We went to The French Laundry last year around this time and didn’t think we would be back so soon. But when our friend Simone said she had a reservation for four to celebrate her boyfriend Seb’s birthday on December 20 and asked us to join them, the only real answer was, “Hell, yes!”

Seb and Simone (S&S) are a great couple to know because aside from being two of the most generous people we know, when it comes to food, they’re hardcore, balls-to-the-wall omnivores and cooks. This was their second trip to The French Laundry, as well, and while we both knew what to expect when we walked in the blue door, none of us had any idea how awesome this day was going to be.

The blue door beckons…

Since it was right before Christmas, the restaurant and grounds were decked out with holiday flair, including a Christmas tree in the garden with clothespin ornaments.

We were seated upstairs by a corner window with a view of The French Laundry garden across the street. This location was great because there was lots of natural light for pictures. (It’s also right by the restroom, which is helpful when you’re going to be sitting for a few hours.)

S&S and I got the Chef’s Tasting Menu and my wife opted for the Tasting of Vegetables, which isn’t vegetarian but gives prominence to vegetables. S&S both opted for the wine pairings and the truffle course, while I did a non-alcoholic pairing featuring a selection of by GuS and DRY Sodas and my wife stuck to the complimentary NORDAQ-filtered water.

I don’t want to go into every dish of this meal, but here are some of the highlights. You can also view a slideshow of the full picture set below.

The Vol au Vent de Legumes D’Automne was the second course of the Tasting of Vegetables and it was one of the most beautiful dishes of the afternoon.

Vol au Vent de Legumes D’Automne
Romaine Lettuce, Sugar Snap Peas, Fennel Bulb, Radishes and Port Wine Reduction

My third course was the Grilled Pavé of Japanese Toro, and they showed us the slab of fatty tuna they were using before they brought out the dish. It looks just like my favorite luncheon meat in a can! :)

Toro or SPAM? Either way, it’s all good.

Here’s the final plated dish:

Grilled Pavé of Japanese Toro
Satsuma Mandarins, Eggplant, Fennel, Nicoise Olives, Arugula, and Pimenton

I’m so happy that Seb & Simone ordered the truffle course because I’m wouldn’t normally break down and get the truffles. These were white truffles from Alba grated over a bowl of risotto, and as you can see, it was a generous helping. (photo by Simone)

Risotto with White Truffles from Alba
Brown Butter

In lieu of a big bowl risotto and truffles, we were presented with a White Truffle-infused Custard with Black Truffle Ragout and Chive Potato Chip, served beautifully in a hollowed at egg.

White Truffle-infused Custard
Black Truffle Ragout and Chive Potato Chip.

Coffee and Doughnuts are a French Laundry classic. This isn’t on the menu, so make sure you request this when you make your reservation or ask the server when you arrive to see if it’s available.

Coffee and Doughnuts
Cinnamon Doughnuts and Coffee Semifreddo.

After the Coffee and Doughnuts, we took a short break to visit the kitchen before the dessert courses started. When we first sat down at around 11:15am, we asked if Thomas Keller was around, and our server Mischa said she hadn’t seen him. It was around 4:30pm when we got to the kitchen, and the first thing we saw when the kitchen door swung open was Keller expediting dishes. It had been two weeks since the four of us first met Chef Keller at the Ad Hoc at Home book signing (S&S were our guests). S&S met him again the next day at Omnivore Books in San Francisco because Seb wanted to buy a signed copy of Under Pressure and get the Keller-authored pamphlet included with his new Polyscience Immersion Circulator signed by chef, too. Ahhh…stalk— I mean fanboys. :)

Reunited and it feels so good…

We reintroduced ourselves to Keller, and he said he remembered us from the book signing(s), which made three out of the four us giddy. Keller gave us a brief overview of the kitchen as Seb and I drooled over the half-size hotel pans fitted with immersion circulators and filled with butter—this is where lobsters spend their final moments.

See those pans filled with butter on the left? That’s where the best lobsters go to die.

There are many cool things in kitchen, but one of the best is the live video feed with the Per Se kitchen in NY. This allows Keller to keep an eye on things at his restaurants, and I read somewhere that a video feed from the Bouchon Beverly Hills kitchen is in the works.

The Eye of Keller is on Keller Earth (i.e. the TFL and Per Se kitchens).

I received the daily Ad Hoc menu email during the first part of our meal, and we started joking about going there for a “dessert” of grilled short ribs. We were going there anyway because I had to pick up a couple prizes for Menu for Hope, and when I mentioned this to Keller he seemed surprised yet fascinated by this plan, but I don’t think he thought we would follow through.

