The French Laundry

I have seen the holy grail of American cuisine and how does one put that into words? I have read where a previous reviewer wanted to dock a point from every previous review and could agree to that, I feel as though they should have an entirely different ranking structure. Sure some hole in the wall place deserves a five because for hole in the wall what ever it is, it is good for it's genre. The French Laundry however can be life altering. Not only has every meal I have had since going there been seen in different eyes, I find myself slowing down and being more meticulous in my own cooking.
I arrived in Yountville early and was treated to a lunch at another Thomas Keller creation: Bouchon. I proceeded to have one of the best chickens of my life so I knew I was in for a treat at The French Laundry. Upon entering TFL, everything is perfect. Everyone in the front of the house is a exact blend of professional and affable at the same time. I wanted to bring some rare sushi rice with me as a thank you for the meal I was about to receive and was given an introduction to a polite yet most likely startled chef du cuisine. To speak further of the perfection of the restaurant, the carpeted hallway into the dining room from the kitchen was spotless.
Our Waitress was fantastic. Professional, well spoken, knowledgeable and the right level of wit and approachability that made one feel open to ask questions about an item they were unfamiliar with. There were two menus: Tasting of Vegetables and Chef's Tasting. My sug, knowing I was already worried I was going to cry at the excitement of eating such food suggested we get one of each so we could taste everything. They ask right away if there are any allergies to be aware of and the meal is catered to that specification. And they are good at it, if you are allergic to onions, don't expect someone to go hog wild and garnish your plate with what looks like lawn clippings of chives on everything. It was such an experience I am afraid somehow i will have missed something spectacular that I should write about, but since this medium only allows 5000 characters and my original review would have taken up a whole food section I will only tell you this, Go
Everyone was so gracious. I left floating on a cloud knowing I had experienced something flawless and special. The execution of each detail was perfection. I spoke volumes not only about the amazing genius of Chef Keller but of the drive of each and every one from the back of the kitchen to the front door and right across the street into the gardens. I would gladly go again and also feel blessed for having the chance to experiences it at least once. If you get the opportunity to go, do it. Let go of what you expect from your food and open your taste buds to an ethereal experience. If I have missed something, I hope it does not deter you. Go

You are first welcomed by a gougère. These are little cheese puffs of wonder. The cheese had the perfect flavour balance to it while still being a molten liquid and yet just cool enough not to burn your mouth. I could eat a ghastly quantity of these if left alone with a tray or two.
It is followed by a Salmon Tartare "ice cream cone" or for the Vegetable menu it was a fennel root puree that night. One had a meyer lemon creme that was out of this world.
Oysters and Pearls, Mine was done on a bed of what seemed to be shaved ice lightly breathed on my a cherub made of citrus. The white sturgeon caviar on the bed of ice tasted as it had been freshly plucked from the delta that morning and lightly cured with some sea salt.
The Vegetables had a crème fraîche "Panna Cotta" that was a perfect introduction to the playful creativity of the kitchen. Inside of the most delicate glass litted bowl was a champagne nuage/foam upon closing your teeth down you are startled by the crunch of crystallized ginger. The ginger causing you to hesitate at the shock of the granular object makes you stop and the flavours change in your mouth letting the ginger release more of its taste, taming the champagne. Just as you think you have experienced the dish your tongue bursts a juice vesicles of a pomelo like a sweet caviar bead bursting open. It was at this time that I decided that no matter how many more courses were coming, I was going to try to eat as much as possible.
Roasted Hearts of Big Island Peach Palm. A salad done with cauliflower, dates, cilantro and madras curry. We were struck with the thought of how many things have you tried in your life and thought you detested them but maybe it was only poor preparation? I don't really like cauliflower and yet not a nibble was left on my plate. Now mind you these aren't large portions but your taste buds might actually feel an internal tickle happen. This is the dish where we had one of our food revelations: You know how sometimes you stop eating a dish because you feel you had the 'perfect bite'. No need to go any further, it was the exact right amount of everything. Well, this salad had almost flavour samples of everything to where no two bites would ever be the same with only 2-4 cilantro leaves on the plate but the amazing thing about Chef Keller's ability is to create a dish where each bite is a 'perfect bite' while being completely different.
Her salad was the garden beets. I could have finished it for her. The thin 'chips' of truffles were the most subtle I have tasted
My sug had the pavé d'aubergine cuit sous vide and had the same altering experience with the eggplant that I had with the cauliflower.
Sauteed fillet if Atlantic cod with bacon and cabbage. The taste was clean light and amazingly fresh. Each dish stands on it's own as being amazing. You start to feel almost sorry for all of the dishes having to compete for your favorite.
Our other option was the Jidori Hen Egg Crepe. It showcased their ability for sublime subtlety. The use of Yuzu was like they had gently rubbed the cutting board with a meyer lemon prior to rolling the Akita Komanchi rice. It only could have been improved by the use of Koshihikari rice, but I am biased. :)
Maine lobster tail in all of it's perfection. Absolute perfection. Cooked just enough to be warm and not an ounce of overcooked bounce. Absolutely jucy and delicious. The accompanying parsnip puree only reinforced my current root vegetable kick and the arrowleaf spinach was fantastic. With all of that being so good about this plate, they were not the stars, The Saffron-Vanilla Emulsion was. I am just going to put this right on the list of top 5 things I have put in my mouth of all time. This sauce was rich and light at the same time. I wanted to get a pint of it and freeze it like ice cream. It had the impact of a custard still warm and not yet thickened. It is so good your nostrils flare at it's greatness.
My sug had the herb-roasted Hen-of-the-Woods mushrooms with fennel, pickled peppers, toasted almonds, frisee and sherry minonette. I will not lie, if she would have allowed, I would have eaten every bite of hers as well. This was a very good course.
I went for the rabbit shoulder stuffed with veal. I can't say I see this much on menus and knew here was the place to get it. It was roasted to the point of caramelization. A sweet meat glaze coated it's little arm like a honey glazed drumstick of luxury. The lentils were soft with still some tooth to them. The chestnuts were the best I've had and the wilted mustard greens reminded me how much I like them.
She got the buckwheat papradelle instead of the Onion Gratin so I could have a bite. Very sweet since she doesn't like papradelle one bite into it however she was reconsidering sharing. It was gooood. She is also not a huge fan of sage unlike my gluttonous habit with it but its dry impact was smooth and refined in it's brown butter sauce. And with potato confit, how can they go wrong?
Beef it it's most perfect preparation.
it was cooked so delicately
just to temperature
yet melting
The fat on it was still light as if the meat had been sous vide'd. I still don't know how they had such a rare piece of meat have veining of fat that was is almost a gel state. I lack the vocabulary to adequately describe the flawlessness of the preparation. It was on Bone Marrow Pudding and Bernaise reduction. I am a big fan of bone marrow and the pudding was so creamy and rich my partner was found rolling her remaining piece of meat in it in delight. I didn't tell her until later what it was to confuse her delight.
Cheeses: I had the Manchester and my partner had the Robiola Tre Latti. We quickly found we appreciated each other's better and switched. The Manchester had a cherry Pain Perdu, walnut puree, celery and wildflower honey. I liked the cheese best when with the celery, a paring I had not had. The walnut, my favorite nut, came across as too dusky for me. The Robiola Tre Latti was beautifully creamy and not a bit was left. I could eat an indecent amount of this cheese.
Someone in the kitchen likes ices and it shows. The feijoa sorbet was bright and sweet, the pineapple sorbet with spiced gingerbreads were effervescent on the tongue.
I believe this is when the surprise doughnut course arrived. We are at the most awesome restaurant in America and they have a doughnut course. I was horribly intrigues. It was not on the menu but when I saw tears come to my sugs eyes, I knew I had to try it. It was hot and yeasty. Fresh and rolled in a light Cinnamon sugar. I then had the bakewell tart. It was deep and intense with all of the chewy dried fruits and nuts being shown at their fullest. The Creme Fraiche sherbet was a great tangy offset and the marcona almonds almost burst like caviar with the sweet almond oil being cradled inside. Sug had the opera cake and I have to say their pastry chef knows their way around chocolate
There was more food but my mind starts spinning with glee when I think about it all. The chocolates and cookies that were brought out were amazing. Everyone was so gracious. I left floating on a cloud knowing I had experienced something flawless and special. The execution of each detail was perfection. I spoke volumes not only about the amazing genius of Chef Keller but of the drive of each and every one from the back of the kitchen to the front door and right across the street into the gardens. I would gladly go again and also feel blessed for having the chance to experiences it at least once. If you get the opportunity to go, do it. Let go of what you expect from your food and open your taste buds to an ethereal experience. If I have missed something, I hope it does not deter you. Go!

