The Dining Room - San Francisco - 5 stars

Date:Jan. 14, 2006

Type of cuisine:Fine French-Californian

Comments:
Highly recommended

General Impressions:
We had the 9 course tasting menu on Jan. 14, 2006. The chef has amazing talents. All the dishes are extremely clever, but with a whimsical sense of humor, so you feel intrigued by the chef's personality and consideration. Server/Manager? told us that the chef would go down to the farmers market every week with his truck to pick up the ingredients. No wonder he used a lot of satsuma, blood orange, and kanpachi. All seasonal ingredients.

Lovely restuarant, interesting combination of decor, classic furniture in reds and golds, and modern paintings in lots of greens and blues. Perfectly echoing the style of his dishes: a beautiful balance of lightness and richness. Quite nice serving staff, know how to make the guests feel comfortable with the the right kind of quips while offering impeccable service. The only two faux-pas that occurred the entire evening is that my water glass was filled only when it was below 30% full, and they tried to add plain water to my sparkling water. The first one I can live with, the second one only happened once, so overall, still top-notch service.

We don't drink, so can't comment on the wine list. I can, however, commend them highly on the choice of sparkling water: Hilden. Very crisp texture, not too flavorful in minerals to obstruct the dishes, bubbles just the right size to cleanse the palate without numbing them. Not many resturants understand the importance of matching sparkling water with their dishes. Ex: recommending Perrier...ughh...

So, cut through the chase: the menu. *Big thanks to the poster above (Laurie?) for putting up THEIR menu in such details. Then I just need to make a few changes instead of dragging up my food besotted memories...

Each course has two versions. The top ones go together as a set, and the bottom ones as a set.

Oh, gifts from the chef:

1. Chestnut chicken soup
Wonderful start. Very fitting with the season.

2. Sashimi
Kanpachi, topped with thin slices of red raddish, and ponzu sauce.

I don't know...I thought hirame would be a better choice, because it is lighter, sweeter, and chewier. Winter is also a great season for it. My companion thought kanpachi is better, because it is fattier. Ah well.

3. Sea urchin panna cotta with avocado and Dungeness crab

Bold use of sea urchin. Tastes pretty good though, but I'd like to taste more sea urchin, and perhaps use Boston sea urchin, which has a stronger, darker flavor, thsn the lighter, sweeter kind used here (maybe Santa Barbara?).

Nine Course Menu

Salsify Soup
golden osetra caviar, miagi oyster
Oyster is buried at the bottom of the bowl, and caviar is placed at the top.

Matsutake Consommé
foie gras ravioli, matsutake consomme, yuzu sorbet
Yuzu sorbet is advised to be eaten between bites to cleanse the palate. Very fragrant matsutake consumme, with a little bit of cooked garlic it to give it an undertone of spiciness.
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Sashimi Of Blue Fin Tuna
geoduck, shaved radishes, shiso and orange gelée, smoked maldon sea salt

Grilled day boat scallops
Grilled scallops sitting on a bed of sliced avocados, surrounded by cooked(grilled?) blood orange slices, topped with baby clover and cilantro, drizzled with satsuma vinegrette.

Beautiful dish, wonderful balance of warmth from orange and coldness from the avocado and vegi. Scallops are cut about 1/2 from the length so it becomes even more chewable and tender, releasing all the sweetness to balance the tartness of blood oranges.
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Turbot
Black truffles on top, accompanied by asparagues and other vegetables. A rich sauce.

Black Cod
A two layered dish, really. The top layer is a piece of grilled black cod. Wonderfully done. Crispy on the top, juicy in the middle. Poured over with some coconut juice and lime sauce the dripped through holes in the top layer of the dish to the bottom, hidden from me. After I finished the black cod, the server removed the top dish, and revealed:
Prawn ravioli, leeks, and artichoke heart. My guess is that the artichoke heart has been precooked in white wine. Then all topped with a bit of chives.

All supurb.
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Maine Lobster
red wine braised oxtail, chanterelles, red onions

Very bold pairing, to use red wine/oxtail as sauce for the lobster. Worked out extremely well, and the red onions served to remove the slight greasiness left by the oxtail sauce.

Maine Lobster
Golden oestra caviar, celery root, cooked cabbage heart, and salsify sauce with celery root reduction.

Delicious caviar piled on top of the lobster, which enhanced the flavor of the lobster, the smooth taste of celery root smothers the sharp saltiness of the caviar, and finally the cooked cabbage's slight bitterness rounded up the entire process. The theme of citrus fruit is still present in this dish, can taste but can't see. In the sauce, I think.
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Chilled Foie Gras
pinot gris gelée, housemade quince jam, mache, candied pecans, grilled bread

The bread is less than perfect, being a bit too greasy on the fingers. Otherwise, perfect follow up to the lobster.

Hot Foie Gras
spicy pickled huckleberries, crouton, apple juice infused with black pepper

Hot foie gras as grilling the raw liver. Beautifully done, just the right balance of rawness and richness. Huckleberries a bit too sweet for me, might be a personal thing. Still, a very stronge statement of change in the taste/style of the tasting menu. Great transitional dish. Follows up wonderfully with the previous lobster. We tried imagining what it would be like if our dishes switched at this point, and our common conclusion was that it would be disastrous: too greasy on one side, and too clashing with the creaminess of the salsify sauce on the other.

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Squab Breast ****
Squab liver mousse, garlic slivers, pomegranate seeds, cardamom broth, and a slice of squab liver

Squab so tender and rich...and just the right choice for a winter menu. Using the liver as flavoring is another ingenious touch.

Red Pondicherry Crusted Duck Breast
cipollini onions, brocauli florets, satsuma mandarins

I've never had brocauli before, only wondered about them a lot. I'll stop wondering and start eating them. The sweetness of cauliflower mated with the crunchiness of brocauli. Perfect combination. Duck breast is so amazingly tender tender tender...the best
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Milk Fed Veal Tenderloin
Topped with bone marrow, veal in the middle, wilted spinach at the bottom, surrounded by potatoes (fingerlings, maybe?), port reduction sauce.

Milk Fed Veal Tenderloin
Lightly fried chicken on the top, veal in the middle, with candy cap mushroom (I think) risotto at the bottom, finished with a tangerine sauce.

I can't believe it is chicken. I really can't. So juicy and tender, melts in your mouth. Contrasts with the firm, lean, tenderness of veal. Then adding the chewiness of the risotto, with the occasional bites of candy cap. Heavenly. Of course, tangerine sauce, ending to the citrus theme.
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Beet Sorbet
Blood orange gelee

It tastes very...beet. I'm not too fond of red beets, but my companion loved it. Said it was perfect finish to the veal.

Tangerine Sorbet
Lemongrass gelee

Loved this. Only hope it was bigger...:p
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Cinnamon Panna Cotta
lemongrass soup, pomegranate seeds, fresh fruits, apple chips

Chocolate brownie
White and dark chocolate mouse, hazelnut chocolate brownie, some kind of liquor for sauce, dried black raisins, some nuts in salt (server couldn't tell me what kind of nuts), might be hazel? Didn't eat them. Not nuts on nuts (sorry for the pun).

Brownie? The most misleading term ever! The texture is actually more like a wafer. Very good with the smooth mouse. I'm not a chocolate or hazelnut lover, but even I find this desert highly satisfactory. Genius.

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Conclusion: delightful evening. Must try.

Basic info:
Ritz Carlton San Francisco Tuesday through Thursday, 6 to 9 p.m. and Friday and Saturday 5:30 to 9:30 p.m. http://www.ritzcarlton.com/hotels/san_francisco/dining/venues/dining_room/default.asp