Reinvigorated Ritz still treats you like royalty (for a price)
Type: French
Prices: Appetizers, soups, and salads $7.50 to $27; entrees $27 to $43; desserts $7.75 to $11.50. Four-course tasting menu, $69 without wine, $99 with wine. Typical cost of a three- course dinner for two, with coffee and a moderately priced wine, about $240, tip included.
Good choices: Appetizers: crab strudel with a cumin sauce; white truffle risotto. Entrees: whole baby pheasant in roasted chicken jus; lobster meat with lobster whiskey sauce; veal chop in a smoked tomato jus. Desserts: cherries jubilee, and souffles that include Sambuca and gingerbread.
Hours: Tues.-Thurs. 5:30 to 10 p.m., Fri.-Sat. 5:30 to 11 p.m., Sun. 5:30 to 10 p.m. Closed Mon.
Credit cards: All major credit cards.
Special restrictions: Jackets and ties for men.
Access: Fully accessible.
DINING ROOM AT THE RITZ
15 Arlington Street, Boston
(The Ritz-Carlton Hotel)
(617) 536-5700
Restaurant reviewed 03/09/98 by Walter Robinson
My two recent visits to the Dining Room at the Ritz-Carlton hotel were occasions for fleeting sorrow. Not for the Ritz - for who could feel sorry for such an institution? - but for myself.
Escorted by a most solicitous maitre d' past an enormous arrangement of fresh lilies to a table overlooking the Public Garden. Fussed over by a squad of waiters and a sommelier who actually employed the silver cup, the tastevin, hanging around his neck. Braced by the company of my wife, Barbara, and good friends on Valentine's Eve. So captivated by the love tunes played skillfully by pianist Ed Meredith that I resented him for taking a short break. Yet I was momentarily saddened.
Then, and during a second visit last week, I regretted never having marked a single one of more than a score of wedding anniversaries in the Ritz dining room, or chosen it - instead of Who Remembers Where - to celebrate our daughter Jessica's birthday or high school graduation.
So much to make amends for.
To be sure, there's not the same hush of anticipation when the food arrives as one would find on the culinary cutting edge at places like Rialto. The Ritz may have the most enchanting dining room in the city, although not because of its food. Now, though, there's a buzz about the Ritz Dining Room: Its daring new chef, Mark Allen, just 32, has brought excitement and experimentation to a menu that has long been known for its tradition and very good, though seldom inspiring, cuisine.
The heavy French influence, and the heavy sauces that go hand-in-hand, have given way to a lighter touch, even as some traditional favorites have been retained. For example, the lobster meat entree once included a whiskey sauce with whipped cream. Now it is lobster with Napa cabbage and potato gnocchi in whiskey and lobster stock.
Allen, who was promoted to the Dining Room seven months ago after winning praise for improving the Ritz Cafe, is intent on winning recognition for the dining room as one of the best local dining destinations. For a long time, Allen said, the Ritz Dining Room "was out of step, out of touch" with the changing tastes of the dining public. "We were in our own world."
But what a world that is: If you want the very best food that can be found around Boston, you'll have to go elsewhere, at least for now. But if you want an excellent dinner from an exciting new menu, in a setting that will etch the experience in your memory, then let Alfonso Delucia, the most pleasant of maitre d's, escort your party to a table set with the Ritz's beautiful new fine bone china and Riedel stemware, sparkling in the light from the room's crystal chandeliers.
But beware: The price tag is as breathtaking as the setting. Most appetizers hover around $20. Many entrees are closing in on $40. And the wine list - so extensive it justifies publication of a Cliff Notes version - has little of note to offer for under $50 a bottle. Even so, a friend who knows his wines found a wonderful 1989 red from Domaine Tempier in Provence, for a quite reasonable - by Ritz standards - $60.
Alas, unless you can afford to live at the Ritz, you cannot afford to venture too often into its dining room.
The $37 veal chop entree can be had for half that price at some good restaurants, though not as perfectly cooked nor with the luxuriant smoky taste that Allen achieves with a reduction made with smoked tomatoes in a chicken stock. But as much as I remember how good the main course was, I shall not soon forget how well Meredith played "You are the Wind Beneath My Wings" and "Don't Cry for Me, Argentina" as we ate.
Almost without exception - and even with the small number of dishes that were not exceptional - the food is cooked to perfection. The seared diver scallops with white truffle potato puree were slightly pink in the center, allowing the sea taste to come through. The sea bass poached in olive oil with a red wine sauce was moist and flavorful. The venison loin was perfectly prepared, rare but not bloody, its texture and taste remarkable. The whole baby pheasant with French lentils and roasted chicken sauce was rich and tasty, and beautifully presented, though just a touch dry.
Save for the price, there's little to complain about: My biggest letdown was a Ritz classic, the Caesar salad for two prepared tableside ($18). Inexplicably, the romaine leaves were chopped into small pieces. The dressing which should have just coated the leaves nearly drowned them. And no fresh pepper.
But the Ritz's shortcomings are more than offset by the experience, and the personal touches that mark each visit.
A first-time visitor was not just directed to the restrooms, but escorted by Delucia, who treats every dinner guest like the royalty who sometimes dine there. When one of our party arrived early for dinner last week, content to wait outside, he coaxed her to be seated at our window table, where a waiter stood poised to take her drink order.
The Rialto at the Charles Hotel has better food, though the wait can be excruciating and it can be difficult to get your waiter's attention. Never so at the Ritz, where the service is almost flawless. And while there's much chatter about the excellent food at Anago at the Lenox Hotel, its tables are so crammed together that diners at adjacent tables seem part of your conversation. At the Ritz, each table is its own quiet oasis. Unlike so many other restaurants, you need not raise your voice to be heard by your companion.
Allen's kitchen also surprises, offering up amuse-gueule - "amuse the mouth" - just after appetizers are ordered, a tradition common in French three-star restaurants. Last week, it was a small slice of delicious braised venison, about two bites in all, atop a sweet potato puree. And after dessert, a plate of chocolate-covered strawberries.
Last week, Allen unveiled his spring menu, with many exciting-sounding new dishes and other traditional offerings prepared with a mix of fresh seasonal ingredients. And for the first time, Allen is offering a four-course tasting menu: venison with ratatouille sauce; sweet potato risotto with shrimp; a grilled veal chop entree; and a pineapple custard Napoleon. Each course is matched with a different wine, for $99; or $69 without wine.
For almost any occasion, the Ritz still beckons with its Old World standards and comfortable fit. Now, Allen vows, "our menu is competitive with all of the city's top restaurants."
Tips & hits