We returned to our table jazzed at meeting Keller again and ready to polish off dessert so we could head down to Ad Hoc. We were celebrating both Seb and my wife’s birthdays, so their desserts got an little extra flourish. Here’s Seb’s:

Gateau Saint Nizier Au Manjari
Mango Chili Relish, Valrhona Cocoa Nibs, Lime Foam, and Coconut Milk Sorbet

And here’s my wy wife’s birthday opera cake:

Opera Cake
Praline Namelaka, Milk Granité and Coffee Ice Cream

The mignardises included a pecan pie with creme chantilly, a selection of chocolate truffles, and some amazing toasted macadamia nuts that were rolled in chocolate and caramel and dusted with confectioner’s sugar.

Mignardises

As we left the restaurant we were presented with menus signed by Keller, some French Laundry shortbread cookies, and the birthday kids got a package of French Laundry chocolate bars—think Nestle Crunch but 1000x better.

Parting gifts…

While our first trip to The French Laundry was an amazing experience, I think I got caught up in the mystique of the restaurant and was really nervous and uptight the whole time. This time I went in with a really laid-back attitude, and it made the experience a lot more enjoyable and relaxing.

Here’s the complete set of French Laundry pictures:

The Ad Hoc Chaser

We left The French Laundry happy and sated, but we weren’t that full so we headed down to Ad Hoc. After being welcomed by Ad Hoc General Manager Nick Dedier and the rest of the Ad Hoc crew, we took our places at the bar and ordered two a la carte orders of grilled short ribs (one for each couple) and four ice cream sandwiches, you know, just to finish off the day with something sweet.

Ad Hoc’s Grilled Short Ribs
TFL garden tokyo turnips, French round carrots, red radishes, baby leeks, Colorado rose potatoes

As we were waiting for our food, Keller showed up to drop off a bottle of wine for another party that was dining there. Keller saw us sitting at the bar and said, “Oh, you’re here!” and bid us good eating. Ad Hoc Chef de Cuisine Dave Cruz came out a little later and said, “Not bad. Twice in one day.” (Simone is now convinced that Keller stalked us!)

As I was finishing some of the best short ribs I’ve ever eaten, Nick came over and said something to the effect of “I’m so proud right now.”

Ice Cream Sandwiches
Chocolate Chip Cookies and Vanilla Ice Cream

Seven hours later, we finally left Yountville a little “food drunk” but blissful and elated at how an unassuming December day unfolded into truly memorable one.

Happy New Year and all the best for 2010!

Possibly Related Posts:

• Ad Hoc Block Party on Oct. 9 to Benefit Clinic Olé
• Know Your Ribeye, a.k.a. New Year’s Eve at Ad Hoc
• Cook the Book: Ad Hoc at Home – Blowtorch Prime Rib
• A Morning with Thomas Keller: Ad Hoc at Home Book Signing
• Cook the Book: Ad Hoc at Home – Asparagus and Steak

I’ve never been genuinely excited about a new cookbook release, but Ad Hoc at Home marks the first time I’ve had a real personal connection to the recipes in a single cookbook. Inuyaki readers know that I’m a fan and regular diner at Thomas Keller’s casual dining restaurant, and the Ad Hoc Menu Archive is one of the most popular features of this site. My wife and I have been to Ad Hoc 30 times in the last 2½ years (it’s our favorite restaurant) and have always come away wishing we knew how to make some of our favorite dishes, desserts, and condiments at home. I’m very happy to report that Ad Hoc at Home delivers the goods.

The cookbook’s arrival coincided with my birthday, and to celebrate, I invited some friends over for dinner last weekend so that my wife and I could cook for them. From the book, we chose the grilled asparagus and marinated skirt steak and supplemented the meal with polenta topped with a mushroom ragout and SavorySweetLife’s chocolate chip cookies for dessert.

The grilled asparagus, which includes prosciutto, fried bread, poached egg, and aged balsamic vinegar, is pretty easy to put together. After removing the woody bottoms and peeling the asparagus stalks, simply season a couple bunches of asparagus with kosher salt, freshly ground pepper and canola oil and then grill them for a couple minutes per side until tender.

Gratuitous Asparagus Porn

I had some issues poaching the eggs. I know this sounds silly, but they weren’t coming out as pretty as we wanted, so those eggs became snacks. Inspired by our meal at Commis in Oakland a couple nights before, I decided to have some fun and make 63-degree eggs. How is a 63-degree egg different than a regular poached egg or over-easy egg? The answer: texture.

A 63-degree Egg

At 63-degrees Celsius, egg whites are just barely set and the yolks have a pudding-like consistency. To achieve this goal, eggs are cooked in a 63C waterbath for about an hour. The precision is important because at 65C, according Harold McGee, the egg whites become “tender solid” as opposed just barely set at 63C. It’s possible to maintain a consistent temperature using a pot on the stovetop, but I have an immersion circulator, which makes things a lot easier. :)

The immersion circulator in action.

The eggs went on the plate last, so my friends got to see these beautiful eggs emerge from a freshly cracked shell. My wife gets credit for the plating of this dish, which is loosely based on the picture in the book.

