My Meal at the French Laundry

[Special K]

Where and how much was your Porsche rental?

[Expresso]

Statebird was good, but i thought Progress overall was better. I would check it out once tho. The dim sum style service isnt for everyone tho. Hard to compare Saison and State though, two totally different restaurants.

As for Japan, keep hounding the staff at your hotel. 90% of the restaurants will only take resos from hotels. I found some hotels arent very willing unless you are very persistent and dont take No for an answer.

Saito is tough, its probably as hard or harder to get than TFL.

[westopher]

Originally Posted by skiiipi

So state bird didn't live up to the hype?
Maybe I'll just stick so saison then.

A buddy I used to work with is working at Saison right now. He's absolutely loving it. I'm jealous, but he's paid his dues, thats for sure. Looking forward to when I can do that.

[skiiipi]

Originally Posted by Special K

Where and how much was your Porsche rental?

Rented from Hertz SFO, 4 days, unlimited Km, costed around $1000

[skiiipi]

Originally Posted by Expresso

Statebird was good, but i thought Progress overall was better. I would check it out once tho. The dim sum style service isnt for everyone tho. Hard to compare Saison and State though, two totally different restaurants.

As for Japan, keep hounding the staff at your hotel. 90% of the restaurants will only take resos from hotels. I found some hotels arent very willing unless you are very persistent and dont take No as an answer.

Saito is tough, its probably as hard or harder to get than TFL.

Yea i might end up staying at the St. Regis in Osaka for 2 nights on points, so hopefully their concierge is more competent and can help me book all my resturant needs in Japan.

Thanks for the information on State bird, I think I want to try it because the reservation are so hard to get.

And I picked Saito cause it seems to be the most foreigner friendly among the 3 michelin star sushi bars on Tokyo. Sukiyabashi jiro is out for sure, due to its mediocre reviews and the fact that he 100% doesn't accept foreigners...if anything go see his sons place.

And without turning this too off topic, what would you (or anybody reading this thread) recommend as the must eat michelin star eateries in Japan.... Since my flight and hotel on this trip is all via points... Price isn't really an issue.... Though I probably wouldn't want to pay $800+ for a kaiseki meal in some of the resturants in Kyoto.

[Marshall Placid]

Originally Posted by skiiipi

Rented from Hertz SFO, 4 days, unlimited Km, costed around $1000

That's a good deal, relatively speaking, for a new or current Porsche model.

A 2015 A6 is about $700.

So, for $300 more...

[skiiipi]

Originally Posted by Marshall Placid

That's a good deal, relatively speaking, for a new or current Porsche model.

A 2015 A6 is about $700.

So, for $300 more...

Yes they normally go for 450/day.
I managed to find a good deal online about 2 months in advance.

Though when I was returning the car the dude said they often upgrade people to the 911 for $50/day if you book a premium or luxury. SFO has over 30 991 911s in their fleet, a bunch of Cayman too. And a few Panamera Hybrid S..... Buddy asked me if I wanted the Panamera instead of the 911.. I declined as I wanted to drive the 911. Drove 700 miles in 4 days, including some great twisties in LA Honda area and Calistoga

[DaFonz]

Originally Posted by skiiipi

Yea I'm booking all my hotels in Japan on my Spg points, so I'm staying at the Sheraton Miyako Tokyo as well as the Sheraton Miyako Osaka... Already in contact with their concierge, except they don't sound too confident... They keep saying how it's really hard and they are often not successful.

I'm trying to get reso at Sushi Saito and yoshitake for sushi, as well as Esaki for traditional Japanese for Tokyo. And also trying to get reso at Fujiya 1935 in Osaka and Kichisen in Kyoto.

So far the only resturant that amex was able to get me a reservation at was lunch at Shunsaiten (2 Michelin star tempura) in Osaka.

I dont know if you're trying to collect stars, but there are lots of places to consider that don't have three stars that I'd argue are just as good.

In japan, some top chefs will outright reject the michelin guide because "they dont understand japanese food".

Now that tabelog has an english version, I'd highly suggest you look there too.

[westopher]

Very good advice^

[Energy]

Originally Posted by skiiipi

Yes they normally go for 450/day.
I managed to find a good deal online about 2 months in advance.

Though when I was returning the car the dude said they often upgrade people to the 911 for $50/day if you book a premium or luxury. SFO has over 30 991 911s in their fleet, a bunch of Cayman too. And a few Panamera Hybrid S..... Buddy asked me if I wanted the Panamera instead of the 911.. I declined as I wanted to drive the 911. Drove 700 miles in 4 days, including some great twisties in LA Honda area and Calistoga

But do they have manuals?

[bcrdukes]

Pro-tip for you guys deciding on renting from Hertz: Sign up for their loyalty program. After so many rentals segments and/or days, you are entitled to some perks which you can apply to your luxury vehicle rentals.

I've fared very well with National.

[skiiipi]

Originally Posted by Energy

But do they have manuals?

No unfortunately not, it's a pdk with the 20" Carerra wheels, navigation, and upgraded stereo.

Originally Posted by bcrdukes

Pro-tip for you guys deciding on renting from Hertz: Sign up for their loyalty program. After so many rentals segments and/or days, you are entitled to some perks which you can apply to your luxury vehicle rentals.

I've fared very well with National.

Yup I'm a hertz president circle and national executive elite.
I always drive Audi and Volvo's etc for $30 a day thanks to the executive section, got a q70 SUV last year for $40/day in lax too.

Hertz's program doesn't upgrade you as well though. The only upgrade tat was note worthy was a Mustang GT from a $30 compact rental.

[skiiipi]

Originally Posted by DaFonz

I dont know if you're trying to collect stars, but there are lots of places to consider that don't have three stars that I'd argue are just as good.

In japan, some top chefs will outright reject the michelin guide because "they dont understand japanese food".

Now that tabelog has an english version, I'd highly suggest you look there too.

I will check out tablelog for sure, collecting stars is a small part of it, but I just figure it's a easy way to pick a good resturant. And I honestly thought michelin star resturant would be more foreigner friendly and would take reservations from amex and such, but clearly I was wrong.

[skiiipi]

So far I got a reservation at Esaki Tokyo... That's what my hotel was able to get me.. No luck on sushi Saito.
Clearly these concierge are not the type to really go out of their way and try to secure tables for customers. When they told me that it was fully booked, I asked if they can keep an eye out for cancellation, and they responded with "we do not provide that service".

[skiiipi]

Also got reservation at Chihana and Fujiya 1935 in Kyoto and Osaka.
Now all I need is a sushi place and I'll be a happy camper.

[Wilso09]

Have you tried Charlie Trotters in Chicago prior to Trotter's death? One of the best dining experiences I've ever had back when I was willing to spend that kind of money on the experience, haha.

Also went to Alinea while I was in Chicago and it was a great experience too. Different, more modern and all about "innovation" versus traditional methods of "fine dining". Personally I enjoy the traditional styles of Trotter's when I was in Chicago.

The French Laundry was on my bucket list when I was willing to spend the cash, but now I just can justify the price. Haha

[skiiipi]

No unfortunately I never had a chance to try Charlie Trotters.

Yea i definitely know that Alinea is all about innovative and molecular gastronomy... Grace recently got 3 stars as well so that might be worth checking out.
My parents live in Chicago, so I try to visit them twice a year.