14
Jul/090
Jul/090
Restaurant Cyrus
First off I have to say it’s really a shame I don’t have any pictures from this restaurant, because everything was pleasing to the eye; the food, the decor, even the presentation of the wine was something else! 2 thumbs up to the restaurant, and one in my eye for not bringing a camera!
I visited this restaurant with two collegues back in July 2006 when I was in San Francisco taking a training in relation to work. I spent 6 weeks there, and during one of the weekends, me and the two other Europeans (British and Swedish) who we’re there decided to rent a car and go to Healdsburg in Sonoma Valley to visit a restaurant, Cyrus, which had been highly recommended by a sommelier we met during another restaurant visit.
Upon arrival we we’re escorted into the bar adjecent the dining room, and offered a liquid apptizer. After a while we taken to our table, discretely located in one of the restaurants quiet corners, without feeling cramped.
I have to say that the thing about this restaurant was the way the food was presented. Unlike traditional American cooking, nothing was in abundance. Needless to say, we didn’t leave feeling wanting anything and least of all to fill a void in our stomach, but the point I’m trying to make is that in some magical way they managed to make every dish a selection of smaller dishes, greatly varied in taste, yet coming together like a symphony of tastes; each dish presenting a different melody and each ingredient a different instrument.
The restaurant focused heavily on local wines. Sonoma, beeing the largest wine producing county in the US, has a great selection of wines. Some of the best wines I’ve ever tasted came from the US west coast, and some of the best wines I tasted from the US west coast I tasted during this visit. Selecting wines to match a dish composed of 3-4 smalles dishes, and an endless array of tastes was a challenge, but it was a challenge meet and defeated by Cyrus’s skillful sommelier.
In retrospect I have nothing bad to say about this restaurant. If you’re ever in Californina, this restaurant is well worth a visit. I’m told that it’s also a good alternative to the more expensive and exlusive French Laundry in Napa Valley, and it proves once and for all that Americans can cook to!
Visit the restaurant website here
To make up for not having any pictures from the restaurant, here are a few scenic shots from Sonoma in general.
1
Jul/090
Jul/090
Dublin in a weekend
So I guess I could’ve called this post “a weekend in Dublin”, but I thought it made more sense this way as we actually fitted quite a few things in. We got to see the sights, eat well, go out and even do a little shopping. I’d call it a successful weekend.
We didn’t just go on a wim though. A college flatmate of Hedda, my girlfriend, was getting married, and I was the “plus 1″. For some reason they scheduled the wedding for a Sunday, but this gave us ample time to explore Dublin first.
Some things to do in Dublin (and if we got to do them):
- Guiness brewery: The Guiness brewery makes that darkest of beers Guiness. They also helped initiate the Guiness Book of World Records in 1951, originally to help settle bar disputs. Also from their brewery bar at the top floor you have an awesome 360 degree view of the extended Dublin area. We went there.
- Jamesons Whisky distillery: Jameson is one of the most famous irish whiskys and a natural ingredient in irish coffee. We didn’t get to go there.
- Trinity college: Founded in 1592 it’s one of the oldest remaining learning institutions in the world, and has a beautiful campus. We went there.
- Temple bar district: Ok, so I thought Temple bar was a actually a bar, but it turns out it’s actually a district of pubs and bars. Very high spirited nightlife, and when we went there we encountered atleast 10 hen-parties, some of which we’re very scantilly clad. Leave it to the irish to go all out, and leave it to the norwegians to like it!
- Phoenix park: This is the biggest enclosed park in Dublin, and it houses a number of famous landmarks, monuments and an entire zoo. We went there.
We also ate at a pretty good restaurant called Imperial Chinese restaurant. We started off with sharing some aromatic duck, then I had the Calamare in Satay sauce and Hedda had the Chicken in Satay sauce. The food was good, but it didn’t match the price at roughly €72. I feel this place rides along on it’s prime location between the Temple Bar district and the busiest shopping streets in Dublin.
While on the subject of shopping, Dublin is actually pretty reasonably priced. Ofcourse if buy a Levis 501 you’re going to pay about the same for it here as you would in London for instance, but I did found some cool t-shirts for less than €10, which would typically have cost €20-€30 in Norway.
All in all Dublin is a laid back city. The people are friendly, and unless you come between an irish and his pint, you’ll probably enjoy yourself tremendously.
Pictures