Recently, I had the pleasure of attending a 4-day stay at the Ritz Carlton Reynolds Lake Oconee as a representative of The Daily Meal. This is part 3 of a 3-part series. For more about my experience, read my review of Gaby’s By The Lake and Georgia’s.

Keep in mind that this meal was complimentary and that for official review purposes, I was treated to a prix fixe menu. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

Linger Longer Steakhouse

The most upscale of all of the dining options at The Ritz Carlton Reynolds Lake Oconee was the Linger Longer Steakhouse. Chef Casey Burchfield has put together a menu that appeals to both casual and sophisticated palates in a way that is very approachable. Because I’m adventurous, he put together a special prix fixe menu for the purposes of this review. Our waiter was also a certified sommelier and took a lot of pride in pairing each course with the perfect glass of wine or cocktail. And because I’m a big jerk, I apparently didn’t take a photo of a single one of those drinks.

As we sat down, we were treated to an amuse bouche, which consisted of a tartare duo. The beef tartare was served on a puffed piece of beef tendon (it had the consistency similar to that of a shrimp chip), and was a very unique presentation and use of ingredients. It was big enough for 2 bites, but much less messy to eat in 1, so that’s what I did. The tuna was served on a dehydrated rice cracker, and tasted very similar to what you’d find in a sushi restaurant.

The first official course was lobster bisque with butter poached lobster. I’m not sure what the deal is with the Ritz Carlton, but they’ve really figured out the secret to a great bowl of soup. The bisque was rich and decadent, but still light and airy enough so as not to weigh me down, which was good because I still had 6 courses to go. The lobster was perfectly poached, making this dish a definite winner.

The second course was a grilled leek and burrata cheese with truffle and garlic. Burrata (aka cheese-stuffed cheese) is one of my favorite cheeses because I love how creamy it is, and the combination of the tangy and smoky flavor of the grilled leeks was perfect with the cheese.

Course 3 was seared scallop, ramps, strawberry, and white asparagus. I was really excited for this dish–despite the fact that I don’t usually like scallops–because I had been hearing a lot about ramps being kind of the “it” vegetable of 2017. For those who don’t know, a ramp is a wild onion that grows during the spring in Eastern Canada and the U.S. It has a sort of garlicky-onion flavor and is bite-sized. The combination of the buttery scallops (which were phenomenal, btw) with the tart strawberries and garlicky ramp was a harmonious orchestra of flavor.

Chef had recently spent some time in Thailand, so the fourth course was a Thai-inspired BBQ pork with sweet onion, green papaya, and a spicy tangy sauce. The pork itself had a nice crispiness on the outside and practically fell apart on the inside. Pork usually goes well with fruit, but the combination of the green papaya and the tangy sauce was exceptional.

The fifth course was Faroe Island salmon with sweet pea puree, ragout of spring vegetables, and a garlic emulsion. The dish was absolutely gorgeous in its plating, and the flavor did not disappoint. There was a lot going on, from the pea puree to the garlic emulsion, but it all came together beautifully.

The sixth course was a prime Manhattan steak with potato puree, sweet & sour ramps (yay, more ramps!), and a bacon-mushroom bordelaise. Holy moly was this good. If I hadn’t been so stuffed from the previous courses, I could’ve eaten like 3 more plates of this steak. Chef Casey is magical!

For dessert, we had a Valrhona Chocolate soufflé with white chocolate ice cream and fresh sliced strawberries. The souffle was basically a chocolate-flavored cloud, and the ice cream was a great palate cleanser.

As an added bonus (an after-dessert dessert, if you will), Chef sliced up some Bentons Bacon country ham, which he served to us on a charred barrel plate with a rye whisky and amaro aperitif. The saltiness of the ham plus the sweetness of the amaro was a great combination, and I almost preferred it to the sweet dessert.