Maurice Graham Henry on French and
French-influenced restaurants in San Francisco and the Napa Valley
 San
Francisco has long had a well-deserved reputation as one of the world's
best fine dining locales. More recently, the Napa Valley has also
become a first-rate fine dining destination in its own right, where the
cuisine and wines of France are not neglected. In fact, at The
French Laundry the are reinvented under the designation "American
Cuisine with classic French Influences", with sometimes spectacular
results. It remains the only restaurant in the greater San Francisco
area to be awarded three Michelin stars. I encourage you to
frequent these restaurants on this short but carefully chosen list when
visiting San Francisco and the Napa Valley.
Maurice Graham Henry
October 22, 2007
The French Laundry: the 2006 review by Francis Bown
"The meaning of the superlative has been undermined
by the mass media. On television, in newspapers, even nowadays on the
wireless (which in Britain, at least, has a couple of channels which
have managed to maintain some semblance of decency and order), it seems
that every story must scream at us in the language of extremity. Many,
clearly, believe that this is the only way to attract and hold our
attention. Such debasement of our public discourse is vulgar. And it
creates a real difficulty. What words are left when one encounters
something which truly needs to be described with superlatives? This is
my current problem. For I have just been back to what might well be the
best restaurant in the world – The French Laundry."
THE FRENCH LAUNDRY: SOLID BUT IMPERFECT Gastroville rates The French Laundry
a solid 16/20
"The cuisine of Keller in
lesser hands now displays an automatic, slightly assembly line quality,
sacrificing greatness in flavor for consistency and predictability. This
is now a cuisine geared for the 'once in a lifetime in a three star'
type diner who should be awed by the luxury ingredients, such as white
truffles, lobster, caviar and Wagyu beef, plus an unrelenting pace set
by numerous desserts. The problem is that the quality of the luxury
ingredients is either poor (caviar, truffles) or merely adequate, and
the preparations are hardly compelling. All this said, this is still one
of the best restaurants in California..."
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Best French Restaurants in
San Francisco and the Napa Valley
Reviews and contact information for our recommended list of the best
French restaurants in and around San Francisco:
Addresses, phone & fax numbers
Links to official restaurant websites
What do the critics say?
Tier 1
Simply the Best
Tier
2
Excellent
Tier 3
Superior
Michelin has expanded its
exclusive hotel and restaurant guide series in North America to include
San Francisco, the Bay Area and the Wine Country.
The Michelin
Guide San Francisco & the Bay Area 2008, has now arrived. The Guide
covers hotels and restaurants in San Francisco, Oakland, San Jose
and Berkeley, as well as the Wine Country including Napa and Sonoma.
 
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