sense to go for dinner? Duh, Top Dog, of course, another of Salsa’s restaurant requests.
We each got a dog, but Chips and Salsa were still looking for more food, so we headed across the street to the Durant food court, a favorite hangout of Cal students, and hit up Steve’s Korean BBQ.
I merely observed the carnivores at work, while Shweetie pitched in a little.
As if that wasn’t enough, we then headed straight to Fentons Creamery & Restaurant for some dessert. We ordered the monthly sundae special to share, but Chips and Salsa also ordered a crab salad sandwich!
I was dying by the time we left Fentons, but we headed back home and Salsa had another panna cotta! I think she's really enjoying this whole "eating for two" thing.
No comments:
Post a Comment