The fried bread croutons are awesome, too.

The marinated skirt steak isn’t a difficult preparation either. I substituted the skirt for flap steak, which is similar to skirt steak and a cut of meat I’ve used before in my Bistek Tagalog. It’s marinated for at least four hours in a mixture of olive oil, thyme, rosemary, bay leaves, peppercorns, and garlic. The meat is seared in a thin layer of oil for about 90 seconds total, adding thyme and butter to the pan and basting the meat after flipping it halfway through. After searing, the meat is placed in a 350 oven on a roasting rack and cooked for 8-10 minutes until the internal temp of the meat is 125F. Rest the meat and slice it vertically against the grain before serving.

That meat looks perfect doesn’t it? There was just one problem. I forgot to season the meat with salt and pepper before I seared it, so it was underseasoned. There was still flavor from the marinade, but the meat was definitely lacking flavor. I was crestfallen. My wife saved the dish by making an impromptu beef/mushroom gravy, but I was so disappointed with myself.

We paired this with some Fra’Mani polenta (sold exclusively at Costco) topped with a trumpet and baby shiitake mushroom ragout. I know polenta is pretty easy to make, but as fans of Paul Bertolli’s Fra’Mani sausages, we had to give his polenta a try and it’s really good. My wife added some strong English cheddar to the polenta for some extra flavor and topped it with the mushrooms.

Aside from the underseasoned steak, which was totally my fault, this meal was a huge success and a testament to Ad Hoc at Home’s accessibility for home cooks. It’s a tribute to Keller and his love for good, homey food, as well as chef de cuisine Dave Cruz, whose influence is present in every meal in the Ad Hoc kitchen. According to Ad Hoc general manager Nick Dedier, Ad Hoc at Home is projected to surpass the 10-year-old French Laundry cookbook’s total sales in just three years. With food like this, it should surprise no one when it actually happens.

Possibly Related Posts:

• Pulled Pork Adobo Sandwich at Cafe Gabriela – Oakland, CA
• Ad Hoc Block Party on Oct. 9 to Benefit Clinic Olé
• Eating Downtown Oakland – Cam Huong and Battambang
• Know Your Ribeye, a.k.a. New Year’s Eve at Ad Hoc
• The French Laundry (with an Ad Hoc chaser)

Yeah, yeah…another Ad Hoc post. I know. I’ve been meaning to write about some of the cooking I’ve been doing, including baking my first brioche or my thoughts on liking traditional waffles more than Belgian waffles, but when Ad Hoc’s daily menu email update arrived in my inbox yesterday morning, the words “Maine Lobster Rolls” jumped out at me.

This was the full portion for two people.

Ad Hoc recently started doing barbecue nights on non-fried chicken Mondays, but for Memorial Day, they decided to offer the Maine Lobster Rolls to give dinner more of a picnic vibe. Now, I’ve never had an authentic New England lobster roll, but I think I may have spoiled myself by having this one, which features lobster from the same purveyor that supplies The French Laundry, a custom sweet roll from Bouchon Bakery, shaved celery, red onions and garlic aioli.

The sweet, housemade pickles were excellent, too.

The meal started off with fried French Laundry chickpeas that were like fried, salty edamame—an amuse bouche of sorts, but they don’t use words like that at Ad Hoc. :)

The leek salad featured more French Laundry vegetables and some crispy Jamon Iberico, what Bac-O’s aspires to be when it grows up.

The cheese course featured Rogue Creamery’s aged and creamy Caveman Blue, raspberry-vanilla jam and beer flatbread.

The toasted lemon pound cake with chantilly cream and macerated blueberries ended the meal on a surprisingly light note.

I was content to spend Memorial Day chillin’ at home and watching Game 4 of the Lakers/Nuggets Western Conference Finals battle, but since the Lakers ended up playing poorly and losing, I’m glad I spent my time up in Yountville enjoying the sublime comforts of a great meal instead of stressing out at home yelling at the TV.

Possibly Related Posts:

• Pulled Pork Adobo Sandwich at Cafe Gabriela – Oakland, CA
• Ad Hoc Block Party on Oct. 9 to Benefit Clinic Olé
• Eating Downtown Oakland – Cam Huong and Battambang
• Know Your Ribeye, a.k.a. New Year’s Eve at Ad Hoc
• The French Laundry (with an Ad Hoc chaser)

Ad Hoc’s fried chicken nights have made every other Monday night in Yountville a lot of fun, but last night’s “Swine and Wine” was so good that Ad Hoc might be the place to be on the last Wednesday of every month. The four-course, prix-fixe dinner featured whole pigs that were roasted Cuban style in La Caja China or Chinese box.

Step 1: Put the pig in a box…

The meal was an opportunity for Ad Hoc to showcase some of their purveyors and they were on hand throughout the evening to talk about their products.

