The French Laundry & Other Great Dining Experiences

That was my wife’s. Not savory but slightly less sweet than the others. A pumpkin mouse with anko sweet beans and chestnut cream among other goodies. Definitely more of a Japanese wagashi flavored parfait.

Japanese parfait adventures continue.

An entire delicious peach stuffed with caramel ice cream, atop layers of whipped creme, granola, yogurt, and bananas.

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This looks pretty but doesn’t actually seem easy to eat, or to taste the different layers together. I would rather have the same stuff arranged somehow in a bowl. Did you need to consume half the peach before you could dig in to the stuff underneath?

Yeah the giant whole peach plopped on top is not optimal

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Haven’t heard that name post-pandemic.

Wouldn’t be surprised if COVID took her ranch-loving fat ass out.

I was given a separate plate to dissect the peach and eat as it or put the pieces back into the parfait (which I did). It’s not that uncommon to have parfaits like this in Japan, with chunks of fruit that don’t otherwise fit.

But I agree with both of you. It was good, but more work than I’d care to do while enjoying a dessert. And it didn’t quite measure up to the first couple I posted while being more expensive (probably due to the peach, which was excellent on its own).

Headed to Tokyo next week, so I’ll be on the hunt for more amazing parfaits, and post the results here if they are worthy.

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Piping hot take: Parfaits are mediocre. It’s the classic example of the whole being less than the sum of it’s parts. Mediocre might be a bit harsh, as they’re mostly made of delicious individual components, but I’m certainly not a fan. Every parfait I’ve had, I think I’d prefer if they just put all the components separately on a plate and allow me to mix or not mix stuff at will.

I was in Japan recently and I had a few as they are all the rage out there. If I’m in the mood for dessert I’d take a fresh chocolate chip cookie over any of them AINEC.

Also if the menu says a parfait has granola, don’t believe it. I think the stuff Japanese call granola is a bit different (and worse) than what Americans are used to. Maybe my sample was bad (only 2 cases).

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Like anything they’re hit and miss, but the good ones can be high levels of delicious.

I’d be willing to bet that if you tried the ones I posted earlier from Hokkaido, you’d have come away with a different view.

I’m perfectly willing to accept there is some platonic ideal of a parfait that I might like or even love (are they required to have fruit?). I just haven’t come across it yet.

Most do have fruit, at least bananas (chocolate & banana & the like). But you can find ones without fruit, Most commonly found in matcha parfaits like this one:

Parfait adventures continue. This one a matcha parfait from Nana’s, a matcha tea chain in Yokohama.

Matcha chocolates and anko topped with whipped cream and matcha syrup at the top end. A layer of cereal flakes, soft serve vanilla ice cream, more matcha chocolates, and matcha warabi mochi (a kind of Japan gelatin-like Japanese confectionary) at the bottom.

This one was quite good overall, but I confess to not being a huge warabi fan, which subtracted from the overall experience a bit at the end.

I’m finding that it’s important that you like each element included in the parfait, or that element you don’t care for can detract from an otherwise great taste experience.

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I ate at Barclay Prime in Philly this week. Nicest steakhouse I’ve been to in a long time. Shared the American Waygu 24oz Bone in Ribeye. Absolutely blew my mind how good it was. Best steak I’ve ever had by a pretty big margin. I don’t really have the skillset to even explain how good it was. If you ever have the chance to try Waygu though, do it. Was really tempted to try the Japanese A5 Waygu…maybe next time. Didn’t take any pictures cause that’s not my style, but haven’t stopped thinking about this meal for two days now.

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Any chance you tried the desert. I found it interesting in The Bear they said that the biggest miss in fine dining places is desert. Based on the menu, I could see that here but curious if you refute it?

I can forgive this once, but twice in a row? C’mon.

There are two “s”s because you want a second serving

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No, we had to rush out to get to a show on time. Had the bread thing they make which was incredible, and all the sides were fantastic as well. Truffle mac and cheese, creamed spinach, tater tots, carrots, onion strings, etc. All excellent. Didn’t even look at the dessert menu unfortunately.