French Laundry

6640 Washington Street, Yountville, CA

9.3

map & more

707-944-2380

Official Website

By Andrew Steinthal
July 7, 2010

French Laundry is a once in a lifetime dining experience. A special occasion meal that every food loving individual should treat themselves to at some point in their life. On a recent trip to Napa, some friends scored a reservation, and you better believe, I was not going to pass it up. True, I would be dropping an insane amount of dough, but I knew that this opportunity would probably not present itself again for a long time.

When you pay $250 a person for a seat, you best believe that every course is going to be scrutinized like an episode of Lost. Expectations couldn’t have been higher, and both the food and service delivered in every way possible. Unlike some elaborate tasting menus, this nine course feast isn’t an exercise in how far your belly can expand, it’s more of an adventurous road trip for your taste buds to experience. There’s no better tour guide than Thomas Keller, who proves why the New York Times declared French Laundry as, “the most exciting restaurant in America.”

Until you actually step foot inside and see how small it is (15-20 tables, max), it’s hard to comprehend how The Laundry can possibly be the hardest reservation to get in North America. Are there really that many people in Yountville, CA desperate to unload their piggy banks on any given night? To secure a table, you have to call exactly two months ahead of time, right when they open, and only then do you stand a fraction of a chance of getting through. It’s like trying to be the 100th caller when Z100 is giving away Lady GaGa tickets.

My one complaint is the fact that the setting of the restaurant doesn’t reflect it’s geographic location at all. You’re dining in one of the most beautiful places in the world, at one of the finest culinary establishments in the world and if you didn’t know any better you could be eating in a basement in Kansas City. The dining room is as plain and stuffy as they come, especially downstairs where we sat. At least upstairs, you might get an open window with a view. With the exception of a small outdoor area by the entrance (which isn’t exactly conducive to hanging out) and an alleged garden across the street, that’s all you get as far as lush, green grounds. We may have deducted a few points for decor, but as far as food goes, this was by far, one of the best meals I’ve ever eaten.

Food Rundown:

Oysters and Pearls
Are you kidding? No, seriously? Are you f*cking kidding? Food porn to the max right here, and this dish takes the form of Sasha Gray. If the goal here was to pique my interest, consider me aroused. Their famous “Oysters and Pearls” creation is possibly the tastiest thing my mouth has ever come in contact with. A sabayon of pearl tapioca with Island Creek oysters and white sturgeon caviar. Delicious.

Roasted Hawaiian Hearts Of Palm
Such a small plate of food, but so much going on. Small chunks of a South American Gros Michel banana, combined with small pieces of roasted palm, cashews, Belgian endive relish, cilantro and banyuls- curry gastrique. Sounds like a lot, but I promise you it all works. I finished this in about three bites – granted, the entire content of this dish could fit in a tablespoon, so really no big feat there.

Grilled Fillet Of Gulf Coast Cobia
What looks like a light piece of white fish is actually a hearty, steak-like piece of Cobia, bursting with flavors thanks to morel mushrooms, green asparagus, demi-sec tomatoes, arugula and caper vinaigrette.

Sashimi Of Japanese Bluefin Tuna
While not the crowd favorite, due to the fishiness of the Hokkaido Coast sea urchin and Tomales Bay clams that accompanied the tuna, the fish lovers at the table (like myself) approved. The actual slices of tuna tasted like butter.

Sweet Butter-Poached Maine Lobster Tail – aka “Peas and Carrots”
I’ve eaten a lot of lobster tails in my day, and this was indeed the finest. Check the Twitpic and try and tell me you don’t need a bib for all that projectile drool escaping your mouth and rolling down your chin. Sweet, savory lobster coated in an intoxicating butter sauce with English peas and Nantes carrots. Awesome.

Liberty Valley Farms Pekin Duck
This dish made us want to club Thomas Keller over the head, toss him into our trunk, move to Liberty Valley (wherever that might be), and hunt duck for the rest of our lives. That’s how good this was. Enough said.

Elysian Fields Farm Lamb Rib-Eye
A re-occurring staple on the menu, this ribeye of lamb was perfectly cooked; pink in the middle and dark around the edges. Rich flavors from pole bean cassoulet, jingle bell peppers, parsley and sauce gremolata caused a serious party in my mouth.

Dessert
By the time dessert rolled around, we were so high on food, they could have thrown a Duncan Hines cupcake in front of us and we wouldn’t have known the difference. We sampled the pre-dessert course, a Royal Blenheim Apricot Sorbet as well as both dessert options of the night: Cremeux Aux Fruits De La Passion (Silverado Trail strawberries, pistachio “pain de gêne,”and white chocolate sorbet and Pane Di Ricotta Alla Griglia (delta blue blueberries, pine nut nougatine, “limone cagliata” and buttermilk sherbet. Food high aside, they were all phenomenal.