My dinner at the French Laundry
So for my birthday I was taken out to a truly memorable dinner. Lavinia took me to the French Laundry (http://www.frenchlaundry.com/) Thomas Keller’s flagship restaurant. So to set the stage, this is the ONLY 3 Michelin star restaurant on the West coast (http://www.michelinguide.com/us/09_sf_stars.html).
The evening started with the trip north from San Francisco to Napa (about 1 hour) passing several vineyards along the way, and with our driver (who is working to test for her Master Sommelier) giving us the low down on the restaurant and the area.
Upon arriving at the restaurant, the perfect service began. Lavinia’s coat was taken in a fashion that would make the most accomplished pick pocket proud it was gone and hung up no worries. We were then taken to our seats. It turned out we were seated next to David Caruso (http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0000325/) and no he wasn’t wearing sun glasses and no it didn’t change anything it was just an interesting bit of serendipity.
Our wait captain a lovely Belgian gentleman (Bob) came to our table and made the recommendation that we begin our dinner with a nice glass of bubbly. He gave us several options for Champaign and we chose a nice crisp bright Blanc de Blanc to start with.
We then got a visit from the Sommelier (Dennis) He was spectacular, and we decided against the flight of wines…9 courses, 9 glasses of wine, we figured that would be a bit much, and we wanted to walk not stagger out. So we settled for a sweet wine to start and then 2 splits with dinner. Dennis guided our selections so smoothly that it was almost imperceptible that he was guiding.
The food began with an amuse-bouche, and it was classic, choux dough filled with gruyere. It was perfect, one bite that filled the mouth with flavor and set the palate waiting on edge for what was to come, with something familiar but with the promise of more.
Next we were treated to a Keller signature dish, a cone made with black sesame seed with salmon tartar (for lack of a better description) sitting on top of crème fraîche. It was just about the best ice cream cone ever. You can see a picture of it on the French Laundry’s website.
From there we move to the first course, Oysters and Pearls (another French Laundry classic), a sabayon of pearl tapioca with lightly cooked oysters and American white sturgeon caviar. This dish was a highlight. The textures and flavors all melded to make an amazing whole. It was just a few bites, but the memory stayed.
Then on to the second course, where we had a choice, and we both picked the same, Moulard duck Foie Gras Torchon. This was plated with fennel bulb relish, grapefruit, greens and a 100 year old balsamic vinegar. Served with this were toasted Brioche and 3 kinds of salt. There was grey salt (the classic Sel Gris), a salt from the Philippines, and a salt they called Jurassic salt as it came from a salt bed in a copper mine in Montana estimated at several 10’s of millions of years old. This last was I think my favorite as there was a definite slight metallic taste that went well with the Foie. One thing that I have to point out…during this course one of the food waiters (there were 3 that served us during the meal) came by to replace our only partially eaten brioche, as the chef wanted to make certain that you have warm brioche for every bite. This course we paired with a wonderful sweet wine that Dennis recommended I completely missed the name of, it was not the normal sauterne it was quite different, and stood up to the vinegar and salt while complementing the Foie well.
The nest 2 courses we paired with a split of white wine: From Sonoma Pride Mountain Vineyard, Viognier 2007
Next we went onto the first fish course, again we had a choice here, and we both went with the Sautéed Japanese Bluefin Tuna served over sushi rice and with candied pinenuts, nori, and kanzuri sauce, with a crisp fried piece of broccolini on the side. This was a really nice piece of fish, however it was cooked medium, so those who don’t like cooked fish might not be a fan of this. Personally I felt that the fish was cooked perfectly and the textures blended well with the cooked fish where a raw fish would likely have not had the complimentary texture.
Between the 2 fish courses they brought us a choice of breads, there were 3 choices but I only remember 2, a demi baguette and a ciabatta, I had the ciabatta, which has a terrific crumb and crust. With this were served 2 butters. The first was a local sweet butter, the other was a butter made from the milk of a herd of only 8 cows in Vermont, that the server had lightly salted. This later butter was amazing, gently soft, creamy and almost too good to cover with the taste of the bread (and that’s saying something if you know my love of breads).
