To be honest, we never heard about Cyrus before we flew out to California. We learned about the restaurant through Yelp posts discussing whether Cyrus was better or worse than The French Laundry. We figured if a restaurant was good enough to be compared to The French Laundry, it was well worth a visit on our trip!
Cyrus is in Healdsburg, CA (29 North St); therefore, it was a long trek from our hotel in Napa. When we finally got there, we were warmly greeted and had a good multi-course meal (and had a great view of the kitchen with its automated doors seen above). Now that Cyrus' chef Douglas Keane has been nominated for a James Beard award (http://www.jbfawards.com/nominees.html) we thought it was a perfect time to relive this meal.
Canape: an elegant display of pre-dinner treats. Each small bite reflected each of the 5 tastes (sweet, savory, bitter, sour, and umami)
Amuse bouche: a generous and refreshing tasting of artichokes with pickled vegetables (top) and ceviche (bottom)
Thai marinated lobster with avocado, mango, and hearts of palm(one of our favourites - it was fresh and delicate) to go along with our Roederer Estate "L'Ermitage" sparkling wine
Seared foie gras with pineapple and pain perdu, star anise-ginger broth (we could eat this as our last meal on Earth)
Gnocchi with morels, parsley root, and black truffle pecorino with shaved black truffles
Sea bass with bacon braised cabbage, pinot noir fumet
Lamb roulade with celery root, parsnip, and turnip
Duck breast with scallion rice cake, ponzu (cooked perfectly, did not need the ponzu as it made it too salty)
Wagyu beef with burdock and shiso, oxtail umeshu consomme
Above and Below: Artisanal and farmhouse cheeses presented tableside (total of six cheeses, from mild to hard cheeses to a final stinky, soft cheese)
Egg creams and cookies
Verjus sorbet, blood orange Riesling soup with crystallized picholine olives
Tiramisu, cappuccino "spoon", caramelized fennel, and espresso gelato
Five spice "Layer cake" with passion fruit, thai basil-coconut milk gelato
Mignardises: many homemade sweet treats plus a take-home bag for brownies
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