The French Laundry (Yountville, CA, Napa) - Tuuner and I went to this place about a month ago for Sun lunch. Some people say it's the best restaurant in the country; some say possibly the world. The former I could understand, no way on the latter. The food is getting more modern, less time-capsulish feel, and out of my last 6 visits, I think summer-time is the best time to go. I also think the Vegetable Tasting menu is a better option than the Chef's Tasting; however, I'd suggest just asking them to mix in the best dishes from each menu for the best experience.

The Full Review: ChuckEats blog » The French Laundry (Yountville, CA) - Unlocking the Secret

The Price: $240-370, depending on the supplements you order. Mine was $270

Teaser Pics:




- chuck

 

Great! i've been waiting for a new post from you.

 

Looks great Chuck,

when are you next in LA? We should all get together again.

 

That may be true, but three michelin stars is three michelin stars no?

 

no. depending on one's tastes, there are good and bad michelin 3-stars. depending on a restaurant's reputation, there are deserving and non-deserving 3-stars. and depending on a restaurant's geography (US vs France for example), there are deserving and non-deserving; French & Spanish 3-stars, for the most part, are a class above American & UK 3-stars.

to answer your question, i like very high ingredient quality food, or more modern cuisine. the former doesn't generally get more than 2-stars from Michelin (unless it's Michelin's Tokyo guide.) the latter probably gets rated a bit higher than it should by Michelin in many cases.

it's a guide that one must learn to use, according to one's tastes.

- chuck

 

Do you think that perception could come from other influencing factors rather than just the food? (different mind state being on vacation and in a different country, exotic feeling of being a foreigner in a somewhat strange land with different language, local ingredients and preparations that you are not as used to, etc)

 

it's an interesting question but the mastery of places like L'Arpege (Paris), Pierre Gagnaire (Paris), Ledoyen (Paris), and Bras (BFE) are clearly better than anything the US has to offer. the main reason i would say is that they are less interested w/ profits and empires; and more concerned w/ their culinary standing in french history (although this is clearly changing.)

aside from Urasawa, Manresa, French Laundry, Masa, and Jean Georges; i don't think there are deserving restaurants worthy of 3-stars in America. (of course, only 2 of those restaurants actually have 3 American Michelin stars; the rest are 2 star.)

of course, i would also argue that the number of 3-stars in france/spain is probably over-inflated as well.

- chuck

 

Intesting point of view. From what I've gathered, the whole "French 3 stars" are harder to get than "American 3 starts" is a mythical unproven theory. However, I do read your blog on a daily basis (as long as it's updated) and respect your opinion, most of the time agreeing with it.

I ate at Gordon Ramsay's "London" in NYC, and wasn't too impressed. Le Bernadin was a far superior restaurant, and I do agree with you that its been slipping (probably because like all big chefs, Eric is sporadically there nowadays.)

Do you also find it extremely annoying that almost every new restaurant has some sort of pretentious gimmick rather than concentrate on quality? It's something that has been bothering me for over a year already. I eat out at least 5 dinners a week, and I've never been more disappointed in the culinary world than now. I find myself going to my old favorites, rather than try the latest and greatest simply because I'm tired of eating expensive, subpar food.

 

i don't know how you'd prove it either you could argue it takes french restaurants *many* years to achieve 3 stars, generally having to start at 1, and work their way up. in the US, they obviously can't start everyone at 1, so they pick some 2's and 3's.

i don't agree w/ michelin's american 2- and 3-star ratings, but i generally respect them. where they have really screwed up are the 1-star ratings. 1-star should still be a honor but they've got some really crappy picks in all of the cities at this level - in fact, their 1-star ratings are useless.

- chuck

 

That was a fantastic lunch, Chuck. I can't wait for our trip in a few weeks (I will email you details). Thanks for joining us and setting it up!!!