 |
| I have never been so happy to see a clothespin in my life! |
I have been meaning to go to The French Laundry for years.
Born from the mind of chef Thomas Keller, this Yountville, California establishment has sat in the hear of California's wine country for years.
What stuck me about the restaurant was all the produce that was being grown right across the road - talk about being from farm to table.
While we had initially wanted to do a wine pairing for each of the courses, we ended up choosing instead to have a few bottles to enjoy over the course of the meal. We were already a bit giddy from a morning of wine tasting, so in the end, it worked out for the best.
While we had two kinds of wine, I am still kicking myself for not being able to remember the name of the crisp white wine we opened our meal with. The red that was selected for us were a few bottles of Kenzo Estates 2011 Rindo, which was easy to drink and was not obtrusive to any of the dishes presented to us.
As a whole, we had a most excellent time dining there (Lunch started at 12:30 and ended at 17:30!!) I have tried to say what I can, but will let the pictures speak for what I cannot put into words.
 |
| Amuse Bouche: Gougères |
These
gougères were tiny, fluffy and delightfully savory. (I could have easily put away the entire restaurant's supply!)
 |
| Amuse Bouche: Yellowtail in a Citrus Cone |
The yellowtail and cream cheese in a cone tasted like the ocean in a lime cone! I really enjoyed this playful appetizer and it was good way to open the meal.
 |
| "Oysters and Pearls" Sabayon of Pearl Tapioca with Island Creek oysters and White Sturgeon Caviar |
The cream, tapioca, oysters and beluga caviar were a wonderful, rich combination. It is not hard to see why this is one of Chef Keller's signiature dishes. Having made this dish before - I was particularly glad to be able to taste the real thing. Even our 8 year old dining companion finished this in an instant!
 |
| Egg and White Truffle Custard with Potato and Chive Chip |
Another recipe that I have long to make but never got around to; This creamy egg and truffle custard was a rich, deep expression of everything good in life. Serving it in an eggshell was a good idea as anymore would have been a bit too much.
The pugent white truffles and creamy custard played very well with the crisp, delicate chip.
 |
| "Garden Turnip Carpaccio" White Peaches, Toasted Walnuts and Watercress |
After a very rich custard, this delicate salad was a very welcome cool down. Sharp, thinly sliced turnip and watercress were accompanied by finely minced sweet white peaches and walnuts. Tangy and refreshing!
 |
| "Slow Cooked Filet of Wild King Salmon" Hawaiian Hears of Peach Palm, Roasted Garden Beets and Preserved Jacobsen Orchards Kumquats. |
The slow cooked salmon maintained a consistency not dissimilar to an equal sized cut of cured salmon. Lightly seasoned, the combination of the bright earthy zing from the Beets, sweetness of the heart of palm and the bitter/sweet/sour kick kumquat bought this dish to life. However, this was a divisive dish amongst our diners, who would have preferred a more "cooked" texture to the Salmon.
 |
| "Sweet Butter Poached Maine Lobster" Garden Cauliflower, K&J Orchards Apricots, Sicilan Pistachios and Spanish Caper Emulsion |
Good lobster does not require much in terms of seasoning and that was exactly what we got for the lobster course. Sweet and slightly firm, the flavor of the lobster was definitely enhanced by the poaching in butter.
Accompanying the lobster, the clean taste of simply roasted cauliflower in addition to the sweetness of the apricot, the comforting nuttiness of the pistachios and the sharp hit of sourness from the Caper Emulsion really tied everything together nicely.
The result had somewhat of a Spanish flair in terms of flavor - which I enjoyed thoroughly.
 |
| Wildflower Honey Lacquered Liberty Farms Pekin Duck" Tuscan Kale, Sweet White Corn, Garden Leeks and "Sauce Perigourdine" |
As fancy as the dish sounded, I was more struck at how comforting it was to eat this. The flavors were all pretty familiar echoes of my childhood in the American south elevated to a wonderfully refined final dish. The entire dished leaned towards the sweet side, but I have no problems with ducks and sweet glazes.
My only gripe was that the duck could have been a touch crispier and much much larger in serving size.
What can I say, I am a duck fiend.
 |
| Herb Roasted Elysian Fields Lamb "Violet Artichokes, Chickpea "Panisse," Garden Fennel and Basil |
While the dish smelled most excellent coming into the room, regretfully, the lamb was my only disappointment of the afternoon. While everything worked and came together in a logical fashion, I could not get over the fact that there was a distinct lack of salt throughout the dish. Especially considering the previous duck course was so on point, it was a pity that something that could have been wonderful fell short of the mark. A part of me wishes I had a salt shaker with me that day...
 |
| "Jasper Hills Farm "Winnemere"" Sacramento Delta Green Asparagus, Whole Grain Mustard "Pain Perdu" and Sunflower Sprouts. |
Cheese and me are inseparable. Stinky, runny, gooey, I will take it any way I can. This cheese course, while lacking any sort of stink - was delicious. I really can't think of much else to say, cheese and bread wins my heart every time.
Celebrating two special occasions, we also were surprised with an absolutely gorgeous cake.
The tart passion fruit glaze over a light vanilla mouse and green tea cake was a wonderful nod to alot of delicious things happening with these flavors in Asia.
 |
| Strawberry Tart with Thyme and Lemon Zest |
The addition of thyme threw me of in the most intriguing way - what was a savory herb to me suddenly was working very well with the flavor of strawberries. Color me impressed, I will have to try this too.
 |
| Buttermilk Ice Cream |
Another plate of comforting flavors, I love the twang of southern goodness that buttermilk provided.
While I found all the desserts delicious, but don't really have much to say about them, so I will just briefly recap in the captions below.
 |
| Frozen coffee and cream, can't really go wrong there! |
 |
| Delicious bite sized donuts! |
 |
| Chocolate Covered Macadamias - Bitter and Rich! |
Overall, it really was an excellent meal. Some lows, but as a whole, the menu progressed well and had enough exciting things to make me want to keep eating. Having cooked from Chef Keller's books before, I really admire how well the entire restaurant functions - the staff were attentive, friendly and were very accommodating to our requests.
Definitely worth trying to get a reservation if one plans to visit California.
The French Laundry
6640 Washington Street
Yountville, CA
http://www.frenchlaundry.com/
