Teich.Net :: All In

I’ve written about the French Laundry before (visits one and two). This post is now two months overdue and I’ve struggled with what new to say about our lunch in May. While my giddy, over-the-top awe has mellowed over the course of our five meals there (which have included a few dishes that didn’t quite make it into the stratosphere), my general opinion that it offers the best fine dining experience in the US remains unchanged. That said, my compulsion to return as often as possible has waned as the price and familiarity have increased, so with the difficulty of assembling a party of four on 3 days’ notice willing to drop that kind of cash, I nearly took a pass when Chuck offered me a last-minute reservation in May. But, we did manage three people, it was a good time of year for produce, and a nice celebration for the week before starting my new job, so off we went! Rather than rehash the oohs and awes or detract from the memory with a few nitpicks, I offer notes from our latest meal through photos.

Oren and I had the pleasure of a few beautiful fall days in Montréal this September. For your culinary inspiration and travel enjoyment, here is our first visit’s pass at the All In Guide to Montréal.
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I started out trying to write just a few lines about Brunoise as part of our Montréal Guide, but found I couldn’t resist sharing more details of this, our top pick restaurant in Montréal and a place I can only dream of having less than three thousand miles away.
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We have been debating how best to handle restaurant ratings on All In for a long time. We nearly launched a rather complex and novel system in late ‘05 [edit] that addressed the issue of directly comparing very different experiences [/edit], but I never quite came to terms with some of the specifics. Becks & Posh’s new system inspired me to pick up the project again. We’ve finally agreed that adoping a simple and familiar rating notation makes sense. And, as an individual reviewer, it may be better to paint in broad strokes.

We will be using a 5 star rating system on All In, as follows:

The best

Excellent

Very good

Good

Passable

Bad

[edit] These terms are intentionally generic. A rating should reflect some intersection of the quality of ingredients and preparation, presentation, service, ambiance, value, expectations, and more (though not all of those factors are always relevant). There are absolutely things that are better about the best multi-course meal than street food or casual fare. If that weren’t true, why pay many times the price? That makes it hard to compare individual attributes. However, all types of food and restaurants can induce wonderful feelings, pleasant surprise, and even awe. (You may notice that not everything in our Best Foods list comes from a fancy restaurant.) Rather than trying to ignore the inherently subjective nature of judging the way the elements of a meal come together, we have decided instead to embrace our feelings about how everything comes together as a whole and capture them in words and, for brevity and clarity, stars. Clarity, you ask? Sometimes details can obsure the big picture — look to the stars for a summation.

You may also notice that there are no degrees of bad in this scale. I don’t often write about places that are bad, unless they are truly awful, in which case I don’t want to give them any stars at all. It seems a bit cruel to call out by just how much a place doesn’t make the grade. (In school, there is no F-.) As such, you will see 0 stars for a place that we would never recommend and we’ll leave it at that. [/edit]

Since I sometimes like to share initial impressions of a place without the authority of multiple visits and there are places that I love that don’t necessarily have outstanding food, you’ll also see one of the following symbols for the number of times one or both of us have eaten at a restaurant:

As part of this process, I’ve revamped the restaurant reviews index as the new All In :: Restaurant Guide, which includes ratings for several restaurants we haven’t actually gotten around to reviewing here. Our list of Restaurants to Try has also gotten too long as we’ve crossed many off over time, so spots we’ve tried will be moved over to the Restaurant Guide. There are many ratings and reviews to add, so check back for updates over the next few days. [edit] Ratings may also change with additional visits - additional experiences and dates will be noted. [/edit]

We’re still considering adding some additional details and want to make the ratings, reviews, and lists and useful as possible. Thoughts and suggestions welcome!

Last night was dinner number two at The French Laundry. We had a wonderful meal, though it was a small notch below our first, out-of-this-world experience there in May. I’m already planning our next visit, but will be keeping two new lessons in mind.
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Ratings and reviews of restaurants visited by All In, by region and name. Also see our list of restaurants we need to visit and recommend any you think we’ve missed.

Ratings explained.

Jump to a region:

The Bay Area, California
The Los Angeles Area, Californa
Boulder, Colorado
Las Vegas, Nevada
Naples, Florida
New York, New York
Los Cabos Area, Baja, Mexico
England

The Bay Area, California

Located in San Francisco except where otherwise noted.

