My husband and I recently visited Sonoma County for a wedding. Ahead of our visit, we were lucky enough to snag reservations at The French Laundry. The restaurant holds three Michelin stars and is frequently on a variety of “best restaurant” lists. If you’ve followed my blogs, you know dining is one of my favorite aspects of travel. Needless to say, we were excited to experience the famous restaurant.

We arrived just in time for our lunch reservation and were immediately escorted to our seats. The restaurant offers two tasting menus, one vegetarian. Menus change daily to reflect the best ingredients. We both opted for the non-vegetarian option.

Every item on the nine-course menu was incredible, though I did have some favorites, including oysters, an Alaskan king crab raviolo and Peking duck. Since we were in wine country, we asked our waiter to recommend a few wines to accompany our meal. I started with a sparkling wine, then a white and a red. The final dessert course was a variety of treats from chocolate truffles to berry panna cotta.

The meal was fantastic from start to finish, as was the service. As a parting gift, each guest receives a tin of cookies to enjoy at home and a copy of the menu from their visit. It truly was a dining experience I won’t soon forget.

— Katie Skrzek, vice president/digital director