A Tale of How the Little Guy Bloggers Tried to Get A Reservation at the Big French Laundry During the Sonoma Wine Festival

Well, the BF and I decided last night that we would attend the Sonoma Wine Country Weekend in two weeks. We went last year and it was absolutely amazing, so we made a blood oath over a bottle of Forth Vineyards rosé that we would go every year until the day we died. It came upon us very quickly this year, because we were so distracted by our busy summer, and now we are having a horrific time trying to score reservations.

To top it off, this morning I had an epiphany- I MUST GO TO THE MOST FAMOUS RESTAURANT IN AMERICA- FRENCH LAUNDRY. I logged on to Open Table and put in my date and time...and the rejection began... the earliest available date was in mid-September. I then read that they only have two tables of 4 available through Open Table, so slightly relieved, I dialed up the reservation line. It was busy. I called back a few hundred more times. It was still busy. The BF had the brilliant idea to Google "how to get a reservation at French Laundry" and found 152,000 posting on the subject. After reading just a few we found out they get over 500 calls a day and it is almost impossible to get reservations.

Hmmm... this seemed to be quite an obstacle, preventing a cute blogger from having a beautiful meal in the most famous restaurant in America....I was about to give up and then I heard Mom's voice in my head, "Quitters give up and YOU are not a quitter!" That is right! I am not a quitter, so I will try every day until August 28th to get a reservation, and if that doesn't work I will stand outside the door that night and beg and plead with Chef Thomas Keller to let this little blogger in his big restaurant. And you will be kept informed of my adventure, because I am going to chronicle it!

DAY ONE

I was very excited to find a website that was dedicated to securing reservations at French Laundry. People who were tired and defeated by the arduous task of securing a reservation at French Laundry had contacted a person on this blog and something magic happened... they got a reservation. So, today I emailed the magician and begged and pleaded for his/her help. If I could have soaked my email with tears I would have!

I have also started saying a mantra every hour, "I will get a reservation at French Laundry on August 28th, I will get a reservation at French Laundry on August 28th." I believe in the power of positive thought!

Stay tuned... if I am not successful I plan to email Chef Tom Colicchio, Arnold Schwarzenegger, Oprah, The Oregonian, The San Francisco Chronicle, etc...pleading with them to help The Little Blogger Who COULD (get a reservation at French Laundry with only 17 days to go, that is)!