Andrew took me to the most amazing meal at the French Laundry this weekend in Yountville. It was an incredible 9+ courses that lasted over three hours. As the only restaurant with 3 Michelin stars in the Bay Area, Thomas Keller’s restaurant is in high demand, hence my frantic dialing two months ago with two different phones speed-dialing/redialing the reservation line at exactly 10 a.m. When I got through at 10:07, I was so excited to get a spot for 9:00 pm this past Saturday.
Despite the 5+ people who took care of our every need, the ambiance was not at all pretentious or stuffy (although I can’t say the same for some of the other patrons). It was kind of like eating in someone’s living room except that the living room had 10 tables in it.
The dinner was preceded with two amuse-bouches. The first was a cheese gougere with Gruyere cheese. The gougere literally melted in our mouths with the cheese oozing out. It was hands-down the best gougere I’ve ever had (yes, Tartine and Spruce, I really did say that). The second amuse-bouche was an excellent sesame cone with creme fraiche and roe.
We brought our own wine to dinner. Despite the $75 corkage fee (ouch!), it was definitely the way to go since most of the wines on the menu were in the $400+ range. My eyes nearly fell out at the $6,000 price tag on the bottle of Chateau d’Yquem. Thank goodness Andrew had purchased a couple of bottles of wine that were excellent. The 2006 Del Dotto Cabernet Sauvignon, Connoisseurs Series was one of the best wines I’ve had in a long time. I wish I could buy more and stock up on it.
A variety of bread choices were available and we tried the brioche from Bouchon and a pretzel roll, but we just didn’t have enough room for much bread.
Course 1: “Oysters and Pearls” with a “Sabayon” of Pearl Tapioca with Island Creek Oysters and Whole Sturgeon Caviar. I thought Andrew was going to balk at the caviar and oysters, but he actually liked it. This was probably my favorite dish.
Course 2: Jacobsen’s Farm Apple Salad with Radish “Lamelles”, Red Walnuts and Dijon Mustard.
Course 3: Sauteed Fillet of Atlantic Striped Bass (Andrew had this) or “Degustation” of Summer Clams (I ordered this)
Course 4: “Beets and Leeks” with Main Lobster Tail “Pochee au Beurre Doux”, King Richard Leeks, “Pommes Maxim’s” and Red Beet Essence. Another favorite!
Course 5: Liberty Farm Peking Duck with Red Clapp Pear, Belgian Endive, Toasted Cashew and Szechuan Peppercorn Sauce. The other option was “Coeur de Veau” (veal heart), but Andrew’s not a fan of organs and I felt obligated to try the Chinese dish.
Course 6 (main course): Elysian Fields Farm Lamb Saddle with “Ricotta Tortellini”, Summer Squash, Garlic Confit, Spanish Capers and “Salsa Verde”. I thought the presentation was very pretty.
Course 7: “Cavatina” with “Gingerbread”, Mirabelle Plum Jam, Fennel and Piedmont Hazelnuts. This was my least favorite dish, but it’s probably because goat cheese is not my favorite.
Course 8: Yellow Watermelon Sorbet with Basil-Honey and Saba Vinegar
Course 9 (dessert): Caramelia Chocolate “Cremeux” with Gros Michel Banana, Georgia Peanuts, “Dentelle” and Salted Popcorn Ice Cream (Andrew had this for two reasons – it was chocolate and it had Georgian peanuts) or “Peach Melba” with Sicilian Pistachio “Pain de Genes,” Andante Dairy Yogurt, “Biscotti” and Raspberry Sorbet. Both desserts were amazingly light so that I even I finished all of it.
But wait, there’s more…bonus courses consisted of the best affogato I’ve ever had with beignets and chocolate and praline-covered macadamia nuts. There was a whole bowl full of those nuts and they were delicious. I regret not carrying a purse and sliding them in there.
Oh wait, we still weren’t done. That was followed by six chocolate truffles, which we just stared at in confusion because we couldn’t eat anymore. Thankfully, our waiter asked if we wanted to pack it up and we gratefully said yes.
