We want to make reservations for three nights in Napa restaurants. We'd like August 5th at the French Laundry, August 6th at Bistro Jeanty, and August 7th at Domaine Chandon. I'm a member of the Chandon Club, so that reservation will be easy. We'll be dining all three nights with latour67 and his wife and of you that would like to join us. How do I best go about securing the desired reservations for the first two nights?

Bistro Jeanty should be no problem. To be conservative, call about a month in advance and you should be able to get any time you want.

French Laundry is also not a problem if you start speed dialing two calendar months before the date. Sorry my contact at FL no longer works there.

Thanks, Jones. I will conference two lines and speed dial my tuchas off two months before the desired date. What time should I start calling? You can answer in Pacific Daylight time.

You should start dialing at 10:00 a.m. PT on June 5th.

Board_O,

A few of things to consider:
1. French Laundry gives (unpublished) consideration to local hotels. Are you staying in Yountville? If so, the hotel may be able to do something special for you.
2. Bistro Jeanty is closed at the moment. Renovation, I think, but I am not sure. Phillipe purchased the old “Frankie, Johnny & Luigi” in Yountville and is talking about opening a even-more-Bistro style restaurant there. I’ve assumed that it will be in addition to Bistro Jeanty, but stay tuned.
3. I really recommend that you consider Roux in St Helena. Chef just got the James Beard thing. 26 points in Zagat. Great food.

I will try to keep you posted on new restaurant developments (there is a new Nick Peyton backed restaurant opening in St Helena on Monday). Perhaps we can join you guys.

\bob

For the French Laundry, don't forget that they recently joined Open Table for online reservations. Only two tables per night are available, but it's another avenue.

Open Table - French Laundry

Dumb Question: How do you measure two calendar months? For example, if I want to go on July 10, do I call on May 10, which is 62 days out, or do I call on May 12, which is 60 days out?? If it is the former, how do you make a reservation for the 29th and 30th of April, when February has 28 days?

It is two calendar months so Feb 28th maps to April 28th. I'm not sure what they do for months which are short/long. Give them a call on the 28th and let us know.

When do you call if you want a reservation on April 30th? LOL

Thanks, Bressler, we'd love to have you join us. Domaine Chandon is a must for us on August 7th. The French Laundry is a must if we can get a reservation. For the middle night, August 6th, we thought Bistro Jeanty was our best bet, but we're willing to listen to you experts.

A lot of the "elite" NYC Restaurants do that also (Daniel, Jean Georges, March, etc...). If you want Reservations for March 1st, you have to call Jan 1st. If you call 1 day earlier, they will Not take a Reservation. So, what you have to do is start calling (like some suggested) @ 9:00am that Jan 1st.

But, guess what, that was during the "good old days". When the Tourism was @ a record high in NY & NY was prospering.

These days, No need to do that (in NY). The tourism is @ a record low & the words (prospering & NY) do Not go in the same sentence (as NY has a history high homelessness). You can get Reservation to any Restaurant or Show (@ just about any time).

I'm nowhere near up on the Napa scene, but I ate at Roux in St Helena just after it opened, thanks to in-law connections. Small cozy place. Young lady owner (maybe chef?) I believe. Agree w Bressler. Excellent food.

But you will "pay" for it. There is a bar lounge caddy corner to make you forget about the bill.

The chef is the young lady's husband at Roux.

I heard that American Express has two staffers who call FL every day at the 10:00 AM PT hour in order to secure reservations for AMEX cardholders, especially those with 'Black' cards.

Board O,

We had the exact same dinner plans last week in Napa:

2/13: French Laundry. Our 2nd visit in 18 months. Incredible yet again and worth every penny. Once again, the very first dish -- "Oysters & Pearls" -- stole the show.

2/14: Domaine Chandon. Sat at one of Susan's tables, per your feedback. The meal was good, but not overwhelming. Probably wouldn't go again for the $120/per pre-fixe though.

2/15: Bistro Jeanty. A great experience and a must-try. We really, really, really, really liked this place. Every dish was served piping hot (a must for me) and somehow STAYED piping hot for the entire meal. We started with the tomato soup in a puff pastry -- this is an absolute must-try. I guarantee you will wind up dipping the entire basket of bread in the soup after you finish the puff pastry. I then had the cassoulet (duck, sausage, bacon, white beans). It was amazing. My S.O. had the steak tartare and frites. Another excellent selection. Corkage is only $15. BJ has a great atmosphere but make sure you sit in the back room. The front room can get very crowded and noisy with people waiting for their tables.

After the Chez Panisse - French Laundry - Domaine Chandon trifecta, we expected a letdown at Bistro Jeanty. Not the case!

It's been three years since we were out there. $120 does seem kind of steep. Every time we've been there the food has been great and Susan's a pleasure. How was the pricing on the wine list?

The $120 included wine/champagne pairings with each course -- I should have been more clear. Because we chose this option, I didn't take a very close look at the wine list/prices.

Do you remember what wines or what categories or types of wines were served with each course? Were the wines listed on the menu so that you could make your decision knowing what the wines would be? Sorry to ask these questions, but I'm a slave to my palate.

Kimber, enjoyed reading your post. It reminded me that a fabulous meal does not have to be that expensive or elaborate for that matter. We spent $250/head or more at the French Laundry and we really enjoy it. We both agreed that we actually enjoyed the meal at our local restaurant in Danville (301 Bistro) better because the food and wine were equally good (thought not quite as elaborate) and we were with good friends from the UK, Germany and Italy that we had not seen in awhile.

We had sunday brunch at Domaine Chandon, and it ran over $60/head. One of the dishes was exceptional and the other average. Really loved the Bernardaud plates they used (large square with slanted sides that has a diagonal effect) and have been looking all over for them ever since. Looks like I will have to go to the main store in Paris (thanks for the lead Jones). They had a small version at Needless Markup and the price was ridiculous.

First had the tomato soup in puff pastry at Domaine Chandon when Udo Nechutneys, the original chef they imported from France was there. We loved it so much that we asked for the recipe. Takes a long time to make the tomato soup, but it is worth it. The Pepperidge Farms puff pastry works pretty much as well as home made and saves a lot of time. I guess Phillipe must have taken the recipe with him to his place.