Chez Christine

Argentine Grilling

My first feature story + recipes for CHOW.com: check it out! Time to fire up the grill and learn to cook Argentine.

Bon Appétit!

The French Laundry - Finally

Many apologies for this so-overdue-it's-not-even-funny post! I hope you understand that I grocery shop, cook, and write recipes full-time for another website, and finding the time to post here seems to require a Herculean effort and spare time that I never seem able to muster.

But here it is, and I'm a little glad I didn't put it together sooner - reminiscing made me realize what parts of this monumental meal were memorable and what parts weren't.

Some background - on a whim, I put myself on the waiting list at The French Laundry for the first weekend in November last year. Why then, you may ask? I honestly didn't know what came over me. Maybe I was looking to celebrate landing my first job in years that truly made me happy, maybe it was a strangely extravagant way to mark our half-year marriage anniversary. I figured we only live 45 minutes away, why shouldn't we go? Go before a mortgage, children, or more adult responsibilities would never allow for such an indulgence.

The phone call came the Friday before: a spot had opened for lunch, were we interested? The menu would be exactly the same as dinner. After frantic phone calls with H, we took the plunge. Eating at lunch actually suited us - a long tasting menu followed immediately with bed time is never a good idea (channel Guy Savoy). The other bonus was that we would be able to see the gardens in daylight and have natural light for photos.

To sum it up, I had an amazing time. Perfect, knowledgeable, unobtrusive service and a restrained sensibility that was different from other restaurant tastings we'd had. It was a marathon meal - probably 3 1/2 hours from when we sat down to when we concluded our kitchen tour (and tried not to gawk at Chef Keller as we walked in). While technique was decidedly French, the ingredients and combinations astounded us.

Would I do it again? In a heartbeat. I still have yet to experience the "oysters and pearls," although I could always pull out the cookbook and immerse myself in the recipe on a weekend afternoon. I went into the meal hoping that the hype would not exceed the experience and was pleasantly surprised when it didn't. Things were technically perfect and the precision was evident on the plates.

Was it worth the cost? While I am clearly raving about my lunch, it was really hard to justify the cost. I know the high costs of pristine ingredients and living wages for those preparing and serving the food, but it's still hard to think of how much high-quality, local, organic food I could buy for the same price.

So come with me on the journey: Bon Appétit!
 

The Signature French Laundry Clothespin

There was the regular tasting menu and the vegetable (but not necessarily vegetarian) tasting menu. We opted for the regular with a few supplements, making sure not to order the same thing when given the choice for a course. Our marriage works well because we are sharers!

Gougères

Warm gougères appeared as we sipped our glasses of champagne and perused the menu. Good, but not mind-blowing.

Salmon "Cornets"
Crème Fraîche, Sweet Red Onion

The famous salmon cornets arrived in their delicate holders and were amazing. Crispy, briny, creamy, and toasty all in one bite.

Cauliflower "Panna Cotta"
with Island Creek Oyster Glaze and California Sturgeon Caviar

The earthiness of cauliflower always works well when combined with cream, and there was a nice texture contrast form the oyster and caviar. Island Creeks are from Massachusetts, and a discussion with our server revealed that they preferred East Coast oysters for their flavor and size.

Salad of French Laundry Garden Beets
Blood Orange, Sunchokes, Tarragon and Red Ribbon Sorrel

One of the misses of the meal. While the flavors were fresh and bright, the portion was miniscule, even for a tasting. Three tiny bites of food were on the plate and made it difficult to share, especially given this was served at the same time as the foie gras. There was almost too much acidity on the plate, it needed something different to balance it out.

Moulard Duck "Foie Gras en Terrine"
Cranberries, Pecans, Belgian Endive,
Celery Branch and Toasted Brioche

Why, oh why, is foie gras so good? I've had my share of foie gras terrines, and this had a texture that was perfectly smooth and melted immediately in the mouth. The cranberries were a nice touch to cut through the fattiness, and when is toasted brioche ever a bad idea? H ate his half of this dish first, and when we switched, our server magically appeared with a freshly-toasted slice of brioche for me- outstanding! I wish he would appear by my bed with the same thing every morning!

Sautéed Japanese Bluefin Tuna
Fennel Bulb, Pine Nuts, Niçoise Olive, Arugula, and Spanish Saffron

One of the dishes I can't seem to recall having an opinion about.