Wines were provided by Dave Miner of the Miner Family Vineyard. I’m not a wine expert or aficionado, but I do like them easy to drink, and the Miner wines fit the bill perfectly. Before the first course, we were served a really nice white wine sangria, and the dinner wines were their Viogner (white) and Enigma (red). I also got a taste of their Oracle, a Cabernet Sauvignon blend, and I liked that one too.

Tucker Taylor, The French Laundry’s Culinary Gardener, started growing all of the vegetables for this dinner six weeks ago, and his salad, which featured a selection of baby lettuces, hosui asian pears, toasted pine nuts, shaved radishes, Fra’Mani soppressata and sherry vinaigrette, was the epitome of freshness.

The French Laundry Garden Mixed Baby Lettuces

Pigs from Ross Shoop of Alexandre Farms where the focal point of the main course. The platter of roasted pork featured pieces of meat from various parts of the pig and was topped with a nice piece of crispy pig skin. The pig was really good, and it was served with a diverse selection of condiments, but honestly, it wasn’t my favorite part of the meal.

Crispy pig skin might be one of the best things ever.

Pork condiments included (clockwise from bottom left) romesco sauce, garlic and blood orange vinaigrette, fennel mustard, and purple carrot mustard.

Bohemian Creamery provided the cheese course and overall I really liked their offerings, especially the really funky smelling one. :-) The smoked Marcona almonds were killer as were the four different garnishes: marshall farm’s honey, kumquat marmalade, fig jam, and cippolini onion chutney.

Bohemian Creamery Cheese Course

I think I’ve said before that while I like Ad Hoc’s cheese courses, I’m generally looking past them towards dessert, and this evening’s dessert was something special. Claire Clark, the former French Laundry pastry chef who’s been working at Ad Hoc for the last few months before returning to the UK, offered up an exquisite chocolate pave with popcorn sherbet and caramel corn that looked like it came straight off The French Laundry tasting menu. This was definitely the best dessert I’ve ever had at Ad Hoc and I’m glad Claire’s influence on Ad Hoc’s desserts will be lasting.

Chocolate Pave with Popcorn Sherbet and Caramel Corn

I wasn’t able to confirm, but it looks like these “Last Wednesday” dinners might be an ongoing event at Ad Hoc. This would be a nice addition to their schedule and give diners another marquee night of dining to look forward to every month.

Possibly Related Posts:

• Pulled Pork Adobo Sandwich at Cafe Gabriela – Oakland, CA
• Ad Hoc Block Party on Oct. 9 to Benefit Clinic Olé
• Eating Downtown Oakland – Cam Huong and Battambang
• Know Your Ribeye, a.k.a. New Year’s Eve at Ad Hoc
• The French Laundry (with an Ad Hoc chaser)

I recently heard that pastry chef Claire Clark left The French Laundry to go back to her native UK after more than three years at Thomas Keller’s crown jewel. But before she goes, Clark is spending her last few weeks dropping knowledge at Ad Hoc, Keller’s “casual dining” restaurant.

Apparently, she started at Ad Hoc a couple weeks ago and will likely only be around for a couple more, so you if you’re a Claire Clark or Ad Hoc fan, you might want to head up there soon. But even if you miss her, Clark’s influence should have a lasting impression on Ad Hoc’s dessert courses going forward.

Possibly Related Posts:

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• Puto Bumbong
• Ad Hoc Block Party on Oct. 9 to Benefit Clinic Olé
• Ted’s Bakery – Sunset Beach, HI
• Know Your Ribeye, a.k.a. New Year’s Eve at Ad Hoc

I’m in charge of Christmas dinner again, and I’m still a little torn on what I should make. The adventurous part of me wants to take a rib roast and separate the cap meat (i.e. calotte, deckle) from the actual ribeye…kinda like this:

From left: ribs, eye, cap.
Picture from Ideasinfood.com

Then I can cook the cap meat sous vide to a nice medium rare in attempt to partially recreate this dish:

The French Laundry’s Calotte de Beouf Grillée (12.08.08)

For the center cut, I would oven roast it to medium rare and end up with a sort of deconstructed prime rib cooked two ways.

The other part of me wants to go old school and roast a nice beef tenderloin or standing rib roast. I’ve been successful with rib roasts before but have never tried a tenderloin. But as old school as a tenderloin roast might sound, I’d probably endup cooking that sous vide anyway.

Aside from the main courses, Yorkshire puddings are definitely on the agenda, and I think my wife is going to make her garlic bacon mashed potatoes. I am extremely tempted to make this Macaroni and Gravy recipe by fellow food blogger Lainie as a second entree, and I know my cousin Cristy, who hosted Thanksgiving, has something up her sleeve.

