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We couldn’t pass up the opportunity to eat dinner at the French Laundry in Napa Valley. Discover if our meal was worth the effort.

2foodtrippers at The French Laundry in Napa Valley — 2foodtrippers at The French Laundry | Image: ©2foodtrippers

We’ve eaten everywhere from food trucks to destination dining at Michelin rated restaurants and so many places in between. We pride ourselves on our sophisticated yet down-to-earth palettes, and it makes us happy when friends ask for our opinions and recommendations.

When planning our a 2013 California adventure, we managed to score a reservation to The French Laundry in Napa Valley, and of course we had to go. How could we not jump at the opportunity to dine at one of the most famous restaurants in the country, if not the world?

Photos from Our Dinner at The French Laundry In Napa Valley

This brings us back to our French Laundry dinner. We documented the march of multiple courses with our handy camera. Without further ado, here comes the parade!

Salmon Tartare Cornet at The French Laundry in Napa Valley — Salmon Tartare Cornet – A French Laundry Classic | Image: ©2foodtrippers

Gougeres at The French Laundry in Napa Valley — Gougeres – Even Better with Schramsberg Champagne | Image: ©2foodtrippers

Oysters and Pearls at The French Laundry in Napa Valley — Oysters and Pearls – “Sabayon” of Pearl Tapioca with Island Creek Oysters and White Sturgeon Caviar – We’ve Heard about this Dish. We’ve Read about this Dish. Now We’ve Eaten this Dish. | Image: ©2foodtrippers

2011 Massican Annia Wine at The French Laundry in Napa Valley — 2011 Massican Annia – The blend of ribolla gialla, tocai friulano and chardonnay grapes was a unique and fresh melding of Italian and Californian wine traditions. | Image: ©2foodtrippers

Hen Egg Custard at The French Laundry in Napa Valley — Hen Egg Custard with a Ragout of Perigord Truffles | Image: ©2foodtrippers

Salad at The French Laundry in Napa Valley — Salad of French Laundry Garden Potatoes with Heritage Buckeye Hen, Egg, Radishes and Cornichon Relish | Image: ©2foodtrippers

Pretzel Roll at The French Laundry in Napa Valley — Pretzel Roll – From the Bread Service Selection | Image: ©2foodtrippers

Butter Two Ways at the French Laundry in Napa Valley — Butter Two Ways | Image: ©2foodtrippers

Columbia River Sturgeon at The French Laundry in Napa Valley — Columbia River Sturgeon with Ruby Beets, Dill “Gnocchi à la Parisienne”, Mizuna and Horseradish | Image: ©2foodtrippers

Maine Lobster at The French Laundry in Napa Valley — Sweet Butter-Poached Maine Lobster with Globe Artichoke, Mokum Carrots, Red Pearl Onions, Italian Parsley and “Mousseline Barigoule” | Image: ©2foodtrippers

Four Story Hill Farm Poularde at The French Laundry in Napa Valley — Four Story Hill Farm Poularde with K&J Orchards Yellow Peaches, Tokyo Turnips, Komatsuna and Mustard Seed Vinaigrette | Image: ©2foodtrippers

Lamb Rib-Eye at The French Laundry in Napa Valley — Herb-Roasted Elysian Fields Farm Lamb Rib-Eye with “Croquette de Petit Salé”, Garbanzo Bean Purée, Jingle Bell Peppers, Arugula and Lamb Jus | Image: ©2foodtrippers

Andante Dairy "Legato" at The French Laundry in Napa Valley — Andante Dairy “Legato” with Caper-Sultana Condiment, Dark Raisin Purée, Celery Branch and California Red Walnuts | Image: ©2foodtrippers

Toasted Oat "Glace" at The French Laundry in Napa Valley — Toasted Oat “Glace” with Santa Rosa Plums and Japanese Plum Jam – A Fine Segue from Savory to Sweet | Image: ©2foodtrippers

Delta Blueberry Cheesecake at The French Laundry in Napa Valley — Mindi’s Dessert – Delta Blueberry Cheesecake with Compressed Blueberry Muffin, Lemon Ice Cream and Puff Pastry “Arlette” | Image: ©2foodtrippers

Dark Treacle at The French Laundry in Napa Valley — Daryl’s Dessert – “Dark Treacle” with Devil’s Food, Valrhona Chocolate “Marquise”, Lyle’s Golden Syrup and Marshall Farms Burnt Honey Ice Cream | Image: ©2foodtrippers

