Image by CypressImage by 20080725cypress.jpg Just like the food, Cypress' interior mixes old and new to good effect.

Of the trio Magnolias, Blossom, and Cypress, the latter of the three offers the most contemporary flare, combining brick with rust-colored booths and color-changing lights. They offer American-style options fused with local ingredients, a Southern base, and a modern and Asian touch.

Reviews from Fodor's, The Post and Courier, and Charleston City Paper all proved more than favorable.

Fodor's says:
The cuisine is classic American, with fresh local ingredients accented with exotic flavors, notably from the Pacific Rim. Try fabulous salads like the arugula with Gorgonzola, pecans, and apples. The green-tea-smoked duck is a good entrée choice. The fillet, cooked over hickory, comes with a Madeira wine sauce and a house-made soft cheese with herbs. Executive Chef Craig Deihl consistently creates simple yet elegant fare.

The Charleston City Paper says:
When they first opened and you sat there in a stuffy jacket, all dressed up like a yachtsman, noshing on shrimp cocktails and martinis, the Vegas shtick seemed somewhat over the top. Now the neon chameleon glows with a renewed purpose — it provides the perfect metaphor for the creative impulses of Craig Diehl, whose efforts make Cypress the best it's ever been. He twists world flavors like a contortionist in a steel trap — sushi over fresh oysters, scallops, bacon, and hominy in concert, fried goat-brie crusted in an almond crunch — they all pour forth with incredible balance and a touch that makes the diverse flavors seem perfectly at home, rubbing elbows across diverse geographies. The old-school favorites are still on the menu, but a seasonal bill of fare interposes the classics, making the entire menu flexible and exciting.

And, The Post and Courier loved the integration of local ingredients:
The philosophies of sustainability and Slow Food are seen in chef Deihl's menu. He has chosen source over sauce; provender over pretense. Local greens from nearby Wadmalaw Island, Keegan-Filion Farms chicken, Split Creek Farm cheeses, Kennerty Farms vegetables, Carolina Gold rice, house-cured lamb "bacon" and house-made hominy are just a few of the items on his menu.

Smartly, the menu at Cypress maintains its tried-and-true favorites and then produces a seasonal sheet that allows the kitchen to indulge in fresh, local ingredients.

Read any of the reviews for their list of favorite items, or see the menu for yourself.

Appetizers run $8-$15. Main course runs $20s -$30s.

Open daily from 5 p.m. at 167 East Bay Street.