Cyrus

If I have to pick one favorite restaurant, it might be a little difficult. But I wouldn’t hesitate a second to name Cyrus one of my top three. Ever since the first time hubby and I came when I was preggy with J, we fell in love with the place. We would make the drive to Healdsburg just for Cyrus. Last year, we started a new tradition of driving to bay area for a week with my parents in the summer. The kids love it. And we get to go to Cyrus. What more could one ask for? Oh yeah, except great company - which we took care of by inviting our friends along to this little gem.

I confirmed with E and her boyfriend months ago, as I knew this would THE meal for me this summer. We made good time to Healdsburg with still an hour for a stroll around the adorable little town. If you ever stop by, plan for couple of days. We were all very intrigued by the wall of spoons outside Spoonbar. I was so tempted to get a scoop of ice cream with a Pirouette wafer at Powell’s or a pastry at Coseaux. But only the strongest will and the knowing that 8 courses of deliciousness await for me prevented my indulgence. One of these days, I would book a room at Healdsburg Inn, take a tour sampling all the food, wine and chocolate they have to offer, grab a bite from Bovolo while reading at Copperfield’s Books. That’s on top of a fabulous meal at Cyrus, of course! Well, a girl can dream, can’t she?

It’s always a pleasure to go to Cyrus, not only because of the impeccably prepared food, also because of all the genuinely smiling faces around you. After being presented with the Champagne and caviar choices, the tower of canapes came to the table. The eggplant puree was simple and clean, dusted with just a smedge of coffee powder; the fresh roll with tamarind was refreshing; the strawberry sphere with balsamic reduction was like a drop of sweet berry essence; the shiitake mushroom and ginger citrus broth was cold and full of the mushroom fragrance, but not a favorite with any of us; my favorite was the clam with cilantro gel and chorizo powder, so sweet and unpretentious with a little kick.

The amuse bouche was Shima Aji sashimi with pluot, miyoga, topped with a piece of smoked ginger dashi gelee. While the Aji was fresh like all fish Cyrus serves, the miyoga was crisp, and the pluot was perfectly ripe and sweet. I could have a plate of pluot alone. Yum!

The bread selection never disappoints at Cyrus. I’m sure everyone over-stuffs oneself on the little goodies. This time the choices included the wonderfully buttery brioche, rich and savory cheddar and bacon scone (yum, yum), the l’epi (which E’s boyfriend consumed, not 2, not 3, but 5 of!), two other type of buns, and the olive and feta roll which is the only one I found unsatisfying as the outside was too hard.

Our meal officially started with the Thai lobster, perfectly butter poached with just a hint of fish sauce, already cut into sections, dipped in the aromatic ginger basil cream, so tender, so luscious.

Even though there were two choices for the second appetizer, we unanimiously went with the one featuring my favorite ingredient - foie gras. The utterly smooth and creamy foie gras torchon rolled in crystal cherry sugar flakes and the sweet and tart cherry torchon rolled in crushed pistachio. It was an exquisite combination, finished with a crumbly cherry buttermilk biscuit. Yes, I still prefer my foie gras seared, but this preparation is coming up a very close second.

The tender turbot topped with scallions and a quarter of a baby corn, rested on a small mound of cream of sweet corn and lemon verbena. The cream of corn was probably too sweet for some palates. And my other nitpicking complain would be that they could have given us a little more baby corn, there was no need to be THIS delicate - a quarter cut, I kid you not!

The chanterelle ravioli was by far my least favorite dish of the night. Don’t get me wrong, the ravioli skin was thin and you can taste the freshness; the slow poached bantam egg was so soft, it was jiggly; there was nothing wrong with the parmesan foam and crisp either. However, while I love the chanterelle mushroom, the filling was just too salty.

The palate cleanser came in the form of mini bite-size lemon kiwi ice pops on skinny straws - super refreshing. Hubby loved it, but it was a bit too sour for me.

The two options of the entree were striploin of beef with daikon in a ginger-tomato broth, and crispy poussin with potato mousseline, haricots verts and fine herbes. I ran out of words to describe these dishes, other than the proteins were cooked to supremacy like always.

The cheese course offered many artisanal and farmhouse cheeses that I couldn’t remember. Instead of selecting 6 cheeses for the entire table like the past, each person gets to choose 3. I had the stinkiest cheese I’ve ever tried - l’Epoisses, a strong blue and a tangy goat. My taste in cheese finally started to mature - 3 years ago, I would pick blue cheese crumbles off of a cobb salad, and now, I’m drawn to it.

Dessert started with a quenelle of miso custard perched in the passion fruit gelato, drizzled with wasabi oil at table side and a sesame sable. It was a surprising union, velvety and exhilarating.

For our mean dessert, I got tiramisu with espresso gelato, toffee crunch, hazelnut caramel, and coffee cream. The coffee cream was so strong, it was as if I swallowed a drop of coffee bean. The tiramisu, well, I must sound like a broken record by now with all my praises, but it was divine.

Hubby’s red velvet cake had so many components I couldn’t possibly list them all. I don’t know how it tasted, but it was beautiful to look at.

Cyrus still offers the best selection of mignardises - vanilla cream truffle, salted caramel truffle, guava pate de fruit, coconut pate de fruit, shortbread cookies, nougat, and lollipops. It was always so hard to not be greedy and take them all. =) And this is on top of the little brownie that everyone gets to take home!

At $130 per person, I admit it wasn’t cheap. But it’s half the price of French Laundry, and it’s definiely worth every penny. See you next year, Cyrus!

Cyrus
29 North St, Healdsburg, CA 95448
(707) 433-3311