The French Laundry

6640 Washington St
Yountville, CA 94599

Occasion: Birthday dinner after a relaxing day up in wine country. 03.09.12

**Three Michelin Stars**

This fine culinary establishment has been on my Bucket list for as long as I've known about it.  With their limited availability, hard to get reservations and their pricing, I had not expect to be able to experience fine dining here so soon.  Henry had called a couple months in advance and was persistent with getting a spot for my birthday!

I was super stoked to be able to dine at French Laundry, as we had the chance to dine at Benu (whose owner and chef you can consider as Thomas Keller's protege) a couple weeks prior.  Corey Lee had worked as the Chef de cuisine at French Laundry and his work has been highly recognized.  Since we had such a great experience at Benu, I had pretty high expectations of this place.

Quaint and romantic, just how I like the environment to be.  I love the old fashioned cottage feel of the restaurant.  Brick building, dim lighting and window drapes. I definitely appreciate that type of decor.

Now onto our meal...

Amuse Bouche

Gruyere cheese from Switzerland in puff pastry

Before I could even catch my breath and take in the surrounding, these little balls of goodness came out.  They were served warm and as you bit into them, the flavorful cheesy gooey goodness oozed out from the middle.  We both loved it.  Even Henry, who is not a cheese person, thought it was fabulous.

Reds to go with our meal

Amuse Bouche

Tuna Tartar with cream cheese in a corn cone with sesame seeds

Another great starter to open up our appetite
It was like a lox bagel in a couple of bites.  The cone was wafer like, crumbled with each bite and buttery.  I love the added sesame seeds to the cone as it added some kind of "asian inspired" taste to it.  The texture of the cone reminds me of the eel dish at Benu.

Oysters and Pearls

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

The oysters were plump and juicy and was perfect with the broth it was sitting in.  The caviar added not only flavor but texture to the dish. Pop, pop, pop....as I bit into it.

Royal Ossetra Caviar

Bone marrow custard "Fume a la Minute" Meiwa Kumquat and Tarragon (with an extra supplement cost)

Very beautifully presented.  Doesn't it kind of look like a pot of flowers? It's a little dish, but each bite was super rich.  Rich creamy custard served cold topped with caviar.  I can't really tell the difference between the caviar from this dish and the caviar from the previous dish.  They both had  the same textures.  I still have so much to learn about the different types of caviars.  Between the two first courses, I most definitely enjoyed the oysters and caviar a lot more.  There was also a deep fried fish of some sort in the mix, Not exactly sure what it was, but it definitely added a crunchiness to the dish.

I just loved the presentation of this dish.  Layers of plates.

Complimentary brioche bread from their very own, Bouchon

The bread was so fresh, buttery and fluffy.  One of the best breads I've had at a restaurant.  It was sprinkled with some salt on top, which I could have done without.  It came with two types of butter salted and unsalted.  The Salted butter was from Vermont and the unsalted butter was from Petaluma.  We both preferred the unsalted butter more.  It was creamier and was a better complement to the salty and buttery brioche bread.

Moulard Duck "Foie Gras en Terrine" 

"Pain d'Epices," French Prunes, Red Walnuts, Watercress and Turnip Mostarda (extra supplement)

Super creamy lined with something gelatinous.  It went really well spread on the brioche bread.  Though not the best foie gras I had because I like it seared instead of as a terrine, it was still pretty darn delicious.

Delicious warm brioche bread. The second we were done with our first pieces, they immediately refilled our dish with fresh and warm pieces. Yay! Plus points.

Salad of Hawaiian hearts of palm

Hayden Mango, Hass Avocado, Espelette Chili and Cilantro shoots

A very colorful and refreshing dish. Crunchy, sweet, creamy. A great play in textures and flavor.  After all the rich flavors from the above dish, it was nice to have something less rich in flavor.

