(Pictures of the following meal can be found HERE) Even though I’ve spent the past several years on the other side of the country eating my way around NYC, I knew it was only a matter of time before I made the culinary pilgrimage to The French Laundry. Fast forward to the present time, when I now call sunny California home, and my opportunity came. Adam had made a reservation for mid-October, an e-mail he sent from Buenos Aires explained. Would I be interested in joining him and another friend of ours who works in San Francisco? You bet your Oysters and Pearls, I was. Though I’d been to the restaurant’s NYC counterpart Per Se several times, this was to be my first trip to The French Laundry, and our friend’s as well. That being the case, I wanted to sample the absolute best that the restaurant had to offer. A reasonable desire, no? I called the restaurant a few weeks before our reservation to see if I might request an extended chef’s tasting menu. After a long-winded explanation, the gist of the response was simple: they cannot guarantee such a menu in advance. Why exactly it is that some advance notice does not help the restaurant in such a scenario is beyond me, but as it is, we were left to hope for the best. On the car ride up from Berkeley, my hungry stomach dragged my mind off into quiet curiosity about the experience we were soon to have. How would this restaurant’s fame, its countless awards, stars, plaques, and distinctions carry over to what was on my plate? In the end, that is all that matters to me. With globe-trotting celebriy chef Thomas Keller so busy these days with movie consulting and frozen foods, who has been holding down the fort in Yountville? The answer, of course, is the young chef de cuisine Corey Lee, under whose leadership in the kitchen The French Laundry has maintained its status as the premier “destination restaurant” in the United States. I’ve heard both sides of the story. The complaints about restaurant whose cuisine is sometimes claimed to be almost cold, mechanical and soulless in its precision. The raves of those proclaiming there is not a better restaurant in the US, period. I didn’t expect to be swayed too far toward either of these extremes by the meal’s end (and, truth be told, I happen to think another place is the best restaurant in the country. Shh!), but I was certainly excited to see just how good the French Laundry might be. We arrived a bit early for our 6pm reservation, taking a few minutes to stroll through the beautiful French Laundry gardens across the street. Had we arrived even earlier, a glass of champagne sipped slowly in the restaurant’s lovely courtyard would have been nice, too, but before we knew it, it was dinner time. We re-entered the restaurant, and were soon shown to the corner table on the first floor as we’d requested. Very nice spot, but of course there are no cheap seats (literally) at The French Laundry. “I understand you’ve requested the Chef’s Tasting Menu,” our captain mentioned after a long song-and-dance about “How our menu works here at The French Laundry.” Ah, the magic words we had been hoping to hear. We responded affirmatively, then in a gesture that honestly seemed more theatrical than anything else, he stepped away for a few minutes to go “check with the kitchen.” All systems were go, he said upon returning, and just like that, we were off. We began exactly as expected, which is to say, we started with the textbook Thomas Keller openers. First, warm Gruyère gougères, warm little cheese puffs filled with creamy Mornay sauce. Then, salmon cornets with sweet red onion crème fraîche. These small starters were each delicious, if disappointingly predictable. While I’ve never really been wowed by the gougères, I do find the texture and flavor of the salmon cornets to be spot on pretty much every time. A few minutes later, our first course arrived, and with it, our first wine of the evening. The “SOUPE DE MUSQUÉE DE PROVENCE” with Kakai Pumpkin Seeds was paired with Schramsberg Vineyards, “J. Schram,” California, 1999. This sparkling wine was quite good, prompting our friend to proclaim it possibly the best champagne he has ever had. This deep orange heirloom pumpkin variety made for a delicious and lusciously creamy soup, though the pumpkin seeds didn’t really add much in my opinion. I understand the textural contrast they were meant to provide, but to me that contrast was one that distracted, rather than enhanced my enjoyment of the dish. I ended up picking the bland seeds out and eating them separately. I must say, though, it was refreshing to start with something besides Oysters and Pearls, which