Dinner at The French Laundry

The French Laundry - dinner on February 23, 2022

This isn't my usual post or even my usual "restaurant review" so I didn't label it as such because, really, who am I to "review" The French Laundry? I'm not enough of a gourmand to even do it justice. However, I did want to document the experience and share it with all of you because it was amazing. That's probably too mild of a word but read on and you'll see what I mean.

The day's menu

First of all, how did I even end up there? It's pricey and my thrifty immigrant roots decree that I don't drop that kind of $$$$s on "a meal". I just can't do it. Fortunately for me, I didn't have to as I got this as a gift/performance award from my boss for me and 3 friends to go enjoy dinner on him. I know, I know, not just best boss ever but he knows me, he really knows me. As in knows not only would I love to go to French Laundry but he also knew I was unlikely to spend that kind of money on myself. Hence, perfect bonus, right?

Amuse Bouche 1: Everything "bagel" filled with salmon mousse and cream cheese

Amuse Bouche 2: cabot cheddar cheese rolled in crispy shallots or "cheese and crackers"

Second, The French Laundry is not a place you just casually drop by or walk in for a meal. You have to make reservations but you have to make it right when they open up the reservations. When I say "right when they open up the reservations", I mean the minute, preferably the second, they open it up if you not only want a reservation but you want to be able to pick the day and time for it. The French Laundry opens up its reservations 2 months ahead of time. 

Oysters and Pearls

Oysters and Pearls close up

My boss gave me the gift in late September of 2021. I tried in October, in November and in December to make a reservation. No can do. It was always booked, regardless of the day of the week. I finally hit it lucky in January. On January 1, precisely at 10 am, to be exact. Except the earliest I could get a reservation was February 23. Not a problem. For this kind of opportunity, my friends and I were going to make any day work, mmkay?

Garden "Cover Crop" Salad

I'm not going to go into raptures about the food because, yes, it was as delicious and incredible as all the hype says it is and you can see for yourself how everything looked. For those who aren't familiar with French Laundry, they have a price-fixe menu that changes daily. There's a vegetarian menu and a regular menu; diners can choose which menu they prefer. It's a 10-course meal but don't think you're going to stuff yourselves. I mean, I suppose you can, but each course is nicely portion-controlled. It's about the quality, not the quantity, and believe me, given the richness and deliciousness of the food, you're going to appreciate that.

Grilled Pacific Shima Aji

I posted the menu and the pictures of what we had so your eyes can feast like mine did. I don't normally eat all the foods on the menu (I'm not an oyster fan, for instance) but given the bucket-list specialness of the occasion, I swore to myself I would try everything. And I did. Some things I still didn't like (sorry, still not an oyster fan) but I ate it anyway to savor the experience. Other dishes left me in near-gastronomic raptures (Gougere, I'm looking at you). 

Quenelle de Brochet

As you can see, the presentation of the food was everything. Not only was each a feast for the palate but before you even ate any of it, your eyes drank in how beautifully presented everything was. No detail was too small and not even the tiniest detail was overlooked. I'm not a chef but even I know all the tiny details that went into the overall presentation was a lot of work. A lot. 

Bread and Butter: butter cocoa laminated brioche with Diane St Clair's Animal Farm butter

But the main reason I'm not going to go into raptures about the food (although, again, well worth rhapsodizing over) is the best part of the evening for me was the experience itself of being there. From the get go, the staff was wonderful. They greeted us warmly, took our coats, ushered us to our table and it only got even better from there. The service was impeccable. There were four of us and for each of the 10 courses, we were all served at the same time with multiple servers, each bearing a plate, so we could all be served simultaneously. They explained what each dish was, patiently answered any questions we had, even shared a couple of stories behind some of the dishes and were gracious and friendly every single moment for every single interaction. No condescension, no snobbery, just warmth and friendliness. It was obvious they really cared about us enjoying not just the food but also being at French Laundry.

