More like 3.5 stars, but I'll give the benefit of the doubt for now. Went to Ris last night for an early Mother's Day/May Birthdays celebration with 11 of my family members. We were seated immediately in a semi-private room with a round table, probably a 10-top. Honestly the table was a little cramped as I kept bumping legs with my neighbor, but that was our own fault, as we specifically requested that room and table, and were informed when making the reservation that it would be a tight fit. No worries here, it was a family gathering and the space felt intimate, but I wouldn't use it for a gathering of 12 businessmen.
Our waitress brought out a couple of bottles of red (can't remember what kinds) for my uncle-the connoisseur-to try, and wasted no time pouring for the rest of the table once he approved. I noticed that the waitress did not have a napkin to wipe the bottle after each pour, so the tablecloth looked a little like a Jackson Pollock after she was done pouring the first round. I felt badly, but my grandmother got really snippy with her the third or fourth round in for still not having a cloth to wipe the bottle. When we chided her, she simply responded "I DON'T.WANT.WINE.ON.MY.CLOTHES!"...touche grandma, touche. Honestly though, the woman could find fault with anything, so we usually take her misgivings with a grain of salt. It should be noted that AS SOON as the waitress heard Grammie's whining, she disappeared for a moment and returned with a few cloth napkins. It should also be noted that the kitchen easily accommodated Grammie's allergy to garlic and onion. She didn't have much to complain about the rest of the night :)
We ordered quickly after our first glass was poured, which was nice. The first time we came here, we didn't order until about 45 minutes after being seated...with the wine flowing and the bread being pretty mundane and boring, we were all tanked by the time our appetizers arrived. That was not the case this time. After ordering, we were served bread (the same small, boring, mundane, slightly too hard slices whose only saving grace is the softened, salted butter), and by the time the basket was passed around for everyone to get a second helping, our apps had arrived! Yay!
But seriously, the bread kinda really sucks. When going to a new restaurant, I'm always excited to see what kind of bread we'll be getting. I LOVE bread. I could eat bread and butter for every meal for the rest of my life and be happy, so bad bread is a big strike in my book.
I got the caesar salad to start, which, while not as spectacular as the caesar at 1789 during Ris' reign, was pretty good with recognizable little chunks of anchovies, and big hearty shavings of parm. The croutons were whole slices of baguette, toasted, which I used to make little open faced sandwiches of parmesan shavings, anchovy pieces, and some lettuce, because there's no way I was gonna be able to break those things up and use them in the salad. They were HARD. All in all, it was a pretty good showing, but I would have preferred a BIT more dressing, and bite sized croutons so that I don't look like a heathen as I'm shoving a crouton sandwich down my throat.
I got the grilled veal chop with gremolata sauce and a fontina, arugula, fennel and prosciutto salad for my entree, which I decided to try again after an earlier veal chop experience at Ris that was way less than stellar (IIRC the previous veal chop dish was a COMPLETELY different flavor profile...think cinnamon-y sweet spices, sweet cornbread pudding/souffle, shell beans with bacon, collard greens). I have to say that this time, I was MUCH more satisfied. The veal was cooked perfectly (medium rare), the chop was HUGE...10-12 oz. at least and so tender, the gremolata sauce was flavorful but not overpowering, and was used in moderation so as not to overpower the veal. The fontina, arugula, fennel, and prosciutto salad was to die for either by itself or as a condiment to the meat. I wish I could order it as an appetizer salad! Or an entree salad! If the veal hadn't have been such a turnaround from the last time I got it, the salad would have been my favorite part of the meal.
For dessert, as we typically do with this group of people at these types of family gatherings, we got one of each thing, and doubles of some of the favorites and do a little hot potato dessert style around the table. The rules: one bite per pass, not too big, you may refuse a particular dessert if you like, but for the love of god, DON'T BOGART THE BUTTERSCOTCH PUDDING! All of the desserts that I tried were pretty good, but honestly I don't really remember because I'm still in butterscotch pudding afterglow. It is the silkiest, smoothest, salty-sweet, slightest bit gelatinous for that little bit of *bite*, best damn pudding I've ever had in my life. I want to bathe in it. Seriously. I wish I could've had my own serving of it.
I will be coming back. read more