The French Laundry: Consistently Ranked Among the World's Best

Few fine restaurants boast a past as sordid as The French Laundry. Even so, the Yountville, Calif. eatery is consistently rated among the world's best, and makes for an easy choice as a Luxist nominee in the best fine domestic dining category.

In the late 1880s, the building that currently contains the three Michelin star French Laundry was a humble saloon. When a town ordinance mandated that no alcohol be served within two miles of Yountville, the building was converted first into a brothel, then to a French steam laundry by the 1920s. In 1974, the town's mayor bought the laundry and converted it into a restaurant; twenty years later it was purchased by current owner and chef Thomas Keller.
Keller had spent much of the prior decade working at some of the finest restaurants in the world, including Guy Savoy and Taillevent in Paris, both Luxist Awards' fine dining nominees in the international category . He used his experience abroad to create the French-influenced American cuisine that currently populates The French Laundry's menu-like a foie gras dish decked with a Riesling glaze, Silverado Trail strawberries, Piedmont hazelnut streusel, radish, watercress and black truffle.

The French Laundry's prix fixe dinner menu costs $250, service included; drinks can run the tab much higher. Throughout the nine-course tasting menu, though, no single ingredient is ever repeated, leaving the palate surprised and delighted at every turn.

Emeril opened Delmonico in 1998, choosing New Orleans' historic garden district for his restaurant. The restaurant quickly gained fame for its delicious offerings, most notably the crispy pork cheek. Over the past summer, chef Spencer Minch---who holds down the fort when Emeril isn't around-cooked up a different menu focusing on a different country's cuisine every month.

This September, the nation of choice is Germany. Dishes on the three-course, $45 menu include beer braised bratwurst with house-made sauerkraut, mustard and a soft pretzel; white wine poached trout with brown butter potatoes, asparagus and German green sauce; and roast duck breast with apple braised cabbage, celery root, and juniper glaze.
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