French Laundry
As I mentioned previously, Kat and I had dinner at The French Laundry last week. Dinner at the French Laundry is something I’ve wanted to do for ages (being one of the very few restaurants of this caliber that has a vegetarian-friendly menu) and it didn’t disappoint.
The food was superb and the service was excellent. Each course was tremendous and worthy of praise, but I’ll mention a few that really stood out:
- The French Laundry Garden Lettuce and Herb Soup was interesting because the dark green, chilled soup tasted just like lettuce. It was presented with just the tomatoes, croûtons, and ice cream in a shallow bowl, and the soup was expertly poured on by the waiter so as to fill the bowl without so much as a drop falling on the food.
- The Garlic-Glazed Eggplant Confit was by a wide margin simply the best eggplant I have ever tasted.
- The “Fricassée” of Hand-Rolled Russet Potato “Gnocchi” was rich and delicious.
- The French Laundry Garden Basil Sorbet was, just as it says, a basil sorbet. Interesting and tasty, although I think Kat won out with her apricot sorbet.
- Finally, the “Mignardises” were delicious, but we were so full we had to take some home. Our waiter insisted we try at least a couple truffles (I had the peanut butter and the passionfruit) with the remaining dozen or so being put into a box and handed to us along with two packages of fresh shortbread.
Below is transcribed the full nine courses I enjoyed. The full menu is linked from the image (it’s a scanned PDF of both the tasting menu and tasting of vegetable menu).
Japanese Mountain Yams
with White Miso and Perilla
Compressed English Cucumbers
Green Grapes, Red Chili, Cilantro Shoots
and Sesame Seed Purée
French Laundry Garden Lettuce and Herb Soup
Toybox Tomatoes, Olive Oil-Fried Croûtons and Caper Mayonnaise Ice Cream
Garlic-Glazed Eggplant Confit
Garden Carrots, Pumpkin Seeds, Medjool Dates,
Spicy Greens and Madras Curry Emulsion
“Tarte de Courgette D’été”
Sweet Peppers, Armando Manni Olive Oil,
“Burrata” and Niçoise Olives
“Fricassée” of Hand-Rolled Russet Potato “Gnocchi”
Bluefoot Mushrooms, Golden Corn and Lovage
“Robiola Due Latti”
Globe Artichokes, Cipollini Onions,
Red Ribbon Sorrel and Dijon Mustard
French Laundry Garden Basil Sorbet
Lychee Fruit and Basil Seeds
Honeycomb “Sabayon Glacé”
Spiced “Tuile,” Tupelo Honey Ice Cream
and Santa Rosa Plum “Confiture”
“Mignardises”
The entire experience was delightful and certainly lived up to expectations. The service was excellent as expected, but I think I was caught a bit off guard by the clever details: the clothespin on the napkin (which I had known about ahead of time but is even more charming in person) and the bill hand-written on a laundry tag being two examples.
I believe we were the last ones to finish dinner. On our way out we asked to see the kitchen and were met by what I assume was most of the staff: all of the servers who had waited on us (five of them, perhaps? My memory of some of the details is already fading.) and what seemed like most of the fourteen chefs we were told occupy the kitchen during the night. True to the stories, the kitchen was spotless (just minutes after we had finished our meals) and thoroughly impressive. After dinner, we walked just a couple blocks back to our hotel, the wonderful Maison Fleurie.