The French Laundry: Three Well Deserved Michelin Stars
Finally crossed it off the bucket list!
My only birthday wish this year was to go to Napa and dine at The French Laundry (it has also been on my vision board). My sister pulled some strings to secure a coveted reservation, and the day finally arrived last week! My sister and her boyfriend live in San Francisco, so it is pretty convenient to get to Napa from the city. We stayed in Sonoma at The Fairmont which is a gorgeous property, pictures simply don’t do it justice! I will save the details of the rest of the wine tasting trip for another post, as our dining experience at The French Laundry deserves its own spotlight.
I will include a small interlude as I had quite the chaotic arrival. I procrastinated ordering my outfits for the trip, and accidentally sent the package to myself instead of my sister. My flight was at 1:30PM and my package was supposed to arrive between 9AM and 1:15PM. I ended up waiting too long for my package to show up and missed the cutoff to check my bag, so I ended up having to switch my flight to a 4PM. Thank goodness for the Delta lounge, and they had a fun dj playing that day. My best friend saved the day by picking up my very late package and overnighting it to our hotel. Big thanks to her that I was able to show up to The French Laundry dressed to the nines!
We Ubered from our hotel to the restaurant which was full of winding roads, but thankfully made it in one piece (my sister’s motion sickness definitely needed some recovery time). We checked in first and they were very accomodating to us spending a little bit of time outside taking pictures by the sign. When we entered the restaurant, they greeted us with a glass of champagne as we waited for our table. The courtyard is simply stunning, and my sister’s boyfriend had stumbled into an outdoor lounge area and upon asking what it was, we were told “it’s anything we want it to be”. There was a great view of the wine cellar as well. After a mini photoshoot, we were greeted and taken to our table.
We definitely won the jackpot with our table view, as it looked out at the rest of the restaurant with myself at the head of the table. The restaurant itself is very intimate, with only a handful of tables downstairs, upstairs, and outside. I squealed at the sight of their famous wooden clothespin on the napkins. Our server for the night started us off with a bottle of 2013 Dom Perignon to celebrate my birthday - what an absolute treat!
The menus had a sweet touch of “Happy Birthday Nicole” printed at the top. My sister’s boyfriend is normally vegan but decided to indulge in the non-vegan menu that night with the exception of cheese and red meat. They were extremely accommodating and quickly switched out a couple courses, which is hard to find in a Michelin restaurant! We ordered a bottle of rosé bubbles to pair with our meal, and got started with an appetizer that looked like a mini ice cream cone. It was delicious!
Our first course arrived, and it was the “Oysters and Pearls”. This one would have to be my favorite! It was bursting with flavor and the caviar will probably continue to be the best I will ever have. Up next was the “Salad of Tender Garden Lettuces and Herbs” which had rich and creamy panna cotta paired with very fresh figs and sorrel. Moving onto some proteins, next was the “Sauteed Fillet of San Francisco Bay Halibut” with garden cucumbers and brentwood corn. These vegatables were the freshest I had ever tastest! The halibut was perfectly cooked inside and the crispy coating was absolute perfection. Following that was a gorgeous “Nova Scotia Lobster” with marinated tomatoes and a tomato broth. As you can see from the photo, the color was stunning and the flavor completely matched it.
There was a little intermission with the “Bread and Butter” which was cocoa laminated brioche with Hilary Haigh’s animal farm butter. Upon inspecting my brioche, I just knew a Virgo had to have done it. I mean look at it, it’s a piece of art! Up next was the “Applewood Smoked Wolfe Ranch White Quail”, which I was most curious about. I had never had quail before, but was pleasantly surprised. It tasted like a cousin of chicken, and was plated with some gorgeous turnips and nasturtium leaves. The mustard sauce was very flavorful and delightful. And for the final protein dish was the “Prime Rib of Elysian Fields Farm Lamb” with eggplant toast, green zebra tomatoes, garden succulents, and curry jus. This was just a true masterpiece, and I especially think that if the eggplant toast made its way to LA it’d be toast! The health fanatics would devour it up in bulk. I included a picture of the substitute dish they served my sister’s boyfriend which had the most delicate plating. The finale was the rich and decadent “Gougere” which is cave aged “comte” and black winter truffle “fondue” which was dusted with gold.