If you’re looking for some Christmas recipes, you might want to give these a try:

• Prime Rib with Jus — my own hybrid of Lawry’s and Cook’s Illustrated’s recipes
• Yorkshire Pudding — from Cook’s Illustrated…a lot of fun to make
• Thomas Keller Oreos — made these for Christmas presents last year
• Sweet Potato Pie — an easy recipe that I’ve been using for years

I’m not sure if I’ll be posting again before Christmas, but if I don’t, I hope everyone has a happy and safe holiday season!

Possibly Related Posts:

• A Pie for Mikey…and Moses
• Six Hours in Boston
• Thanksgiving Turkey with Kikkoman & the Sous Vide Supreme
• Ad Hoc Block Party on Oct. 9 to Benefit Clinic Olé
• Know Your Ribeye, a.k.a. New Year’s Eve at Ad Hoc

It’s pretty obvious from the content of this site that I’m a big fan of Thomas Keller, and up until this week, we had enjoyed every level of the Keller empire (Ad Hoc, Bouchon, Bouchon Bakery and cookbooks) except for his crown jewel—The French Laundry.

Despite all the cooking and eating that I chronicle on this blog, I hardly see myself as an authority on food. If anything, I have a lot to learn about food, especially on the higher end of the spectrum, so each dining experience is an opportunity to glean some knowledge about what I’m eating and how it was prepared. This made my approach to this meal simple—trust the chef and enjoy the experience.

There’s a sign in The French Laundry kitchen that reads:

fi-nesse (fə-ˈnes) noun: Refinement and delicacy of performance, execution or artisanship.

This describes the entire French Laundry experience perfectly, and it’s reflected in everything at occurs once you walk in the door. The restaurant itself was warm and inviting, especially since it was around 40F when we arrived in Yountville, and maitre d’ Larry Nadeau made us feel right at home. The staff was friendly and professional without being snooty, and our server, Guillaume, guided us through every stage of the meal.

You gotta love the clothespin.

Larry came by our table after we were seated and offered us some champagne. My wife doesn’t drink and I wasn’t planning on drinking either, so we politely refused. He came back a few minutes later and said he wanted us “to start our meal with something bubbly” and presented us with a bottle Sonoma Sparkler Organic Apple Cider. We’re big fans of Sonoma Sparkler, so Larry poured us a pair of flutes, and my wife and I toasted her upcoming birthday, Christmas, and probably our next anniversary. :)

The French Laundry’s tasting menus epitomize the perfect marriage of food, art, and technology. Some might find the technological aspects of food preparation to be sterile or cold, but modern advances in cooking that enhance or improve the end product fascinate me. My wife and I decided beforehand that we would order from separate tasting menus. I had the Chef’s Tasting Menu and she had the Tasting of Vegetables, so the pictures and descriptions that follow will crossover between the two.

(It should be noted that though Keller was in town and on the premises, Chef de Cuisine Corey Lee is in charge of the kitchen’s day-to-day activities. It says a lot about Lee’s skills when an obsessive perfectionist like Thomas Keller is willing to give him control of his flagship restaurant.)

Amuse-Bouche

Every meal starts with the same two amuse-bouches. First were the mini Gruyére Gougéres (cheese puffs) that are light as air and disappear once you pop them in your mouth.

Gruyére Gougéres
Light as air.

The cornets that arrived next are one of French Laundry signatures and are his play on an ice cream cone. I received the classic salmon tartare cornet and my wife’s was vegetable-based, but we can’t remember what was in it. We both loved our respective cornets, and were also equally impressed with the delicate tuile cone.

Cornets
Keller loves the whimsy.

Before our starter courses arrived, Guillaume asked us if we wanted to something to drink aside from water. My wife had been nursing a cough and requested green tea as I mulled over my non-alcoholic options. I decided not to inquire about a non-alcoholic pairing because I really didn’t want to drink that much soda. I settled on a GuS Dry Crimson Grape soda that wasn’t overly sweet like the artificially flavored grape indulgences I normally crave (i.e. Crush, Jolly Rancher, Dimetapp), and it complemented the food nicely.

Starter Courses

The first course on the Chef’s Tasting Menu is the iconic “Oysters and Pearls.” This is another whimsical Thomas Keller classic that featured a Sabayon of Pearl Tapioca with Island Creek Oysters and White Sturgeon Caviar. This was my first time eating caviar and I can’t think of a better way to be introduced to it. On its own, the caviar was nice and had a subtle briny flavor to it. But when eaten with the oysters and the sabayon, you understand why this has been on the menu for years.

“Oysters and Pearls”
“Sabayon” of Pearl Tapioca with Island Creek Oysters and White Sturgeon Caviar

The Vegetable tasting menu started with Compressed Fuji Apples. If you’re wondering how apples are compressed, they are simply placed in a plastic bag and sealed in a chamber vacuum to a specific pressure in order to compress and change the texture of the fruit.

Compressed Fuji Apples
Cauliflower, Red Radish and Mint “Aigre-Doux.”

