But for a book to stand like an island out of the sea of the unwritten it must acknowledge its own bounds, and turn inward from them, and look into the labyrinth.

Tim Robinson, Stones of Aran: Pilgrimage

Cocoon above! Cocoon below!
Stealthy Cocoon, why hide you so
What all the world suspect?
An hour, and gay on every tree
Your secret, perched in ecstasy
Defies imprisonment!

An hour in Chrysalis to pass,
Then gay above receding grass
A Butterfly to go!
A moment to interrogate,
Then wiser than a “Surrogate,”
The Universe to know!

E.D.

unctuous bone marrow atop a perfectly cooked grass fed piece of ribeye Seventh course: Plum sorbet melon seltzer  melon sea salt ad white muntock peppercorn I could have eaten three or fours of these palette cleansers Eighth course: White chocolate pavé raspberries milk chocolate cream coconut foam  soy salt and pink peppercorn My usual insouciance for chocolate receded upon tasting the velvety pavé The petite fours delivered on a trolley of all things made me want to genuflect to the pastry chef Chef Siegel has a wonderful establishment: a well developed theme inspired by Japanese ingredients a devoutly authoritarian wait staff and food bordering on perfection After enjoying the Salt and Pepper Menu natural progression dictated the nine course tasting The dumplings de jour were artichoke and black truffle In addition to the quail egg amuse there was a sea urchin panna cotta From there preparations became Manichean  chilled vs hot soup or fried vs gelid I would rather not bore readers by enumerating the panoply of dishes but I will mention my favorites: the lobster claw smothered by black truffles the ribeye with ponzu and the pork chop with crispy skin My two meals at The Dining Room rank were immaculate Was this

They get 5 stars for the 8 course tasting menu  The portions were perfect and Ron Siegal’s flare sent my palate on a thrill ride  At $110head for the 8 courser the price was better value than any other restaurant I could find and they had the most attractive menu  Others like Masa’s had the typical Foie Gras and steak tasting menu     They missed the fifth star because I expected a little more in terms of service  a) Our waiter forgot what course we were on b) all of the plates were perfectly time however our main course came out 15 minutes after our previous one c) i had to get Hildon water but I just absolutely feel bamboozled that they keep opening bottles at $9bottle without asking  Especially at the end  Just as the last course came we all had enough water in our cups and without asking the waiter opens another one  Now that’s just sneaky  So if you order Hildon be prepared to get taxed (4 of us drank 5 bottles)   Nonetheless I will come back again  Word Was this from

Dining Room has still got it  I recently came back here & opted for the 9 course plus wine pairing  That was a LOT of wine  For what I remember that night it was really good  It’s the first time I had really FRESH wasabi (literally from the stem)  The wine paired with the food VERY well   For the nine course the dishes are: Sushi veggie beef lamb chicken foie gras fish dessert dessert and something else  Not necessarily in that order  After the chicken everything was a blur  I vaguely remembered ordering the cheese and eating the whole plate  My boy loved the food that night and he said I liked it a lot too  I totally recommend  We paid around $650 for the 9 course with 9 glasses of wine pairing and the extra cheese  Totally worth it Listed in: Michelin Stars then and now Was this

Came here for boy’s birthday  My crabcake like dish was excellent  I just can’t remember the. THE BEST right up there with Alice Water in Bezerkly  Its was easy to call & get a reservation unlike The French Laundry all of the staff made you feel special & unlike the Laundry where they start of treating you rudely and unworthy of coming to eat with them I would go back to the Dining Room at the Ritz Carlton any day  The restroom were well appointed  just what you would expect from a Ritz  I was at some s of mine that hosted their wedding reception in the very private dining room and other than the room being warm the food & service was excellent  Was this    

Dining Room at RitzCarlton is as good restaurant as it gets but to provide meaningful  I will point out few imperfections Food is on the same level as Marinus slightly better or on the same level as in Gary Danko clearly better then Michael Mina All dishes were 5 out of 5 except  Foie Gras (4 of 5) and Grass Fed Beef (4 of 5)  Service was 45 of 5  everything perfect except one remark of person that was cleaning our table at the end  Final bill was in line with my expectation from place in this price category I tried tasting menu and I am kind of curious to see  from someone who ordered 3 course diner menu there Huge plus of this restaurant is ability to get table on fairly short notice PS My wife pointed out two more things that I forgot to mention: you get more food than you normally do in this kind of place (no one will go hungry) and paintings on walls of dining room are pretty tasteless

Dined here several times  It’s probably a good thing it’s closing for a make over and new menu as the old menu was not on par with what it used to be  Of course service is still pretty top notch

Lovely experience at The Dining Room at The Ritz Carlton last weekend Quiet serene and spacious it was a perfect setting with attentive service I call it a classic and elegant my dining partner dubbed it stuffy Oh well to each his own We both had the chef’s tasting menu Well presented courses that were all good but nothing exceptional The chef likes to throw in a few touches like dry ice for a fog effect and captures wood smoke under a cover on the oyster dish The chef really likes gelée and uses it frequently a little too often It reminded me of how some restaurants are keen on using a foam on everything Gelée is good but I don’t really want to see it more than once on a tasting menu there are just so many other options Overall it was a good experience and another addition to my Michelin list Listed in: My Michelin List Was this   

One of the top 5 restaurants I’ve been to and I don’t cook so I go out several times per week  The tasting menu is AMAZING complete with several mouthwatering amuse bouche (I can’t deny that the bies make me feel way better about a $100+  dinner)  Particularly that quail egg carviar concoction over smoke that other Yelpers have mentioned  sooooo amazing   A tad bit stuffy and we were definitely the youngest people in there by at least 20 years but the service was impeccable  You know the kind where all of the sudden your dirty fork is gone and you didn’t even see the person come and take it  Love it  Also the sommelier was knowlegeable and chatted with us about the wine we brought But the most awesome part was Ron Siegel  We were talking to one of the staff and mentioned that we saw the chef