Black Winter Truffles

Carnarol Risotta Biologico

Even beyond what the staff could control, the rest of the experience matched it. We were in a small room (intimate rather than tiny) with a few other tables. Everyone was comfortable, no one was particularly loud but no one was hushed, pretentious or reverent either. Everyone was having a good time. The table next to us had someone celebrating their 40th birthday and their friends cheered. The French Laundry staff brought out something with a sparkler on it for the birthday celebrant. The atmosphere in the room was relaxed and enjoyable.

Pekin Duck Rilette

Calotte de Boeuf

Gougere

Being me, let me go into a little more detail about the desserts though. They served us an assortment. 4 were individual desserts that each of us received as a set of 4. I wish I could remember or knew the names but it was all a happy blur. But it was the cake roll, the kiwi on a sponge cake, the semifreddo and the best gelato ever. Then they also brought mini desserts meant to complement the individual desserts and be shared at the table. The mini donuts completed the semifreddo so it looked like coffee and doughnuts. The shared desserts were chocolate covered macadamia nuts and kalamansi macarons. As a Filipino, I was pleasantly surprised The French Laundry had kalamansi in one of their desserts. Even though, admittedly, I'm not a macaron fan but I tried it anyway. Even I can appreciate it was a well-made macaron and the kalamansi flavor came through bright and clear, not overpowered by sweetness or sugar.

Mini doughnuts

cake roll

Kiwi on sponge cake

Gelato

Semifreddo

"Coffee" and doughnuts

Chocolate-covered Macadamia Nuts and Kalamansi Macarons

But wait, there's more (dessert). One of our servers also proffered house-made truffles in a beautiful box. She told us the flavors (several times as we kept forgetting, lol) and we got to choose whichever flavors and however many truffles we wanted. I went with the caramel and the hazelnut. In case you forgot which one you chose or wanted to know which was which, the bottom of each truffle also listed what it was, printed in edible chocolate. Classy all the way and again, thinking of the customer to help them keep track of what they were eating, lol.

Caramel truffle and Hazelnut truffle

By the time we finished our desserts, I was full but not unpleasantly stuffed. The portions were small but some of the dishes were rich so you definitely felt the decadence of the meal. It had been a great evening, filled with great conversation with my awesome friends, the impeccable service of the staff and the relaxed atmosphere with the other diners. As yet another gift to contribute to the whole experience, each of us were given a small (French Laundry branded) tin of shortbread "for the road". Man, your dining experience didn't end when you got up from the table. It may seem like a small thing but all of these touches added up and continued to add up to the experience. There's even the "touch" of you get to keep the French Laundry-branded napkin-clothespin as a souvenir. Which, OF COURSE, I did. 

Green tea served from an individual-size green teapot

Shortbread as a parting gift

But, again, wait, there's still more. To my surprise and complete delight (hokey? but I really did feel actual delight), one of our amazing waitstaff, as we were getting up from the table, asked if we'd like a tour of the kitchen. Um, yes???!?!!?! My culinary school self was thrilled. I'm not into cooking (as you know, baking is my jam) but who wouldn't want to see the kitchen where all that magic is made??

The first thing that struck me about the kitchen was the discipline and orderliness. There was no mad bustling around or screaming or any other diva hysterics. Just master chefs (whether they were really master chefs or not, they were all boss) moving around efficiently to do their job. I'd just experienced 3 hours (yes 10 courses = 3 hours) of their mastery and was further impressed by the disciplined orderliness of the kitchen. Cleanliness goes without saying, btw. If you've ever watched all those reality TV-fake-drama created chef shows, they've never filmed at French Laundry. Our tour guide kindly took a picture of us because, hey, French Laundry kitchen. Part of the experience.

What impressed me further is he didn't just take our picture and show us the exit. He (the gentleman pictured below) literally completed the experience by talking a bit more about the kitchen, taking our picture, then, when it was over, helping to get our coats, helping us into our coats, presenting us with our copies of the French Laundry menu we had just enjoyed (in a nice folder with the vegetarian menu, the wine pairing list and a booklet showcasing their purveyors) and to the end, was faultlessly courteous. Kudos to The French Laundry for a truly exceptional experience.