1550 Hyde Cafe and Wine Bar

A16 — Impressions (1/06)

Amber India, Mountain View and San Jose

Axum

Bacar — Dinner (8/05), Update (1/06), Drinks and appetizers (1/07)

Bar Tartine — I give the bakery 5 stars though

Bistro Elan — Note (1/06)

Bistro Jeanty — Dinner (5/05)

Blue Plate — Dinner (12/05)

Burma Superstar — Call to put your name on the list. 6/06, 8/06, 10/06 (dinner for 6)

Cafe Borrone, Menlo Park

Cafe Gibraltar — Note (1/06)

Canteen — They don’t seem to have seating for parties larger than 4, and there are few spots for more than 2. Brunch (11/06)

Cascal (Mountain View) — most recently: drinks and tapas for 6 (1/07)

Coco500 — We had miserable service, but have heard we need to try it again. Dinner (3/06)

Ditmer’s, Mountain View

The Farmhouse Inn & Restaurant, Forestville (Sonoma County) — Dinner (6/05)

La Folie — Dinner #2 (10/05)

The French Laundry — Dinner #1 (5/05), Dinner #2 (11/05)

Gambardella’s — Dinner (5/05), Many more recent dinners

Homma’s Brown Rice Sushi, Palo Alto

Iberia’s Bar, Menlo Park

Incanto

Itapas

Jack Falstaff — Dinner (6/05), Dinner for 6 (1/07)

Junnoon, Palo Alto

Kiss Sea Food Japanese Restaurant — Dinner for 3 (11/06)

Lure, San Mateo — Dinner for 4 (2/07)

Manresa, Los Gatos — Drinking Small Dinner (9/05)

Mantra, Palo Alto — Dinner (4/06)

Mediterranean Wraps, Palo Alto

Myth — Dinner for 4 (1/07)

Pilar, Napa — Dinner (8/05), Lunch (11/05)

Piperade — Dinner (10/05)

Pizzeria Delfina — Note (1/06)

Pizzeria Picco, Larkspur — Lunch (8/06)

Pizzaiolo, Oakland — Dinner for 3 (7/07)

Quince — Dinner #1 (9/05), Update (1/06), Dinner for 2 (1/07)

Range — Dinner (8/07). Originally recommended by Alder and Steve J.

Redd, Yountville — Brunch Note (6/06)

Rivoli, Berkeley

Sakae Sushi, Burlingame — Definitely some of the better sushi on the Peninsula

Sauce

Sawa Sushi, Sunnyvale

Tallula (Closed 2/06) — Dinner (10/05)

Tartine

Tomi Sushi, Mountain View

Verro, Palo Alto

The Village Pub, Woodside — Note (3/06)

Woodward’s Garden — Dinner (1/06)

Xanh, Mountain View — Lunch for 2 (10/06), Lunch for 2 (5/07), Dinner for 2 (6/07), Dinner for 4 (7/07) — the food, or our ordering, has improved since opening.

Zachary’s Pizza, Berkeley

Zibibbo, Palo Alto — Not our usual dinner (11/06)

Zucca, Palo Alto — Dinner for 2 (7/07)

The Los Angeles Area, California

Lebanese Kitchen, Pasadena — Note on Dinner (6/06)

Lucques, LA — Note on Dinner (5/06)

Sushi Roku, Pasadena — Note on Lunch (6/06)

Urasawa, Beverly Hills — Dinner (11/05)

Boulder, Colorado

Frasca Food and Wine

Illegal Pete’s Burritos

The Kitchen — Why Palo Alto Needs It (8/06)

Snarfs

Craftsteak

Naples, Florida

Chardonnay Restaurant

Pegu Club –Written about in Gourmet Magazine (2/06) and elsewhere, this is possibly my favorite spot in all of NYC and my favorite bar anywhere. Friends who have been have not been disappointed. Drinks and appetizers (10/06)

Los Cabos Area, Baja, Mexico

Cafe Santa Fe, Todos Santos — Lunch (12/06)

Edith’s, Cabo San Lucas — Dinner (12/06)

Felix’s, Cabo San Lucas — Dinner (11/05), Dinner (12/06)

Gardenias Tacos, Cabo San Lucas — Lunches (11/05), Lunches (12/06)

Havana, Cabo-San Jose Corridor — Dinner (11/05)

Mi Casa, Cabo San Lucas — Dinner (11/05), Dinner (12/06)

Mi Casa de Mariscos, Cabo San Lucas — Dinner (12/06)

Mi Cocina, Casa Natalia Hotel in San Jose del Cabo — Dinner (11/05), Dinner (12/06)

The Office, Cabo San Lucas — Lunch (11/05)

Ricazon, Cabo San Lucas — Dinner (12/06)

Tequila Restaurant, San Jose del Cabo — Dinner (11/05)

England

St. John’s Bread and Wine, London — Note (5/06)

We weren’t sure how to approach our dinner at the French Laundry after all these years. I feared that my preference for la cucina povera and food that grabs my taste buds more than my mind would make even this untarnished institution — consistently ranked one of the best, if not the best restaurant in the world — a disappointment. I had been warned prior to this trip that my entire world view, at least with respect to food, was about to change. I hoped and feared that might be so.

We went in knowing it would be an amazing experience, even if the food didn’t move us. We needn’t have worried: I would trade every prestigious restaurant meal I have ever had for another meal at the French Laundry. It really is that good. Start saving your dollars, or twenties, do whatever it takes to get a reservation, and get yourself to Yountville before anything changes.
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Here is a list of restaurants that we want to try these days. (Places we have tried are listed and rated in our Restaurant Guide.) Please leave your suggestions in the comments!