"Cuises de Grenouille"

Confit Marble Potatoes, Sugar snap peas, petite lettuces and "Vin Jaune"

The highlight of this dish had to have been the sugar snap peas.  They were so beautifully green and tasted so fresh.  Also grown from their very own garden across the street from the restaurant. Those deep fried frog meat was definitely out shined by the peas.  The softness of the tender frog meat with the crunchiness of the peas were definitely enjoyed by us both. Yum!

Grilled Filet of Gulf Coast Cobia

Marinated conch, sunchoke, broccolini "fleurettes" and braised pine nuts

Buttery soft fish with soft braised pine nuts. YUM! Perfectly grilled.

Georges bank sea scallop "poelee"

Dittalini, "Black trumpet mushrooms, spring onions and sea urchin "Mousseline"

Probably my favorite dish. As you can tell, it's a picture of an almost finished dish. You're probably wondering why.  Well it's because it looked and smelled so good that I had to dig my fork in right away.  The scallop was cooked perfectly, slightly sweet and caramelized. Flavorful, delicious and fresh scallops from Massachusetts.  The added black trumpet mushroom was a plus, as I love all kinds of mushroom.  Sea urchin mousse was creamy, rich and complemented the scallops so perfectly. A lovely dish.

Devils's gulch ranch rabbit sirloin

Medjool dates, cauliflower, marcona almonds, red ribbon sorrel and madras curry

It almost looked like tiny racks of lamb.  Meat was tender and delicious.  It came with two types of rabbit meat which was cooked perfectly.  You couldn't even tell since it wasn't gamey or tasted like anything out of the ordinary.  If you didn't put a name on the dish, I probably wouldn't have know.  I loved the marcona almonds used in this dish; it added flavor and texture. Yum.

Salmon creek farm pork "Jowl"

Corn Bread, Pickled green tomatoes, grilled okra and ham "Gastrique"

Flavorful and decadent. So soft, it melts in your mouth.  Love how the okra helps to balance out the richness of the pork jowl.

Marcho farm nature-fed veal

"Coeur de Veau," hen egg, green asparagus, red radish and "tonato"

Delicious and cooked perfectly. First poached then roasted, leaving the meat super tender.  Not over cooked or under cooked. Simple.

"Tomme de Corse"

Balsamic "Pate de Fruit" Fennel Bulb, Arugula and San Marzano Tomato Compote 

In simple terms: Their dessert cheese platter.  There were a few different types of cheese that were complemented with a jelly, cracker biscuit thing, some greens and this delicious tomato based spread.  I loved the tomato based spread with the cheese, as it almost reminded me of pizza. I enjoyed it, but there was a cheese that Henry didn't enjoy so much. Not sure what it was either.

Cream Yogurt Sherbert

toasted oats, pomegranate, oxalis and osmanthus "nuage"

Acted as if it was a palate cleanser. Tart and refreshing.  Almost reminded me of a breakfast dish complete with yogurt, oats and fruity tartness.

"Marjolaine"

Praline Mousse, "Dacquoise," and roasted banana sorbet

Something on the sweeter side.  Love the different textures on this dish.  Silky soft ice cream with the crunchy dry prailine cookie thing.  All in all, it was unique.

Complimentary housemade truffles 

I still haven't tried them yet, but the flavors sound amazing. Will update once I do.

Ice hot chocolate, doughnut balls and chocolate coated macadamia nuts

Freaking delicious. Perfect way to end the night.  We couldn't finish everything, so they bagged the rest of the nuts for us. The doughnuts were warm and bite sized. Omg, I wish I could have this again. YUM!

My custom made birthday cake

Henry ordered for them to make a birthday cake for me.  It was beautiful, but I was so full from all the other goodies they served that we decided to take it home with us.  It was a salted caramel cake that was absolutely delicious.  There is a cookie on the bottom layer, filled with a caramel mousse like center with nugget chunks and chocolate glaze.  Seriously one of the best desserts I've ever had.  It was so freaking good.