When it comes to food, I’m a basic economy man. A typical meal for Paul Chai is a simple In-N-Out cheeseburger with a side of fries light well. On our climactic night in Napa Valley, seven guys decided to do the exact opposite. This is a three-Michelin culinary landmark that needs no introduction. I’m not a foodie and even I heard of its prestige. This is our story of The French Laundry.
Booking
It takes balls to book this restaurant. No matter the party size, the French Laundry requires an upfront prepaid reservation. Most importantly, it is nonrefundable. There was a special event for America’s 250th birthday and the multi-course experience costs $776 per person + tax (gratuity included). That’s a lot of cheeseburgers…
The restaurant did a great job following up though. I don’t know if it’s because we had a large party, but the restaurant personally reached out to me to confirm all the guest preferences, dietary restrictions, and dining occasion. Right then, I had a feeling this was not going to be an ordinary meal.
French Laundry
From the moment you arrive at this Yountville restaurant, you experience a paradoxical feeling. You have a constant sense that your needs are being taken care of yet at the same time your own needs feel secondary to the rhythms of the place itself. As we step into the terrace, it’s as if the curtains rise and the French Laundry hospitality show begins.
As we raise a glass and sip on the fine champagne, we were guided into the Thomas Keller restaurant. Inside the stone cottage, I presumably thought we would be sitting here in the main dining room. Instead we unexpectedly got escorted thru a side corridor. Little did we know, our host had a secret surprise for us.
He cunningly walked us thru the cellar room and described its history/line up of their wine collection.
As we reach the end of the wine cellar, we see a large beautiful round dining table that he describes to be custom built from a 150-year-old tree. We admired what we thought was for viewing purposes only and our host suddenly opens a wall that has a view of the whole restaurant’s courtyard.
Welcome to French Laundry. This is your table.
Food
Our chef tasting menu is contemporary American theme to celebrate the country’s 250th birthday. Essentially, they took America’s favorite food and elevated to overdrive.
A notable dish that almost seems like a troll is a mini hotdog. I ate it in 2 bites along with the caviar. Yep, this is officially the most expensive hotdog I’ve ever ate in my life.
My favorite tasting was the steak. It’s an American wagyu beef sourced from Snake River Farms and it’s one of the best meats I’ve had to recent memory. Ok fine, this is much better than In-N-Out
It’s not just the food. It’s everything you don’t see in pictures. Each plate is a form of hospitality where an ensemble cast clears each dish and another team come serve the next tasting. A couple of us did wine pairings too and I didn’t even notice how they cleverly came out of the cellar to introduce the next bottle.
When dessert came, they brought out a final surprise. The birthday cake 🙂
As we finished, our host gave us another tour into the chef’s kitchen. Yep that’s 8 dudes taking a selfie.
Overall, this felt like the dining version of the World’s Best First Class. It’s not just food – it’s a dining hospitality experience. Like a First Class flight, what made this meal memorable was in the little details. From our private board room to the tasting presentations to the immaculate service, everything felt like an orchestrated surprise. We may not need these bells and whistles every meal, but trust me… The French Laundry is a one time splurge that deserves a giant round of applause.
