The French Laundry, part 2

September 24, 2016

Did you read part one? Check it out here!

The French Laundry. It really needs no introduction, but if you would like one: The French Laundry has been named “Best Restaurant in the World” by numerous lists, won beaucoup James Beard awards, and has maintained three Michelin stars since Michelin started reviewing US restaurants in 2006 (I mean, they are no Michigan Pugs, but they are still pretty important). Anthony Bourdain is the man who got me into food, back when I read Kitchen Confidential in 2006, and the man, the myth, the legend himself named it: “The best restaurant in the world, period.” Basically, any person who loves food wants to eat at The French Laundry.

TFL is owned by Thomas Keller, food god extraordinaire. In addition to TFL in Yountville, he owns Per Se in NYC and Bouchon, also in Yountville. He is the currently the proud owner of seven Michelin Stars, when you add these three restaurants together. TFL is where you die and go to heaven, if heaven is a place filled with all variety of cooked duck and terrines and caviar (this heaven is clearly not a heaven for ducks or fish).

Okay. Where were we? Oh yes, our butts are in the fancy TFL cushions, and we are introduced to our spirit guide Gareth, who explains the menu options to us and lets us peruse the fancy ipad wine menu. They use team serving here, so Gareth wasn’t our only server, but he was our main guy. Like many places in CA, TFL does not serve hard liquor. I mean, it’s wine country, so I get the focus on wine, but I was really surprised when TFL and Chez Panisse did not offer cocktails at all. So, we all ordered some wine. I got a sparkling wine, Hamiltoe (Lorin, for the rest of this post, for the sake of being classy around French food) got a Chardonnay, and Jason got a Bordeaux. The cheapest GLASS of wine was $35. Gulp. We don’t know anything about wine, but it was good. It tasted like $35-45 worth of delicious tannins and ABV and leggy mouthfeel...and stuff. Moving on to the food.

The menu arrives personalized to us (“Congratulations to Yvonne and Jason”...our special event, remember?! We added "& Lorin" in sharpie) and describes nine delicious sounding courses. Some of the courses are the only option, and some have a choice of two items (sometimes for an upcharge). Obviously, we all go for the Chef’s Tasting Menu with the meat options, but the Vegetarian Tasting Menu also looks delicious. These are the only two menu options, but we hear a patron at another table asking for a lot of modifications, which the waiter handled with panache. The restaurant will apparently accommodate requests, even when they appear to be beyond all reason. The lady in question had a litany of allergies, ranging from beets to cucumbers to melons--what? Yeah, we eavesdropped. Deal with it. Every day, the options on these two tasting menu change to reflect what is fresh and available. Also, fun facts: no single ingredient is repeated from one dish to the next on a day’s menu, and most of the vegetables are sourced from their own garden on the property.

The menu is very classic French--it is not overly inventive, although it does have some creative options and mild instances of molecular gastronomy. In other words, you would not compare its to The Funky Gourmet--the menu is more traditional comparatively.

Let’s get down to business, shall we?

Amuse Bouche:

These two Amuse Bouche dishes do not change daily, and that’s a great thing, as they are both fantastic. A Salmon Tartare Coronet was the first to arrive: a light and crispy cracker cone filled with creme fraiche, chives, and smoked salmon.

The second Amuse consisted of three piping hot gougéres--light bites of savory pastry blended with gruyere cheese. Delicious! We were giddy with excitement at this point. Bring it on!

First Course

Oysters and Pearls
“Sabayon” of Pearl Tapioca with Island Creek Oysters and White Sturgeon Caviar

Royal Kaluga Caviar ($60.00 supplement)
Alaskan King Crab, Bantam Hen Egg Mousse, Toasted Brioche, and Preserved Horseradish

The Oysters and Pearls is TFL’s most famous dish, and of course we couldn’t miss it. This dish stays on the menu while all the others rotate out. All three of us ordered this, so we can’t speak to the crab/caviar option, but this dish is perfection. The dish comes with the traditional pearl caviar spoon, nestled in a baby dish within two other dishes. The presentation is at once simple and striking.

The sabayon is light and smooth, and the texture of the tapioca, small oysters, and caviar create the most wonderful combination of flavors and mouthfeel. The sabayon has a hint of vanilla, but it’s not sweet, nor strictly savory. The flavor of the oysters and caviar shine through, and it is as though you are tasting each individual flavor as well as the combination. I know, that’s a lot to take it. Basically it tastes like a pug sitting on a cloud weaving gelato out of gold thread while singing your favorite song. We were all completely silent during this course, and the eating was not merely eating--it felt like we were having an experience. We are in one of the most renowned restaurants in the world eating their most famous dish, and we took a moment to soak in the moment. Honestly, this dish alone is worth the cost of admission.

