Russian river/Dry river reviews. Thanks for your help! (zazu, farmhouse, cyrus)
Hi Chowhounders!
Just wanted to thank you all for your contributions to this board. i gleaned over lots of reviews to put together our itinerary. We went over this labor day weekend and decided to focus on russian river/dry river hoping that there would not be a lot of crowds. Got in on Friday morning and left Monday morning.
We stayed at the Farmhouse inn for our stay. www.farmhouseinn.com great B&B. Delicious breakfast included each day. assortment of teas, coffees and fresh juice. They have a help yourself beauty bar with scrubs, soaps and milk bath. Snacks and sodas to take with you on the road.
We hit a number of wineries, many of the recommendations came from you guys. Some hits, some misses:
Merry Edwards
Ironhorse
Michel-Schlumberger
Preston
Bella
Unti
Ridge
We had a picnic lunch at Preston one of the days (delicious bread and olive oil!) picking up some meats at the Oakville grocery in Healdsburg.
Zazu - dinner the first night was at zazu. Nice casual, comfortable vibe. Loved the chiles app and the BLT salad. Friend and I had the black pig confit which seemed to be a braised pork shoulder with homemade noodles. we talked about going back in the consequent days just for this again, but it didn't work out. My other friend got the tomato soup and grilled cheese (loved it) and my husband loved his steak but wished he had gotten the pork dish as well. With a few sides of bacon and a bottle or two of wine, great start!
Farmhouse inn - Dinner was at the farmhouse inn the next night. My husband started with the buffalo carpaccio (delicious) I had the trio of tomato soup w/dungeness crab. nice, light start. My husband had a skillet roasted pheasant that was amazing. my girlfriend had the halibut which she loved as well. I ended up getting the rabbit cubed and while it was good, it threw me off a little as I had never had rabbit before. The confit leg tasted like moist turkey breast, the loin in bacon and a strange hard sausage texture. I think it might just be me never having had rabbit before and not knowing what to expect. The desserts were the highlight. Caramel gelato w/cocao nib cookies are not to be missed, nor the chocolate souffle.
Cyus - Cyrus is cyrus. not much to say except it lived up to our expectations and it was a wonderful meal. People were starting to fade towards the 6th course as our reservations began at 8pm and it had been a long day so far. In total dinner was about 3.5 hrs long. it didn't feel rushed, but also didn't linger too long. impeccable service. My favorites were the thai lobster and the corn risotto with black truffle.
Healdsburg Bar & Grill - we ended up having a lunch here. loved the truffle fries, burgers and the mac and cheese. Heavy, but satisfying.
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Healdsburg Bar & Grill
245 Healdsburg Ave, Healdsburg, CA
