Reservations to Chef Thomas Keller's The French Laundry!!

I have heard there are blogs documenting the journey from getting the hard-to-get reservation to every bite of the 9 course prix frixe meal....   

It began with spontaneously and somewhat flippantly calling the restaurant when we were in Yountville while visiting Napa Valley, CA in 2009.  My husband actually did get on the wait list but that is as far as we got.  We found the restaurant in U.S. Restaurants 2011 Top Places to Eat.  We had no idea what we were missing nor the near impossibility of getting a reservation.  Fast forward to this year, 2013.  Business plans bring us to San Francisco, CA in September. 

We now know reservations:

1. Cannot be made earlier than 2 months in advance to the date. 
2. You can make them on Open Table as well as by phone.
3.  Are near impossible to get.

We first decided to plan our travel around the reservation we WOULD get (the power of positive thinking) at The French Laundry.  We then picked a period of 2 weeks where we knew we could travel to San Francisco surrounding our business plans.

When the day had arrived, we were two months to the date of our first day in the 2 week period, my husband made the first call only to find out he called on the last day of their normal 2 week break during the summer and the restaurant was closed.  However, he found out that they were reopening in fact, the next morning at 9am to take reservations.  We calculated what time that would be in the Midwest and set the alarm on our phone to begin calling.  The next day I began calling.  Busy, busy and busy.  I then decided I was up against the likes of a radio-station-Winner-call-in kind of situation.  I remembered back to when I was 12 years old, trying to win tickets to a concert and my attempts to get through to the studio line to be that first caller.  Near impossible. 

Then I thought to myself, we have technology now.  I bet I could get a redial app, I thought.  Well, yes you can the two free ones are Redial App and Redial App 2.  The Redial App features include hanging up and redialing continually for you without you manually doing anything.  However, Androids are not compatible with this feature of the software.  Ruled that one out.  The Redial App 2 works but I have to manually hang up but it does automatically dial for you.  I used that for awhile.  It took a total of 1.5 hours of my time including researching the Apps and actually calling. 

Then I thought, I own a business, start thinking like a business woman.  Who could I pay to sit on the phone dialing and redialing?  My teenage son with no summer job.  How much would I pay?  $10/hr? No he'd be happy to make $7/hr.  Should I bonus him if he gets me a reservation?  Absolutely!  I want to keep him at it.  $100, I think is fair.  I asked him, then I asked my retired father then I asked my office manager's daughter.  Finally, batting zero thus far, my office manager said she would do it.  I told her the specs of the job and she began calling.  She immediately began strategizing.  She decided to call first thing when they opened and right near the end of the evening thinking she'd be more likely to get through.  Well, her strategy paid off!  The very next day she got me on the waiting list for a one week period.  This isn't a reservation but I was stoked! 

The weekend came with no more luck.  Saturday morning sitting around discussing how awesome it would be to get this reservation, my husband decided to Google "How to get a reservation at the French Laundry."  He read through an entire page of tips.  Can't make reservations earlier than two months to the date, try making them on Open Table and then...ask someone with a Platinum or Black AMEX card.  They seem to always have luck.  Voila!  We have a Platinum AMEX might as well use it.  We immediately called the Concierge service.  They happily said "of course", and then a "we have guy who knows a guy" type conversation ensued and THE NEXT DAY we received a happy e-mail stating "you have a reservation at The French Laundry"...

I have heard there are blogs documenting this journey....happily, here is one of those blogs. 

My blog post about the meal will be in October sometime!

Best Chef America 2013 - Alaska

The "Alaska" page from Best Chefs America 2013.  I photocopied and brought with us. We planned our restaurant visits with this.  We began half way through getting chef signatures as well.  We made it to 5 of the 13 featured restaurants.

 

At Crow's Nest in Anchorage, Alaska.  Reuben Gerber is the chef featured in Best Chef America 2013.  This is our server making us our Cafe Diablos after a wonderful dinner!  Cafe Diablos are made by peeling two oranges, pinning the rinds together with clove placing this in a skillet of heated alcohol (triple sec and others I forget) then pouring the alcohol now infused with orange rind and clove into the coffee. 

 

 

We attended a Robert Mondavi wine dinner at Seven Glaciers, a Best Chef America 2013 featured restaurant in Girdwood, Alaska.  Best Chef America 2013 Jason Porter made food pairings for the wine tasting. A Robert Mondavi representative spoke about the winery and each of the wines we tasted with each course.

These are 3 couples we sat with (from Anchorage, New Jersey and New York) and had such a good time we exchanged E-mail addresses.

Resurrection Bay Roadhouse in

Seward, Alaska where another Best Chef America 2013 Erik Slater is chef.

 

 

 

Ginger and Chef Guy Conley were featured in Best Chef America 2013.  It is located in Anchorage, Alaska.  We did not go to this restaurant but since I am a foodie geek and we passed it on our walk, I had to take a picture of it.

 

We did not get pictures of the following BCA 2013 restaurants but also went to:

 

Sack's Cafe in Anchorage, Alaska where James Adkinson is featured BCA 2013 Chef but, "he as well as all the line chefs should have been featured" I was told. 

 

Jack Sprat in Girdwood, Alaska where Chris Rattaro is chef.  I had an amazing hummus nacho?! Yes, nacho and it was good!  Pita chips, hummus, bleu cheese crumbles and hirachi sauce, topped with kalamata olives, arugula and pine nuts.

 

 

Black Bear!

We saw a black bear on our hike!

 

We found at the resort calls him Rockstar and that he recently (as of a week before we arrived) began visiting the Resort making appearances.  Whenever he appears, everyone flocks to take pictures and the resort security have to be present to keep them from getting too near.  Hence the name, "Rockstar".

Hiking at Aleyska Resort in Girdwood, Alaska

 Jon and I at the bowl on top of Aleyska Ski Resort mountain

 

Jeremiah and I close to the highest point you can hike on the mountain

 

 View of Turnagain Arm from up top 

                             

 Panoramic view from the top - to the far left is Turnagain Arm which feeds into the Pacific Ocean

 

You had to take this tram to the top of the mountain to either hike or go to the Seven Glaciers restaurant.  It was $20 round trip or free with restaurant reservations.

 

 

 

View of the resort from the top of the mountain.  This ski resort boasts a double black diamond.

 

Another view of Turnagain Arm from the top.