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I went to a 2 star Michelin restaurant in NYC and had absolutely no idea what was going on with the silverware. They kept bringing and taking away random sized and shaped spoons and knives; I mostly just used the regular ones and accepted my rube status.
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Sixth course!
New wine, too, a Barolo served in what looked to be a decapitated erlenmeyer flask but which was actually a hand blown glass specifically for this style of wine. The quail could practically pass for duck, and the sauce and flavors were similar to those that are frequently found with duck. Sunchokes are something I donāt think Iāve eaten before despite seeing them at the farmerās market all the time. If it were easy to make a puree this good at home, Iād eat them a lot. Narrator: Itās not easy to make this puree at home.
On the subject of the mac and cheese, the couples on either side each got one order between the two of them to share, so we got to see the spectacle. One person prominently carrying a large wooden box came out with the waiter, who took out the truffle and using a dedicated wooden tool with a metal blade, shaved off cross sections of the truffle, eventually covering the entire plate. We didnāt spend the $175 to try it, but for $0, we got to smell the incredible truffle aroma wafting our way after each shaving session. It smelled amazing, but Iām not sure it would be $175 amazing.
Looking it up, this is actually the 100% correct way to do it. I was apparently boorish and bit off bites rather than tearing them off.
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That delectable crust on top of the fish could have stood some sharp slicing, even if the rest of the fish didnāt need it.
Seventh courses!
And new wine, a Napa Cabernet Sauvignon, and this one I remember the winery because it was in English: Gemstone. Amazing wine. Most amazing thing about the venison here is that as good as that plump, medium rare round of venison loin was, I actually liked the bit of venison kielbasa better, and MrsWookie liked the pierogie better.
Not exactly sure which cut of wagyu this was, but it was super tender and rich and delicious. The rectangle on the top of the plate was sort of reminiscent of some preparations of foie gras Iāve had, but this was beef. This might have been one of the only disappointments on the night, though. As @spidercrab said, you end up worrying about VORF. Was it $100 better than the venison? I donāt think so, because the venison was about equally delicious. But, when you think about the added novelty of getting to try one extra amazing thing, itās closer.
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8th course!
This might have been MrsWookieās favorite course. Thatās eclair dough stuffed with a soft cheese, probably buttered and heated to get that brown color, and then nestled in a dollop of a rich melty cheese sauce specked with black truffle. None of this āHereās a bunch of cold cheese on a plateā bullshit for a cheese course. This was an ooey gooey, mega melty, fatty truffle bomb. We werenāt sure if it would be considered uncouth to lick our plates, so we settled on merely doing our best to scrape up every last trace of the sauce with that silver spoon.
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All of them, I think. But whatever macro balance the above had that might have been somewhere in the realm of the reasonable, itās about to be shattered. Itās dessert time. āAssortment of desserts,ā to me, a poor, sounds like you pick something. We were starting to get full anyway, so picking something sounded good.
NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOPE.
https://i.imgur.com/OAhqbVk.jpg
Letās start at 4 oāclock and work clockwise. Thatās banana ice cream with bruleed banana slices, delivered first. Then poached apple with a puff pastry ācrust,ā sort of a deconstructed apple pie (my favorite), delivered second. Then some sort of cake, the cake layers were kinda crunchy like ladyfingers and between them was chocolate ganache, buttercream, and hazelnut buttercream, delivered 3rd. Then we got a mug of espresso ice cream with a toasted foam dollop, delivered 4th. After those had been set down, we got a brief respite before the donut hold arrived. And then the bowl of macarons and French-style chocolate truffles arrived. Not pictured, is the round of Belgian-style chocolate truffles that arrived in a huge box where we were invited to take as many as we liked. It took two, the dark chocolate and salted caramel. MrsWookie took 3, the dark chocolate, smores, and hazelnut. Also not pictured, a bag full of like 4 tins of cookies I guess to take home or to continue stuffing into your face (we chose the former). Dessert wine was a late harvest sauvignon blanc from I believe Napa, allegedly on the house per our server, but Keller aināt sweating it after what we doled out tonight.
The total:
https://i.imgur.com/ITrgyPq.jpg
Service included, but there was still a line item for additional not really a gratuity on the credit card receipt. No idea what would be remotely customary there, so I threw an additional $50 away, probably like a stingy poor.
Our server did invite us to go see the kitchen after we were done. There wasnāt much to see, as they were mostly cleaned up for the day. I did spy this, though:
Looky there, thereās more than your monthās salaryās worth of food just sitting out in a box on the counter.
It was about 2.5 hrs there, and a very satisfied walk home.
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Not knowing anything about anything about fine dining, 560 for 2? seems like a lol steal of a life time for a meal like that. And thatās mostly on wine, which I care next to nothing for.
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LOL @ U (read the receipt again)
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Add the $700+ he prepaid.
lol, well played, sir.
Though, The French Laundry seems to be the only place in the world where that might actually be the right way to eat a croissant 
The most highly regarded restaurant in the world and the receipt is handwritten with a sharpie? Wat?
What is this the never ending picture game? Alright 1300 is too much. Time for a shaveā¦ with the National Razor.
Itās on a laundry tag.
Ah OK, that makes sense.
When you are done eating, do you have to get up and leave or do they let you chill out for as long as you want? Are you able to make future reservations or do you have to do it online like you did the first time?
We were not at all felt like we were made to rush out, but we were one of the last services of the night. Maybe an earlier seating would have, but probably not.
I figure if I want to go back, Iād have to use the same system.
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At any rate, you would very much want to be first. To start with, thatās when the blade is sharpest, you donāt want a dull blade not finishing the job. Second, it would suck to wait. When they executed the Dantonists, they executed Danton last so he had to watch some of his pals get done in first.
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So this is going to be a dumb question because Iām a fat guy who when not cooking his own food gets Chiliās takeout. Were you full after the meal? 2.5 hours in a restaurant with a few bite sized portions. I understand all the intangibles and awesomeness of a meal like that but at the end of the day how filling is it?
We couldnāt finish all the desserts, and we couldnāt come especially close. It was a ton of food, and like I said, we were feeling pretty satisfied even before the desserts. Personally, I would have traded 2-3 desserts for one more savory course, and had that swap been available, I think I still may not have finished all the dessert.
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