It's been a long time

It has been such a long time since blogging but not due to a lack of fantastic food. This past year has taken me all over California, Oregon, Washington, Florida, Georgia, South Carolina, New York, New Jersey, Pennsylvania and even Australia. Needless to say there has been some fantastic food along the way. I hope to remember to keep up on it.

Winter food

I must have found the most beautiful cabbage at the farmers market. A crisp winter cabbage is such a blank slate and so humble. I had visions of a crisp slaw and wilted greens with prosciutto or the like. The weather is cool and moist and enjoyable to be outside. It might be time for lentil soup again. :)

Sacramento Beekeeping

What a wonderful place. I love knowing where my food comes from and how it got to my table. This store has all of the supplies to keep your favorite beekeeper going and also a great supply of honey for the non-beekeepers. I usually have 4 or 5 honey types in my kitchen at all times to make sure I have the best compliment for my recipes. They also have coconut oil and candle making supplies. I will be getting most of my stocking suffers there this year. If you love food and haven't been there yet, you are missing out.
http://www.sacramentobeekeeping.com/

Dad's Deux

We tried Dad's again. We cant resist the allure of supporting a local establishment. It has a great feel there and it is warm. I was wanting a burger and Fords sounded cold. I always order burgers medium when I dont know how well the chef knows how to cook. It was a good idea here since my burger just came out rare on one side and just a smidge past rare on the other side. Since I normally prefer medium rare I could do it, but if I was truly a medium eater than all of the pink would have been a turn off. The fries were also the hardest crispest fries I have ever had. As if they were kept warm till they crunched like a bread stick. My dining partner had a Panini. The flavors were all outstanding but the bread was so hard that it was uncomfortable to chew. The service however this time was great. Our server was much better than last time. All of the servers who were on staff that day worked well together. it was a packed house and they seemed to be working as a team bouncing assistance off of each other. I think I am going to sum them up as having great ideas with their heart in a really good place but are currently lacking experience to keep their quality consistent. The head chef has a good menu in place he(or she) needs to just make sure that the chefs on board know how to duplicate the preparations and not just the flavors. I will most likely go back again to see if they grow into their new restaurant.

Tower Cafe

Sacramento institution. Eclectic menu and atmosphere. One of the great places to get beer with breakfast and not feel guilty because half of midtown go there for hangover relief with their wonderful eggie french toast. However why do all of my dinner dishes always come cold? If I only have to send my meal back once to be reheated, it is a good night at tower. Will I keep going there despite the predictable cold food? Yep. It's hart to beat the people watching and knowing what you are getting into for a late night nosh.

How is your cholesterol?

This is a humorous read and a pretty good cookbook for old caloric recipes.