The French Laundry Restaurant

 

Begins as all great meals do whenever i can with a stop for snacks and goodies for the restaurant team because on march 16th 2021 during a trip to sf to visit my friend hubert we drove up to yachtville with his brother david and his friends serena to go to dinner at this place called the french laundry before we get into it this episode does deserve a little bit of backstory because i did used to work here in 2013 and 2014 as a chef to party the kitchen was not renovated like it is now so seeing the expanded space that the kitchen gets to work in gets me absolutely jealous and it's something i'm going to show you folks later on in the video we began our experience in the garden which is just across the street from the restaurant and when we met with the host they sat us in the side courtyard to enjoy a glass of 2009 dom perignon .

 After a few minutes we would be shown to our table which was also outside in the main courtyard for the tasting menu first up to start the all too famous black sesame cornet at this point it's definitely a departure from the salmon and lox everything bagel origins but i think the snack is its own thing now and the fillings change all the time depending on what the chef is feeling i apologize this is the only thing from this experience where my memory fails me what was inside but i'm guessing smoke sturgeon wasn't ours next up a play on a ritz cracker which had an incredibly flaky and deep salty cheese.

With cabot cheddar and then it's rolled at the end in crispy shallot which had just enough sweetness and another facet but it's not enough onion to make your breath stink at the table next came soup which was a golden beet gazpacho it was earthy and vegetal with enough acidity to taste bright this early in the meal but i was craving some more textures in the garnish of this course especially coming off of those first two crispy canapes i should pause and share a bit about wine this is one of those restaurants where the move is absolutely in my opinion to speak with one of the psalms and share with them what you like to drink what your budget is and release your hands from the wheel the cellar here and the way that the inventory is curated it just leads to an incredible food and wine experience and that's how we approach beverages the pairing with the soup was rodrigo mendez's albarino from spain 2019. next up the signature oysters and pearls with island creek oysters and royal eccetric caviar .

i have a nostalgic connection to this dish so being able to enjoy it again was pure bliss the sabayon texture the playful name behind the dish and the origins plus the appreciation that i have for how the oysters get shucked and then trimmed this dish is just all time for me and this is pacific srima ahi sashimi served at the soft tofu puree and ponzu this was nothing mind-boggling but it was a bit of a genre change after that was mediterranean octopus cooked a large plancha and served at the roomy saffron emulsion .

It was an elevated take on the poop and aioli combo here and it did not disappoint hawaii big eye tuna tartare here with puffed grains and golden pineapple chiffon not gonna lie i was skeptical at this dish's description but this was from the new cookbook and getting to enjoy it myself this was so fun to eat the fatty tuna and robed in sweet and tangy pineapple and the crunch from the grains made this a standout canape for me last up for seafood this is pink hopper shrimp tempura fried and served with the malt vinegar condiment and spanish caper mayo not too thick not too thin on the tempura batter the shrimp was sweet and meaty with enough acidity in the condiments to make me wish there was an entire basket of these to enjoy our next wine was a 2018.

 white burgundy from laurent borgo served with another signature move this is a hen egg custard topped to the meaty sauce infused with paraguard truffles this was warm it was delicate aromatic and i've cleaned enough membranes out of these eggshells to again have an immense appreciation for this presentation this is cured pork neck served calabrian style with garden broccoli crispy panisse fennel pollen and sweet pepper pesto this garnish honestly could have been anything but the pork was the star on this one almost having a Finocchio's salami vibe with the fennel and the peppers next up for wine this .

Francesco rinaldi's brunate from piedmont vintage 2012. all right i lied seafood's back this is a big island abalone served as a gratan with stewed onions and crispy shallots on top i personally associate abalone with northern california in the bay area so i always relish in the chance to enjoy it and this was a really rich way to enjoy abalone while still pulling out more sweetness with the onions cleansing the palate a bit this is a cucumber sorbet with sake chile basically canapes are done and we'll transition to the main courses from here first up bread and butter this is a kugelhof style presentation of toasted brioche with buttered parmesan mussoline and a ton of shaved black.

 Winter truffles on top yes this was as over the top to eat as it is to look at zero complaints this deco wine from 2018 is kind of insane because it's made from the former winemaker of screaming eagle next up charcoal grill japanese wagyu with broca avocado mousse pickled onions and romaine lettuce this was glazed in a sweet pepper glaze i actually found this dish to be more about the garnish than the meat but this was a welcome change from the cheese cream and truffles from the previous courses this is william selyem's selection pinot noir russian river valley 2018. a large station presentation came next to flex the incredible meat program that they havea t the french laundry. 

This is wolf ranch white quail served as a jambonet on rye dumplings with french green lentils and preserved cabbage they would go on to shave some smoked liver torsone on top of this next to that a duck cone fee and mushroom croquette with palm puree and last up a pate wrapped in bacon with an apple puree and nasturtium as if we didn't get enough this is a gougere served with andante dairy's etude as a fondue infused with yes more black winter truffles and our last wine the Don reveal grand reserve rocion 1989.

 This was funky oxidized and paired beautifully transitioning into sweet land this is a meyer lemon panna cotta with a soba puree and poppy seed delay next to that salted caramel ice cream with long pepper chantilly in an italian cookie crumble next to that a nicaraguan chocolate tart with chocolate from k m with whipped vanilla mascarpone and red versus puree this is the signature cappuccino semifredo with cinnamon sugar donuts i do want to pause and explain why this is so mind-blowing to experience even though if this seems like it's been overdone over the years because inside of this mug that has the steamed milk on top there's a light and airy but frozen coffee and milk combination but the donuts are warm so you have this temperature shock that you weren't expecting and it's really really fun to eat and of course the selection of meniere d's with macarons matcha raspberry caramels and then. 

All of the bon bons with flavors like mint peanut butter and jelly pistachio s'mores hazelnut and of course they're all labeled underneath in case you forget the shocking part of the check comes now and yes that says zero on it but that's not entirely true because we did book this meal for the four of us and we all each paid 377 dollars and 30 cents which does mean all of the extra canapes supplements and wine that we enjoyed were optional add-ons that you can typically purchase on the day that you dine those were generously gifted to us from the team.

 which i want to say bottom of my heart thank you for it was truly a joy to get to experience eating here after never getting a chance to when i was an employee last up and i'd love to hear your folks thoughts on this meal in the comments while i show you around some of the newly renovated facilities here because compared to what this place looked like back in 2014 these are some phenomenal upgrades and it was so so cool to see how the design has been thoughtfully constructed and updated and how it gives the team the tools and the resources that they need to execute on this high of a level every single night of the week upgrades include a custom cigar room and the wine cellar holds a ridiculous number of bottles now and the kitchen has even more space for the dinner service chef departees the prepare teams the pastry teams and of course .