French Laundry

The French Laundry is a French restaurant located in Yountville, California, in the Napa Valley.  The name originated from the building once used as a French steam laundry back in the 1920′s.  In 1994, chef and current owner Thomas Keller bought the location  (he also owns Bouchon, Ad Hoc and Per Se).  Raved as one of the best restaurants in the world by Anthony Bourdain, it is no wonder there is much hype for this restaurant.

A few things you should know:

• 9-course prix fixe (vegetarian menu also available)
• Cost: $270 (service included).  Wine ~$50 extra/person.
• Be prepared to dine for 4 hours!
• Jackets required
• 2 months to the date reservation required.  If you call on Jan 5th, you are reserving for March 5th.
• Reservations are extremely difficult.  You may need to redial for 1.5+ hours before being connected.
• Have all your friends dial in with you!
• Try OpenTable reservation
• Try using your credit card’s concierge service (American Express Black/Platinum)
• Here is a site with very important tips: http://thesandersens.com/res/french.laundry.reservations.html
• Today’s menu: http://www.tkrg.org/upload/fl_menu.pdf
• A lot of the ingredients come from its own 3-acre organic garden across the road….you can taste its freshness!

Having said all that, I was fortunate enough to have the opportunity to dine at the French Laundry!  It was an unforgettable experience.  I was very impressed with the quality of the dishes especially its simplicity, both in presentation and in taste.  Flavoring/salt use was perfect, bringing out all the flavors in its fullest and freshest form.  While the taste can’t be captured in the photos below, it should give you a sense of what to expect from the French Laundry!  Bon appetit!

French Laundry clip!

Salmon tartare cornet!

Oysters and pearls:
Sabayon of Pearl Tapioca with Island Creek Oysters and White Sturgeon Caviar

“Moulard Duck Foie Gras En Terrine”,
“Confit de Canard, Hydromel Croquette, Cranberry Relish, Frisee and Dijon Mustard”

Butter!

Three kinds of salt to choose with the 2nd course butter and rolls

Yukon Gold Potato “Mille-Feuille” Broccoli Ecrasee,
Quail Egg and Malt Vinegar Emulsion

“Confit Fillet of Portuguese Rouget”,
“Sunchokes, Nicoise Olive, Mizuna and Navel Orange Coulis”.

Sweet Butter-poached maine lobster tail,
truffle “Pain Perdu” Hobbs’ bacon and petite onions

“Wolfe Ranch White Quail”,
“Cauliflower, Cavalo Nero, Pine Nuts and Sauce Romesco”.

“Snake River Farms Calotte de Boeuf Grillee”,
“Bone Marrow, Matsutake Mushrooms, Nantes Carrots, Crosnes, Oyster Lettuce, and Sauce Bordelaise”

Broken Arrow Ranch Venison,
Butternut squash, Brussels sprouts, Oregon Huckleberries and juniper

“Txiki”
“San Marzano Tomato Compote, Globe Artichokes, Arugula, and Spanish Caper”.

“Pineapple Guava Sorbet”,
“Muscato d’Asti and Young Ginger”.

“Carmelized White Chocolate Namelaka”,
“Piedmont Hazelnuts, Toasted Oats, and Black Mission Fig Sorbet”.

Pommes Anna, Funnel Cake,
Pruneaux d’Agen, Rum Angalise and Salted Caramel Ice Cream

Mignardises
(bite-sized desserts sometimes served at the end of a meal)

Coffee and Donuts

The laundry bill!  Get it? =)

French Laundry lamp with laundry icons

A peek into the kitchen…relatively small.  Very clean.

The main chef making the final touches to the dishes:

Wonderful memories.
Left to right: me, Bob, Laura, Chef Matt, Judy, Dan, Erik

~ ~ ~

Hungry Cactus’ verdict: A

French Laundry is an example to other restaurants to use fresh and quality ingredients and prepare them with perfect execution.  There’s no need for molecular gastronomic tricks, just proven and straight forward French cooking techniques.  The only two downsides was the cost (~$300/person) and the time it took to get from appetizer to desserts (4 hours!).  Otherwise, I will always remember the Calotte de Boeuf as the most flavorful, tender and fatty beef I’ve ever had.  Other memorable dishes include the intriguing Pommes Anna with its many layers and the intense flavors of the pineapple guava sorbet.  Also to note, Dan says the potato “Mille-Feuille” was the best piece of potato he’s ever had!

Bottom line, if you’re curious what the best of the best French cuisine has to offer, and have the time, money and friends to experience the French Laundry together with, then by all means make your reservation!  Otherwise, getting the $30 French Laundry cookbook (http://www.amazon.com/French-Laundry-Cookbook-Thomas-Keller/dp/1579651267) is a great alternative!

Speculoos!!!

Lately I’ve been obsessed with Speculoos, a type of shortcrust biscuit similar to graham crackers, traditionally baked for consumption around St Nicholas’ feast (around December) in the Netherlands, Belgium, and Northern France.  The spices used include pepper, cinnamon, ginger, cloves, cardamom and nutmeg.  They are also known as the Airline Cookie, as made famous on Delta Airlines.

Only recently has it been formulated into a paste, similar to peanut butter.  Having only been recently recommended by my favorite Paris blogger David Lebovitz (http://www.davidlebovitz.com/), I knew I had to get it when I visited Paris last November.

Returning back to the States, I quickly tried some on bread….ABSOLUTELY AMAZING!!  It’s really like eating a lightly sweet graham cracker!  Now I know it’s not as healthy as peanut butter, so please treat it as an indulgent spread like nutella, ok?  Anyway, I quickly realized I needed to find a local source for more Speculoos.  Good news…they’re here in the States:

• Original Lotus Speculoos (Paris, France)
• In my opinion the smoothest and best flavor of all speculoos!  Get this if you can.
• Cookie Butter (Trader Joes, USA)
• Can you believe TJ has this?  Slightly sweeter than the original Lotus version.  Still very good, and highly recommended.  Sadly, this might be seasonal…I couldn’t find it last time I visited! =(
• Biscoff Spread (World Market, USA)
• Somehow the jar I tried tasted off, more gingery/bitter.  I’m not sure if it was just a bad batch, but I will need to try again.
• Rumor has it Cost Plus and some Lucky’s carry this too!

• Pier 39: Biscoff Coffee Corner (http://www.yelp.com/biz/biscoff-coffee-corner-san-francisco-2) where you will get a complimentary Biscoff cookie with every coffee beverage purchased at our café.  This is the official Biscoff store…supposedly sells all the various Biscoff products, including the spread.  I have to visit here soon!
• Union Square (Powell Bart station): Bloem n’ Sugar (http://www.yelp.com/biz/bloem-n-sugar-san-francisco) has Speculoos waffles!!

Hungry Cactus’ verdict: A!!
What are you waiting for? Try some Speculooooooooooooos for yourself now!!