Instead of the salad, I opted for the Moulard Duck “Foie Gras en Terrine” supplement. I’m not a big foie gras fanatic, but I’ve never had it in this form, so I had to give it a try. The terrine was smooth and rich and was the consistency of butter…duck liver butter. It was served with a thick slice of perfect brioche toast that’s replaced as your eating to ensure that you always have a warm piece of bread. In fact, my initial serving of toast was replaced before I had a chance to try it because I was too busy taking this picture:

Moulard Duck “Foie Gras En Terrine”
Yukon Gold Potato Confit, Vidalia Onion Relish,
Black Winter Truffle, and French Prune Purée

The terrine was unsalted, so it was served with three different salts. The most meaningful one to me was an Ilocano salt from the Philippines. You read that right…The Philippines is officially represented at The French Laundry! The other two salts were a grey French sea salt from Brittany and a pink Jurassic salt from Montana that’s estimated to be around 40 million years old. I thought the terrine was great on its own, but it was interesting to try it with different seasonings, as well as sample the salts on their own. Of the three, I preferred the Ilocano salt because it was a lot milder than the other two; the Jurassic salt was incredibly strong.

Salt Three Ways
Clockwise from top left, Philippine, French, and Jurassic.

My wife’s second course was a lovely K&J Orchard Chestnut Soup that was smooth and delicious. A perfect winter soup.

K&J Orchard Chestnut Soup
Persimmon Relish and Black Truffle Coulis.

I closed out the first third of my meal by choosing the Sautéed Fillet of Japanese Suzuki over the Tartare of Pacific Kanpachi. I loved the crispy skin and the gastrique complemented the fish nicely.

Sautéed Fillet of Japanese Suzuki
Parsnip, Asian Pear, Sicilian Pistachio, Arugula and Piment d’Espelette Gastrique

My wife’s third course was Roasted Belgian Endive. Those little yellow balls on the plate are bananas.

Roasted Belgian Endive
Cashews, Gros Michel Bananas, Cilantro and Black Tea-Curry Gastrique

As we moved into the middle courses of our meal, I had finished my grape soda, and Guillaume asked me if I wanted another. After a brief discussion, we agreed that a Capt’n Eli’s Root Beer would pair nicely with the heavier dishes that were forthcoming.

Middle Courses

My first middle course was the Caesar Salad. This might sound pedestrian for The French Laundry, but not when you discover that the centerpiece of this Caesar salad was a butter-poached Maine lobster tail served with caramelized heart of romaine lettuce, sweet garlic melba, and freshly shaved bottarga di muggine for the salty kick anchovies normally provide. After the terrine, this was probably the richest dish of the night.

“Caesar Salad”
Maine Lobster Tail “Pochée au Beurre Doux” with Caramelized Heart of Romaine Lettuce,
Sweet Garlic “Melba” and “Bottarga di Muggine”

The next vegetable course was Grilled Matsutake Mushrooms. I’m not really into matsutakes, but my wife liked this dish a lot, especially the satsuma mandarins.

Grilled Matsutake Mushrooms
Satsuma Mandarins, Pickled Pearl Onions, Turnips, Mizuna and Pine Nut Purée

Next, I chose the Confit de Coer de Veau (veal heart) over the “Augillette” of Liberty Farm Pekin Duck because…well, when was I ever going to eat veal heart ever again? The heart was shaved into thin slices and reminded me of a really good pastrami that would go great in a sandwich with sauerkraut and mustard. I would definitely order this again.

Confit de Coer de Veau
Flowering Quince, K & J Orchard Chestnuts, Brussels Sprouts and Honey-Clove Sauce

My wife’s Chickpea Croquette was really good but seriously, this might be the most expensive falafel on the planet.

Chickpea “Croquette”
Sweet Peppers, English Cucumbers, Sesame Seed Yogurt and Eggplant Confit

The Snake River Farms “Calotte de Boeuf Grilée” was the ribeye cap cooked sous vide to a perfect medium rare and then barely grilled to produce an extremely succulent piece of meat. It was so good that I almost dropped my fork when I put this in my mouth. This was my favorite dish of the night, and now I’m thinking of the making a version of it for Christmas dinner.

Snake River Farms “Calotte de Boeuf Grilée”
Bluefoot Mushrooms, French Laundry Garden Tokyo Turnips, Pea Tendrils and “Sauce Japonaise”

My wife’s butternut squash tortellini nearly matched the richness of the beef. The butternut squash confit was extremely smooth and the whole tortellini melted in my mouth on contact.

Butternut Squash “Tortellini”
Pomegranate Kernels, Butternut Squash Confit and Brown Butter Emulsion

Cheese Course

I never really paid attention to cheese until I started eating at Ad Hoc, where the third course of every dinner there is a cheese course. I’ve been able to try a wide variety of cheeses since then.

