The French Laundry

The French Laundry is the holy grail of American fine dining. Many foodies have their person list of “things to do before I die”. Reservations are accepted 60 calendar days in advance and can be made starting at 10am. Just as you suspected , you most likely will get a busy signals (who get’s busy signals these days?). We’ll you do when you call the FL (along with everyone else). Enough about the reservation process and mystique surrounding the restaurant, let’s talk about the food…

The French Laundry offers a vegetable tasting or chef tasting menus. There are 13 courses in this meal. All are so delicious that going into details of each dish will make you not want to eat anywhere else so instead I will highlight 2 dishes, The Ceaser Salad and The Foie Gras.

The Ceaser Salad:

Sweet Butter-Poached Maine Lobster Tail, Carmelized Romaine Lettuce, Garlic Melba and "Bottarga di Muggine" (which means salted sun-dried Red Mullet Roe that was shaved on top and used instead of anchovies)

The Foie Gras:

The smooth fois gras was garnished with Green Apple Relish, Chestnuts, Celery Branch and Apple Cider Reduction. It was served with Bouchon Bakery Brioche and 3 salts: Pre-Historic salt from Montana (40,000,000 million years old!), Pacific Sea Salt from the Philippines, and Grey Sea Salt from France.

After eating 13 courses (x of which are deserts) and not to mention drinking great wine – you will be in foodie heaven. When you leave, you are sent away with a few “souvenirs”, outstanding tea biscuits, some homemade truffles and a few small chocolate bars. Note to self: The chocolate bars are the best chocolate bars that I have ever had!

The French Laundry is a culinary experience that is a must for anyone who wants to enjoy a great meal and eat food that has been elegantly prepared and served with class.

Thank you Thomas Keller for this wonderful experience!

The Bazaar at the SLS Hotel

This isn’t your ordinary hotel nor is it your ordinary hotel restaurant. The hotel lobby is adorned with full size horse statues with heads substituted for lamps and 16th century picture frame portraits of a military leader that gradually transform into baboon a portrait. At the Bazaar, this creativity is applied to food. The salmon roe cones are delicate and delightful – the cone just softly crunches in your mouth. This tapas restaurant also enjoys making well known food items a little bit more unique and mysterious. The Cherry tomatoes, liquid mozzarella dish is delicious and elegant. Wonderful in a top notch restaurant elegant gourmet sort of way. Peeled cherry tomatoes echoed the same texture as the liquid burrata blobs, and both burst with flavor.

And my favorite dish, the cotton candy wrapped foie gras is a combination of sweet and savory that teases your taste buds. After trying 8-10 dishes, you are escorted to another part of the restaurant where you are offered desert. Hmmm… I have never been to a restaurant that gives you two seats for dinner. The deserts were sweet and tasty and are made fresh (of course).

The Bazaar at the SLS Hotel in Hollywood is indeed a treat for the palate as it is for the eyes. Once you've tried both, you’ll want to come back for more.