Last night Jason and I were blessed to share a perfect meal with people we love. There’s no way to say it without it sounding totally obnoxious, but here goes… we had dinner at the French Laundry.
That just rolls right off the tongue.
It was incredible, amazing, delicious, and all of the other adjectives you can imagine. It got me thinking about what makes a meal good, great, or perfect. And it’s not the food (although that’s part of it) and it’s not the service (another crucial part of it), it’s really the experience overall. Who were you with? What did you talk about? What did you drink? How were the bathrooms?
My experience at the French Laundry was a combination of many beautiful, wonderful, perfect things. The chefs are clearly obsessive about the quality and detail of what they produce, the service was simply breathtaking, and yeah, the bathrooms were pretty nice. Our company was fantastic, although we had such a good time (and the room was so small) that I was concerned about our neighbors hating us.
The best meal of my life–before last night–was at Le Bernadin in New York. I had lobster on a bed of foie gras stuffing and it made me cry. That is my benchmark by which all other meals are measured. But was the experience amazing because of the food? The service? Or because it happened to take place about an hour before my future husband proposed at the top of the Empire State building?
There are many small details that took last night’s dinner to the next level, and I think that plays a big part in being able to call a meal “perfect.” The fact that one of the servers picked up on something we kept saying and started saying it herself. The fact that they clearly googled all of us before we got there. Yeah. Fact. The black winter truffle that they keep in a locked box (they bring the whole thing out when they shave it onto your hand-cut tagliatelle). The fact that everything is served on the most incredible dishes I’ve ever seen–and clearly made specially for the FL. One of our friends doesn’t drink and instead of just bringing her something they *paired* each dish with a special concoction just for her. And each drink was incredible. And when another guest started feeling the wine they brought him out bitters and soda to sober him up. Which I didn’t know was even possible.
And then there’s the food itself. Twenty-two separate plates of incredible. There were six of us dining together last night and the way they served us in unison was like a dance. Beautifully choreographed, stunningly executed. So here’s the menu in full with my highlights:
The first of the canapés was a creamy, gooey and surprisingly delicate gruyere cheese gougere. Good.
The next canapé was a salmon tartare cornet. Ridiculous. Imagine a tiny ice cream cone filled with a red onion cream cheese mix and topped with finely chopped salmon tartare. Stupid good.
LEEK VELOUTE; “Ris de Veau” and Cara Cara Orange–a delightful little soup. It comes out in a “magic bowl” with just a little sweetbread in the bottom and a couple of tiny pieces of orange, and then the servers (all in unison, obviously) pour the soup over it. Super hot, super good, with a few surprising hints of “wow-where did that flavor come from?”
OYSTERS AND PEARLS; “Sabayon” of Pearl Tapioca with Island Creek Oysters and White Sturgeon Caviar–quite possibly my favorite item of the evening. Imagine a little custard with two oysters and a healthy scoop of caviar. Served with a little mother-of-pearl spoon. Custom made, of course. And served on five plates. They take the idea of chargers up a notch.
FRUITS DE MER; Chorizo, Globe Artichoke and Jingle Bell Peppers–actually my least favorite item on the menu. Aptly described as paella without the rice. A big hit with others at our table though.
SWEET BUTTER-POACHED MAINE LOBSTER “MITT”; Black Pepper “Melba,” Hass Avocado, Red Radish and “Ranch Dressing”–the avocado on this dish really showcased the chefs’ impressive knife skills. I can’t even imagine how they cut it so small, so perfect, so uniform, and then displayed it so well–and repeated it exactly on everyone’s dish. It’s kind of mind-boggling how much time was spent on each dish.
PACIFIC BLACK COD “CHOWDER”; Salmon Roe and Celery Branch “Fume a la Minute”–yum. And interestingly, paired with a beer! Can you imagine sitting in the finest restaurant in the Napa Valley–drinking a beer? How about if it’s specially made just for the French Laundry? Blue Apron Ale from the Brooklyn Brewery, a special brew for Chef Keller. Thanks for sharing, Tom.
HEN EGG CUSTARD; with a Ragout of Perigord Truffles–this dish really exemplifies the FL. It comes out in a hollowed-out eggshell and tastes divine. Beautiful and the flavor was incredible. I seem to remember being told that the hens are personally spoken to by Chef Keller every morning, who tells them how special they are.
SALAD OF HOLLAND WHITE ASPARAGUS; Serrano Ham, French Laundry Garden beets,Wild Ramps and Black Winter Truffle–probably the best salad I’ve ever had. Did you know they have a garden across the street where their veggies come from? The garden beets were so tiny that we joked about how they had just planted them yesterday. Pretty yummy!
