Whether you stay in the main house or one of the cottages at Harbor House you often have required 2 or 3 night stays. Dinner can be in your room or this site has some other restaurants in the area but your best bet is to eat 2 nights at their restaurant. When you let them know, Chef Matt Kammerer and his team will try and change the menu for you the second night but when possible he will also repeat those courses you ask to have again. We’ve done the 2 night dinners many times but this one they knocked it out of the park with variation while still serving the quality of food we have come to love. It’s hard to explain the purity of flavor and the seeming simplicity of the dishes (especially when I know how many steps were involved in the process) but it is always a glorious meal that leaves you feeling satisfied even though you know it was really healthy too. Combined with the fantastic staff and beautiful setting I can’t encourage you enough to go and try it. The Santa Rosa airport is about a two and half hour drive away and the twisty road through the mountains is gorgeous. Then being from Texas it’s also thrilling to watch the temperature drop as you leave the valley and cross the mountains. If you regularly read this blog you’ll see this place again many times and that speaks volumes.
Set-up
Food
A savory infusion of sea vegetables starts the tasting and readies the palate with a warm cup of savory liquid,
Chilled vegetables with cow parsnip oil were similarly prepared to last night but with different vegetables. Radish, turnip, gooseberry, pea flowers, borage, wood sorrel, and oxalis were what I got down in my notes. It was lovely.
Cured Rockfish, kombu, daikon radish and hyssop were in a chilled anise broth The fish melted in your mouth and the broth was yummy. A terrific dish.
Poached abalone with asparagus was in a seaweed vinaigrette. The asparagus were sliced into little coin-shaped pieces and with the shellfish, enjoyed a bit of wasabi in the mix. This was divine. Alongside was a dish of rice mixed with the abalone offal sauce and topped with greens and a couple house composed pickles. Both great, I really enjoyed dipping the pickles in the vinaigrette and that rice combo is a favorite.
Dungeness crab was poached in sea water and presented 3 ways. A maitake mushroom was fried tempura-style and topped with Dungeness crab for an out-of-this-world delicious treat. Just wow is all I can say. With it were a couple of the slow-cooked legs that were another marvelous bite and a cup of the broth made from crab shells. I didn’t need their moist cloth afterwards as I licked my fingers clean after this one.
Grilled Black cod, tare (glaze) and grilled cabbage with a sabayon sauce made up another fantastic plate. The rich, tangy sauce was perfect with the bitter greens and buttery fish. An excellent combination.
Barbecued kohlrabi was filled with Knight’s Valley wagyu top sirloin. The beef had been dry aged for 4-5 weeks and then chopped raw into an edible size dice. Some kohlrabi was poached in a nettle sauce and mixed in. This was another tasty combination.
Sourdough was seeded with flaxseed and served with sea lettuce butter. Very good.
The last savory was Richardson’s Ranch lamb loin, Type 70 broccoli and jus. The lamb was aged 4 1/2 weeks and the jus was made from the bones. It was cooked a nice med-rare and delicious. The broccoli was fun as was the sauce.
Makrut lime leaf, passionfruit, and verbena ice was the transition. It had good flavors.
Citrus sorbet, Mandarin with cypress and mint gel was the first dessert. It was refreshing.
Infusion of garden herbs with grilled honey and sweet herbs was the drink with the usual array of mignardise. This infusion made with strawberry and lemon mint herbs was one of the better ones I’ve had here. The treats were Choux, grilled miso and apple cider; Candy cap mushroom macaron; Walnut lace cookie with oolong and white chocolate; Lemon verbena and marigold; Umeboshi caramel; Groundcherry; and Canelé with mandarin syrup.
