I enjoy fine dining and cooking and have had many wonderful meals in many cities, but this really stands out. They serve a “fixed” menu of 5 courses over about 4 hours which changes monthly and is posted on the website ([--]). That doesn’t include the tempura/oyster/sashimi break on the patio between courses 2 & 3. The food is unique in the use of the freshest hard-to-find ingredients (the lobster was waving to us not long before he was served, I'd never even heard of wild asparagus),and layered in such complicated ways it takes a team of several helpers just to assemble them. Don’t worry about being stuck with a menu you can’t eat, they encourage you to adjust the meal according to your tastes (kosher, vegetarian, allergies) and exchange anything that isn’t perfect. You wont go hungry because you can have seconds (or thirds) of your favorites, if you really have room left. After dessert, you’ll finish with herbal tea: you pick which fresh herbs go in your personalized teapot.

Incredible creative food is just the start. You can sit a bar, which contains the stove and prep areas (recommended unless you have a larger group), or tables only a few feet further away. Some prep occurs on the other side of a partial wall, but you can get up and check that out any time. There are a few other meals around the country of this caliber, but they don’t come with the entertainment. The chef is an energetic really funny performer. There sure aren’t any boring pauses between courses. It’s like being in the middle of a TV cooking show but it tastes better. There’s a comfortable, friendly atmosphere that encourages you to get to know some of the other diners.

The only reason I can imagine that there aren’t more reviews here is the cost. The meal is $125 plus tax tip & wine per person so, save it for a special occasion. They claim the bottled wines are retail prices, I’m not so sure. Most are not widely available (at least in AR) but I can buy the ones I recognized for less at my local stores. On the other hand, they’re not unreasonable for a restaurant and the paired tasting (5 glasses for $55) worked out well. I haven’t been to French Laundry but I understand that can run twice the price and I can’t imagine it ANY better. Figure what you think a really special meal would be worth, and then add an evening’s entertainment, it really is worth it.