Pic may well be the best restaurant in the World. Now, there's a bold statement, but you'd be hard…read morepressed to identify a finer place. Pic is my pick for the best there is, anywhere. I urge you to bust the piggy bank and pick Pic too. Be advised that dinner will deliciously last 4 1/2 hours. Settle in the bar and do your stomach stretching exercises. Before your wiggle into your elegant wing back chair a tiny Shrimp Papaya Tart, Peanut Marshmallows, Vegi-chips and a few Yuzu Bon Bons shows up. To call these bar nibbles is sacrilegious. Push the handmade linen cocktail napkin under your Aperitif, nibble away and wait for your table which will be ready when you are. (Topped off, I was ready for the check by the last Yuzu crumb). You will be ushered to your table by a phalanx of staff. The tables are far enough apart to park your Maybach between them and there is no rock loop of Francis Cabral's Greatest to interrupt the professional servers waiting to wait on you. They are standing by, hands on cloches, ready to uncloche in unison and reveal the Veal or whatever the next course of magic will be. Pic is in the same league at The French Laundry and even though TFL is arguably the best in the USA (and it is) Pic makes it seem like the French Laundromat. Pic is what you'll find at the end of the rainbow. Leaf through the Menu cards that describe what's coming. There is professional cover girl photo of each dish as if it were a Japanese food stall in Tokyo Station. There are 3 set menus from Petit to Superhero. (See my bib, shovel and expando shorts? I am Food Man). Read the menu. Four years at the Sorbonne and three years at the Langley Language Immersion Program won't fully describe what you're about to have. An Amuse-Bouche of micro curls of Carrots and Beets settled into a Carrot Puree opens the door to culinary paradise. It resembled a beautiful Best of Show flower. And, each plate is made especially for each dish. Aren't yours at home? After your Champagne (Pic's own Billecart-Salmon Brut), the Somm and a helper will bring the Wine List. Remember to lift with your legs as it weighs as much as a bag of bowling balls. It is daunting at over 100 pages which is more than I read in 7 years of graduate work. At home I open the fridge, twist the spigot on the carton and, voila, the wine drips into my Dixie Cup. I suggest you smile at the Somm and say in your best pidgin French."Fais moi, s'il vous plait". Even though your menu has a menu-ette of courses the Chef will send out surprises such as a lovely Brie D'Maux with Vanilla (a ramekin of melted Brie Soup with a savory Tuile). Oooh baby was that spiritual just like you was at the Pope's own High Mass. Say a small prayer that you can finish. Never mind, just enjoy the bottomless basket of rolls and breads. Lemon Bread, Coffee Bread, Gluten Free Bread for the Californians, and mini Baguettes all served with cultured butter from a willing neighborhood cow laced with Madagascar Pepper and Tonka Beans. By now, your stomach will have stretched to the size of Goodyear Blimp or the cow that gave it up for you. Half way through the meal out comes the Chinese White Tea to energize the taste buds. Now that those babies are perky again, out comes a meat course. Then you get another palate CPR dish. A cold Plum in Rose Sauce with Meringue. Think of this as the ultimate honeymoon where you want to take your time and savor everything. 1. Assorted Baby (seedless) Tomatoes (how'd they do that?), Murcott Mandarins, Chloe Berry, Sage Consumme, with Olive Oil Ice Cream. Tomato haters, I defy you to hate this dish. 2. Berlingots (mini pasta purses) stuffed with Smoked Banon (local cheese) which could have been Julia Child's last request...or mine. 3. Langoustine, Dashi, Honey, Kerorima (Ethiopian Grains of Paradise), Angelica Pepper, with Yuzu Zest. You'll never order Walnut Shrimp in Mayo at Man Fook Lo again. 4. Oysters with Coffee, Whiskey and Rhubarb Compote sounds like a nasty child made it up but it is truly divine. The sauce is made table side and then goes to the kitchen where it is transformed into it's final stage like having the neighbor kid put your IKEA dresser together. 5. John Dory with Abalone, Sage, Lemon Balm, Leeks, and Cream. Yup...it's the Balm. 6. Blue Lobster (probably the water was cold) with Smoked Dashi, Raspberry-Barberry Chutney and Lavender (from the Amenity basket in the room?) 7. Smoked Squab, Vanilla, Roasted Barley, Phuc Ouoc Pepper was as complicated as a Breguet Tourbillon. 8. Sweetbread Medallions Sauteed in Coffee, Gruyere Caramel, Baby Artichoke and Fried Capers. 9. Lamb with a hedgerow of Artichokes. 10. A Cheese Cart the size of a school bus filled with artery clogging wonders. And to my Internist I say "Bite Me". 11. Chocolate Honeycomb fit for a Queen Bee. 12. Raspberry with Cinnamon, Chocolate, and Coffee Cream. You'll scream. 13. Bilge Pump and EMT's. Pic is my pick.