has begun almost every Per Se meal I’ve had. Whoops, I spoke too soon. Next up was “OYSTERS AND PEARLS” “Sabayon” of Pearl Tapioca with Beau Soleil Oysters and White Sturgeon Caviar. This dish is a Thomas Keller classic, and its flawless preparation that evening was a strong indication why. Accompanying the description of the dish was our captain’s first of many endorsements for The French Laundry Cookbook. While one or two of these scattered through the course such a long meal would have been fine, I’m afraid we heard one too many. That little quibble aside, did I mention this dish was wonderful? Because it was. The oysters were gloriously plump, briny and delicious. The caviar provided bright, oceanic little bursts of flavor on the tongue. The buttery sabayon and the slightly chewy tapioca tied it all together in beautiful harmony. For a dish that I’ve had several times now, this was by far the best rendition I’ve enjoyed. Oh, and we were still working on the 1999 J. Schram with this course. Next on tap was “SASHIMI” OF PACIFIC KAHALA with Blis Maple Syrup and Applewood Smoke. Why there are quotations on the word sashimi in the menu description is beyond me, but this was a very interesting presentation. We were each brought a clear glass orb, smoky on the inside, that looked almost like a snow globe shaken up. Once the lid was removed, the trapped applewood smoke aromas filled the air, leaving an intoxicating scent that lingered throughout this course. The fish, which you might have seen in sushi bars as kampachi, was bland and disappointing. As was the dish as a whole, really. I found it to be bland, almost flavorless. The texture of the fish was quite firm, and its flavor was overwhelmed by the smoke and the maple syrup. Also a very difficult course to eat, with tiny slivers of onion resting beneath the fish that proved to be almost impossible to extract. This course made for a nice bit of theatrics, but in the end did not deliver. This was the last course with which we drank the 1999 J. Schram. Moving right along, we had the WHITE TRUFFLE CUSTARD with a “Ragoût” of Périgord Truffles. With this, we enjoyed a pairing that I thought went fantastically well with the food, as Adam and our friend both agreed: Barbeito, Sercial, Madeira, Portugal 1978. Giving us this fortified wine immediately following the delicate champagne was a bold move, but one we certainly appreciated as it proved to be a match made in heaven. Both components layered in the egg shell were wonderfully redolent of earthy truffle. The custard was smooth and creamy, cooked perfectly until it was just set. The black truffle ragout on top was an almost syrupy reduction that further enhanced each bite. Really nice. Oh, and did I mention, “If you take a look at The French Laundry cookbook…” We now return you to our previously scheduled program. (I shouldn’t make fun…it was very nice of our waiter to bring out the tools they use to get the tops off the egg shells when we expressed some curiosity about that.) Next we enjoyed what for me was the most elegant presentation of the evening, with the SALAD OF AIR-CURED WAGYU with 100 Year Old Balsamic Vinegar. An elegant take on a type of Italian salumi called braseola, which is simply air-cured beef often sliced paper thin like prosciutto. The intense marbling of the Wagyu beef made for beautiful looking translucent slices, among which were ripe wedges of pear, leaves of slightly peppery arugula, toasted pine nuts, and syrupy-thick 100 year old Balsamic. All the flavors — salty, sweet, nutty, peppery, acidic — complemented and balanced one another nicely. My only complaint with this course was how quickly it disappeared. A slice or two more of the Wagyu to make it the undisputed star of the show certainly wouldn’t have hurt, especially considering all the other flavors on the plate. Ah, and for those keeping track of the wines, with this course we drank Naia, Verdejo, “Naiades,” Rueda, Spain, 2005. Up to this point, they had held off on bringing out the bread for us. We had a lot of food still on the way, they had warned. But now, a warm roll for each of us emerged. With this first piece of bread they brought two types of butter, one unsalted and one salted. Both were amazing, but the oh-so-soft salted butter was an especially beautiful thing. With this first roll, and the other 3 or 4 types of bread that we enjoyed throughout the meal, I was doing basically a 1-to-1 ratio of butter to bread. And that was working very nicely, indeed. The course that followed was a show-stopper, arguably the best dish of the night: HAND-CUT “TAGLIATELLE” with Parmigiano