French Laundry experience, by request
Aser
2,351 Posts
oysters & pearls
moulard duck "foie gras en terrine"
tongue & cheek
"feuillentine au caramel"
santa barbara sea urchin
I walked in w/o any expectations to be honest. I knew it would be tasty, but I did not need it to be the perfect meal to make my cipher complete.Service is definitely over the top, the level of synchronization is face melting. I dined w/ a party of 7, every course was presented by 7 waiters who would place our plates on the table simultaneously. This was orchestrated by eye contact with the manager, who stood behind everybody like Joe Torre. He gave the omnipresent nod....In terms of the actual food, the balance of flavours was key. Each ingredient in harmonious marriage w/ one another, yet distinct enough to stand on its own. Nothing overpowered, restraint was shown. My favourites are the braised pork (incredible texture) and the sea urchin (foam to die for).I can go on but I'll leave it at that. Feel free to ask anymore questions.....Also much thanks to the SF/LA folks that demonstrated such warm hospitality, the trip wouldn't have been the same w/o y'all. Kingmoisty, rosshogg, b. cause, wescosia, aspirin, day, are all so swell.I wanted to meet shig just to see how much he reeked of korean bbq, w00000t.
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Where, may I ask, did the tongue and cheek* come from originally?
"I will feed you strange things"*
hah weeeee
Did you do any wine pairing?
was "tongue in cheek" the braised pork?
I love foie gras, but after learning how the duck's liver is enlarged, I was turned off from it.
How long ago did you make reservations?
Did you pay for this or was it part of work. The only people I know who've gone went during the dot com boom when companies were paying for all sorts of things.
Yo A$$-er. In your memory I had "French Countryside" food over the weekend at "La Note" in Berkley=CRAZY DELICIOUS!
They take rezzies two months to the day before you want to go. Getting said rezzies are notoriously difficult.
GV - yes, the sea urchin was the freshest I've ever tasted. Nothing worst than eating b grade uni, I avoid ordering it unless I have complete faith in a restaurant. The "tongue & cheek" was the braised pork cheeks, so tender, yet managed to retain great texture (not mushy). Now about foie gras, it is quite cruel but I'm going to quote Bourdain on this one........"if it's slower than me, dumber than me, and tastes reasonably good... pass the salt!".
tbs - made reservations 2 months ago, and nope I went on my own dime/accord. Extravagant yes, but well worth it. It was one of those things on my "to do before I die" lists.
moisty - dude, those fries man, I will be thinking about them for a while. I have to step up my fashion game though, I ain't on h$kobo's changing fits on the fly lifestyle as of yet. Let me know what you ate at the Berkeley spot.
ps: just to give you the level of extravagance at work. The brioche accompanying the foie gras was replaced 2 mins after it was served w/ a hot fresh one. Said temperature drop in those 2 mins would've diminished the dish according to Keller. So over the top.......
I basically had gingerbread pancakes with these sauteed pears on top. Along with the this type of bread, kind of like french bread but not really. It also had cinamon swirls innit.
I ate out Monday night with a woman who worked at Gourmet, and she called TK a 'tyrant'. I love the dude, but I'm glad I don't work for him.
Genius is almost always hard to be around...
This meal sounds amazing!
I've been wanting to go for some time.
I was in NY a year or so ago and tried to get into Per Se (calling well in advance) but it didn't work out.
I have been to TK's Bouchon in Vegas though and although much simpler fare, it was absolutely delicious.
That Bourdain quote is hilarious and so typical of what I love about him.
I still revere T. Keller, don't get me wrong.
She also said that Ferran Adria (el bulli) was completely nuts. She had some great chef/magazine dirt.
also, I may have asked you this already, but I forget - have you been to Eigensinn farm?
That world sounds so crazy to live in, I'm sure she had some great stories!!
My wife's aunt does reviews for James Beard and also has a restaraunt show on a local station out of Princeton. She's told us a few interesting adventures. I'd love that job - man she has gotten some great meals!!
goatboy - a frond went to per se recently and raved, so I'm sure the standards are pretty close to FL. Plus Keller flies between the two locations every month.
sooks - the wines were incredible, going through the textbook like wine list and picking amongst the suggestions thrown at us was mind boggling. They don't have an official pairing, we were given 2-3 suggestions for each course. You can only imagine the amount of work it took to narrow down pairings for 9 courses. Also, last I heard Eigensinn farms was closed until further notice?
speaking of food critics, I've been meaning to read this for the longest time...