Jump to a region:

The Bay Area, California
The Los Angelese Area, California
Boulder, Colorado
Naples, Florida
New York, New York
England
France
Italy
Spain

The Bay Area, California

• 7 / Seven Restaurant and Lounge, San Jose
  Recommended by Christina M.
• Ad Hoc, Yountville
  New from Thomas Kellar - I have to go.
• Albona Ristorante Istriano
  Recommended by Chuck
• Bar Crudo
  Chuck has been telling me to go for ages
• Barndiva, Healdsburg
  Recommended in by Nan Wiener in 6/06 San Francisco Magazine
• Bi-Rite Creamery
  Chuck recommended this over dinner a few weeks ago, and in a comment on this page. I did walk in while waiting for my table at Pizzeria Delfina and was duly tempted. Steve J. raved about the salted caramel gelato and the ice cream sandwich picked up at Bi-Rite Market definitely made me eager for a proper visit.
• Canteen - We have been for brunch, but still need to try dinner.
• Cav
• Coco500
  We had miserable service at our dinner for 2 in March ‘06, but have heard we need to try it again, so putting it back on the list.
• Coi
• Cyrus
  Doug and the press say it’s great, Chuck says not so much. Need to see for ourselves one of these days.
• Farina
  Patrick gives it 2 thumbs up

• The Front Porch
  Tip from Claw

• Green Chile Kitchen
• Little Star Pizza
  Owen says it is some of the best pizza in the City
• Lure, Burlingame
• Perbacco
• Pisces, Burlingame
• Redd, Yountville
  Pleasant brunch on the patio (5/06). Keeping on the list to try for dinner.
• Sebo
  Another tip from Chuck
• Sketch
• Velvet Cantina
  Recommended by o_en: “Mexican fusion? Not fancy, though fancy for Mexican food. Sorta hipster…”

The Los Angeles Area, California

• Bin 8945
  Lizzie and John from OA’s restaurant, opened 6/15/06, and it sounds fantastic!
• Osteria la Buca
  Recommended by Eileen

Boulder, Colorado

• Seven Eurobar
  On Food and Wine’s August list of places they’re making reservations

Boston, Massachusetts

• Uni
  Opinionated About, Chuck Eats

Naples, Florida

• Bleu Provence
  Good wine list (OA)
• Escargot 41

New York, New York

• 11 Madison Park
  Chef Daniel Humm is formerly of Campton Place in SF
• Aquavit
  Recommended by Frances
• Le Bernardin
  Chuck has measured all fish against the one he had there since I met him.
• Chickalicious
  Chuck Eats
• Daniel
• Extra Virgin
• Fatty Crab
  Per Chuck: “Similar to Momofuku. Very high quality @ very reasonable prices”
• Grom
  Written up in Springwise
• Kuruma Zushi
  Chuck says like or possibly better than Sawa?
• Jean Georges
• Ssam Bar
• Place
• Sushi Yasuda
  Recommended by Chuck
• WD50

England

• The Fat Duck, Bray

France

• L’Arpege
• Clos des Gourmets (7th)
  Recommended by FrancesB: “…it’s fairly close to the Eiffel tour. I think it is beautiful, the food is lovely and it is neighborhoody rather than touristy… It’s delicious! And so pretty too!”
• Michel Bras
  Chuck thinks this is my place

Italy

• Da Alceste al Buon Gusto (Rome)
  Gourmet Magazine, 2/06, p.42 - get the assaggini di Alceste.
• Gambero Rosso (San Vicenzo, Tuscany)
  “Could Gambero Rosso be the best restaurant in Italy?” by Colman Andrews in Gourmet, 1/07, certainly makes me think it’s worth trying
• L’Orso 80 (Rome)
  Gauri K.: “Past Piazza Navonna / near the river on Via dell’ Orso, 33 (and maybe 80, too). Tel. 06 686 49 04. The owners know us by face and with my broken Italian - they know I am from SF….try it out. Their antipasti is THE best in the world!”
• Corrado Costanzo (Noto, Sicily)
  From The Observer’s “Top 50 Things Every Foodie Should Do” (5/15/05): “…The ices at Corrado Costanzo in Noto, Sicily, are arguably the best you can find anywhere in the world. Mandarin, made with Sicilian oranges, is probably the most in-demand flavour at this ice-cream and pastry shop but try also mulberry and the jasmin sorbet that’s made with flowers picked in the evening when they are at their most fragrant…
  Corrado Costanzo, Via Spaventa 7, Noto, Sicily (00 39 931 835 243)

Spain

• Etxebarri (San Sebastian)
  Another of Chuck’s discoveries
• Hispania (Arenys de Mar, about 40 minutes outside Barcelona)
  Gastroville