Reggiano and Shaved Burgundy Truffles. Definitely a delicious reminder that great dishes need not be accompanied by a whole laundry list of ingredients. Flour, egg, butter, parmigiano-reggiano, truffles. Done. The fresh pasta was tender and delicious (al dente fresh pasta non va bene). Buttery and warm, if there is a tastier bed for fresh shaved truffles, I certainly don’t know what it is. The truffles were shaved tableside, and the amazing scent turned a few heads in the small dining room. We all loved this dish. Not that we spoke much while we ate it….we were far too enraptured by what was on our plates. Coming back down to earth, we had some wine with this course, as well: Tor, Chardonnay, “Durell Vineyard,” Sonoma, 2004. In a textbook example of how Thomas Keller’s menus are often ripe with apparent oxymorons and indecipherable ironies, our next course was COLUMBIA RIVER STURGEON “CONFIT À LA MINUTE” Potato “Rissolée,” English Cucumber, Pickled Pearl Onions, Sorrel, Salmon Roe and Dill “Crème Fraîche”. Um, confit à la minute? Whatever you say. And believe it or not, the “browned” potato was, in fact, browned. Crazy, I know. Anyhoo, with this course, we enjoyed a glass of Schloss Gobelsburg, “Renner,” Grüner Veltliner, Kamptal, Austria 2005. The fish was lightly poached, served with refreshing little balls of cucumber the same size as the slightly salty salmon roe. The pickled onions brought a nice acidity to the mix, and the crème fraîche provided a nice tangy sourness with a pleasant herbal note from the dill. The french fry (I mean, uh, Potato “Rissolée”) was crisp and very tasty. Yet even with a well-cooked piece of fish, and well-balanced accompaniments, this dish failed to dazzle me. Maybe something as simple as another contrasting textural element could have helped this dish sing a little louder. Next up was SWEET BUTTER-POACHED MAINE LOBSTER “MITTS” Sautéed “Foie Gras,” Hazelnuts, Sunchoke Purée and Coffee-Chocolate Emulsion. Wow. What can I say? Along with the truffle pasta, clearly among the best dishes of the night. This was fantastic — luxury on a plate. The foie was buttery and rich, while the lobster was done just right, not the slightest bit tough or chewy. A couple of well-caramelized cippolini onions provided a nice accompaniment, as did the coarse ground roasted hazelnuts. The sunchoke’s presence was subtle and the coffee-chocolate combination almost imperceptible, but perhaps I was already enamored of the perfectly cooked foie gras and lobster to notice. Ah, and I haven’t even mentioned the salts yet. Six different types were brought out for us to experiment with — ranging from grey salt and fleur de sel to black lava salt and red clay salt — each with a different coarseness and intensity. The red clay salt seemed to be the favorite among us, but all added a different boost to the dish. Reading our minds, the staff even left the salts on the table for the rest of the savory courses so that we could use it to salt the butter as we’d already begun to do. Aha, and I’ve yet to mention it, but with this course we drank Spencer Roloson, Viognier, “Noble Vineyard,” Knights Valley, 2005, which I found to be a nice pairing. Moving right along into the heavier meat courses now, we had SCOTTISH RED-LEGGED PARTRIDGE Glazed Chestnuts, Caramelized Splendor Apples and Spiced Bread Purée. I had seen this on the day’s menu before the meal started, and it sounded particularly nice, so I was glad to see it pop up as part of our tasting. While the partridge was moist, and the caramelized apples and the spiced bread puree tasty, the large glazed chestnut on my plate was horribly undercooked. Neither Adam nor our friend noted any problems with theirs, however, so I must have just been the unlucky one of the bunch. I love chestnuts, so the nasty grittiness of that chestnut kind of ruined the dish for me. All was well, though, as I was able to drown my sorrows in a glass of Brewer Clifton, Pinot Noir, “Rio Vista,” Santa Rita Hills, 2005. It is a rough life, I know. Now we moved on to the RIB-EYE OF ELYSIAN FIELDS FARM LAMB “Plat de Côte Braisée,” Toasted Pearl Barley, Niçoise Olives, Sweet Peppers and Baby Artichokes. From this small farm just outside Pittsburg comes some very tasty lamb; it’s no wonder they provide both Per Se and The French Laundry with the good stuff. A perfectly uniform layer of caramelized meat surrounding a supple pink center was evidence that a non-traditional cooking method such as sous vide was probably at work here. The meat was exceptionally tender and juicy. The pearl barley added a nice heartiness to the dish, and the olives, peppers and