I just finished it (right after finishing Jane & Michael Stern's "Two For the Road"). Excellent.
finally, we were invited to the kitchen post meal. I have never seen such a serene calmness in a commercial kitchen. Talk about a well oiled machine, the place was completely spotless.
seriously, where do you apply? how do work your way up?
Work at a local free weekly such as the guardian. Befriend tastemakers in the industry (chefs, sommeliers, wine estate managers). Attract elements of controversy with scathing reviews of at least one institution. Move on to a bigger city, rinse, repeat, until you reach the pinnacle that is NYT.
Chan might have a better scoop on this since he is fronds w/ Eric Asimov.
That said, they were two of the best meals I've ever had in my life in terms of a culinary experience/adventure. I mean, it's just FUN waiting to see what comes next and tasting it and as people have noted, the food there is just insanely well-prepared and what not.
The service was definitely face-melty though not nearly as intrusive as it may sound to have a 1 server to 1 diner ratio. That said, the head server did remark to me, after I complimented him on a suggestion he had made for my meal, "I enjoy helping people enjoy the better things in life." It wasn't said to be snobby but dude was laying it on a little thick.
I love that they bring you about 12 courses for dessert. Their macaroons are so good, they make it impossible for one to enjoy macaroons again anywhere else. Bastards.
I don't mean to shit on vegetarians but I just can't imagine going there and dropping $200+ for the vegetarian course.
By the way, someone's already nodded to this but if you want to understand why people get juiced to go there (besides looking at Aser's photos), read Bourdain's "Kitchen Confidential" and/or the book "Soul of the Chef" both of which include chapters that make Thomas Keller sound like Jesus in the kitchen. "Soul of the Chef" especially has an extended history of the restaurant itself (my parents-in-law actually ate at the FL pre-Keller, back in the 1980s since it already had a certain cache, even then). I like the idea that all these big shot NY food critics ate at the FL and came away like it was a revelatory experience. I'm sure Ruth Reichl has written on the restaurant before.
Also, on food writing: I've always been a big fan of Jeffrey Steingarten's two books on food: "The Man Who Ate Everything" and "It Must Have Been Something I Ate." He's very funny but he also has a way of describing the eating experience that makes you want to jump on a plane and fly out to Baja for some carna asada tacos or Italy to try mantis shrimp. Damn, I'm getting hungry just reminiscing.
Lastly, I don't challenge the idea that fois gras isn't made under the nicest of circumstances but seriously, how many animals are really treated that humanely on their way from the pen to your plate? It just strikes me that protesting fois gras - but not, oh, a thousand other kinds of food products made from animals - seems to be missing the forest for a very small, elite tree.
Dude, you're not far off; dudes like keller, wylie dufresne, charlie trotter, and others are all about the cryovacing. Check out wd-50.com to see photos of some of wylie's work. He's a cool, young dude doing some VERY scientific food work; his joint is next on my NYC restaurant list.
Foie gras is too tasty for me to abstain from, but I wouldn't force my opinion on anybody else. Most important point is being aware of the facts from both sides of the coin.
Steingarten is quite cheeky, I've enjoyed everything of his I've read and his off the cuff remarks on Iron Chef America. Although my frond has said his antics wear thin over a day of incessant snapping, he witnessed various tirades of Steingarten's while attending a taping of said show. NAGL?
oh btw oliver, I think I saw you here....hah
I heard Babbo in NYC is
I myself would love to eat at these spots, but don't have funds. My boss however is a baller that rolls to many of the places on the top 50 list.
I have dined there and wasn't sufficiently blown away to warant long-term pining for a return though... then again, I wasn't eating meat at the time. :/
Ate at Esca last week in the city, another Batali joint (though, not a flagship or anything). Anyway, good but not great, with one main course sent back. My lady was nervous about it, but as my friend said to her, "These guys are running the city, and making billions a year. Your piece of fish won't sink them." (Yes, billions is an exaggeration on his part, but it was a good line.)
Point is: Babbo and Batali get a lot of love and money. Though, Del Posto get no fourth star, dawg.