MOULARD DUCK “FOIE GRAS AU TORCHON”; Graham Cracker, Pickled Blueberries,Celery Branch and Toasted Pecans–this dish was surprisingly large for what it was (essentially a foie gras cheesecake). And I’m glad it was, because even thinking about it now is making my mouth water. Incredible!
SAUTEED FILLET OF NEW ZEALAND JOHN DORY; Dungeness crab, English Peas, Nantes Carrots and Black Winter Truffle. The John Dory voluntarily jump into nets marked “FL” on the fishing boat, Bouchon, for a chance to be this delicious.
MAINE DIVER SCALLOP “POELEE”; Hobbs’ Bacon, Sacramento Delta Green Asparagus, Morel Mushrooms, Field Rhubarb and “Sauce Hydromel”–the best (and biggest) scallop ever created. Perfectly seared and delightful. Morel mushrooms were amazing with it.
HAND-CUT “TAGLIATELLE”; with Shaved Black Winter Truffle–utterly delightful and very rich. The pasta itself was perfectly cooked and the presentation of the truffle was really well done. Beautiful!
LIBERTY FARM PEKIN DUCK; Michigan Sour Cherries, Young Fennel and Red Walnuts–I don’t even know what red walnuts are, and I grew up on a walnut farm.
49 DAY DRY-AGED SNAKE RIVER FARMS BEEF; Broccoli, Red Radish, Petite Onions and “Sauce Japonaise”–this is going to sound silly, but you could taste the age in the beef. Jason swears they sliced the beef with a laser because every cut was perfectly uniform, with sharp 90 degree angles one sees on ships, aircraft, and other incredibly built structures, but not steak. The servers told us that Chef Keller personally cut the beef course, and in the way only an obsessive chef who is clearly in love with food could.
“LANDAFF”; “Pruneaux d’Agen,” Pine Nuts, Mache and Black Truffle–the cheese course. Good, but doesn’t touch Meadowood’s cheese course, which is still the best I’ve ever had.
WINTER CITRUS “SANGRIA”; Persian Lime Sorbet and Ginger “Nuage”–very refreshing and (obviously) delicious.
TRES LECHES “PAIN PERDU”; Golden Pineapple and Rum Reduction–I would have licked the plate if I could have gotten away with it.
CREAM CHEESE MOUSSE; Navel Orange, Cardamom and Acacia Honey “Granite”–the only way I can describe it is that it was like a cheesecake, which is an incredibly unfair description. The garnish was a super chilled “ice” which melted in your mouth. Amazing.
MIGNARDISES–toasted chocolate macadamia nuts. At this point we were at “stupid full” and couldn’t appreciate them the way they deserve to be.
Coffee, served with donuts lightly dusted with sugar (amazing).
At the end of the evening they sent us home with little shopping bags of goodies (chocolates, cookies). I am currently enjoying my coffee with the best shortbread I’ve ever inhaled.
Oh! I almost forgot! The wine! I’m just going to give you the list. If you’re a wine person, you’ll get it. There’s also a beer on there, which was flipping amazing (and surprising). Special shout out to our cousin Hamilton (the sommelier) who provided the Bertani and the ridiculous 1982 bordeaux.
Krug, “Grande Cuvee,” Reims, Champagne MV
Pazo Senorans, Albarino, Rias Baixas 2010
Brooklyn Brewery, “Blue Apron Ale,” Brooklyn, New York
Nigl, Gruner Veltliner, “Pellingen Privat,” Kremstal 2010
Meyer-Fonne, Pinot Gris, “Hinterburg,” V.T., Alsace 2008
Pierre-Yves Colin-Morey, Meursault, “Charmes,” ler Cru Burgundy 2008
Pianpolvere Soprano, Barolo Riserva, “Bussia,” Piedmont 2000
Bertani, Amarone della Valpolicella, Veneto 1968
Chateau Pichon-Longueville Comtesse de Lalande, Pauillac, Bordeaux 1982
Huet, Vouvray Demi- Sec, “Cuvee Constance,” Loire 2005
So that pretty much sums up what makes a meal perfect. No single ingredient was ever repeated during the meal. Literally each bite was incredible and a masterpiece unto itself. The service made the meal sparkle–they were there before you even knew you needed something, and they disappeared without you noticing.
And the most important factor of all: the company was exquisite! We can’t wait for Lauren and Hamilton to move to Napa so we can enjoy many more adventures with them 🙂