The next course was again sea food, this time it was sweet butter poached Maine lobster ‘mitts’, just the meaty part of the claws, served with black trumpet mushrooms and celery branch and curry infused celery root puree. Again he manages here to capture and enhance the natural sweetness of the Maine lobster without hitting you over the head with it. The earthiness of the trumpet mushrooms adds a really nice counterpoint to the lobster.
After this we headed into the meat courses, and with them it was time to move to another wine. So we moved to a split of Gary's Copain Syrah 2005, from the Santa Lucia highlands. This was everything a syrah should be. It had full notes of blackberry, with a smokiness that fills the head. And it needed it to stand up to what was coming…
The first meat course was again a choice, and I went with a Fricassee of Pork belly served with lettuce from the French Laundry garden and with a fines herb ravigote. At the table black truffle was shaved over the top. The truffle was not as pungent as I would have expected. It added a nice muskiness but it didn’t fill your head as I’m used to. This dish was I think the least inspired of the dishes. The pork belly was well prepared, but had little legs to stand on itself, the fines herb was a bit lost in the mix. However the wine paired REALLY well with the oils in the pork belly. In reading that last paragraph over it looks like I am panning the dish. I’m not. It was wonderful, but it just had such competition with the other dished served that well one had to fall behind the others… and well when compared with the next course…
Which was the Saddle of lamb which was prepared sous-vide whole and then portioned. It was served with a tomato compote (as Lavinia said, this is what ketchup wants to be when it grows up), potato mashed with garlic and fried into small cloves, and what they called a fall cassoulet which was essentially a scattering of beans on the plate. This was a truly memorable dish. The lamb was perfectly prepared, it was tender but still only medium. It had its entire game flavor with none of the musk that can overpower the rich meat flavor. It was spectacular.
We were then offered another selection of breads to go with the upcoming cheese course, again there were 3 options to choose from, a walnut bread, a classic French (it looked and tasted like a basic French Batard), and a berry bread. I choose the walnut and the French, both were splendidly baked.
The cheese we were served was a semi soft cow’s milk cheese, it was mild but nicely refreshing. It was served with green apples, walnut, endive and watercress. This was a wonderful way to transition the palate.
The next step on the journey was a sherbet, it was a buttermilk sherbet. I have a friend who makes a sour cream ice-cream, and this is the logical end state of that dish. It was tangy, sweet, smooth and just cold enough. This was served over a mix of sour cherries, pecans and maple syrup baked together. The contrasts really lit up the mouth and got your palate ready for the final sprint.
The sweet course that I chose was a Jivara-Caramel and chocolate roulade with a pumpkin sherbet that was amazing, served with pumpkin croutons and chocolate tuile. I was at this point full but not overfull. I was satisfied without being overwhelmed.
We had thought that we were done at this point. But nope we were wrong!!! Out came a selection of petit fours and assorted sweets. We had a couple of these and then realized that it would be best if we stopped there.
We were in for another surprise however, as they weren’t letting us out empty handed. With the check they brought a bag full of goodies… Shortbread and truffles for the next morning.
We sat and relaxed and composed ourselves for a short while, and then got ready to head out. Again the coat was produced with no effort it simply was ready when we were. They had called our car and as we walked to the front door it was opened by our driver. It was a lovely way to end the evening.
Now that the blow by blow is done, this was a spectacular event. It wasn’t simply a meal, it wasn’t just a trip, it was an event, it was an experience. It is one of those meals that defies description. All that I have written above is a pale attempt at capturing the meal. I can’t express the level of service, the level of care. It isn’t really possible to express the perfection with which the food was prepared, the perfection of the dice, the textures of the sauces, the attentiveness of the staff, the myriad other aspects that make this place special.
Each plate was a work of art it was a feast for the eyes, the nose, and the mouth. At no time were you left with that feeling that something was missing. No course overpowered the ones before or after it, the whole meal was balanced. Leaving I felt full but not stuffed my palate was alive not dulled. I highly recommend a trip here to anyone, foodie or not. I can’t imagine anyone not being moved by the experience.
