Only the dill cream, like an herbed crhme franche, is extraneous. Allen generally seems able to limit his irrelevant ingredients to one per dish, perhaps the effect of Bostonian restraint on Californian inventiveness. A few too many appetizers are overelaborate, signaling a need for a bit more of that restraint. Better to try a tuna terrine nigoise with verjus vinaigrette or the warm seafood salad, both of which are presented in fussy hatlike cylinders but happily offer simpler flavors. None that I tried were as good as the two choices for our Christmas party, salmon and veal.
Roasted salmon shows the mark of an above-average purveyor and a chef who knows how to cook fish.
Ritz lovers will be glad to know how carefully Allen buys and prepares meat. Perhaps it's best not to know the source of his veal loin, for fear of political incorrectness, although Ritz lovers are likely to be unconcerned about that. Wherever it comes from, it's moist and richly flavored, ever so slightly pink and tender. Neither lamb nor rabbit was as impressive, but beef tenderloin and veal are the mainstream meats you expect from the Ritz, and Allen delivers on both. Desserts have never been a strong suit at the Ritz, and they still aren't.