A vegetarian lunch at French Laundry

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.

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