Selecting Hand Crafted Chocolates at The French Laundry in Napa Valley — Selecting Hand Crafted Chocolates | Image: ©2foodtrippers

Hand Crafted Chocolates at The French Laundry in Napa Valley — The Chosen Hand Crafted Chocolates | Image: ©2foodtrippers

Macadamia Nuts at The French Laundry in Napa Valley — Macadamia Nuts | Image: ©2foodtrippers

Doughnuts at the French Laundry in Napa Valley — Doughnuts for ‘Coffee and Doughnuts’ | Image: ©2foodtrippers

Coffee and Doughnuts at the French Laundry in Napa Valley — ‘Coffee and Doughnuts’ part II. In this scene, the doughnut is dunked in an ice cream-like cappuccino semifreddo. | Image: ©2foodtrippers

2foodtrippers in Front of the Kitchen at The French Laundry in Napa Valley — 2foodtrippers in Front of the Kitchen | Image: ©2foodtrippers

Inside the Kitchen at The French Laundry in Napa Valley — Inside the Kitchen | Image: ©2foodtrippers

Boxed Chocolates at The French Laundry in Napa Valley — Boxed Chocolates a/k/a French Laundry Swag | Image: ©2foodtrippers

Thoughts about Our Dinner at The French Laundry

The restaurant’s attentive focus toward every last detail of the dining experience separates it from all other American restaurants. It’s not even a close competition. Compared to other high-end dining establishments, The French Laundry’s service is like Secretariat at the Belmont or Michael Jordan on the basketball court.

Seriously, the service is impeccable to the extreme. In fact, we quietly commented on not liking one server as much as the others, and we never saw her up close again. It’s as if our table was under surveillance. We’re still wondering about that.

Great food deserves great wine. Not surprisingly, the wine list was extensive, sophisticated and accessible. The sommelier gave us the perfect recommendations, especially the Retro Cellars 2009 Petite Sirah from Napa Valley. We liked the red wine so much that we hunted it down the next day and bought some bottles to bring home to enjoy later.

The food, you ask? Of course, it’s excellent. Though it’s a shame that California passed the arcane foie gras ban. Every other great luxury meal that we’ve eaten has featured the rich, buttery delicacy, and its the one thing that would have propelled the food experience into the highest stratosphere. (The restaurant does offer a $100 upcharge for truffles, but that was a little too steep for our wallets.) Even still, the food was memorable, albeit in a somewhat predictable way.

Dinner at The French Laundry in Napa Valley Californiav

You see, for Daryl especially, the eating experience felt like a movie where we already knew the major plot points. Daryl idolized Thomas Keller long before he met Mindi. Like many people, we own the cookbooks, we’ve enjoyed Chef Keller’s appearances on TV and in person, and we’ve perused more than our share of critically fawning articles.

Daryl knew that Oysters and Pearls would be on the menu along with Salmon Cornets, Butter Poached Lobster, and, of course, the restaurant’s play on ‘Coffee and Doughnuts’. These are all great, classic dishes. However, the lack of surprise muted some of the electricity that we experienced last year at Maison Lameloise in Burgundy, France.

In addition to asking how the meal was, people keep asking if we’ll go back. Though one should never say never, it’s fairly unlikely. There are so many great restaurants to try in Napa and Sonoma, and most don’t cost as much as The French Laundry.

But we shouldn’t complain about the meal too much. It’s not every day you have the opportunity to eat filet of luxurious, flaky sturgeon served with a classic sauce reduced to the nth degree or a wonderful chicken roulade that is silky smooth in texture with flavors that evoke the comforting essence of a grandmother’s kitchen. It’s also not every day that a favorite cookbook is brought to life in a way that pleases all five senses.

At the end of the day, it really comes down to the food. And the pictures of the food.

The French Laundry is located at 6640 Washington Street, Yountville, CA 94599, USA.

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⚙️ Disclosures

Article Updates
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Funding
We self-funded our dinner at the French Laundry.

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Daryl and Mindi Hirsch

Saveur Magazine’s BEST TRAVEL BLOG award winners Daryl and Mindi Hirsch share their culinary travel experiences and recipes on their website 2foodtrippers. Since launching the site in 2012, they’ve traveled to over 40 countries in their quest to bring readers a unique taste of the world.

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