One of the main draws of The Cygnus is that it's on the 27th floor of the hotel, one of the highest floors in the city. The views are fantastic, and even a bit disorientating. It's such a unique view of a city that I'm very familiar with. Just about every seat in the house has a nice view with dinner.
I loved the atmosphere of the restaurant as well. It's very hip and chic. It still retains an upscale flair, but is easily a hot spot for dinner and drinks with friends.
I loved the atmosphere of the restaurant as well. It's very hip and chic. It still retains an upscale flair, but is easily a hot spot for dinner and drinks with friends.
Another thing I like about this restaurant, is it's utilization of OpenTable.com. I love how easy this website is to use, and I wish more restaurants in the West Michigan area would use it. It's a serious draw for people who love to dine.
We made our reservations on OpenTable.com for 9:00pm. (The only reservation left for that Saturday.) We didn't mind the late hour because we could take our time getting ready and enjoying the rest of our Saturday without having to rush to dinner.
We got there a bit early, and enjoyed views from the lounge area while we waited for our table. We didn't have to wait long, and we were soon seated. We dove into the menu excitedly discussing what we would order. I'm always challenged by all the things I want to order and try vs. how much I can actually eat. I fill up very quickly on a small amount of food, so I always am very careful not to eat much before dining out at places like this.
We ordered drinks, which were very well mixed, and placed an order for our appetizer. We decided to go with the Raclette Cheese II. It was Leelanau Cheese Company Raclette in an herb batter and slowly fried, served with remoulade sauce. And it was divine.
We made our reservations on OpenTable.com for 9:00pm. (The only reservation left for that Saturday.) We didn't mind the late hour because we could take our time getting ready and enjoying the rest of our Saturday without having to rush to dinner.
We got there a bit early, and enjoyed views from the lounge area while we waited for our table. We didn't have to wait long, and we were soon seated. We dove into the menu excitedly discussing what we would order. I'm always challenged by all the things I want to order and try vs. how much I can actually eat. I fill up very quickly on a small amount of food, so I always am very careful not to eat much before dining out at places like this.
We ordered drinks, which were very well mixed, and placed an order for our appetizer. We decided to go with the Raclette Cheese II. It was Leelanau Cheese Company Raclette in an herb batter and slowly fried, served with remoulade sauce. And it was divine.
You can never go wrong with fried cheese. Raclette is a semi-firm, salted cow's milk cheese. It was very savory. The herb batter was crispy, flavorful, and was not greasy at all. The remoulade (similar to tartar sauce) was freshly made and very tasty. It had thinly slice pieces of dilled green beans and other spices that complemented the cheese perfectly.
Because I knew that I could not eat an entire salad with all of the other food I was expecting to order, we decided to split the grilled romaine salad. So here was my half:
The grilled romaine salad featured dried heirloom tomatoes, poppy seed crusted goat cheese, yogurt-chive dressing, and balsamic vinaigrette. It was a perfect balance of fresh flavors. It made me miss summer. Grilling the romaine released it's oils and flavors in a way I have never tasted. The dried heirloom tomato was a treat in itself; reduced and concentrated flavor in a wafer slice. The goat cheese was creamy and rich, and was a perfect complement to the romaine and vinaigrette. It was a generous slice, and it would have been nice to have some bread or crackers to eat the remainder with.
That was one odd thing about our dining experience. We never got any bread. We had bread plates and butter knives, but never bread. Other tables got bread. Why not us? Was it because we ordered an appetizer and a salad? Or was it merely an oversight? It was not enough to ruin our delightful evening, but it was puzzling.
They did serve us a nice intermezzo of fried polenta in a mushroom sauce. I was so excited to try it I didn't take a photo! It was a very good texture and the mushroom sauce was very buttery and yummy.
On to the entree! I ordered the Balinese Duck. It was duck breast rubbed with a mixture of macademia nuts, tumeric, and cilantro served with a root vegetable mash and fruit salsa.