I had a cow’s milk cheese from Adante Dairy called “Cadence” that was served with Swiss Chard, Medjool Date and Hobbs� Bacon. I like the combination of all the elements on the plate but was most fascinated by how they made the bacon so flat, thin and crispy. Guillaume told us the bacon was baked between sheets of paper and with a weight on top to keep the bacon flat.

Adante Dairy “Cadence”
Swiss Chard, Medjool Date and Hobbs Bacon.

My wife’s cheese course was a Tomme Brulée, a sheep’s milk cheese made in France.

“Tomme Brulée”
Globe Artichoke, Cipollini Onion, Frisée Lettuce and San Marzano Tomato Compote

By the time we hit dessert, we were both really full, but I was feeling it more because my dishes were much heavier than my wife’s. I think my tie came off at this point.

Dessert Course

My first dessert was the Napa Valley Feijoa Sorbet with Caramelized Banana Cake and Toasted Pili Nuts (Pili nuts are also from the Philippines! Hat tip: Theda and my mom). Feijoa is a pineapple guava fruit and the sorbet went nicely with the banana cake.

Napa Valley Feijoa Sorbet Caramelized Banana Cake and Toasted Pili Nuts.

I’m not a big fan of pistachios, but my wife loved her Pistachio Ice Cream.

Pistachio Ice Cream
Whipped Mascarpone and Pistachio Biscotti.

My second dessert was the Jivara-Caramel Roulade, a delicate chocolate-caramel mousse that’s rolled in chocolate shavings. It’s so soft and light, and I have no idea how they get this to keep its tubular shape. It was served with a creamy pumpkin sherbet, pumpkin “croutons” and chocolate shavings.

Jivara-Caramel “Roulade”
Musquée de Provence Sherbet, Pumpkin Crouton and Chocolate “Dentelle”

My wife had Sweet Rice Beignets, which were dense and chewy, but the pear-wasabi sorbet sounded intimidating. When you put in your mouth, you could feel the wasabi’s intense heat rising dangerously to the forefront, but it quickly subsided and finished smooth with a mild heat.

Sweet Rice Beignets
Asian Pear-Wasabi Sorbet, Caramelized Ginger, Medjool Dates and Pear “Sabayon”

Coffee and Doughnuts are another French Laundry signature, but they aren’t on the menu. I saw them being delivered to the other tables in the dining room and asked Guillaume about their availability just before the cheese course. He came back a couple minutes later and said that the doughnuts were proofing and that he would bring them out after our dessert courses.

I love how this dish is plated, and it’s a perfect and playful dessert. A warm brioche doughnut hole is placed in the hole of the doughnut below it to create a sort of doughnut nipple. The coffee is actually a cappuccino mousse topped with foam and served in a demitasse.

“Coffee and Doughnuts”
Warm Brioche Doughnuts Rolled in Cinnamon and Sugar with a Cappuccino Semifreddo

“Mignardises”

Dessert put us both over the top and we were hurting (in a good way). When Guillaume, arrived with an assortment of candies, we just looked at them and pondered our next move. We ended up having a couple pieces and had the rest packed up to take home.

Assorted Candies

The Damage

The hand-written bill arrives on a laundry tag, another novel way to follow through on the theme. Since we didn’t drink any wine, the damage was kept to a minimum. :) Service is included, but we added a little extra on top.

Before we left into the night, Guillaume presented us with a copy of our menus along with some shortbread cookies to take home. The cookies were great for breakfast the next morning.

TFL Shortbread Cookies

I really wanted to ask about a kitchen tour, but my wife was really tired and still had work to finish, and she wanted to go home. I’ve been making her feel guilty about this ever since. I guess we’ll have to come back in the spring or summer. :-)

When we first arrived, I had my copy of Keller’s new sous-vide cookbook “Under Pressure” in tow and asked Larry if it was possible to get him to sign it. Larry wasn’t sure if Keller would be around, but he would do his best. As we were leaving, he said that Thomas wasn’t around but there were some already-signed copies on hand and swapped books with me.

“It’s all about time and temperature”—Thomas Keller

Final Thoughts

Dinner at The French Laundry isn’t an ordinary meal and shouldn’t be viewed in that context. It’s a culinary event that’s magnified in significance because it’s considered one of the world’s best restaurants and is owned by Thomas Keller, one of the world’s great chefs. When you factor in the degree of difficulty required to get a reservation and the price per person, expectations are set extraordinarily high, and many people would consider anything less than perfection to be a major failure.

For me, dining at The French Laundry is an incredible privilege, a luxury I never thought I’d be able to enjoy or afford. I hesitate to use superlatives like “best meal ever” because every meal needs to be put in its proper context. I can say with complete confidence that dinner at The French Laundry is the most decadent culinary experience I’ve ever had.

Once in a lifetime? Not if I can help it.

