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Thursday, March 08, 2007

I sure hope I don't get charged for busy signals...

Evidently, I made 43 calls to the French Laundry (before getting put on hold for 13 minutes).

As Nicole and I are not content with peddling a mere metric century in the Long Beach Tour de Cure, we'll also be doing a real century in the Napa Tour. How hard can 100 miles be when you can stop for wine every half mile?

We never ate at the French Laundry while we were living in Napa...I had just graduated, and $85 for dinner (9 course vegetarian tasting menu) seemed way too steep. Also, one cannot get reservations there anyway. (They book 2 months in advance, but that does not really matter, because they never answer the phone). In retrospect, $85 for dinner now appears to have been a bargain. I am very glad gratuity is included in that $240...leaving a $50 tip boggles my mind; actually I guess it would be a $100 tip, as Nicole would likely want to eat, as well. I wonder if gratuity is included on wine. Speaking of wine, their corkage is $50. How expensive of a bottle of wine do I need to bring to make that worthwhile?

So after those 43 calls and 13 minutes on hold, I got my name put on a waiting list for May 6th. I think they train the phone operators to sound surprised when there are no available reservations.

6 comments:

Jessica K. said...

It's my dream to eat there. Once in my lifetime I will get my husband to take me to this once in a lifetime experience. And no...I don't know who this sucker that will take me is.

Michael Lasko said...

Comments (all Jessica) ignored in my cubicle while I waited on hold:

"I want to go"
"Make the reservation for 3"
"Why can't I go?"
"You will not get a reservation, I am placing a hex on you"

Jessica K. said...

Yup! Those were 10 wonderful minutes today. Thank you French Laundry.

Michael Lasko said...

Nico, are you not bothered that a strange woman (very strange woman) frequents my cubicle so often?

Jessica K. said...

Is Nicole not bothered that you keep asking a strange woman to deliver your lunch for you? Everything has a price.

Michael Lasko said...

Probably not. I am not jealous of the Pizza Hut delivery guy...