Currently one of only a handful of Michelin 3* Female Chefs in the world, the second in her…read morebloodline to achieve the red guide's highest award at the restaurant and hotel bearing her name within the town of Valence, Anne-Sophie Pic needs little introduction to those in tune to world class cuisine, and yet with all of her accolades and restaurants soon to be opened in New York the flagship Maison still seems somewhat underrated when compared to her male contemporaries, an oversight from every angle when taking into account the creativity and quality delivered during a three and a half hour meal that left me smiling and contemplative after each and every plate. Cited by some as being a bit 'too' stuffy, and in fact one of the most serious dining rooms ever visited whether in Europe or back home in the States, the experience at Maison Pic begins the moment one opens the doors, and from the colorful unicorn in the foyer to Lalique crystals and mirrors everywhere the feeling is undoubtedly feminine, though touches such as rich wood bar stocked with several vintages of Scotch and chest of cigars seen en route through the lobby show signs of refinement for all who enter to enjoy. Seated at a plush two-top that could easily have handled four in less elegant environs it was but moments after settling in that a young man arrived offering aperitifs, a selection of Alain Milliat's Apricot nectar proving a pleasant palate refresher throughout a meal during which flavors traversed a wide range, at times simple and pure while others were so complex that index-carded menu sharing the chef's process proved 'required reading' just to grasp what was occurring on the plate. Opting for the Essentials menu, a 320€ journey that would prove by far the most expensive tasting of the trip, it was with a trio of exotically spiced canapés that the scope of influences was introduced and progressing to Sophie's signature foie gras custard beneath a dollop of fragrant green apples the oft-riffed dish spoke volumes in both texture and nuance, the crackling top a light kiss of sweetness amidst the unctuous liver while sours from the cream lingered on the lips long after the small dish was scraped clean. Treated to several types of bread from a basket that arrived warm alongside the sort of butter that makes one want to give up their citizenship and move to a dairy farm in rural France, it was perhaps thirty minutes after seating that the tasting officially kicked off and with each course sauced tableside for both effect and the maximization of taste, texture, and temperature the opening volley of tomatoes surrounding smoky cheese with floral topnotes was delicious prologue to all that was to come. Truly a 'journey,' in that the menu unfolds as a story rather than just presenting a number of synchronous plates to showboat the skills of the staff, suffice it to say that with Chef Pic's words presented alongside each plate one would be foolish to attempt to reinterpret the meaning behind each, and as such unfair to attempt to dissect each dish one is instead coaxed to simply embrace the beauty and execution, a situation only marred by the sort of formal yet entirely impersonal service that makes it seem as though the diner's awe has gone unnoticed - a mere "Merci" quietly uttered to admiration induced by the beautiful carrots with the same response given as I sat stunned by the kitchen's use of coffee to accent oysters as well as the most voluptuous sweetbreads I've tasted to this day. Showcasing a list of vegetables, spices, and proteins sourced from locations spanning just down the road to the far reaches of the world it was perhaps a bit of a surprise that when it finally came time for cheese the options were mostly limited to those hailing from France, and although a nearly thirty-minute delay in service before the Brie de Meaux was unapologetically brushed aside as an 'error in the kitchen' one would be hard pressed to find any flaw in the age or novelty of the several varieties presented, not to mention the complementary bread dotted with golden raisins that spoke of Sauternes despite being tinged with a mixture of Cotes du Rhone and something described as being 'like Port.' Nearing 22:30, and admittedly a bit 'long' for a solo diner considering the sterility of the experience, it was with a wide smile that M. Pic emerged from the kitchen to greet her guests before dessert was served and with surprisingly good English paired with perfect manners and a smile the time spent at each table easily spanned five minutes, her jovial spirit breathing a bit of life into the end of the evening that culminated with a small bergamot meringue over chilled cherry soup followed by mignardises and a pure white cube that shattered in layers to the fork, the flavors beneath unraveling first as sweet and floral before dissipating as vanilla with the slightest hints of pine.