In a sentence dinner at the French Laundry was worth it.  Worth the hassle of getting reservations (which we didn’t real have to deal with thank you Amex Platinum), worth the trip to San Fransisco, worth the money, worth driving from all the good eat in San Fransisco.  Why?

It was an experience not just a dinner.   We drove out on US 1 [correction route 101 Hubby tells me and he would be the authority on this as he did the driving I just enjoyed the sites along the way] over the Golden Gate bridge, through Sonoma where we browsed some fun shops including  Sign of the Bear Kitchenware.  An independent  William-Sonoma type place with fun kitchenwares and gadgets.  Note:  Yes they will ship your goodies home to you so you don’t have to trek them on your vacation or risk overloading your suitcase and falling over weight limits.

We arrived a little early for our 5:30 seating.  It is the first seating of the night so we explored their  garden across the street which grows a good amount of the produce and herbs used in the restaurant.   We then sat in the lovely flower garden waiting for them to open.   The garden smelled of roses and flowering trees and was just beautiful.

We were greeted with Champagne and congratulations as we were seated. We ordered the tasting menu alternating the choices. What was incredible is that they incorporated flavors from individual things hubby and I are not crazy about into dishes in ways that we liked them (beets, caviar, mushrooms- mostly hubby dislikes but I am not huge on beets).   Every dish was memorable in a different way. The pearls, oyster and caviar was rich with a tiny tang and the texture in your mouth with the salty and savory flavors really came together to make this exotic dish almost homey.

The salad of hamachi was cool, crisp and refreshing while the fatty fish had nice texture and flavor as it melded in your mouth. The lobster with leeks and beets was rich but the texture of the lobster was perfect and the beet used here just added a fresh flavor and cut a bit of the salt flavor to make it very balanced. The beef dish gave you the perfect portion and in each bite I tried to get a bit of everything as it was just very balanced.

The chocolate dessert was decadent and hubby had a very fruity dessert that was a good combination of sweet and tart. We were then overloaded with a whole box of other assorted goodies and then sent home with shortbread cookies that made the plane to Australia very tasty.

I won’t go through every dish there is no use anyway someone else I am sure has, and the menu changes frequently.  The point is that every dish is thought out and tasted until it is executed with complete perfection.  There is rarely if ever a “this could use…” thought in your mind.  Everything is fresh, flavorful and balanced.

I know some people say it is overrated, but for us the balanced flavors and perfection of smell, texture, taste and balance paired with absolutely impeccable service that was in no way over the top really made the experience for us.

We both commented that we had as much fun as we did at Minibar, which in essence is a fun food experience where the French Laundry is a food experience that is so wonderous it is fun. So if you get a chance do go.

We were lucky Amex plat called as soon as they started taking calls at the first day out they would take reservations for our date, so it worked out. I think if you are contemplating going, don’t rule it out because other people say it is underwhelming. But I wouldn’t go to see something you have never seen before. It is still food on a plate. It will taste like the ingredients in it. But I do think the almost science of perfecting flavor if you really can distinguish flavor profiles and quality of ingredients is quite nice, and something impressive.

I will post pictures soon.  As today is my birthday it won’t happen today.  I also apologize in the lapse of posts for a week.  I am working on having enough product to open an Etsy store and have a decent presence, and am also working on my fall accessories collection.  So please stay with me more posts soon.

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