Friday, September 23, 2005
Dinner at the Dining Room at Ritz-Carlton, San Francisco, CA
Chef Ron Siegel has always been one of my favorite chefs, ever since I first eaten at Masa's, so I was eagerly awaiting eating at the Dining Room at the Ritz-Carlton. As usual I put myself into his capable hands and ordered the nine course Chef's Tasting Menu for $115. Since there were two of us, with the extra cheese plate, and four intermezzo's it came out to 22 amazing looking and tasting dishes. It's hard to come up with superlative after superlative, but let's give it a try:
Chilled Watermelon Soup with Basil foam
We were greeted with this great palate cleanser, the watermelon was very muted, not as sweet as expected, and did not take over the palate. Very refreshing.
Sea Urchin Panna Cotta with Lobster and Vanilla Scented Oil
I was so eager to rip into this, that I couldn't take a good picture. The sea urchin panna cotta was very evocative of the ocean and was the perfect complement of the lobster.
Chilled Corn Soup with Cavier
Ron Siegal does wonders with corn soup. I had a variant of this one at Masa's and both were just delightful.
Foie Gras Ravioli with Mushroom Broth and Uzaki (???) Sorbet--Actually, this was probably the worst dish of all. Although, oddly, it was the sorbet that held it together.
Squid Sashimi served with jellies of light ponzu, dark ponzu and wasabi
Shrimp sashimi with fresh wasabi
Having never had real freshly grated wasabi, this was a real treat. I'm not sure how I'm going back to the fake stuff.
Powdered seal salt, salt with shesell (?) powder and lemon juice, for dipping the shrimp heads.
Seared Salmon (inside medium rare) covered in coconut sauce. The coconut sauce was poured directly over the fish in front of us. This was easily the best dish (for Alexis), despite its simple ingredients.
Seared bass with caviar, clams and peas in a clam reduction in fused with lemon. Outshined by the salmon, but good in its own right.
After eating the seared salmon, the waiter lifted the inner dish to reveal the surprise within: a salmon ravioli, braised leeks and comato confit, smothered in the same coconut sauce. Not as good as the salmon itself, but still pretty tasty.
Lobster in clarified butter, pork belly and chantarelles. The pork belly and mushroom flavors dominated the lobster, but it was still good.
Seared Foie Gras with pickled huckberries with a brioche crouton. Sweet, sour, fatty goodness.
Squab with squab liver mousse and corn pudding.
Ribeye with marrow tempura, beans and short ribs. Meaty and good.
Veal with crispy sweatbreads on a squash risotto finished with bolivian rock salt. Light in flavor, but full of it.
Strawberry sorbet with fresh fig.
Grape sorbet with grape slices. Better than grape soda or a grape popsicle.
Ginger cake with braised pear and pinot sorbet. Refreshing.
Chocolate mousse with a chocolate etoile and vanilla ice cream.
Finally, the cheese plate...I can't remember it all but there was a nice, creamy goat called "Goat's leap", a camembert, a cow's milk with cheddar and a great stilton.
Ratings:
Food: 3
Decor: 1
Service: 3
Website
Health Code Violations (or this, I'm not sure what it's called officially)
Chilled Watermelon Soup with Basil foam
We were greeted with this great palate cleanser, the watermelon was very muted, not as sweet as expected, and did not take over the palate. Very refreshing.
Sea Urchin Panna Cotta with Lobster and Vanilla Scented Oil
I was so eager to rip into this, that I couldn't take a good picture. The sea urchin panna cotta was very evocative of the ocean and was the perfect complement of the lobster.
Kanpachi Sashimi with Dried Beet and Iranian Cavier with Beet Reduction
The slick texture of the fish might turn off some, but for me this was just amazing.
The slick texture of the fish might turn off some, but for me this was just amazing.
Chilled Corn Soup with Cavier
Ron Siegal does wonders with corn soup. I had a variant of this one at Masa's and both were just delightful.
Foie Gras Ravioli with Mushroom Broth and Uzaki (???) Sorbet--Actually, this was probably the worst dish of all. Although, oddly, it was the sorbet that held it together.
Squid Sashimi served with jellies of light ponzu, dark ponzu and wasabi
Shrimp sashimi with fresh wasabi
Having never had real freshly grated wasabi, this was a real treat. I'm not sure how I'm going back to the fake stuff.
Deep Fried Shrimp Heads
Powdered seal salt, salt with shesell (?) powder and lemon juice, for dipping the shrimp heads.
Seared Salmon (inside medium rare) covered in coconut sauce. The coconut sauce was poured directly over the fish in front of us. This was easily the best dish (for Alexis), despite its simple ingredients.
Seared bass with caviar, clams and peas in a clam reduction in fused with lemon. Outshined by the salmon, but good in its own right.
After eating the seared salmon, the waiter lifted the inner dish to reveal the surprise within: a salmon ravioli, braised leeks and comato confit, smothered in the same coconut sauce. Not as good as the salmon itself, but still pretty tasty.
Lobster in clarified butter, pork belly and chantarelles. The pork belly and mushroom flavors dominated the lobster, but it was still good.
Lobster in clarified butter with hearts of palm and tomatos. Very nicely flavored.
Foie Gras torchon with fig jam, pinot jelly and candied walnut salad.
Seared Foie Gras with pickled huckberries with a brioche crouton. Sweet, sour, fatty goodness.
Paillard with bok choy in a duck consomme. Tender and tasty.
Squab with squab liver mousse and corn pudding.
Ribeye with marrow tempura, beans and short ribs. Meaty and good.
Veal with crispy sweatbreads on a squash risotto finished with bolivian rock salt. Light in flavor, but full of it.
Strawberry sorbet with fresh fig.
Grape sorbet with grape slices. Better than grape soda or a grape popsicle.
Ginger cake with braised pear and pinot sorbet. Refreshing.
Chocolate mousse with a chocolate etoile and vanilla ice cream.
Finally, the cheese plate...I can't remember it all but there was a nice, creamy goat called "Goat's leap", a camembert, a cow's milk with cheddar and a great stilton.
Ratings:
Food: 3
Decor: 1
Service: 3
Website
Health Code Violations (or this, I'm not sure what it's called officially)
# posted by Giao and Alexis @ 9:00 PM 
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