Valley Of Plenty: The French Laundry

Picture this. A perfect, California blue sky. A bright, shining sun. Mountains surrounding a valley like a frame with not a tall building in sight. And yes, grapes, vineyards and wineries as far as the eye can see. There's not much to not like about Napa Valley. It seems to offer the idyllic, carefree life that most of us yearn for but never get around to, and does so in the most spectacular of surroundings. Add to that an unheard concentration of some of the best restaurants anywhere and Napa almost starts to sound like paradise. I feel like every trip up there will make me want to come back for more - a cause certainly helped this time by a long-awaited visit to the French Laundry.

Thomas Keller's flagship restaurant has such an aura about it (and how does it not with three Michelin stars and countless other awards under its belt), that it is almost impossible to land a reservation. This fact, however, is better explained on entering the restaurant and realizing how small it actually is. Situated inside what used to be an actual blanchisserie, the restaurant seats just over 60 in a relatively small space. Unfortunately, the space was probably the most disappointing part of my whole experience here. Don't get me wrong - the French Laundry has all the accoutrements of a fine dining establishment and excellent service is the norm. However, given its location, I get the feeling the restaurant would be so much better served if rather than the dim, formal surroundings, a diner could find oneself in an airier, windowed and brightly lit space that would highlight the fact that they were in Napa. One of my favorites, Blue Hill at Stone Barns, does precisely that and it has always enhanced my dining experiences there.

Speaking of dining. The French Laundry offers two different menus - the Chef's Tasting Menu and a Vegetable (and vegetarian) Tasting. Outside of the fact that both are priced exactly the same, the Vegetable menu is a boon to vegetarians, offering as much variety, creativity and heft as the main menu. With nine courses to come, EA, CO, AM and I settled in for a nice, long meal.

Preceded by a couple of amuses (gougeres and an avocado cone), the first course of a "Croquette" of Italian Eggplant was a beautiful first bite, with the piquillo pepper marmalade that it came with really standing out. No bigger than an amuse bouche, however, it left me wondering if that should even qualify as a course. Thankfully, there are plenty more to come and by the end, I had come around to Mr. Keller's small bites idea - leaving you satisfied at the end of the meal, but always having wanted more of each course. 

The salad course came next, with French Laundy Garden Beets served with some fresh tokyo turnips and an absolutely fantastic dill whip that really accentuated the raw vegetables perfectly. The Young Celery "Subric" that followed was probably my least favorite dish of the night - the green apples and the raisin puree adding way too much sweetness for my liking in a savory dish. The night is always darkest before the dawn though, and it was the next couple of dishes that really established the genius of Mr. Keller for me. 

A Stinging Nettle "Omelette" (with sunchoke chips, demi-sec tomatoes and parsley) was one of the best dishes I have eaten, EVER. The choice of ingredients, combined with flawless execution, create a completely unexpected flavor explosion in your mouth and left me trying to allow the taste to linger for as long as I could. 

The pot of David Little Potatoes "En Cocotte" did the same thing, except with starch. Tasty litte potatoes and other baby vegetables, over a creamy and satisfying potato mash, surrounded by the aroma of Argan-Truffle vinaigrette - what's not to like? Rounding out the savory dishes, the "main" course of Garnet Yam Agnolotti presented the same problem as the Celery. Given it was the fall, sweet potatoes were to be expected, but even though the brown butter emulsion cut through some of the underlying sweetness, it almost felt like I was getting a half-dessert a course too early.

One of the advantages of serving nine courses is that guests don't have to choose between cheese and dessert. It is always hard to get both at the end of a meal, and as much as I like cheese, dessert always wins. The "Pear Cobbler" though was almost the perfect amalgamation of the two - Moses Sleeper cheese, covered with pear and grated pecans, with pickled pearl onions. Creamy, flavorful cheese, balanced beautifully by the sweetness of the fruit and cut into nicely by the acidity in the onions. I couldn't help think of my friend JW and how much she would have loved getting her cheese, and eating her dessert too. (As an aside, JW also writes an excellent blog - check it out at photo-hungry.com). 

Not to be outdone, the "real" desserts of "Peach Yogurt" and a Fig Leaf "Parfait" left me completely enthralled and still wanting more at the end of the meal. The fresh flavor of the peach yogurt was more than matched by the many textures of delicious figs that were laid out on the plate. My request for more seem to have been heeded as well, with the mignardises at the end including a coffee semi-freddo, chocolate truffles and brioche donuts. You never want a meal like that to end, but I'll admit I was glad when the food stopped coming out. I'd have just continued to eat it all.

A number of people put together a bucket list - things they would like to do before they die. Mine is probably skewed towards the restaurants I want to visit - and between El Bulli, The Fat Duck, and now the French Laundry, I am making decent progress. Its hard to compare across, given the stark differences in their cuisines and methods, but the French Laundry definitely has one thing in its favor - in a Valley of Plenty (great restaurants, that is), it is undoubtedly the star attraction.

The French Laundry is on 6640 Washington Street in Yountville, California. Very Expensive. Very Veggie-Friendly. Highly Recommended.

www.frenchlaundry.com