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Jun. 25th, 2006 10:49 pmI just had what could quite possibly be one of the best meals on the planet. If you ever have a lot of cash to burn (or, like me, a company willing to pick up the tab), go to the 'French Laundry' in the Napa Valley. Seriously. Nine courses, each a little bit of something positively divine. You know a place is going to be good when you're sitting outside waiting for the rest of the family to arrive, and there's a guy outside, dressed as a waiter (probably the new guy. Poor new guy) raking the gravel outside by the road. Seriously. Someone walks on the gravel, this guy gets sent out to make it all pretty again. If they pay that much attention to the gravel, imagine what they're doing to the food. Also, you know you're in an entirely different league when they're pouring you water out of bottles that look like they've come from a winery. Geeze.
It started with the little teaser bits - cheese pastry puffs, a little salmon and creme fresche cone, a layer of green apple gelatin with caviar and sea urchin tounge (okay, that one was a touch odd. Good. But odd.). Then was a roasted endive with a banana and something else or other sauce that was so tasty. Then came the first round of bread, which was quite possibly the best bread ever, very rich. Then a bit of sturgeon with these beans and another sort of sauce and I never knew sturgeon could taste so very good. I think that might have been the best dish, maybe. Then there was chicken, roasted I think, with little tiny fries and squash and mushrooms... delicious. Then there was more bread, a variety of sorts this time (we each took one kind and shared). Then there was soft shelled crab with a potato cake, mustard, and a ranch sauce - odd again, but good. Then steak, from this farm up in Idaho, with peppers and these tiiiiiny little mushrooms and the smallest little potatoes you have ever seen - not even bigger than a marble. This was the other candidate for best dish. Then (oh yes, there was more food) was the cheese course, with more bread, and summer squash. Then came the sorbet, an apricot sorbet with candied almonds and an almond crust and a little apricot gelatin. Then I got some tea, and went on to the malt sampler, with this creamy malt cake, and malt ice cream with little malt cookies (think one of those malt eggs that come at Easter, just 100x better and ice cream). Then was a little carmelized tart, or berries and a sort of cream (the tart was the best), and little butterfly cookies (YUM), and chocolate covered macadamia nuts. THEN (yes, we were going to explode at this point), they came around with chocolates and candy. Then they gave us shortbread as a parting gift.
So. Very. Full. Urk.
In other news, I watched 'Idiots Lantern'. Am I the only one who watched that and thought of Blodwen? Seriously. Of course, this episode may make me love Rose. Grr argh. Don't wanna like Rose. She was mean to Mickey, and is entirely too weepy for my tastes. But dude, that scene in the house was kickarse.
Also? I wanted Tommy to come along in the TARDIS. He reminds me of Adric.
In other, other news, I am going to go fall into a food coma now, so maybe I can be alert tomorrow morning. Vain hope, I know, but I'm going to try anyway.
It started with the little teaser bits - cheese pastry puffs, a little salmon and creme fresche cone, a layer of green apple gelatin with caviar and sea urchin tounge (okay, that one was a touch odd. Good. But odd.). Then was a roasted endive with a banana and something else or other sauce that was so tasty. Then came the first round of bread, which was quite possibly the best bread ever, very rich. Then a bit of sturgeon with these beans and another sort of sauce and I never knew sturgeon could taste so very good. I think that might have been the best dish, maybe. Then there was chicken, roasted I think, with little tiny fries and squash and mushrooms... delicious. Then there was more bread, a variety of sorts this time (we each took one kind and shared). Then there was soft shelled crab with a potato cake, mustard, and a ranch sauce - odd again, but good. Then steak, from this farm up in Idaho, with peppers and these tiiiiiny little mushrooms and the smallest little potatoes you have ever seen - not even bigger than a marble. This was the other candidate for best dish. Then (oh yes, there was more food) was the cheese course, with more bread, and summer squash. Then came the sorbet, an apricot sorbet with candied almonds and an almond crust and a little apricot gelatin. Then I got some tea, and went on to the malt sampler, with this creamy malt cake, and malt ice cream with little malt cookies (think one of those malt eggs that come at Easter, just 100x better and ice cream). Then was a little carmelized tart, or berries and a sort of cream (the tart was the best), and little butterfly cookies (YUM), and chocolate covered macadamia nuts. THEN (yes, we were going to explode at this point), they came around with chocolates and candy. Then they gave us shortbread as a parting gift.
So. Very. Full. Urk.
In other news, I watched 'Idiots Lantern'. Am I the only one who watched that and thought of Blodwen? Seriously. Of course, this episode may make me love Rose. Grr argh. Don't wanna like Rose. She was mean to Mickey, and is entirely too weepy for my tastes. But dude, that scene in the house was kickarse.
Also? I wanted Tommy to come along in the TARDIS. He reminds me of Adric.
In other, other news, I am going to go fall into a food coma now, so maybe I can be alert tomorrow morning. Vain hope, I know, but I'm going to try anyway.