INFORMATION
The French Laundry
6640 Washington St
Yountville, CA 94599 map
707.944.2380

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We’ve wanted to go to Thomas Keller’s The French Laundry for a while now, and my wife and I agreed that we would actively try to get a reservation for this winter or spring. What I didn’t expect was that I would get lucky while looking on OpenTable.com the other day when I snagged a reservation for Monday night.

We’re going on Monday!

The French Laundry is one of the toughest reservations in the world and most people that call them directly end up on a waiting list. They do have two tables available (one at each sitting per evening) allocated to OpenTable.com, which gives you another option for getting a reservation, but I think luck is a big factor in booking success.

Due to the price per person ($240 including service), Monday night’s meal is going to be our Christmas, my wife’s birthday, which is the week before Christmas, and maybe our next anniversary all rolled into one. Luckily we’re not drinkers or else the wine pairings could easily push this meal close to the $1000 mark. I did read that The French Laundry does non-alcoholic beverage pairings, so we’re definitely going to look into that.

While the overall cost is daunting, we also know that this is likely a once-in-a-lifetime experience, so we’re going to roll with it.

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I saw on a recent eGullet Forum thread that Thomas Keller once prepared a SPAM tasting menu at The French Laundry for one of his friends. This momentous event in SPAM-dom was chronicled in the May/June 2001 Saveur magazine by winemaker Jayson Pahlmeyer of Pahlmeyer Wines, who was the (lucky?) recipient of the SPAM tasting menu.

As an ardent fan of both SPAM and Keller, and because I featured newly converted SPAM fan Anthony Bourdain on this site a couple days ago, I went looking for the article but couldn’t find it on Saveur’s Web site. I ended finding a copy of the magazine on eBay for $5, so I bought one and transcribed it so you can read this funny story.

I love that Keller embraced SPAM as a viable ingredient and committed himself to the “joke” by creating an entire tasting menu based on a meat product that is both loved by so many (like me) and reviled by others (most of my non-Asian friends). It shows both his keen sense of humor and versatility as a chef, and I became enamored by SPAM’s potential for greatness in Keller’s hands.

For the record, I still haven’t had the chance to eat at The French Laundry (reservations are probably the toughest in the world), but I am anxiously awaiting the opportunity to experience it first hand. In the interim, visits to Bouchon, Bouchon Bakery and Ad Hoc keep me happy…for now. ;)

(Thomas Keller picture from the Ad Hoc Web site.)

Thinking Pink: Can a Master Chef Make Four-Star Spam?
Jayson Pahlmeyer
Saveur Magazine, May/June 2001

Most people would probably say I’m a man of decent taste. After all, I own Pahlmeyer Wines, a top-rated boutique winery in the Napa Valley and I relish eating in fine restaurants. But ever since my student days in Hawaii, where more Spam is eaten than anywhere in the world, I have loved that spongy pink meatstuff. I make no excuses for my habit, and why should I? Nikita Kruschev credited Spam with the survival of the Russian Army in World War II. I own a Spam tie, a Spam hat, and Spam boxer shorts, and until fairly recently I thought I’d never have too much Spam.

Then two years ago, I celebrated an eye-popping Wine Spectator review of my 1996 merlot with dinner at the French Laundry in Yountville, which I consider to be one of the world’s best restaurants. I wore my Spam tie, and Thomas Keller, the chef and my friend, began ribbing me about it. I ribbed him back. “Thomas,” I said, “would you cook Spam for me sometime? I really like it.” Little did I know what lay in store.

I’d forgotten about the exchange when, a few months later, I took my family to the French Laundry as a treat for my kids. To the table came Thomas’s cornets—tiny ice cream cones filled with salmon tartare and créme fraîche. But I didn’t get one. Instead, the waiter presented me with cornets of minced spam. Ah yes, the Spam! I chortled to myself. Fine, Thomas, now we’re even.

But I was wrong. As the family lapped up lobster consommé en gelee, I got consommé with floating bits of crescent-shaped Spam. As they savored cucumber sorbet and dill sauce, I had tomato sorbet with a Spam chip. Now, I love Spam, but Spam has its place, and I wanted French Laundry food—especially since I was paying French Laundry prices. I pleaded with the waiters, but they could not dissuade relentless Thomas. And so my wife and kids grinned at me over a succession of jewel-like dishes while I confronted Spammed -up parodies of them: potato blinis with Spam emulsion, truffle omelette with Spam “rissole” and the final blow…Spam custard “servien son boîte” (served in the can). I stagged out into the night, family snickering behind.

I have not touched Spam since. I’m working up to it, though; every Father’s day, my kids make me breakfast—Spam and eggs and sourdough toast.

UPDATE: I received the unedited version of The SPAM Laundry story from Jayson Pahlmeyer’s friend Andrew Kubersky shortly after I wrote this and published excerpts in a separate post.

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