lol.....sorry forgot to mention the chef is Bob Hurley and the new restaurant is called &quot;Hurleys&quot;<BR><BR>Happy Eating!

dgordon: If you are a &quot;foodie&quot;, the effort is worth it. It is spectacular in preparation, presentation and palate pleasure. Thomas Keller, the owner and chef, is a genius and deserves the accolades he consistantly receives from the food world. You will spend three to four hours at the restaurant with refreshing pauses between courses. Perhaps you will stroll around the herb garden during one or more of these pauses. You will not go away hungry. The servings are small, but there are many of them in order to provide you with the experience intended. Get a reservation if you can. You won't regret it. If you have the flexability, getting on the wait-list for a cancellation is a good way to go. Good luck.

Great news. Open Table can now help with reservations at French Laundry:<BR><BR>http://www.opentable.com<BR><BR>I am still working on securing my first reservation... have been trying off and on for 6 months.

Corina, The Hostess @ Hurley's is named Katie and our server was Jorge!;-)<BR><BR>We ate there for our T'giving/Anniv. dinner and had a wunnerful meal. The calamari appetizer was as interesting as the baby beet dish you mentioned. Good wine list,too.<BR>We can't wait for the summer bike riding season to begin as it looks like they did a good job in opening up the patio area for cocktails and dining.<BR>Perfect &quot;cool down&quot; spot...much like the porches at Pacific Blues or Vintage 1870.<BR><BR>I mentioned this thread to Mrs Kal. She will be on the phone to the FL to find the next open reservation. Me and my big yap!<BR>Kal

awww Kal I should have known you already knew about Hurleys. <BR><BR>Your posts always put such a smile on my face :-)<BR><BR>Your Kauai advice made my last Kauai vacation (December), the absolute best.....and I've been there over 15 times. Thank you!<BR><BR>

Gee. Thx!<BR>And I got the waistline to prove it!<BR>The other place we like to eat at in Yountville is the old market up by Napa Grill, either Miller's or Gordon's. French country style restaurant. Excellent breakfasts, lunches breads, pastries, etc.<BR>Speaking of food and Kauai...lobster raviolis at Coconuts. Ooops. Better post that on &quot;foods that you can't get at home thread&quot; before I get Kauai-bashed again!<BR>Kal

We're also trying to get into the French Laundry for our 15th wedding anniversary. We booked a room at the Fairmont Sonoma Mission Inn and the concierge has us on their list for the day we want to eat there. Their concierge actually drives down to French Laundry when they open, to get the reservations (if they have available staff). So, that route might be an option for someone out there too. Good luck! We still don't have reservations either so I'm not sure it'll work...wish us luck too!

Been eyeing the French Laundry, but have never atttempted to dine there. I had no idea how hard it was to get in! After reading all the rave reviews here, I'm thinking of giving it a try since we live in the vicinity.

Actually I have it on good authority that they might have an opening at 5:30 PM on Tuesday, October 11, 2005.

No matter what the wait or cost, do it. We were there years ago and it's an experience that I'll never forget.<BR><BR>

Is the post about using Open Table a joke? I'm gullible and use that site so I just looked and I don't see anything there. I have a friend who is planning their trip around when they can get in to French Laundry! That's what I would do too!<BR><BR>Wendy

Open Table offers two tables a night at the French Laundry, one I believe at 5:30 and the other at 9:30. Check the Frech Laundry listing on their web site to be sure. Unfortunately, those tables disappear as soon as they become available each day.

I just found this thread. I tried to get reservations here a couple of years ago and missed by two days. I'm trying again for a birthday in May and will start calling in March to the day I want to dine there!! We stopped by and looked around last time we stayed in Yountville. I almost wept just being in the building. I hope we get in this year!

I thought La Toque would be one of those three places that might be comprable to the FL. There really is one one French Laundry!! ***kim***

I think you are too late. I believe that French Laundry is closed for a while. My understanding is that it closed after New Years and will remain so for four or five months. Keller is opening a restaurant in NYC and must be there to oversee its opening and make sure it runs as he wants.

My guess is that it is hugely booked for the rest of 2004 as foodies will be desparate after no Laundry for 4 or 5 months. LMF

I'm rolling laughing, LMF. &quot;desparate after no Laundry for 4 or 5 months&quot;. Sounds like me on a trip through Europe.

Thomas Keller will be opening a new restaurant in New York sometime in 2004 called Per Se which he has said will be identical food-wise to the French Laundry. It will be interesting to see, in this town where restaurant reservations are status symbols, if the reservation situation will be the same. It is opening in the new AOL Time Warner building in Columbus Circle, which will also have a Mandarin Oriental Hotel and restaurants by JeanGeorges Vongerichten and Masa Takayama.

Per Se will be opening next month in NYC. The website just says they will be opening in the Spring. That could mean March, April or May? It doesn't state a specific month.

We've been to Domaine Chandon, Terra, Tra Vigne, Auberge, Bistro Jeanty but really wanted to try FL this year. La Toque looks good, also. Anyone been there lately? ***kim***