In a random discussion with an inlaw, it turns out they have an "in" at the French Laundry and may be able to get us reservations even on short notice.

I have never eaten there nor at a restaurant of that caliber, unless you consider Veritas in NYC of the same ilk. In fact, admittedly I feel curiosity more than desire to eat there, but based on comments by several from this and other boards, it seems I am ignorant if not naive.

I confess I am no gastronome, as I eat out fairly infrequently, but do appreciate good food. So I am considering the offer. From those who have experience, please help me out:

-Is the caliber of the food that good that it is really a must try?
-Are there any signature dishes or special recommendations?
-Are there dishes to avoid?
-What can I expect the cost to be per person?
-Does the restaurant accept corkage? If so, at what approximate charge?
-Any other thoughts or advice?

Thanks

definitely yes to the first question. when i went there a couple of years ago they only served a tasting menu & the choices were limited & varied each day, i think. corkage is accepted, but high. i don't remember how much, but someone will. the winelist is good, but expensive. just go.

It is a set tasting menu with some variation available.
Corkage is $50

On the cost at The French Laundry, the tasting menu was $135 and if you wanted the Foie Gras course it was another $20. Corkage was $50 so you really need to bring a nice wine to justify it. There is a vegitarian tasting menu along with a menu where there are 3 to 5 choices per course for about five courses. These later two menus are about $100/person. I have no idea what the wine on the wine list costs since we supplied our own wine last time I went and dropped it off ahead of time so we were never shown the wine list. One of the signature dishes is the Oysters and Pearls which is absolutely fabulous. All of this was last Spetember. Check out this thread on the WS forums:

http://forums.winespectator.com/6/ubb.x?a=tpc&s=9306023451&f=5086097161&m=5736048161&r=4146048161#4146048161

If you can get in I would go if you are in the area.

Thanks for the correction on pricing skwid, it's been a while since I've been. Remember the meal fine, but probably blocked out the bit about the bill

For me, the food has always been about the intensity of flavors
and the presentation. No one does it better. In addition to the
number of course mentioned above, Thomas sometimes sends out other
little courses for you to try. (This will be likely if your "in"
is a good one). Another nice touch they sometimes do is, for
example, for the soup course, each member of your party may be served
a different soup, which you can then pass around. Other times, the
ladies may get one preparation, the gentlemen another. (Hint, sit
next to your spouse so you can eat off one another's plate).

If you are down as a VIP, they will ask you if you would like Thomas
to cook for you. Just say yes. We usually bring some wine any buy
some. I always budget $250/person.

If you are worried about not knowing the secret handshake, just increase
the reservation by two and call us.

$250 a person is a good estimate. There were 4 of us in our party and we all had the tasting menu. Two ordered the foie gras. For wines, we had a 98 Muller-Catoir (around $80) and 98 Quilceda Creek (around $130). I think the Justin is the least expensive red at around $90).

Is it a must try? I think that depends on your taste and values. Does it make my top 10 dining experiences? Barely. To be honest, we've had more memorable meals in Verona, Florence, Paris, Cambridge, Singapore, Malaysia, Bangkok and other parts of the world for a fraction (1/10th to 1/5th) of the cost.

Bob -

I'll be sure to keep that in mind when I get out that way.

Does anyone know if French Laundry does seatings? Opentable.com has 2 tables a nt- one at 6 and one at 9:30, so was wondering if that meant they did specific times for seatings...

They kind of do seatings. They stagger things a bit but everyone for the first "seating" is seated within about an hour of each other (5:30 p.m. to 6:30 p.m.). The last time I went we had a 5:30 p.m. reservation and got out about 9:15 p.m. Others around us were much quicker with their meal. We had the nine course tasting menu and took our time. I'll be going again to Lunch on May 16th. I'll write up how things go as I've never had lunch there and don't know anyone who has had lunch.

Dr. T, I would definitely take them up on the offer of getting you in. Do it. You will BECOME a gastronome once you go there. And man, I haven't even been there yet. Someday....

skwid,
I have had lunch there a couple of times. same menu, so you have time to work a little of it off. One time we arrived at noon and left at 6pm. We struck up a conversation with the table next to us who were doing all the '61 first growths side by side. I traded a glass of my '78 Mondavi Reserve for a full glass of '61 Petrus. Now, if I could only figure out how to do that in the stock market! At the end of the meal, they ordered all the '63 ports on the wine list and invited us to join them for dessert. Ah, life in the Napa Valley.

\bob

JUST TO CLARIFY...Does anyone know about calling 60 days in advance...
Do you call exactly 60 days (by counting # of days) in advance OR for example... Call April 1 for June 1, April 2 for June 2... just getting ready to start calling eat the end of this week and want to be sure.

not 100% sure, but I think it is April 1 for June 1, etc

It is two calendar months. So for a June 1st reservation you call on April 1st starting at 10:00 a.m. PT.

Thanks for the clarification- just wanted to be sure... wish us luck!

I have been trying for 3 days, for the Jazin/OJeffso trip...before 10 am a recorded message comes on,.. after 10 am, its just busy... all day, and I've been calling like crazy- this is the third day in a row- my last chance is tomorrow for June 3! Unfortunately, its not looking good for us..
But I am taking Bressler's reccommendation and booking one nt at Roux in St Helena.

If you are staying at one of the hotels in Yountville ask the Concierge to get a reservation for you. We did this when we stayed at the Vintage Inn (about a block away, very nice and pretty expensive).