I dined at the French Laundry & was a bit disappointed. Started w/ oysters with a sabayon sauce, which I would have preferred chilled, I guess I wasn?t expecting the oysters to be poached, however the caviar was briny & delicious. Foie gras was the best dish of all, served with 3 different salts and the most delicious brioche, the salt cut the fat perfectly. If your brioche gets a bit cold, warm brioche is ready to replace it! However, I was disappointed that the foie gras was an additional charge to the prix fixe menu. The urchin dish was a true disappointment, again I guess I was expecting a cold dish, instead it came on top of a gratin of warm cabbage, with some kind of cream sauce; not good. Next course was seared scallop; it didn't stand out. The braised pork belly was very good, but how can you go wrong with pork belly and it's on everyone's menu. Lamb was delicious, with the cutest carrots I've ever seen and the dates were just sweet enough to go with the sauce. Had the sheep's cheese, served along side a green apple relish, which was really good, but it was a less than a thimble size with a drop of excellent honey. Palate cleanser was refreshing guavasteen sorbet. Finally the finish was pumpkin sherbet (which was delicious) pumpkin croutons which were light and fluffy and pillowy chocolate dentelle. Of course, the alcohol bill was gigantic, but I guess it has to match the food. The food presentations were immaculate and beautiful (except the uni dish), over all I felt the environment while stately, was bland. While I appreciate the quality and dedication to the art of this culinary experience, I would not make the effort to go again. I must be a philistine.
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