Second Course:

Garden Cucumber Salad
Hawaiian Hearts of Peach Palm, Sicilian Pistachios, Brokaw Avocado, and Tender Garden Herbs

Hudson Valley Moulard Duck Foie Gras “Terrine” ($30 supplement)
Jacobsen Orchard Peaches, Garden Pea Shoots, and Whole Grain Mustard Creme Fraiche

For this course, Lorin and I opted for the salad, while Jason went for the foie gras. Interestingly, the salad was also basically a terrine, as the bottom layer of cucumbers were jellied, with the other ingredients artfully placed atop. I loved this dish, but Lorin was not quite as impressed. I found it light and flavorful, and the blend of smooth jelly and crunch from the fresh vegetables made for an enjoyable take on a salad course.

The foie gras, however, was the better choice here. Its flavor was unmuddled and without any hint of gaminess. The pairing with the peaches was brilliant and brought out the sweetness in the foie gras. At this time, our server brought the bread course, and Jason was given brioche--the perfect accompaniment to the foie gras. Lorin and I chose the sourdough, which is honestly a standout item of the whole evening. The bread is served with farm fresh salted and unsalted butter from Animal Farm in Orwell, Vermont. The foie gras comes with a variety of six sea salts, but Lorin and I definitely broke the rules and experimented with them with our bread and butter. The table favorite is the volcanic salt (the black one).

Third Course:

Sauteed FIllet of Atlantic Striped Bass
Littleneck Clams, Hobbs’ Bacon, Summer Squash, Opal Basil, and Brentwood Corn “Velouté”

The bass is the only option for this course, and while none of us were the most excited for this course, it definitely exceeded our expectations. The fish itself was buttery and flavorful, and it was the perfect size--just enough to leave you wanting more. They kindly swapped out the corn in my dish for a tomato puree.

Fourth Course:

Stonington Maine Lobster “A La Barigoule”
Kettle Garlic Ravioli, Globe Artichokes, Chantenay Carrots, Nicoise Olives, Garden Chervil, and “Barigoule Emulsion”

The lobster was obviously a dish we were psyched for (when is one not psyched for lobster?), and, to be perfectly honest, this is where this review gets difficult, as we were not overly impressed. The flavors were rich, and the emulsion was flavorful, but we all found the lobster chewy and overcooked. We had just had a delicious lobster dish at In Situ a few nights prior, and all we could think of was the buttery, melt-in-your-mouth quality of that lobster compared to this one. It’s not that we didn’t enjoy it--we did. It was just not the caliber of what we expected going in, or from the bar set by the previous dishes.

Fifth Course:

Liberty Farms Pekin Duck
Slow Roasted Garden Beets, Vanilla Infused Sour Apple Purée, Belgian Endive, and Foie Gras “Mignonette”

“Macaroni And Cheese”
Hand-Cut “Macaroni,” Roasted Chicken Wing, Romaine Lettuce, “Parmigiano-Reggiano, and Shaved Australian Black Winter Truffle ($125 supplement)

The duck is a signature TFL dish, so we eagerly anticipated this course. We had tried a copycat version at In Situ, and we were looking forward to try the real deal. The mignonette was served atop the duck, and the fat from the duck liver soaked into the meat to create incredible flavor. However, once again, we found the meat tough. I know, I know--this sounds crazy and improbable. I promise we are not overly difficult to please (maybe difficult, but not overly so), and we didn’t want this scenario to be the case, but it simply was. All three of us were in agreement--this dish was good, but not “blow your mind good,” and we were unanimous that the duck was overly chewy--tough to cut and tough to chew.

We had some regret about not ordering the truffle mac and cheese, but at this point we needed to not add to the price tag of the meal.

Sixth Course:

Charcoal Grilled Snake River Farms “Calotte De Boeuf”
Saucisson “En Persillade,” Early Girl Tomato Confit, Sungold Tomatoes, and “Bearnaise Gastrique”

“Rognon de Veau a la Diable”
Marcho Farms Veal Kidney, Garden Romano Bean, Frisée Lettuce, Bean Blossoms, and “Sauce Dijonnaise”

The calotte is the cut of meat that is wrapped around the ribeye. This dish was delicious--the meat was cooked perfectly and the tomato confit was so sweet and and paired perfectly with the savory meat and bearnaise sauce. The square of sausage served alongside was fatty and rich--we all really enjoyed this dish.

Here’s the strange thing, though--I actually ordered the second dish, the veal kidney. I had never tried veal kidney, and I felt like this would be the time to try it! Lorin and Jason ordered the calotte, but all three of us received this dish. We were all surprised at the mishap...surely these things do not happen at a restaurant of this quality? But they do, of course, and everyone makes mistakes. We didn’t have the heart to tell our server and make a fuss, and the plate was perfection, and one of my favorites. So, it was no hardship to let this go.

