Episode 42: My first Vendange pt.3Cyrus in Healdsburg
People always brag about the number of great restaurants in the wine country, Sonoma & Napa. Though, I have to agree only to a certain degree. I cannot argue one of the best restaurant in the nation, French Laundry, is in Napa. And I had been there twice, both times I have to say I was very impressed. This time I stayed in Sonoma side, so, it gave me a chance to explore couple of the highly acclaimed restaurants there. One of them is Cyrus in the town of Healdsburg. The overall quality wasn’t as good as I had expected. Firstly, the service wasn’t even come close to any of the top restaurant in NYC or Chicago. And it gave me an impression of being tacky. They eagerly pushed the Caviar & Champagne as a refreshment even before you even got the menu. I never experienced anything like that from a high-end restaurant before. I understand very well what Haut-cuisine dinning is, but to show that a client could do Caviar & expensive Champagne wasn’t one of my dinning scene. It might turn on some wannabe sophisticatee, but definitely not me. Anyway, the rest of the meal didn’t improve the poor impression early either. Here are the Chef’s tasting menu I had… Let me know what you thing.
Amouse Bouche: Herbs in liquid. It was probably the best dish of the meal.
2nd Course: Chilled Ratatouille soup, poached king salmon in olive oil. I was disappointed it didn't have much flavors. The salmon kinda socky.
Foie Gras and Peach Torchon, toasted crumpets. Very simple dish. More likely to be served in bistro, wine bar.
4th Course: Poached Lobster, spring onions & Uni. I loved the texture of the lobster, the Uni end up just a sauce reduction which you can see the yellow color on the dish. The potion was very tiny.
5th Course: Duck breast with sweet corn, Chanterelle mushrooms. The meat had some sinew.
Wagyu beef with Kombu & Cherry tomatoes, Ponzu. It was Mmmm...good I guessed.
6th Course: Rhubarb spoom with a lemon fizz. I didn't know what the chef was thinking. The flavors just didn't go together.
Last one: Chocolate Beignets. It was ok. Probably too much sugar on the beignets.
This tasting menu cost $ 175.
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