By Ben Dashwood
The Dining Room at the Ritz-Carlton, Buckhead, once the only restaurant in the Southeast to receive the prestigious Mobil Five Star Award, is reopening for a Valentine’s pop-up February 14 through February 16.
The Dining Room—which had been home to renowned chefs including Guenter Seeger, Joel Antunes and Arnaud Berthelier—closed in October 2009, citing high costs and a changing economy. Now, Ritz-Carlton executive chef Franck Steigerwald is opening the room for three days only. He’s serving a four-course seated dinner with optional wine pairings from 5:30 p.m. to 9:30 p.m.
The menu includes warm Maine lobster salad, wild mushroom risotto with robiola cheese and truffle oil, seared veal loin, and petit fours. The cost is $99 per person (excluding tax and gratuity), plus $65 for wine pairings.
“I have been asked by many of our loyal customers if the Dining Room would be re-opened, since they have such wonderful, fond memories of experiencing it,” said Erwin Schinnerl, general manager of the Ritz-Carlton, Buckhead. “This pop-up concept allows us to have a limited engagement for the three-day period over Valentine’s and fulfill a need and desire of many of our guests.”
The Menu:
Amuse Bouche
First Course
Warm Maine lobster salad, organic petite lettuce, fresh basil,
verjus and raspberry vinaigrette, beurre blanc
Marbré of foie gras and asparagus, port wine jelly, black pepper, poached apple
Bélon oyster, cauliflower cream and caviar
Beef tartar with black truffle, quail egg, aged parmesan and baby mache
Second Course
Hand-cut tagliatelle, West Coast sea urchin and piment d’espelette
Hand-rolled potato and ricotta gnocchi, squab breast with lavender sauce, confit turnips
Wild mushroom risotto with robiola cheese and white truffle oil
Entree
Hay-smoked European turbot ”maestro style,” crushed fingerling potato in Sicilian olive oil, pearl onions and port wine sauce
Crispy Mediterranean sea bass, tomato compote with fresh herbs, preserved lemon sauce
Beef rossini 2013, potato mousseline, madeira Sauce
Seared veal loin, brown butter, osso bucco ravioli
fennel-dusted sweet bread, sauternes sauce
Dessert
Selection of desserts
Petit fours and mignardises
