Women are Pretty Cool People

As a belated birthday present, the Wife took me up to Napa valley for the weekend. It was a brilliant surprise, full of little gems that were perfect for me. We stayed at a wonderful, romantic resort, ate brie and ham sandwiches at the Oakville Grocery in Yountville; had amazing French mussels in red wine sauce (dip the French bread!) at Bistro Jeanty.

With the Wife not drinking, the wine tasting was left up to me, and I'm not a big taster (I like what I like and don't want to mix it with too many other things before driving 20 minutes to wait in line), but we stopped off at my old boss' vineyard in St Helena and got invited to taste in Dennis' office, the guy who runs it. I'm not a big sparkling wine fan, but this stuff was really good. The executive chef from Roy's in San Francisco stopped by and brought some brownies, and the afternoon slipped away.

But the best part of the weekend involved the most amazing meal I have ever had in my life. I don't throw that phrase around lightly. The wife had, by some twist of luck or timing, managed to get a reservation at The French Laundry, a small California, eclectic restaurant that gets 4,500 phone calls a day for reservations and books 2 months in advance.

Our reservation was at 5:30, and as we rolled into Youtnville at 5:15 and parked across the street from the restaurant, we saw a bunch of chefs sitting at picnic tables in a small park holding up vegetables from a nearby garden. We checked in and walked back across the street to the garden -- a perfect layout of exquisite herbs and vegetables laid out in neat little rows. The chefs had finished their meeting, and now milled about as Thomas Keller, the owner and inspiration for the restaurant, lowered the flag from a flagpole and chatted calmly with the chefs.

The restaurant seats 62 people. I think they had as many servers and wait staff. Everything was perfect -- the presentation, the decor, the service -- but the best thing was the food. I have never tasted anything like what I had that night, and over the 3 1/2 hours and 9 courses, I found a gentle, persuading calm wash slowly over me.

We left full, but not stuffed. The perfect amount.

The French Laundry is a wildly expensive restaurant, but I have to say, it is the epitome of food as art and life. It reminds you of why you eat in the first place and is worth every penny.