Restaurant Experience: Cyrus, Healdsburg, CA! Happy Birthday Mrs. Walnofer!

The Mrs. and I had slotted one last fine dining gourmet experience into our To-do-before-we-leave-Napa-Valley-for-the-real-world-List.  This special treat to ourselves just so happened to land close enough to the Mrs.'s birthday that I.........I mean we were able to call it her birthday dinner!

We had the opportunity to dine at the French Laundry, the only 3-star Michelin restaurant on the west coast for our 1-year anniversary, so next on our list was the 2-star Michelin restaurant of Executive Chef Douglas Keane in Healdsburg.

As you can tell, the Mrs. was glowing as she celebrated her 26th Birthday!

The biggest question I had was what wine do we bring to a restaurant that specializes in "contemporary luxury" cuisine while highlighting ingredients from Japan and Wine Country. Luckily, our old friend Dirk Schätzel left us a special bottle of Schätzel Oelberg Riesling Spätlese from his parents vineyard in Germany. Flavors from Wine Country, Japan, and Germany. Sounds delicious!

1st Course: Canapes. But not just any canapes, canapes that are designed to capture the 5 human taste sensations: sweet, sour, salty, bitter, and umami.

Two butter's and two salts. A whipped Goat Butter and a Sonoma Valley Cow's Butter with Hawaiin Volcanic Salt and British Maldon Salt. My favorite complimentary accompaniment to any meal! The Bread. Cyrus serves baked-in-house versions of sourdough epi, sourdough and garlic baguette (watch out!), multi-grain loaf, bacon & cheese scones, and the classic brioche.

The Amuse Bouche. Salmon Roulade with Ginger Crust and Sweet Pea Puree.

Seared Hamachi with Battera Konbu (Seaweed), Radish and Candied Kumquats in Chilled Apple Dashi.

Soup Billi-B with Fennel Puree and Tempura Mussel.

Butter Poached Lobster with Marjoram Spring Onions and Pickled Ramps.

Foie Gras Torchon with Rhubarb, Yuzu and Buckwheat.

Ikejime Tai with Galangal Rice Noodles and Banana Blossoms, Coconut Milk Froth.

Morel and Green Garlic "Ravioli" Poached Bantam Egg and Parmesan Broth.

Hoisin Glazed 52-hour Braised (seems excessive!) Short Rib with Tat Soi and Ginger Bone Marrow Flan.

Lamb Loin Roulade with Green Garlic Risotto and Fava Bean Ragout.

Artisanal and Farmhouse Cheeses Presented Table Side.  Epoisses (Cow), Sheep's, and Ash rind Goat with the Cheese Accompaniments.

Chocolate and Peanut Butter Tart with Carmelized Banana Ice Cream.

Every girl, no matter what age, needs a balloon for her birthday. Look at the excitement on the Mrs. face when she recieved her Pressurized Ballon Shaved Chocolate on top of Chocolate Chip Cookies with Chocolate Milkshake Spritzer.

Mignardises of Apple and Passionfruit Gelee, Honey Truffle, Salted Caramel Truffle, Currant and Cardamon Cookie, and Graham Cracker.

Even if all that wasn't enough, Cyrus sends you home with a little to-go-box of a housemade brownie for you to enjoy the next day. I think the 2-star Michelin rating was well deserved. This was classic service at its finest and I couldn't think of a better way to celebrate the Mrs.'s 26th b-day.  Well, maybe I will make a little something for us to eat on the real Cuatro de Mayo!

Restaurant Experience: Dessert Republic! San Mateo, CA!

Like I predicted, the post-Hot Pot oranges weren't sweet enough for the Mrs. and I, so Dr. Mrs. Wright took us down to the Dessert Republic for some Chinese sweets.

Obviously these things aren't only popular in France; meet the Chinese Strawberry Crepe with Strawberry Nutella Sauce, Vanilla Ice Cream, and Whipped Cream. I don't care what country it is credited to, Dessert Republic makes a great crepe.

As we were walking into the restaurant, we saw these coming out of the waffle iron, I mean Egg Puff iron in the front window. It is kind of like a waffle/pate au choux/donut hole/wafer of light deliciousness. 

The most refreshing dessert of the evening went to the Mrs.'s Super Mango consisting of Mango Freeze, Aloe Jelly, and Mango Fruit topped with Mango Ice Cream. Mango in anything, delicious. Aloe Jelly in anything, interesting?

But nothing was more interesting than your's truly's bowl of Black Sesame Paste with.......................

.............................Sesame Rice Balls. I will admit to disliking only a couple food items on this entire planet, and Black Sesame Paste and Sesame Rice Balls both just went to the top of the list. This was by far one of the greatest flavor and texture discoveries of my culinary career. Sadly for the wrong reasons, but nonetheless, a culinary discovery to remember.

The Sesame Surprise (new given name) would have been a hard way to finish this Chinese dessert extravaganza, but luckily Dr. Mrs. Wright knew of a winner on the menu.  Out came her order of the Snow Jungle with Fried Banana Roll, Ice Cream, Whip Cream and Chocolate Sauce. Fried bananas! These might be better than the Fried Twinkie...........and obviously way healthier for you.

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Check out Dessert Republic next time you are in Silicon Valley, and be sure to get the White Sesame Paste or Green Bean Paste.............hey it is worth a try! Surely it has got to be better than the Black Sesame Paste.

Restaurant Experience: Little Sheep Mongolian Hot Pot! San Mateo, CA!

The great thing about being in California is the opportunity to get exposed to all the food culture! While on our visit to Palo Alto, Dr. Wright took us over to San Mateo for some Mongolian Hot Pot.  What is this you ask?  We will get to that but first we need an appetizer...........

