Since it’s been a while, here’s part one and part two to refresh your memory.

After paying our bill at Bouchon, Paul and I wandered in the direction of Keller’s most famous restaurant, the French Laundry.

It’s not the first time I’ve stood in front of this building, and hopefully it won’t be my last. With about an hour to burn before our Ad Hoc reservations we turned our attention to the French Laundry’s garden.

Picture by Paul C.

Perhaps one of my favorite things about this Keller haunt is the fact anyone can just wander through the garden looking at all of the different herbs, fruits and vegetables. One gentleman who was walking in the garden as well was bold enough to pluck one of the ripe strawberries and down it. I was slightly perturbed at first, but when we saw him actually enter the restaurant later on my anger subsided. I figure if he’s going to pay for a meal one little strawberry wouldn’t really matter in the grand scheme of things.

Here are a few more photos:

Picture by Paul C.

Picture by Paul C.

Picture by Paul C.

This Lemon Verbena was really fragrant and caught our attention when we walked by it. I’d kill to have some handy at home to play with. I’m thinking about finding some and soaking it in vodka with a little simple syrup. In my mind it would make an intense and refreshing drink mixed with a little club soda.

Our tour completed, it was time to head back towards Ad Hoc as our reservation time was growing near. Once inside, the feast continued.

First up was a salad of mixed lettuces, a roasted starkrimson pear, crisp pancetta, english stilton and toasted hazelnuts dressed with a caramelized red onion vingaigrette. The pear was particularly interesting not only because it had been roasted, but the middle was stuffed full of stilton cheese and pancetta which made for a rather savory mouthful. Not what you would expect eating a pear, but highly enjoyable nonetheless.

Next was spiced hanger steak (one of my all-time favorite cuts) paired with garden baby carrots, braised salsify, black trumpet mushrooms, delicata squash and bloomsdale spinach. While everything was excellent, the steak really stole the show. It was so tender that I ended up asking the waiter if they had cooked them sous vide before searing the outsides. The waiter was happy to inform me that the meat had simply been grilled, nothing more. It speaks volumes about the quality of the men and women working in the kitchen to turn out such an amazing dish.

At this point in the dinner we engaged the couple sitting next to us in conversation. It turns out that they too were visiting from Texas. Houston, in fact. I mentioned that a very fine nose-to-tail eating establishment was within a few minutes drive of their home, and thus began an excellent conversation that lasted the rest of the meal. The banter was so good that I totally forgot to take pictures of the rest of the meal, but that’s okay. It turned out that they had reservations at Bouchon the next evening, so Paul and I gave them as many tips and suggestions on what to order as possible. It was worth it in the end because I believe that we convinced the pair to try the cider braised tripe dish that I lavished praise on earlier. If I can convert just a few people into offal enjoyers, then damn the dessert pictures and full speed ahead.

Next up: Hunting with Hank Shaw!