For the uninitiated, French Laundry is one of the best restaurants in the world. I got a chance to try the tasting menu. I had a vegetarian, or to be precise, a lacto-vegetarian (milk and cheese but not eggs) meal here.

The restaurant looks nondescript from the outside, and it is easy to miss it while driving.

French Laundry
French Laundry

It was an 8-10 course meal, depending on how you count a course. Portion sizes were small but delicious. And there was a gap of about 15-20 mins before each serving. So, a commitment of 3-4 hours for the full course.

Course 1
Course 1 begins
Crispy Chickpea Panisse (at least that’s what I remember)
Fennel Gastrique
Fennel Gastrique
Toasted Quinoa Tabbouleh
Course 2 – Toasted Quinoa Tabbouleh

 

Holland White Asparagus En Persillade
Course 3 – Holland White Asparagus En Persillade
Sacramento Delta Green Asparagus
Course 4 – Sacramento Delta Green Asparagus
Bread and Butter
Course 5 – Bread and Butter
Morel Mushroom Farci
Course 6 – Morel Mushroom Farci – did not taste like a mushroom at all but was still pretty delicious
Spring Vegetable Navarin
Course 7 – Spring Vegetable Navarin – I was starting to feel full by now
Bleu D'auvergne "French Blue cheese"
Course 8 – Bleu D’auvergne “French Blue cheese” – never tasted such cheese before
Meal ended with a mouthful of deserts
The meal ended with a mouthful of deserts

It would be a wrong question to ask whether the food was worth the time and money. The right question would be “Was the experience worth the time and money?”, I would say, “Definitely”. Being vegetarian, I was skeptical but was delighted beyond my expectations.