I've always been a fan of the show Top Chef, and even watched the spin-off Top Chef Masters. On that show, I fell in love with Hubert Keller. He was the nicest chef, made good food, and was just so humble. So when I found out he owned Fleur De Lys, and it was in San Francisco, it was a done deal for me. My two friends from high school are foodies, so we all agreed to go to Fleur De Lys as a Christmas present to ourselves. We made reservations for Tuesdsay, December 22 back in November, so I have been counting the days ever since. Needless to say, the day had finally arrived! Here is my experience:
- Best service I have EVER had--the hostess was Chantal (Hubert's wife!) and she went around each table a couple times throughout the night asking how everyone was doing. We never had to ask for anything--the waiter knew exactly what to do! He was so friendly and patient. One of the people in the table next to us, went to the bathroom as the main course was coming out, and the waiter immediately brought out silver covers to cover the food so it wouldn't get cold. The level of attentiveness is out of this world! It's not a frilly restaurant either, which I love. It's a nice restaurant, but some people are still dressed more casually (jeans, etc) than others. But they treat the people wearing the 3-pieced suits the same as people wearing jeans.
- I had the 4 course meal--Appetizer: an assortment of items which included caviar and foie gras Seafood Dish: Sea bass Meat: Lamb Dessert: Apple Tart. I wish i could describe it better, but I have to say, it was the best meal of my life. If had to pick a last meal before I died, I would want anything from Fleur De Lys.
- Highlight of the night, I asked if the Chef was in the restaurant. They said he was at his other restaurant, Burger Bar. However, our waiter suggested that he can call and ask to see if they can arrange for us to meet him. He talked to Chantal, and she called Burger Bar to let them know we were coming! Chantal hugged and kissed us good-bye like we were old friends and sent us on our way.
- We walked into Burger Bar where the hostess informed that he would be out shortly. He came out, we shook his hand, and he was so genuinely nice and humble. He signed our Burger Bar cookbooks, and took pictures with each one of us. We thanked him for his time, even though he was very busy, but he insisted we were not taking up his time. I mentioned that he was my favorite on Top Chef Masters, and felt that he should have won. In response, he laughed and just said it was a really fun show. Love him! He is going up on my fashion wall--I will make an exception. He may not be a designer of clothes, but he's a designer of foods!
