北京丽思卡尔顿酒店BAROLO餐厅

BAROLO

The Ritz-Carlton Beijing

English Version: Randy Lee Svendsen  Chinese Version: Rita 

Photos: by The Ritz-Carlton Beijing

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First I tried the bread. A white and light grain were offered and they smelled very good and had nice delicate flavors. Olive oil with Balsamic vinegar was also provided for dipping. Following was the Amuse Bouche (a small gift from the Chef), ricotta cheese and a stripe of Balsamic vinegar reduction that looked like chocolate sauce. While I enjoyed these gentle beginnings I noticed the music that was making me feel so comfortable. There was Frank Sinatra and others of the “Old Standards”, and some Italian songs. Often overlooked, well chosen music always makes a difference in the comfort level a restaurant provides its diners, and BAROLO does it right. The first course was an appetizer, the Lobster, warm foie gras, and pears confiture. This is artistically served with the meat of a lobster claw from a Boston variety Canadian lobster standing in the center of the plate. Half a lobster tail is pre-sliced and wrapped around the back of the lobster claw, and the pan seared warm foie gras is on the front side of the claw. Pear confiture is smeared on the plate. I preferred to put the foie gras through the pear for the sweetness provided by the confiture, and finish with a sip of the Champagne. The lobster I ate alone, followed by Champagne. Two of my favorites, I have never had lobster and foie gras served on the same plate, and this was a treat for me. My second course was equally impressive, the Parmesan risotto with black truffles. As is normal to my process, Ronnie brought my wine before the food arrived, a 2005 Sauvignon Blanc by Castello Di Farnetella, which is a Tuscan wine from Castelnuovo Berardenga near Siena, Italy. I was quite surprised by the mouth filling fullness of this wine, not what I normally expect from a Sauvignon Blanc. This made me anticipate my risotto with enthusiasm. A big half wheel of Parmesan cheese was brought to my table on a rolling cart by my waiter Rick Qi. A hole is cut in the middle of the exposed cheese with the hot risotto inside. Rick showed me the risotto inside the Parmesan cheese before he stirred the risotto inside the cavity and then scraped the sides with the spoon to extract the Parmesan as the hot risotto melted some of the cheese while steam came out into the glow of the candlelight. Spooning the hot cheesy risotto onto a flat plate, he slapped the bottom of the plate a few times with his hand to spread the hot risotto around the surface of the plate. After setting the plate before me, with a special truffle grater he freshly sliced a large Norcia black truffle mushroom from Italy in generous proportions over the top of the hot risotto. I added a thin layer of black pepper from my beautiful silver Chiarugi pepper grinder and I was ready to enjoy. Stirring the truffles into the risotto, I had a sip of wine before I sampled this special preparation. Wow, what a great dish! The wine was perfect as well, mating nicely with the full flavors of the Parmesan and the light accent of the truffles. I have my favorite risotto at some other fine Italian restaurants, and I am sure this will be a regular item for me on my repeat visits to BAROLO.My third and main course was the Fiorentina style steak, rosemary potatoes, mixed salad, and aged Balsamic vinegar. This is a 400g to 450g. Austrailian “Kansas Cut” bone-in strip steak. Before this course was delivered Ronnie poured me a glass of 2004 AIRONE-A1 by Michele Chiarlo, a Monferrato blend of Barbera, Cabernet Sauvignon, and Syrah. This combination of varietals has a wide range of flavors and did a good job with the multiple flavors that arrived on my plate. Once delivered to my table, Ronnie finished off the presentation by pouring on top of my steak a liberal amount of 25 year old Balsamic vinegar by Fattorie Giacobazzi of Modena, made in the traditional method  This was a very nice dish and the wine held up very well to the strong flavors of the Balsamic vinegar. One tip for this steak is that it is actually more tender if you order it done medium well. Surprisingly, mine was a little tough when done only to medium. Flavors, however, were very good and I enjoyed the steak with the Balsamic vinegar and the wine. The rosemary potatoes were a real surprise. Slowly roasted in the oven, these baby potatoes are seasoned with rock salt, rosemary, garlic and extra virgin olive oil. No lightweight side dish here, these bite sized babies burst into flavor with each bite and seem to call for another sip of the AIRONE-A1. These powerful little potatoes were some of the best things I had all night!

Well, I was planning on skipping dessert this evening because I was quite full and satisfied with what I already had. Ronnie, however, was able to convince me that I just had to try the Hazelnut, dried fig and dark chocolate torrone with Earl Grey tea ice cream. Intrigued, I succumbed to the pressure. Served on a long and narrow rectangular white plate, smeared with dried fig, there was a small glass of Earl Grey tea ice cream on the left, and on the right were 3 balls of chocolate and broken hazelnuts in a row with a thin strip of dark chocolate across the top with BAROLO embossed into the chocolate. Nice presentation! The goodness, though, was in the eating. Hazelnuts and chocolate are hard to beat when mixed together, and this was a real mouthful of full flavors that transitioned nicely to my Irish Coffee. For years, Ronnie has made the perfect Irish coffee for me. Taught by an Irish chef, Ronnie learned how to make the “best from the best”. When I complimented Ronnie on his usual excellent performance on my behalf throughout the evening, he said “I’m just doing my job. I try to do my best to please my guests”. This Ronnie does well, and for me he has been doing it for years. The Ritz-Carlton is lucky to have Ronnie Rizzi on their team!

BAROLO has been open only since December 12, 2007. For a restaurant to reach this level of excellence and reputation in such a short time is a real tribute to Ronnie and the staff of BAROLO. Of course, Ronnie doesn’t do it alone. My thanks go to BAROLO Chef Alessandro Montedoro and his Sous Chef Nimo Cai and their staff in the kitchen for getting the job done right. On the floor, I owe a great deal of thanks for the attentive service I received from Helen Jin, Supervisor and charming hostess, and the wait staff Amily Liu, Rick Qi, Kevin Sun, Joyce Xiang, Sunny Lu, Toni Liu, Jason Yin, and Amelia Zhang. I will enjoy making friends with all of them on my future visits, which I intend to make frequently.

My entire experience at BAROLO was excellent throughout the evening. As we say in American baseball vernacular, this was a  real “home run”. I must congratulate the management and staff of The Ritz-Carlton Beijing for creating such a delightful place as BAROLO, a really wonderful fine dining Italian restaurant. I hope The Ritz-Carlton Beijing and BAROLO join our GRAND HOTELS Reader’s Club soon. I am confident of the long term success of this restaurant and its appeal to our readers. As for me, I know that BAROLO will be one of my favorite Italian restaurants in Beijing.

With Happiness,

CHEERS!

My Best as Always,

Randy