Otis_B_Driftwood

"In San Francisco, I would go with Gary Danko. Its one of my favorite restaurants in the U.S. and is rated as the top rated Zagat restaurant in the Bay Area/Wine Country...ahead of French Laundry."

I've got the Zagat Survey right in front of me in my formerly nicotine stained fingers and it shows both Gary Danko and The French Laundry with exactly the same ratings. The only difference is the cost - $104 for Danko and $291 for the Laundry. On the website, if you ask for the restaurants to be sorted by ratings, The French Laundry comes out on top over Gary Danko.

The FL is not for everbody. It's for those who want the ultimate culinary experience, not necessarlily the ultimate dining experience. Patrons need to have a knowledge and palate far above the normal to appreciate the offerings. Like the very best wines, one needs to have spent a lot of time sampling the second growths to fully enjoy a premier cru.

Not everyone leaves the FL feeling that they got their money's worth or even having their stomachs full. There's a Mastercard commercial now on TV that expresses that viewpoint. But for others, the FL is the Holy Grail.

Personally, I liked the restaurant better when it was owned by the Schmidts. But, there is no question that Thomas Keller has elevated it to a position that is rivaled by only a few other restaurants in the US.

bill_boy

In my opinion, the French Laundry is unrivaled by any US restaurant in both cuisine and (especially) service.

GSTRDR

According to Zagats, when the top food restaurants have the same food number , the restaurant thats listed first in the top food ranking is the number 1 food restaurant.
Gary Danko and FL both have 29 number food numbers but Gary Danko is listed at the top of the list on the Food Tops of San Francisco, thus giving it the number 1 rating. THis is according the updated 2008 zagat.com ratings.
For example, In New York city, Daniel, Sushi Yashuda, and Le Bernardin are the top 3 listed on the top food rating and all have 28 food numbers, but since Daniel is listed number 1, its the number 1 restaurant.

Will

afields

A few years ago I called French Laundry well in advance to get a reservation for our special our anniversary to be spent in Napa. I told the representative that I wanted a reservation for two for our anniversary. He replied, "We are full that night." My response was "I haven't given you the date yet!"

THERE IS NO RESTAURANT WORTH THAT KIND OF ARROGANCE.

We had a lovely meal at the CIA - Culinary Institute and other restaurants where they seemed to appreciate us.

Happy 30th!

Attnymom

We were trying to decide between FL and Cyrus for a 40th birthday celebration, and after receiving lots of advice, we chose Cyrus. (It helps that we were staying in Healdsburg - which I absolutely recommend!). The dinner at Cyrus was wonderful - it is really an experience more than just a meal. One piece of advice - eat there on the last night of your vacation so you are not disappointed by the meals that follow!

travelgourmet

French Laundry will change your life.

Gekko

I've dined at French Laundry twice, and it is not worth the hassle (and expense) in my opinion.

(Nor is Mssr. Keller's Per Se here in New York.)

pawngambit

It's a great experience, albeit its price is very high. Because of all the hype about the French Laundry, I'm glad we went, but I do not plan to go back. Once was enough. The food was excellent, but not extraordinary. Although it's unfair to judge a kitchen by one meal, the menu did not seem designed to make the dishes complement each other. I thought that I heard beautiful melodies, but not a symphony. Had I paid less, or had I not heard it described as one of the best restaurants in the USA, I would not be as critical.

Otis_B_Driftwood

"According to Zagats, when the top food restaurants have the same food number , the restaurant thats listed first in the top food ranking is the number 1 food restaurant."

That's interesting. The Zagat website I have access to is the one sponsored by Visa Signature and that one has The French Laundry listed above Gary Danko even though the ratints are identical.

No matter. Both are superb choices.

By the way, anyone with a Visa Signature card can view the Zagat survey.

SuzieTrue

Thanks again for all the personal input. Reading Zagats or any other rating system only gets you so far.

ST

NW_Native

Here's an interesting (some decent info) albeit old (Feb 2005) review.
http://www.vinography.com/archives/2..._french_l.html

Personally, I'd prefer to spend more on some great wines and somewhat less on food. But to each their own.

kimamom

We just dined at Cyrus this past Sat. night for the second time and had yet another AMAZING experience, we sampled the Caviar paired with a nice Champagne this time, everything was fantastic, they personalized a menu for us and presented it at the end of the meal which was a nice touch, I think you have made an excellent choice going with this highly acclaimed restaurant, you won't be disappointed! ***kim***

Raymond33

blah blah blah. Go to Chez Panisse in Berkley. You can eat for super cheap, er..economical on Monday nights. It's been rated in the top 5 - 10 resturants on the planet for years.

GSTRDR

According to this its number 40.

http://www.theworlds50best.com/2007_list.html

Otis_B_Driftwood

"According to this its number 40.

http://www.theworlds50best.com/2007_list.html"

Thanks. That's an interesting link. Apparently, the judge for North America is Steve Dolinksy (and they misspell his name on the website). There may be an East Coast bias here.

However, Chez Panisse should be proud of being included in the top 100 restaurants of the world. And I see that Alice Waters is the most recent recipient of the Lifetime Achievement Award.

Everyone who loves food should dine at Chez Panisse at least once. Alice Waters is the First Lady of American Cuisine and this is where the Revolution started in America. And, I'm not talking about Berzerkeley.

travelgourmet

Here is a retrospective look at that list:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Best_re...t_in_the_world

What is interesting is just how much Chez Panisse jumps around. Climbing to 13, then back to 20 and to 40. Not sure whether this is any indication of a direction or just an indication that some other restaurants have gotten better.

Regarding French Laundry, I think it is instructive to see that it is in the lofty heights every year. Without discounting the experiences of others here, I do think there is a definite place for professional reviews, and I would think that, if it is not the best restaurant in the US, that it is at least easily in the top 5. And that Per Se rates in the Top 10 suggests that Thomas Keller really knows what he is doing.

This doesn't mean that everyone will like it, but it does mean, IMHO, that if you are really serious about food, then you should go there if you have the opportunity. Once you do that, then you can form your own opinion of the place. I'm glad I went.

For what it is worth, for those that want to go, I suggest trying to find someone who will get the reservations for you. There are services where you can hire someone to walk up when reservations are released and get them for you, as you can reserve in person 5 minutes before the phone lines open. And, take heart, reservations are easier to get at French Laundry than they are at El Bulli - I asked for a table for two for any of maybe 30 nights at El Bulli, and wasn't able to get anything.

NWWanderer

Has anyone used the in-person reservation route at FL recently? The information I got was that the practice was discontinued a couple years ago and they no longer take in-person reservations.

Michael

I've eaten twice at French Laundry. The food is excellent, but I was disappointed in that it lacked seasonality. We had no problem with the service, but we went with a wine connoisseur and the staff was impressed by the wine he provided (at a $50 corkage fee). That may have influenced the service. In my opinion, Manresa in Los Gatos is more interesting.

JMWF

can't do the in-person reservation thing anymore.

getting a reso two months to the date on the phone or opentable.com is a pain in the ass.

the current price for the 9 course prix fixe menu (either the regular one or the veggie menu) is $240 per person... that's up from about $150 each three years ago and about 180/210 two years ago. that includes service.

never been, but going next week... two days after chez panisse... will report back.

travelgourmet

can't do the in-person reservation thing anymore.

Well that stinks. Thanks for the correction.