Florida Everglades Frog's Legs
Thumbelina Carrots, Tokyo Turnips, French Laundry Garden
Sugar Snap Peas, Sweet Garlic Pudding and "Buerre Rouge"

I'm always a sucker for frog's legs, probably because they are always served with strong flavors like garlic and parsley. This preparation didn't disappoint, with the careful frenching of the meat to make it easier to eat and the rich red wine-and-butter sauce to drag it all through.

New Bedford Sea Scallop "Poêlée"
Caramelized Brussels Sprouts, Chestnuts,
Caraway Melba and Dijon Mustard

Another East Coast transplant, the scallop was beautifully cooked and seared, with an interesting depth from the chestnuts. I feared chestnuts and scallops would be too sweet together, but the mustard and the melba helped to cut through it.

Pasta, Browned Butter, Parmesan, and White Truffles

There was a huge supplement for this additional course, but we jumped on it because it was white truffle season and decided since we were here to go all out. (Don't even want to think about much it cost per bite!)

This course warrants three photos: the first was the pasta which arrived by itself. Rich, eggy, buttery, cheesy pasta whose smell was driving me crazy. Photo two is the server shaving an insane pile of truffles over it all (and me locked into the whole process), truffles that came from a beautiful lacquered box carrying a king's ransom worth of the beauties. Photo three is the completed dish, finished by yet another server holding a little saucier full of hot browned butter that when drizzled over it all, released more of that heady scent into my face. I DREAM of this. This is perfection.

I hate truffle oil and truffles used merely to "fancy" a dish up. This was the right way to treat a truffle.

Four Story Hill Farm Milk-Fed "Poularde"
Hobbs' Bacon, Akita Komahi Rice, Yuzu, Matsutake Mushrooms, Mizuna and Kanzuri

Perfectly moist chicken with crisp skin, some nice Asian influences in the garnish. Loved the rice.

"Chateaubriand" of Marcho Farms Veal
Sweetbread Peirogi, Port Onions, Arrowleaf Spinach, and Truffle Crème Fraîche

I think the highlight of this was the peirogi, but I'm a sucker for dumplings. The veal was as good as veal can be, but sometimes roasted sliced meats hold little appeal for me as there is no flavor development from added ingredients.

"Manchego"
Quince Membrillo, English Walnuts, Frisée and Aged Sherry Vinegar

The sherry vinegar was a nice touch - sometimes the expected jams or honeys are boring, and an acidic contrast is always welcome with cheese, but it has to be paired well for it to work.

Bartlett Pear Sorbet
with Roasted Jacobsen's Farm Pears and Chai Tea Sablé

Pears are so good and refreshing, a perfect pre-dessert.

"Gâteau Saint Nizier au Manjari"
Mango-Chili Relish, Valrhona Cocoa Nibs, Lime Foam and Coconut Milk Sorbet

Chocolate and lime is one of our favorite flavor combinations, from the lime caramels from Patrick Roger to the chocolate-lime truffles we made as favors for our wedding. This was a rich, dense, brownie-like cake with just enough tartness from the garnishes to make it finger-licking good.

Bakewell Tart
Huckleberries, Marcona Almonds and Andante Dairy Yogurt Sherbet

I remember this being good but not outstanding. It was nice to see Andante Dairy appearing on the table again, as we had been slathering the unsalted butter they make on our bread throughout the meal. (There was also salted butter from Vermont.)

Caramel Macadamia Nuts

So good I asked them to take the extras home,which they gladly bagged up for me to enjoy at my leisure. The thin coat of burned caramel just took these to the next level.

Mignardises

Presentation-wise, it was amazing. Who doesn't like a tower of treats and a tray of chocolate? Unfortunately, my stomach was starting to groan so I nibbled on the treats in the box and the server wisely packed up chocolate for us to take home.

Gardens and Sunset

Throughout our meal, we periodically got up to use the restroom and stroll through the picturesque garden, reveling in the sunshine and beautiful Napa weather. After we finished, we crossed the street to the kitchen gardens and walked through the rows of squash, eggplant, and the last bits of summer produce. It makes me long for space and land when I see things like this, a desire to try to grow my own food.

I have no regrets about my meal at The French Laundry and am glad that we brought along a camera to capture it all. I hope you enjoyed your journey with me and hope that you will be able to experience your own one day!


The French Laundry
6640 Washington St.
Yountville, CA 94599
(800) 944-1224

Tasting menu: $240 per person for prix fixe (service included)
Supplements for foie gras and white truffle pasta course
Wine not included

Bon Appétit!