Harbinger is owned by Chef Joe Tripp who has been a semifinalist 5 times (nominated 7 times) for the James Beard Foundation’s Best Chef Midwest award. He is assisted by a fine team who traveled with him to Asia to find new ingredients, cooking techniques and flavors, Opening in 2018 the menu changes regularly as seasonal ingredients become available. The menu is just one page and many of the dishes are meant to be shared. We were there duing their 9 year anniversary celebration and so a special 9-course tasting menu was available for just $99 and we both jumped at the opportunity. The medium-sized place looked to hold about 50 people with additional seats at the bar. The open kitchen was at one end of the space with windows to the street opposite it. Music was in the background, lights were dimmed and the wood floor was opposite a painted tin ceiling. It was super busy with several tables turning over when we arrived and thus got off to a slow start but it was worth it – the food was fabulous and creative. Service was very friendly even if sometimes a bit jumbled, but then they had a new person working on the floor with the experienced ones. I know what we had isn’t on the regular menu but it showed me a quality and talent that lets me know it’s a place I’d heartily recommend you try. Relaxed, casual and food full of flavor- it’s a winning combination.
Set-up
Food
Wild sea scallop crudo was with white shoyu, tea oil, sesame seeds and kumquat pickled daikon. The tender scallop went great with all the other flavors and the daikon was especially flavorful. A good start.
Oyster mushrooms were fried like Taiwanese Chicken with Thai basil, crack seasoning and night market aioli was the menu description for this course and unfortunately I forgot to get a photo. (Probably because it came before we finished the first course and at the same time as our wine and then the first was picked up before we finished). It was a small fried mushroom alongside 3 sauce bits – black garlic, roasted garlic and thousand island. The last was too sweet for me but the others were good. (They apologized profusely for the chaos).
Crispy ramp pockets were filled with glass noodles on a soy ramp vinaigrette with Taiwanese satay sauce. Ramps were inside as well as outside and the server noted that the chef had actually foraged them himself. The pocket was a tad tough but still tasty and the fresh ramps were lovely. The sauce tied it all together nicely.
Kuai red prawns were wrapped in tofu skin and placed on a celery, rhubarb haishan sauce with spicy Chinese mustard on the side. The first two pieces of shrimp were juicy and good but the tail bit was overcooked. The ‘slaw’ in the middle was good and the spicy mustard was the magic for this dish.
Halibut was steamed with copious amounts of ginger and plated with morel mushroom rice cake, ramp butter and English peas. Amazing ginger flavors in the broth really complemented the thick moist fish. The rice cake was mild but that fish, sauce and surrounding vegetables were an explosion of taste.
Ginger consommé had a piece of totally moist succulent chicken sitting in it. Milder flavors but a feeling of comfort food here.
Duck breast was brushed with a very special soy sauce and plated with a golden kimchi emulsion, stir-fried fava beans and 5 spice jus. The duck was cooked a nice medium rare but still rendered most of the fat cap, which was great. The fava beans were sliced which gave them a fun different appearance. A great sauce mix completed this excellent dish.
Aiyu jelly, made from smuggled creeping fig seeds, was topped with shaved lime ice on a honey sauce. It had a lovely lime flavor on the soft but very chewable jelly. A fine change of pace for a palate cleanser.
Taiwanese brown sugar was with milk tea gelato, sunflower gong tang and Baozhong tea was the dessert description. It was gelato topped with caramel alongside some crispy candy, that had a peanut-like flavor. The “croutons” were more chewy than crispy but the gelato was soft and creamy. It was a great finish.