Somewhere between these courses, Thomas Keller emerged and was making his rounds saying hello to guests who seemed to be close friends. He must have felt our stares and gaping mouths because before we knew it, he sauntered over to our table and graced us with his presence. My sister lured him in with a great question about how he gets his inspiration, which comes from the vegatables (hence my inspiration behind the photo for this blog). He said proteins are very predictable, but the vegetables are what he creates the menus around — which they amazingly change every single day! There is actually a farm right across from the restaurant where a lot of vegatables are used.
He ended up kneeling down and chatting with us for a while, which was such a special experience. When my sister’s boyfriend asked if he could have predicted the success of The French Laundry, he said never in a million years especially with the cost of the space. If I could summarize his thoughts in Gen Z terms it would be: “being delulu is always the solulu”. He had such a warm presence, and truly made this experience unforgettable!
All of the courses were prepared and served with careful consideration and thought, and even the smallest of details did not go unnoticed. Each dish had its own unique plateware, and they were timed well so that we did not get too full too soon. I rarely incude photos of myself in my blogs as I would rather focus on the experiences themselves, but had to include a photo of the amazing sparkler they brought out for my birthday!
And for my favorite meal, dessert! This was the most incredible dessert spread I had ever seen in my life. On the menu was the “K&J Ochards Plums” with muscat gelee and citrus meringue, “Basil-Strawberry Swirl Ice Cream” with garden mara des bois, “Gateau Marjolaine” with hazelnut “dacquoise”, chocolate ganache, and praline buttercream, and “mignardises”. There was also “Coffee and Donuts” which is actually semifreddo with cinnamon sugar donut holes. The macarons were so stunning and gave me flashbacks to when I made the most deformed and rock hard macarons in a cooking class - these on the other hand are the platinum standard! The basil-strawberry ice cream was probably my favorite as I just know it was made with the freshest produce. To top it off, they paired the sweets feast with a glass of complimentary moscato!
Just when I thought I could not possibly eat another bite, out came the famous treasure box of chocolate truffles. Up close, the attention to detail was incredible. Though some of the others had more intricate designs, I had to go with a chocolate caramel as I am a true chocolate girl.
As if our night could not have been more magical, our bill came and in it was a note that Thomas Keller himself had covered all of our wine for the night! We sat speechless for a good few minutes as that was such a generous gesture coming from a true legend. Once we had a moment to collect ourselves, it was time for our tour! Our server had been so patient and extremely hospitable in answering our questions and ensuring we would get an inside look at the restaurant. She is one of the most tenured at the restaurant, which was amazing to get the perspective of someone who had been there through the many changes over the past six years.
We first walked through the kitchen, where we were able to see them wrapping up as we were one of the last ones there. My favorite was the “Sense of Urgency” sign under the clock. Next we went outside and walked down their “Hall of Fame”, where they had just unveiled a new star for a chef that very morning. We made our way to the wine celler, which was absolutely breathtaking. I would love to move into it, as it is many sizes bigger than my apartment and holds 17,000 wine bottles! We even got a tour of their closet spaces of plateware and glassware.
We passed by the room holding all of the physical Michelin stars, and there was a mask hung up for the year of 2020 since no ratings were being done that year. It was such an incredible treat to get the inside scoop of all the different areas of the property. It is not just the food that makes The French Laundry an amazing experience, but the hospitality, gerosity, attention to detail, and transparency into all the components that make up this amazing restaurant.
Our luck continued into the night as we were able to get an Uber back to Sonoma at midnight. We had been at the restaurant for well over four hours, but it went by so quick — we did not want the night to end! They graciously gave us parting gifts of signed menus, biscuit tins, and a handful of Keller Manni chocolate bars with one of them saying “Happy Birthday”. I will dream about this night for many years to come. Many, many thanks to Thomas Keller and The French Laundry team for this incredible experience. And of course, to my sister and her boyfriend for playing fairy godmother and granting my birthday wish!