Images of each dish are in order after the cut.
The evening started with the trip north from San Francisco to Napa (about 1 hour) passing several vineyards along the way, and with our driver (who is working to test for her Master Sommelier) giving us the low down on the restaurant and the area.
Upon arriving at the restaurant, the perfect service began. Lavinia’s coat was taken in a fashion that would make the most accomplished pick pocket proud it was gone and hung up no worries. We were then taken to our seats. It turned out we were seated next to David Caruso (http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0000325/) and no he wasn’t wearing sun glasses and no it didn’t change anything it was just an interesting bit of serendipity.
Our wait captain a lovely Belgian gentleman (Bob) came to our table and made the recommendation that we begin our dinner with a nice glass of bubbly. He gave us several options for Champaign and we chose a nice crisp bright Blanc de Blanc to start with.
We then got a visit from the Sommelier (Dennis) He was spectacular, and we decided against the flight of wines…9 courses, 9 glasses of wine, we figured that would be a bit much, and we wanted to walk not stagger out. So we settled for a sweet wine to start and then 2 splits with dinner. Dennis guided our selections so smoothly that it was almost imperceptible that he was guiding.
The food began with an amuse-bouche, and it was classic, choux dough filled with gruyere. It was perfect, one bite that filled the mouth with flavor and set the palate waiting on edge for what was to come, with something familiar but with the promise of more.
Next we were treated to a Keller signature dish, a cone made with black sesame seed with salmon tartar (for lack of a better description) sitting on top of crème fraîche. It was just about the best ice cream cone ever. You can see a picture of it on the French Laundry’s website.
From there we move to the first course, Oysters and Pearls (another French Laundry classic), a sabayon of pearl tapioca with lightly cooked oysters and American white sturgeon caviar. This dish was a highlight. The textures and flavors all melded to make an amazing whole. It was just a few bites, but the memory stayed.
Then on to the second course, where we had a choice, and we both picked the same, Moulard duck Foie Gras Torchon. This was plated with fennel bulb relish, grapefruit, greens and a 100 year old balsamic vinegar. Served with this were toasted Brioche and 3 kinds of salt. There was grey salt (the classic Sel Gris), a salt from the Philippines, and a salt they called Jurassic salt as it came from a salt bed in a copper mine in Montana estimated at several 10’s of millions of years old. This last was I think my favorite as there was a definite slight metallic taste that went well with the Foie. One thing that I have to point out…during this course one of the food waiters (there were 3 that served us during the meal) came by to replace our only partially eaten brioche, as the chef wanted to make certain that you have warm brioche for every bite. This course we paired with a wonderful sweet wine that Dennis recommended I completely missed the name of, it was not the normal sauterne it was quite different, and stood up to the vinegar and salt while complementing the Foie well.
The nest 2 courses we paired with a split of white wine: From Sonoma Pride Mountain Vineyard, Viognier 2007
Next we went onto the first fish course, again we had a choice here, and we both went with the Sautéed Japanese Bluefin Tuna served over sushi rice and with candied pinenuts, nori, and kanzuri sauce, with a crisp fried piece of broccolini on the side. This was a really nice piece of fish, however it was cooked medium, so those who don’t like cooked fish might not be a fan of this. Personally I felt that the fish was cooked perfectly and the textures blended well with the cooked fish where a raw fish would likely have not had the complimentary texture.
Between the 2 fish courses they brought us a choice of breads, there were 3 choices but I only remember 2, a demi baguette and a ciabatta, I had the ciabatta, which has a terrific crumb and crust. With this were served 2 butters. The first was a local sweet butter, the other was a butter made from the milk of a herd of only 8 cows in Vermont, that the server had lightly salted. This later butter was amazing, gently soft, creamy and almost too good to cover with the taste of the bread (and that’s saying something if you know my love of breads).
