Cyrus [Healdsburg] #4

2009.10.04

[See pictures here]

In the past, I have thought fairly well of Cyrus, but never been as vocal a proponent of it as Amnon.. But after Sunday, I must concede that place has finally won my full confidence. Rarely do you ever have a restaurant that can keep up its high caliber and then exceed expectations by another notch, which is exactly what happened at our smashing Anniversary dinner.

The usual five-senses canape started off things proper. Actually, our "Fall" cocktails righteously kicked it all off: mine a fiesta of figs with Pampero Anniversario (how appropriate) rum, fig puree, lime juice, Cointreau, orgeat syrup, balsamic vinegar, and a half of a caramelized fig floating upon a cloud of cardamon foam. Man that was like a whole course by itself! My man had the "Gravenstein Appellation" involving Davis Vineyards Appple-ation brandy, apple juice, yuzu juice, ginger syrup and poached apples. His wasn't as delicious as mine.

The chef's amuse featured a compressed peach (there's one way to save those soggy drupes past their prime) glazed in honey on a bed of (firey) micro-arugula. Then the procession continues as always with two salts and two butters and full basket of six breads, of which I shall speak none as they are standard by now, except to say that they are good and hearty as always.

Cyrus has for a while now stopped offering A La Carte items. Instead, four tasting menus, eight and five courses and vegetarian and otherwise, covers the gamut. We of course mix-n-matched the menus until we have one of everything we want to eat, no doubles! Unlike other arrogant places, the staff here had no qualms about our shuffling things around.

- Seared Hamachi with Tomatoes, Melon, Cucumber, Sesame-Balsamic
Woooonderful fish, buttery texture. Better than sushi.

- Chilled Ratatouille Soup with Stuffed Squash Blossom & Pickled Ramp
The cold temperature sort of dulled the soup flavors a bit, but squash blossom was great.. especially seeing them all over the farmer's market earlier in the day. Super-crunchy zuccini sliced as thin as the eponymous dish in that rat movie.

- Seared Foie Gras with Asian Pear Coulis and Lentils, Vanilla Bean Gastrique
I've never been a fan of this fatty organ, and that continues to be true. However from a technical standpoint, the Cyrus Foie Gras has always been the least "fatty" tasting, without a trace of the foulness or rancidity that sometimes accompanies even high-end Foie Gras. Amnon on the other hand, was having multiple orgasms.

- Porcini and Chestnut Risotto
Actually we were both in ecstacy, because I was having this while he got served the FG. Unctuous super-creamy risotto in a porcini reduction, surrounding a "yolk" of pureed chestnut. Can any dish say Autumn more profoundly than this? On my second bite I was sold for the whole evening.

- Kinoko Mushi
Mushi as in Chawanmushi, and Kinoko = "mushroom". This apparently was the Chef's newfangled "signature" dish (replacing the thai lobster salad, sniff): a pile of thinly sliced Matsutake's (Oregon-originated), "steamed" in a Sudachi-dashi broth. That's it. Now I appreciated the technique of letting the subtle Matsutake sing solo with just the right amount of tangy background, but I just could't get excited about the flavors of this fungus, despite, or perhaps because of all its hype. I wondered if a higher temperature broth would've coaxed more out of the mushroom. Amnon did like the unique taste of this dish very much.

- Medai with Corn and Scallions, Ginger-Shiso Dashi
Another Japanese dish (do I spot a trend?) well executed with some french flare. Japanese butterfish (not sure if that's related to the Alaskan one I so dearly love) with all sorts of succulent bits of vegetation to set off its richness. Mr. Keane really loves his Japanese broth, and I wasn't getting tired of them at all! Crystal clear in complexion and flavors, they provide a great modern sensibility to rich main ingredients. I just love his broth's.

- Duck Breast with Rosti Potatoes and Peppers, Sherry Jus
- Lam Roulade with Eggplant, Garbanzo Beans and Okra
Another course of simultaneous frenzy. I was going gaga over the unbelievable duck while A stopped every few bites to prounce his roulade "the best lamb ever". Serious sear-age rendered my duck skin the most beautiful Dark Brown and Delicious, yet just underneath that mighty crust the meat was pink and medium-perfect-rare all the way through. The Maitre'd indicated this duck was the same Liberty specimen as I see at all high-end eateries. If that was so, this must've been the star duck on the farm, the one that gets massage and beer treatment.

- Polenta with Figs and Pears
- Warm Gianduja Doughnuts with Caramelized Banana and Avocado
How can you top that last course? Well it can't be done, not in the same compartment at least. Which is why it was good desserts go in a different compartment. Amnon thought his "Polenta with Figs" would be a yawn to end a stupendous evening, instead it turned out to be a surprising "wow". The polenta was like a soft warm rice pudding, nutty, laced with marscapone (omomomom) and raisins and toasted almonds. On the other corner of the ring, a quenelle of marscapone ice cream topped a mount of some crunchy stuff that was as mysterious as it was delicious.

I had a moment like that of Anton Ego sitting down to the plate of ratatouille (again with the movie), when I tucked into the doughnut balls. Warm, soft and softly sweet, a little crunchy, a lot of creamy and then an explosion of hazelnuts.. it was like a little puff of homeyness while sitting in a 5-star french restaurant. Granted, my mom didn't feed me doughnuts when I was growing up, nor did we have hazelnuts in China, and I've not been to Piedmont yet (though I will swear by their hazelnuts), but I can see what that that big-nosed cynic was blubbering about in the movie. I'd like to think the chef had this intention in mind, for note, the plate used for the doughnuts looked more like a diner dinner plate than the fancy spanish-ware he used for other courses.

Shamelessly, I begged for some more of the doughnuts, and gratefully the kitchen cooked me up another batch. Score!

Walking out, with the full moon gracing the horizon, and warm gentle fall breezes, I finally had no choice but to conclude, that this is nothing less than the finest restaurant I've ever set my mouth in.

$290 for two, all incl.

PS. We have been given notice that the first two weeks of December will be a magical period where the confluence of white and black truffles descend upon the kitchen at Cyrus. We'll be there Dec. 5th or 12th. If anyone's interested.. let us know!