decadence

Such a decadent day!

We left San Francisco just before noon, and drove north through the intermittent rain. We arrived in Yountville around 1:30, parked, and walked through the rain to a cafe, where Russell had a salad and i had a bowl of soup. Trust us on this; you really don't want to eat much on the day you dine at the French Laundry.

We had a little time before it was allowable to check into our lodgings, so we drove about rural Yountville, and ran into Robert Sinskey's tasting room. I tried a few wines, bought a few bottles, and picked up a Commander Zinskey tshirt. Russell declared that we are now allowed to visit any winery i like, provided it has fish. We checked in, found the Petit Logis not just charming, tastefully decorated, and well-decked-out in the bathroom department, but right next door to Bouchon, and only a few blocks away from our dinner location. We lolled about for a bit, dolled up, and headed to Bouchon for a pre-dinner cocktail. (A sidecar for her, a Maker's Mark manhattan for him.)

And we were off. It started pouring just before we set out, but we were well-prepared with rain jackets and umbrellas. We stopped at precisely 5:45 at the front to risk the camera in the rain so we could show you the front sign. Pretty. Onwards, through the door, where they took our jackets and umbrellas and ushered us towards our table. The room was nicely lit -- not too dark, not too bright, with plenty of natural light streaming in. It felt warm and elegant and comfy - somehow, all at the same time. Only two other tables in our room were seated at the time - we noticed that the reservations were staggered, keeping each table at a different spot moving through the courses.

[Fair Warning: i refuse to torment fellow diners with irritating flashes from a camera. I did want some pictures of food, but i had to catch them in low light with the 'record movie' function on our lovely camera - so the food pictures are mostly for you to have an idea of the plating. If you want to see some professional pics, get a copy of The French Laundry Cookbook - our Coffee and Doughnuts really looked just like those pictures!]

Our waiter was charming, and the service overall during the evening was impeccably smooth. The only place i've been where the service was comparable was at La Folie (thank you, Tom!). (I do hope our primary food runner was either trying to be funny, or knew he was funny. He was so completely a caricature of himself!) We looked over the menus - it was clear that i was going to order the chef's tasting menu, and Russell decided on a set of courses from the 'choose-five' prixe fixe. Kevin (our waiter)came back and discussed wine with me - asked my likes and dislikes, and suggested a few things for the first courses. We agreed he'd come back for the later courses and we'd discuss some glasses to pair then.

I did splurge on the super-fancy champagne to go with my first course - Oysters and Pearls. (A Krug Grande Cru - i forget which year.) The gentleman who i later decided was the manager of the room opened the bottle a foot or so behind me, and i heard NO pop. I tasted the champagne - yum - and then in a single long pour, filled the glass to the top without stopping. So cool. (Side report: unlike most times i've tried champagne, it didn't give me an instant hangover. Either i'm changing, or i just need to drink exceedingly expensive champagne.) Our amuse arrived - Keller's signature salmon tartare on cornets - our creme fraiche was infused with walla walla. Russell nibbled, i went for the full experience, chomping off the head of the cone in one bite.

My Oysters and Pearls arrived - with a HUGE scoop of Osetra caviar on top. The sabayon with tapioca pearls wasn't too weird - it paired nicely with the salt and sea of the caviar, and cradled the perfectly poached oyster sweetly. And what they say about caviar and champagne? True. Absolutely something where the effect is far greater than the sum of the parts. (And when the parts are that good to start with? Careful, laddie.) They brought Russell an amuse as well so he could share in that course - ironically enough, it was a salad of fresh fruits with a chunk of sweet crabmeat in the middle. I found the lump of crabmeat to be quite tasty.

We each paid homage to the venerable foie gras - the cold torchon with brioche, and the sauteed foie with verjus sauce and sauteed grapes. Both were divine - the cold plate lavishly rich and smooth on my tongue, and the hot perfectly crispy on the outside and meltingly rich on the inside. I paired a late-harvest semillon blend from Australia with this course.

We moved on to the fish courses. Cod for me first, with perfectly cooked pole beans and thyme. The thyme-infused oil was brilliant - both in color and as a pure burst of flavor on my tongue. I had a lovely glass of chablis with this. We followed with the macaroni and cheese for me, and a piece of monkfish tail served with artichokes and onions with a deep, buttery sauce for R. The sauce was really interesting - it was very, very light, and yet had a similar mouthfeel to that perfectly silky reduced oxtail sauce we all love. The mac 'n' cheese was glistening - a perfect disc of crispy parmesan balanced over tender lobster meat, sitting atop a bed of orzo swimming in enriched, reduced, creamy lobster broth and mascarpone. The lobster seemed almost crisp and refreshing next to the heavier, more intense lobster of the pasta sauce - each mouthful balanced perfectly. They poured me a glass of a chardonnay from Santa Barbara that was distinctly unlike most California chards - proven by the fact that i quite liked it!

Moving onto meats, i had rabbit rillette with mushrooms, which was well balanced in flavor and in texture. As i'm coming to expect, the sauce was smooth and a pure hit of flavor that complimented the meat nicely. I started on a glass of a Chatenuef du Pape that was just lovely.

They then brought my veal, and Russell's rabbit. His rabbit was a tiny 'rack', the loin, kidney and rabbit pithivier with cherries. Succulent was probably the best word for his dish. The veal, vegetables, and sauce again were lovely - textures pairing perfectly through this dish. Our cheese courses were also lovely; Russell had some pecorino with red and yellow peppers.

When my strawberry sorbet arrived, the burst of clean, cold, sweet, pure fruit was sheer pleasure. After the heavier courses, it was a blast of simplicity that was intense on a completely different axis. The panna cotta and gelee invoked the memory of strawberries and cream in my mouth.

Russell's Coffee and Doughnuts was lovely - the cappuccino semifreddo was so light and creamy, but cold and rich at the same time. I liked it world's more than i like mousses. My chocolate thing was deep and of a pleasing texture. The late-harvest zinfandel was perfect with it.

There seemed to be no end of mignardise - little tarts, tiny meringues, wee twists of chocolates with nuts. (I just looked up mignardise - it literally translates to 'preciousness'. Precious these were!) We had some coffee, signed our check, and walked back.

Total running time? Just under four hours. Was it worth it? Every penny. Every bite i put in my mouth was exquisite, and each dish managed to end with me wanting just one more bite. Keller's signature dishes really shine - the foie gras, the macaroni and cheese, the oysters and pearls, the coffee and doughnuts were my favorites of the evening, if you made me choose. (And yep, they do have a vegetarian tasting menu, too - so you veggies shouldn't avoid it on account of all the meat!) Here i am, sated, on our way out.

Posted by meriko at May 20, 2002 12:00 PM