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Our 10th wedding anniversary at The French Laundry |
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Cheers! |
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Celebrating at the French Laundry |
On Tuesday, May 31, 2011, we celebrated a delicious decade of
magical marriage at the world famous
French Laundry up in
Yountville, just north of Napa (where, ironically, we spent our very first anniversary, hosting my first Thrillville show at
Copia, now closed but,
like the Parkway, is
rumored for a revival). Now, I am not a foodie, but Monica is, and this was Plan B (or Plan A.2) since we couldn't make it to the original destination for this date, Paris. We did go see the new Woody Allen flick
Midnight in Paris (read my review
here) later that night, but this was definitely the next best thing, and cheaper by a few bucks to boot. Also, this celebrated restaurant is much harder to get into than France, so just the fact we got a reservation was a sign from Above this was meant to be. Before dinner we strolled around Yountville on a mini bar crawl, stopping at the swank bar at the spa resort
Bardessona and then a classy place down the road called
Redd. Cocktails were excellent at both spots, which was a good thing, since the French Laundry, amazingly, does not feature a full bar. We did polish off a bottle of their house champagne, along with both the regular and the vegetable tasting menu. Every single bite of every single item was perfectly delicious. It was a very elegant, entertaining, exquisite, and expensive experience, well worth it, especially since it was a dream come true for my beloved bride. We may not have Paris - yet - but we'll always have The French Laundry. And with that tab, it'll have us for a while, too. Cheers.
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Monica: so happy to be at The French Laundry |
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The bar at Bardessona |
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Monica at Bardessona |
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At Redd |
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Cheers (Redd) |
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Ravishing at Redd |
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Showing off Monica's anniversary gift, a Sinatra-style pinkie ring |
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at Bardessona |
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This scene at the French Laundry says it all. |
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Monica in the French Laundry kitchen |
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That day's menu, autographed by famed chef Thomas Keller |