Foie gras – StewsCat

Continuing on our exploration of green, a few weeks ago we headed on up to the Portland area. We had visited twice in the past but mostly stuck with the downtown area and a little bit of east Portland. The goal this time was to explore the surrounding neighborhoods including crossing the northern state border into Washington. Since we were also going to be doing lots of driving, we tacked on a stop in Eugene as well (given my hobby of the last 15 years of running).

Luckily there are direct flights out of John Wayne Airport. Arriving in the early afternoon, we picked up our rental and first stopped for a late lunch before making the 2 hour drive to Eugene. We hit up Nong’s Khao Man Gai at the southeast Portland location and enjoyed some chicken rice (IYKYK) and tried their Chicken Salad Rolls, and I had to get the chicken skins as well. Still very tasty.

And then before the drive we stopped at Push X Pull coffee shop. The barista was nice and also a runner and told me how he just ran the Eugene half marathon and how great it felt to finish on the famed Hayward Field track. He mentioned the drive was a little boring, which I agree with, though it was still prettier than driving on LA freeways.

For my birthday this year, I said f*ck it and decided to indulge a little.

To get a reservation, you need to be on your game. They only take online reservations nowadays and release tables for a 2 month period at a time. So, a few months ago I put on my calendar when they were opening reservations for May and June and hopped on the site when it opened. I was amazed how quickly times and days booked up…within minutes of opening. I managed to snag a Friday lunch time close to my actual birthday.

I’ve never actually dined at multi-starred Michelin fine dining restaurant before, so wasn’t sure exactly what to expect. I specifically didn’t want to read too much about other’s experiences because I didn’t want to go into the meal with bias. I read maybe 1 review but mostly for logistics about parking, etc. Prior to this, the only experience at Michelin starred restaurant was at one-starred Solbar in the Solage resort in Calistoga.

We have many numerous trips to Napa so getting there I was on autopilot and didn’t have to worry about directions and which way to go. There was the expected traffic on a Friday morning so we had planned accordingly. We arrived early to Yountville and sat on a bench in front of the French Laundry’s garden (across the street from the restaurant). It was a beautiful day though a bit warm (still I am amazed at just how much cooler it is in Napa than it is in Sac).

PANO_20180629_120141 — *The French Laundry garden*

Even though it was still a little bit before our reservation, we were anxious to get in and start the experience so we walked through the famous blue doors early.

Just inside the door was a small lobby that felt almost like a boutique hotel/B&B. We were led upstairs to our table immediately. The decor and feel of the place was much like you were eating in someone’s home.