The last time I had duck, it was at Bistro on the Boulevard. I had gotten the duck confit, so it wasn't very fatty since the fat was melted. This time, it was roasted, so there was quite a bit of fat under the skin and a fatty texture in the meat. It was done to an exquisite temperature, and beautiful color, but a little fattier than I like in my meat. The root vegetable mash was slightly sweet and very full of flavor. I could've eaten all of it if I wasn't so full. The fruit salsa had sweet and savory elements as well. Pineapple and garlic is a good combination.
For dessert we ordered "Lava". It was a fudge cake wrapped in phyllo and topped with melting whipped cream that spilled over the sides like lava. The whole thing was topped with 18K gold leaf.
Because I knew that I could not eat an entire salad with all of the other food I was expecting to order, we decided to split the grilled romaine salad. So here was my half:
The grilled romaine salad featured dried heirloom tomatoes, poppy seed crusted goat cheese, yogurt-chive dressing, and balsamic vinaigrette. It was a perfect balance of fresh flavors. It made me miss summer. Grilling the romaine released it's oils and flavors in a way I have never tasted. The dried heirloom tomato was a treat in itself; reduced and concentrated flavor in a wafer slice. The goat cheese was creamy and rich, and was a perfect complement to the romaine and vinaigrette. It was a generous slice, and it would have been nice to have some bread or crackers to eat the remainder with.
That was one odd thing about our dining experience. We never got any bread. We had bread plates and butter knives, but never bread. Other tables got bread. Why not us? Was it because we ordered an appetizer and a salad? Or was it merely an oversight? It was not enough to ruin our delightful evening, but it was puzzling.
They did serve us a nice intermezzo of fried polenta in a mushroom sauce. I was so excited to try it I didn't take a photo! It was a very good texture and the mushroom sauce was very buttery and yummy.
On to the entree! I ordered the Balinese Duck. It was duck breast rubbed with a mixture of macademia nuts, tumeric, and cilantro served with a root vegetable mash and fruit salsa.
The last time I had duck, it was at Bistro on the Boulevard. I had gotten the duck confit, so it wasn't very fatty since the fat was melted. This time, it was roasted, so there was quite a bit of fat under the skin and a fatty texture in the meat. It was done to an exquisite temperature, and beautiful color, but a little fattier than I like in my meat. The root vegetable mash was slightly sweet and very full of flavor. I could've eaten all of it if I wasn't so full. The fruit salsa had sweet and savory elements as well. Pineapple and garlic is a good combination.
For dessert we ordered "Lava". It was a fudge cake wrapped in phyllo and topped with melting whipped cream that spilled over the sides like lava. The whole thing was topped with 18K gold leaf.
Sorry, these pictures are so orange because of the low lighting in the restaurant. This dessert was really good, but had perhaps a bit too much phyllo dough layers. It was fun to tear apart and to eat the gold leaf. By this time we were pleasantly full and getting sleepy.
Out came our check for the evening with a lovely surprise: chocolate fondue. Perfect squares of moist pound cake and fresh strawberries. The chocolate was a high quality dark chocolate that was so perfect, I used the bare toothpick to scoop chocolate directly into my mouth (classy, I know).
Out came our check for the evening with a lovely surprise: chocolate fondue. Perfect squares of moist pound cake and fresh strawberries. The chocolate was a high quality dark chocolate that was so perfect, I used the bare toothpick to scoop chocolate directly into my mouth (classy, I know).
All in all, we had a wonderful evening together. I would definitely recommend The Cygnus 27 to friends, and eat there again. I give this chic restaurant 4.5 stars, out of 5!
★★★★½
Sheena, thank you for the kind words. Greatly appreciated! Please let me know next time you are in, so we can meet.
ReplyDeleteby the way, here is an upcoming event you might be interested to experience Cygnus27 in a totally different light! As a hip place to let loose and party...
Rio Carnivale Party
Cygnus Restaurant and Lounge
Thu, Mar 11, 2010 from 7:00 PM – 1:00 AM
Werner Absenger
Chef De Cuisine Cygnus27
http://cygnus27.com/