Dine Out - Spend Every Dime For A Wonderful Time

Go where fashion sits: the Ritz-Carlton's "other" restaurant.

By Dave Lowry

Photographs by Katherine Bish

Hotel dining is an experience we normally place somewhere between enduring a lecture from Bruce Springsteen on politics and getting front-row seats for Schindler’s List: The Musical. An exception for us is The Grill, the “other restaurant, the one that doesn’t have the Sunday brunch buffet” at Clayton’s Ritz-Carlton. One of the most gracious and luxurious dining spots in the area, its atmosphere is understated but decidedly, refreshingly formal. Oak-paneled walls, flames licking in the fireplace, art on the walls that, even if it’s not great, at least doesn’t hurt one’s eyes: An air of polish and sophistication about this eatery invites one to participate.

Although the menu is short, with fewer than a dozen main courses, every dish we sampled was remarkable. Presentations are unmatched—lively, inventive, displaying the food sumptuously—and though some portions look small, they are filling. We began with a pleasant amuse-bouche of flash-sautéed tuna, still beautifully pink in the center, accompanied by a nicely sour slaw of cabbage twice misidentified by the waitress as “Vietnamese kimchee.” Further appetizers are rewarding. The lobster-cappuccino soup is a mandatory starter. The concept is admittedly weird, but this is an extraordinary soup: hefty hunks of lobster in a magnificently rich, silky bisquelike liquid with just a hint of cappuccino, the surface dusted with finely ground dried porcini mushrooms ($8, and plan to share; the serving’s too much and too rich for one.)

It’s also hard to go wrong with the classic pairing of fresh buffalo-mozzarella chunks with slices of tomato. Here, a shimmering drizzle of Mosto olive oil (a wonderful oil that comes from a simultaneous cold pressing of olives with lemons) and balsamic vinegar, along with shreds of basil and tiny sweet cherry tomatoes amid bigger slices of beefsteak tomato, made for an applause-worthy starter ($16).

Grilled meats make up the bulk of the main-course menu. An 8-ounce beef tenderloin was better than average, tender and flavorful, yet, as with other meals here that benefit from thoughtful and inspired sides, the dish blossomed elegantly with the dollop of mashed potatoes, earthy and fragrant with white truffles, and a ramekin of glorious Cabernet-and-shallot–reduction sauce ($36). Similarly, it was a side that made a good but fairly ordinary grilled chicken breast into a special meal. The pastry was flaky, light as a Jessica Simpson thought, and stuffed, beautifully stuffed, with woody slices of morels and peas in an exquisite half-moon pot pie that accompanied the chicken ($28).

Supersize cuts of veal have become a big restaurant item recently, and The Grill offers a massive 12-ounce chop, bone in, that is excellent, the surprisingly thick cut of meat glistening and golden, dripping with juices ($39).

Three seafood selections are all worthwhile. Bluenose bass comes from waters near the Antarctic that are less accessible and colder than a tax assessor’s soul, and the meat, pearly and firm, is just now being hailed as a hot new seafood. The presentation of a big fillet of the bass was as exceptional as the flavor and texture of the fish ($34). It was dressed with shreds of leek and slivers of crabmeat in a light sauce studded with fresh corn. The roasted-pepper gnocchi alongside were neither sticky nor leaden and had just the right chewiness. Trout is imaginatively stuffed with a dressing of andouille and shrimp, a spicy contrast to the gentle taste of the fish ($30). A fillet of salmon hits the grill with a crust of crushed olives and is accompanied on the plate by an aromatic polenta swirled with Asiago and a smoked-tomato coulis ($32).

Among the “Classics and Contemporary Treats,” pass on the sadly clichéd “surf and turf.” It features the overly fussy mistreatment of lobster Thermidor, a presentation that is to that noble crustacean what Elton John is to sartorial understatement ($48). Opt instead for a real classic, the veal Oscar, medallions of veal delicately browned in butter and topped as they should be, with crab meat and asparagus and with hollandaise instead of the more traditional béarnaise sauce. The dish would have pleased, we’ve no doubt, the Swedish king for which it is named ($45).

The wine list is extensive, with offerings helpfully categorized as “light,” “full-bodied” and so on, but it takes some perusal to find bargains. The Barwang Chardonnay 2000 is one, a young but classy Australian import that’s made by means of fermentation in both new and used oak barrels, giving it a rounded vanilla-and-melon smoothness ($35). There are lots of Californian “big reds,” including some good but expensive Robert Mondavi Cabernets, as well as some overpriced Spanish reds. We were happy with a simple Cote du Rhone E. Guigal ’98 that went well with the grilled meats on the table ($45).

Appointments here are stylish and comfortable; the dishes are the only real off note in an otherwise near-perfect symphony of service, presentation and taste. Clunky and oversized, with weird, looping edges, they send unattended knives and forks slithering everywhere, and little thought seems to have been paid to matching the food to the dish. Chairs are stuffed but firm enough for good support. Tables are deliberately spaced so that other diners may be seen but not heard, a nice trick that adds to the ambience. The clientele seems to be about half locals and half hotel guests: wherever they come from, this is one of the quietest restaurants in St. Louis. The silence isn’t oppressive or tomblike, mind you, but it is enormously relaxing to be in a place where one doesn’t have to compete with unwanted noise just to hear the table conversation. Service is courteous, professionally efficient and—except for that goofy description of “Vietnamese kimchee”—knowledgeable. Given the prices here, The Grill isn’t going to be a regular hangout for most. Still, if you’re looking for a special destination for a special dinner, it ought to be on your list..

THE GRILL

ADDRESS: 100 Carondelet Plaza

PHONE: 314-863-6300

DINNER: 6–9:30 p.m. Sun–Thu, 6–10:30 p.m. Fri & Sat

AVERAGE MAIN COURSE: $34

DRESS: Come on—they don’t call it “putting on the Ritz” for nothing.

RESERVATIONS: To be sure, especially on weekends

BOTTOM LINE: One of the classier formal-dining opportunities in the region, with an imaginative menu, fine service and completely enjoyable surroundings