...............of Kimchee. We had made this back in Cuisines of Asia, but I never really liked it. Traditionally, it is made by fermenting cabbage in clay earthen pots with assorted spiced and red chili's.  I don't know how they make it at Little Sheep, but they make it good. Slightly sweet and spicy, but not too spicy. Very Nice!

Next out came all of our order. I didn't know what was going on, I just sat there with my ever present stupid-grin on my face ready for the food excitement that was to come. Fresh bowl of cilantro, pea shoots, green leaf lettuce, baby bok choy, and Napa Cabbage.

After that, Tempura Shrimp.

Then shaved thin slices of Beef and Lamb. You can't eat at Little Sheep without getting some lamb.

Then a Hot Pot drops in and it is filled with broth (I think Vegetable but the server said Chicken?).  One side is spicy, and one side is mild. The broth has steeped ginger, garlic, scallions (G.G.S for you cooks out there) dry shitakes, and arbol chilis. From this point on, it just becomes a free for all of self-poached meats, mushrooms, herbs, greans, and tempura shirmps.

In case that wasn't enough, I went ahead and ordered the Mongolian Beef Meat Pie. I am still not for sure what was in the filling, but it tasted like fried minced beef and shrimp paste. Not for sure if I would order it again, but experiences are experiences. 

No room for dessert, but every good Hot Pot meal should end with a palate cleansing Orange. I am not for sure if this will curb the sweet tooth of us Arkansas-based Americans, so we might have to head out for a local Chinese dessert shop.  What will we find next? 

Walnofer's & Wright's in Palo Alto!

The final countdown in California has begun and every weekend becomes more and more precious.  So, off to Palo Alto we went to visit Eric and Mandy Wright.  The Wright's had made the pilgrimage up to wine country on several occasions so we were due for a visit to Facebook country.  That is right, Palo Alto is home to the Facebook World Headquarters. Palo Alto is also home to the campus of Stanford University.

It is kind of a cool place.  It's architecture is very Spanish-missionesque.

It is also famous for its beauty and of course Palm Drive which runs right into the front of the campus.

Being around all this acadmia, I started to get some Waffle House cravings for old times sakes. Well, there aren't any Waffle Houses in California (never seen one here), but you can get Crispy Tempura Chicken with Bacon Studded Waffles & Maple Syrup at Chef Charlie Ayers, Calafia in Palo Alto. Delicious.......and way better than Waffle House.

For the first time in Northern California, we found some real beaches! Eric & Mandy shuttled us over the hill and down into Half Moon Bay for some R&R on the beach. It will be hard to forget this Pacific coastline. Anyone staying in Northern California...........put Half Moon Bay on your to-do-list.

No Half Moon Bay visit would be complete without some seafood from Sam's Chowderhouse.  Being that it was 85˚F, the chowder didn't sound that appetizing, but the Lobster roll that was voted in the "Top Five Sandwiches in America" by the NBC Today Show did. Considering it was my first lobster roll (what, I'm from Arkansas!), I agreed totally with NBC Today. Although I prefer ABC's Good Morning America, NBC Today sure can pick a great sandwich.

Thanks to the Wright's for hosting a wonderful weekend.  They still have another 6 years of enjoying California and we wish them all the best. Props to them both for their southern hospitality!

Ed The Great's MyPlate!

Few opportunities come about when a student get's the chance to create their own restaurant while still being in culinary school.  Luckily, the CIA-Greystone allows for such a thing and they affectionately call it, MyPlate. AOS 6 classmate, Eric "Ed" Heath took on the challenge and invited 14 guests to taste his creations. Two of those guests included myself and the Mrs.

Welcome to the Williams Center on the CIA-Greystone campus. Next to the French Laundry, this is one of the coolest house/restaurant venues in the Valley. There is the menu...........here is the food.

Duck Breast was on the menu, but what do you do with all those leftover legs? Confit 'em then paddle 'em into Duck Rillettes and serve as an appetizer, of course.

1st Course: Beef Tenderloin Tartare, Toasted Sourdough, and Sunnyside up Hen Egg.

2nd Course: Seared Hamachi, Granny Smith Puree, and Potato Latke. Thank you Ed, I will be stealing that apple puree idea and using it at my own disclosure from here on out. It pulled my socks off!

3rd Course: Family-style Potato Gnocchi, Cherry Tomatoes, Basil, and Parmesan. The Gnocchi was the crowd favorite of the night and it was well deserving.  The Mrs. is very particular about her gnocchi and has been known to order it off of every menu she see's it on. Good job Ed, your gnocchi get's the Mrs. Walnofer-Seal-of-Approval.

4th Course: Seared Duck Breast, Green Onion Souffle, Natural Jus. Out came the wine pairing of the night, a bottle of 2007 Belle Glos "Taylor Lane Vineyard" Sonoma Coast Pinot Noir. The Pinot was just about as delicious as the food and couldn't have made for a better wine pairing for the meat courses on the menu. Great selection from the Chef!

5th Course: Braised Veal Cheeks, Pappardelle, and Gremolata. I have come to appreciate the craft of making fresh pasta and Ed nailed this. Veal Cheeks, either you love 'em or hate 'em, and I love em!

Dessert Course: Vanilla Panna Cotta with Tart Cherries.  A little sweetness at the end of the meal is always enjoyed. Served with Calistoga Yo El Rey Mexican Coffee.

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Thanks for the great dinner and the fun night Mr. Heath. Please share this sentiment with your team of Sous Chefs.  Mes compliments au chef-to-be!