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Review:
The
French Laundry
Napa Valley
This
now-famous culinary destination delivers the goods--but for vegetarians?
You bet!
t’s a beautiful evening in the Napa Valley. The sun is dipping
behind the mountains into the sea, bathing the sleepy little town
of Yountville and the vineyards beyond in pink and golden twilight.
Most nights, you’d be perfectly content to relax and enjoy
the legendary beauty and rural peace of California’s wine country.
But this evening, you and your companion have but one thing on your
minds: the pleasures of the palate.
Your destination is an unassuming, rustic stone cottage on a street
corner in the heart of town. You enter the grounds through a mortared
stone wall, passing by raised beds of tender organic greens, herbs,
and vegetables. You could almost imagine yourself in the French
countryside, but in reality you’re about to dine at what is
arguably America’s finest restaurant: Chef Thomas Keller’s
French Laundry.
Your attentive waiter seats you before a white tablecloth in a
room decorated unpretentiously in soothing beige and cream hues.
As you sit sipping a glass of sparkling 1997 Shramsburg Blanc de
Blanc, you look over your personalized prix fixe vegetarian
menu, dazzled by the variety and virtuosity that must go on behind
the scenes to produce such an array of culinary delights.
 The
consummate skill possessed by Keller and his staff haven’t
gone unnoticed. Critics at Bon Appetit, Gourmet, Food & Wine,
Wine Spectator, Time, and USA Today have all given The French Laundry
the top spot in their national rankings. Keller himself is the only
chef to receive consecutive Best Chef Awards in the James Beard
Foundation’s history.
Every night, Keller and his able staff prepare three different
prix fixe menus, one of which is always vegetarian.
From soup–a delicate puree of summer beans poured over a confit
of green pole beans and yellow wax beans–to succulent new crop
potato and périgord truffle canneloni, to uncommonly delicious
thyme ice cream, served with bitter chocolate and drizzled with
warm olive oil, each course is a symphony of tastes and textures,
each is lovingly described in detail by a knowledgeable server,
and each is perfectly paired with wines selected by master sommelier
Bobby Stuckey.
Every now and then, the kitchen sends your table a selection of
amuses bouches–small, appetizer-like "mouth pleasers",
each one more delicious and beautiful than the next. Little nothings
like sesame seed corniches, filled with chive crème fraiche
and topped with tomato confit–a succulent combination of juice,
cream and crunch–keep your taste buds happy between courses.
In the rarefied air inhabited by master chefs like Keller, indulgence
has a price: In addition to laying out upwards of a hundred dollars
per person, count on investing at least three hours in the experience.
But chances are, when the first course arrives, you’ll forget
all about getting to the movie on time. The progression of tastes
from one transcendent course to the next, the gracious and exceptional
service, and the intimate, romantic atmosphere conspire to render
more mundane concerns irrelevant. Here, a meal is not simply food;
it is an expression of love, made with the respect, attention, and
unconditional acceptance that true love demands.
The sky is filled with twinkling stars by the time you emerge,
feeling appreciative, happy, and loved. As you walk to your car,
you thank the heavens that you were born with taste buds and that
Thomas Keller and his exceptional staff have taken it upon themselves
to tease, delight and surprise them all night long.
* * * * * * *
Susan Shumaker is the primary author of Vegetarian America.
She, her writing partner Than Saffel, and their daughter Rhowyn
are currently sniffing out the best places for vegetarians to eat,
sleep, and spend the day in the Southwest, the Pacific Northwest,
and San Francisco.
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Wine
Country Restaurants
The
French Laundry