artichokes kept a nice salty-sweet interplay going. Served with a simple reduction, this was a dish without any fireworks, but great technical execution. With this course, we drank Ridge, “Home Ranch,” Cabernet Sauvignon / Merlot / Petit Verdot, Santa Cruz Mountains 2002. By this point, the nuances of the wines were probably slipping right past us, but of course we’d had far too much wine to care. The last of the savory courses was a cheese course, if you could call it such: “TOMME BRULÉE” “Gratin” of Broccolini and “Sauce Mornay”. This very tasty sheep’s milk cheese from the Basque region of France has smooth, sweet, and slightly nutty flavor. Rather than being presented as a small wedge alongside the accompaniments, in this case the cheese was shaved table-side into thin sheets that quickly began to almost melt over the warm, creamy and cheesy broccolini gratin. While the slight caramelized flavor of the cheese due to its flame-singed rind was still able to come through, I think I would’ve preferred a more traditional cheese course. With a cheese so flavorful on its own, why not let it shine a bit more? Transitioning toward the sweeter end of the meal now, we had PERSIAN LIME SORBET and Coconut “Granité”. This was light and refreshing, as a pre-dessert should be. The sorbet tip-toed the line between sweet and tart very nicely. The coconut granite was actually more like a coconut powder, perhaps freeze-dried coconut milk or something like that. There was also a few cubes of coconut gelée, which provided another texture to carry the subtle flavors at work in this dessert. The first full-sized dessert is one of the Thomas Keller signatures: “COFFEE AND DOUGHNUTS” Cinnamon-Sugared Doughnuts and “Cappuccino Semi-Freddo”. For a dish I’ve had a handful of times now, this is by far the best rendition I’ve enjoyed. The doughnut and doughnut hole were nice and warm, dusted with delicious cinnamon-sugar. The semifreddo was just right, with a texture almost like frozen mousse, and a coffee flavor just assertive enough to counter the sweetness without overwhelming it. Nicely done. And did I mention that if you open The French Laundry cookbook and turn to page…Just kidding. With this dessert, we drank Domaine Fontanel, Rivesaltes Ambré, 1997. I don’t typically like to drink dessert wines with the actual dessert, but I did enjoy this one on its own afterwards. In the home stretch now, we had one last full-sized dessert: “S’MORES” Peanut Butter “Parfait,” Caramel “Délice” and “Sauce à la Guimauve Flambée”. The last part part of this translates roughly to burnt marshmallow fluff (I’m serious. Look it up.). But the French sounds so much more elegant, no? Other than the presence of marshmallow, I’m not really sure I see the S’mores thing (where, oh where are the graham crackers?), but maybe I’m just blind. Whatever the case may be, this was a pretty tasty dessert. The slightly salty peanut butter worked very nicely with the chocolate flavor in the parfait. The caramel and the burnt marshmallow components added some caramelized depth to it. I didn’t touch it until well after I’d finish the “S’mores,” but we capped off the wine pairing for the evening with a lovely glass of Kiralyudvar, Tokaji, “Cuvee Ilona,” Hungary, 2001, one of my absolute favorite dessert wines. At this point in the meal comes the almost never-ending parade of smaller sweets so innocently referred to on the menu as “MIGNARDISES”. First a vanilla bean pot au crème with a thin layer of sweet strawberry preserves at the bottom. Then a beautiful selection of chocolates (The correct response at this point is “One of each, please”). Then marzipan, pumpkin pâtes de fruit, and oblong chocolate truffles. Oh, and I shouldn’t forget the ultra-buttery shortbread cookies they gave us to save as a treat for the next day. People have often referred to meals at the French Laundry being much like marathons. If that is the case, we had finally completed this test of food and wine endurance. Our wallets had gotten a workout, too, now $500 lighter. But to what end? Were we dazzled? Did we leave absolutely star-struck, floating on cloud nine? Not quite. That’s not to say this was not a damn good meal. It was. The very good wine pairings went above and beyond our expectations. And this restaurant’s cuisine is about as close to technical flawlessness as it gets. But in the end, I’m still left with one question: Where is the love? To me the meals that leap that magical line between very good and transcendent all share one thing: soul. And while the Thomas Keller, French Laundry trademark experience is a delicious one… soulful, it is not.