Seventh Course:

Andante Dairy “Acapella”
K&J Orchards Figs, Pearson Farms Pecans, and Garden Honey

The cheese course consisted of Andante Dairy Farm’s Acapella goat cheese in a savory rind. The cheese was paired with a buttery, honey flavored madeline. The fig and pecan brought out the sweetness in the cheese, and the madeline added another dimension of texture and flavor. We all really enjoyed this course. Of course, we were getting full, but we couldn’t stop now...it was dessert time.

The menu states “Assortment of Desserts,” and boy, is that an understatement. They should call it an "Assault of Desserts.” It comes fast and furious, and it is overwhelming, but in a great way (I mean, it’s dessert, there is no bad overwhelming when it comes to quantity).

The first dessert was an almond cake paired with strawberries and topped with edible flowers. The cake had a lovely almond flavor, and it was light and easy to finish, despite how full we were. Paired with the cake, they served a caramel pretzel ice cream, which Lorin and Jason loved.

Next came a chocolate bar atop a marsala tart. We were not crazy about this one. The chocolate had a deep dark chocolate flavor and a fudge consistency, but the tart was the let down--we thought it may have been a pop-tart situation, but it was not filled with anything, and the marsala flavor was basically non-existent. There was nothing wrong with this dish overtly, but it was not worth eating when we were so full and so many desserts were still coming out.

Next was another famous TFL dish, the Coffee & Donuts. The coffee was a cappuccino semifreddo--the base was a creamy coffee mousse topped with cappuccino foam, and the donuts were fluffy cinnamon sugar donut holes. This was such a cute and exciting course--we really were marveling over the novelty of this dish, and we were slightly giddy from the sugar high. I nearly finished the semifreddo despite how full I was--it was so delicious.

In rapid succession from the above courses, we were brought raspberry macaroons and chocolate covered macadamia nuts. Despite how delicious these look, they went mostly untouched and were boxed up to go.

Then, our server brought around a fancy wooden box filled with an assortment of gorgeous chocolate truffles. We each got to pick one, although we had the feeling they would have let you have more if you really wanted one, but we were already uncomfortably full. These were very good, and the presentation added another special element to the dessert course.

Whew. And then we were done. As they were boxing up the final remnants of our uneaten desserts, we soaked in the atmosphere for the last few moments of our meal.

When the check came, we expected to be floored, but we also knew the exact amount to be floored by. And once we looked everything over, we were surprised to see we were overcharged...by the cost of one extra tasting meal (ie, uh, hundreds of dollars). Well, this is awkward. Of course Gareth was so apologetic and quickly fixed the error. We really felt for our server--he was such a nice guy and we could feel his embarrassment. Again, not a big deal and mistakes happen, but at this point we were surprised to have two such large mishaps at a world class restaurant.

Finally, they send every guest home with buttery shortbread to enjoy for breakfast the next morning as a sweet reminder of the night before. Also, Executive Chef David Breeden signed our menu so we could take it home as a keepsake--they do this for all guests visiting the restaurant to commemorate a special occasion. We asked if Thomas Keller was in that night, and we were told he wasn’t, but that he still comes in fairly regularly to ensure everything's running smoothly.

And that, friends, is our experience at The French Laundry. Did we love it? We absolutely did. Did we think it lived up to all of the hype? No, not exactly. Lorin, who had never been at a Michelin Star restaurant, felt this way, and both Jason and I, who have been to a few, felt similarly. It is cool to say you have visited TFL, and it is definitely a top culinary experience and I am so glad we got the chance to go. However, Jason and I didn’t feel it stood up to The Funky Gourmet, or Jason’s visit to Eleven Madison Park. The Funky Gourmet, for example, really challenged our perceptions of food and made us excited for new takes on favorite foods, flavors, and creative presentations (see--the picnic course, or the snails dish). There, we also experienced only the most impeccable service, delivered 100% smoothly without any hiccups. TFL didn't have to be more "different" or creative to impress us--we just felt they didn't execute even the classic dishes in a way that justified the price tag. Are we complaining about our visit to TFL? Hardly. Would we go back? In a heartbeat. Was it the best meal we have ever had? No, not for any of us. Lorin felt she had better food at other places in San Fran, which we will be writing up soon!

Frankie’s Notes: Eavesdropping at restaurants is a new hobby; Frankie will now only order $35 glasses of wine and will throw anything cheaper right back at your face; When Lorin eats caviar she is Lorin, when she eats pizza she is Hamiltoe; I would like to name a greyhound Gareth and ride it around The Shire; More restaurants should serve you 37 desserts that you then get to take home and eat the next day; When will I get to try veal liver?