The next course was again sea food, this time it was sweet butter poached Maine lobster ‘mitts’, just the meaty part of the claws, served with black trumpet mushrooms and celery branch and curry infused celery root puree. Again he manages here to capture and enhance the natural sweetness of the Maine lobster without hitting you over the head with it. The earthiness of the trumpet mushrooms adds a really nice counterpoint to the lobster.
After this we headed into the meat courses, and with them it was time to move to another wine. So we moved to a split of Gary's Copain Syrah 2005, from the Santa Lucia highlands. This was everything a syrah should be. It had full notes of blackberry, with a smokiness that fills the head. And it needed it to stand up to what was coming…
The first meat course was again a choice, and I went with a Fricassee of Pork belly served with lettuce from the French Laundry garden and with a fines herb ravigote. At the table black truffle was shaved over the top. The truffle was not as pungent as I would have expected. It added a nice muskiness but it didn’t fill your head as I’m used to. This dish was I think the least inspired of the dishes. The pork belly was well prepared, but had little legs to stand on itself, the fines herb was a bit lost in the mix. However the wine paired REALLY well with the oils in the pork belly. In reading that last paragraph over it looks like I am panning the dish. I’m not. It was wonderful, but it just had such competition with the other dished served that well one had to fall behind the others… and well when compared with the next course…
Which was the Saddle of lamb which was prepared sous-vide whole and then portioned. It was served with a tomato compote (as Lavinia said, this is what ketchup wants to be when it grows up), potato mashed with garlic and fried into small cloves, and what they called a fall cassoulet which was essentially a scattering of beans on the plate. This was a truly memorable dish. The lamb was perfectly prepared, it was tender but still only medium. It had its entire game flavor with none of the musk that can overpower the rich meat flavor. It was spectacular.
We were then offered another selection of breads to go with the upcoming cheese course, again there were 3 options to choose from, a walnut bread, a classic French (it looked and tasted like a basic French Batard), and a berry bread. I choose the walnut and the French, both were splendidly baked.
The cheese we were served was a semi soft cow’s milk cheese, it was mild but nicely refreshing. It was served with green apples, walnut, endive and watercress. This was a wonderful way to transition the palate.
The next step on the journey was a sherbet, it was a buttermilk sherbet. I have a friend who makes a sour cream ice-cream, and this is the logical end state of that dish. It was tangy, sweet, smooth and just cold enough. This was served over a mix of sour cherries, pecans and maple syrup baked together. The contrasts really lit up the mouth and got your palate ready for the final sprint.
The sweet course that I chose was a Jivara-Caramel and chocolate roulade with a pumpkin sherbet that was amazing, served with pumpkin croutons and chocolate tuile. I was at this point full but not overfull. I was satisfied without being overwhelmed.
We had thought that we were done at this point. But nope we were wrong!!! Out came a selection of petit fours and assorted sweets. We had a couple of these and then realized that it would be best if we stopped there.
We were in for another surprise however, as they weren’t letting us out empty handed. With the check they brought a bag full of goodies… Shortbread and truffles for the next morning.
We sat and relaxed and composed ourselves for a short while, and then got ready to head out. Again the coat was produced with no effort it simply was ready when we were. They had called our car and as we walked to the front door it was opened by our driver. It was a lovely way to end the evening.
Now that the blow by blow is done, this was a spectacular event. It wasn’t simply a meal, it wasn’t just a trip, it was an event, it was an experience. It is one of those meals that defies description. All that I have written above is a pale attempt at capturing the meal. I can’t express the level of service, the level of care. It isn’t really possible to express the perfection with which the food was prepared, the perfection of the dice, the textures of the sauces, the attentiveness of the staff, the myriad other aspects that make this place special.
Each plate was a work of art it was a feast for the eyes, the nose, and the mouth. At no time were you left with that feeling that something was missing. No course overpowered the ones before or after it, the whole meal was balanced. Leaving I felt full but not stuffed my palate was alive not dulled. I highly recommend a trip here to anyone, foodie or not. I can’t imagine anyone not being moved by the experience.
Images of each dish are in order after the cut.