Once you see it, it cannot be unseen. This pretty much sums up the experience had at the French Laundry with slight modification, once you taste it, it cannot be untasted(?).
We were married at noon and we had reservations to one of Americas most exclusive restaurant at seven sharp. We rolled into Yountville around four o clock and checked into the Vintage Inn. We had a bottle of champagne waiting for us and a few hours to get unpacked, showered and dressed. After a glass of the bubbly and a mad dash of “How does this outfit look?” we were ready to walk across the street and get in way over our heads.
My preconceived notion was that this place was going to be over the top pretentious and we would get half way through the meal and agree, we didn’t belong there. We really couldn’t have been more wrong. We showed up about fifteen minutes early because we were so close to the restaurant and the hostess had us seated right away. We were greeted by at our table by our maitre de and later by the sommelier (wine guide) and were treated like we were the most important people in the place. The maitre de congratulated us on our very recent marriage and informed us that the chef would like to cook for us. We were brought no menus but were asked if we had any aversions to any types of foods. After telling him we were ready for anything the meal commenced.
The wait staff walked us through each of our amazing courses and the sommelier brought out a perfect pairing nearly every time. I won’t get into each course but will list what we had and give my thoughts to a few of them. Here was our course menu;
- Greeted with Krug Champagne and pasties from Bouchon Bakery
- Salmon Lollipops- Salmon
- Veloute of Topinambours – Green apple, pine nuts and Nasturtium soup
- Oysters and Pearls – Sabayon of Pearl Tapioca with Oysters and Caviar
- Foie Gras en Terrine – Served with Bouchon Bakery bread and 2 different types of butter
- Cherry Blossom-cured Pacific Kanpachi
- Sweet Butter-Poached Maine Lobster Tail
- “Fricassee” Pork Belly
- Marcho Farms Nature Fed Veal
- Wild Honey Sorbet
- Fuyu Persimmon “en feuille de bric” – Glazed Pecans Molasses and Cream cheese ice cream
- Pastel de Tres Leches – 3 types of ice cream
- Chocolates and Pastries to take home
Overall this was the most interesting and best dining experience I’ve ever had. The staff did an excellent job, the food was delicious and the wine pairings were perfect. The taste of the food is only a part of enjoying a meal and they do everything to make the presentation and experience more than you could hope for without the stuffiness and pretentiousness you’ll find is lesser places.
There were a few first times for some of the courses we had. I had never had caviar, fois gras or pork belly before. I was impressed with the tastes and textures, the caviar “felt” good in the mouth, the fois gras was like a meaty butter and the pork belly was delicious and melted with each bite. I would most likely have pork belly again and may even try it on my own.
Even though the courses only consisted of about three bites a piece, Stef and I walked out of there hurting and unable to get through all of the desserts. Every course is very rich and delicious it gets very overwhelming to the palate near the end. Your eyes keep saying yes but the stomach begs you to refuse. When we started I never thought I’d be more than satisfied at the end. If you ever have the chance to go to this wonderful place I would urge you to not give the chance up as this is the pinnacle of what a dining experience should be.
I didn’t dare take out my camera and start taking pictures but here is a link to another blogger who wasn’t as shy. Take a look and you’ll get a good idea of the presentation and quality put in to each course.
http://hungryhedonist.blogspot.com/2005/12/french-laundry.html
Single Ingredient Project 