Harbor House Inn and Restaurant has a beautiful setting overlooking the ocean. Elk is not a big town by any means but it does have a couple stores and a market and is close to Ft. Bragg and Medocino, where there are tons of art galleries. I encourage all to try and go, but urge you to get a room or cottage to stay in where you can walk to dinner and then enjoy their complimentary breakfast the next morning. You can read about other meals in the blog by clicking here for one in 2025, 2024, 2023 or 2022. I’ve written this place up many times but can’t resist continuing as the meals evolve. Chef Matthew Kammerer is driven to providing you with the freshest and most sustainably-made meal possible and meanwhile all the other staff are also a delight to be around. They make Frankie feel special and you will too, so go and tell them Frankie sent you (no I don’t make anything off of it, it’s just that I’m willing to share my secret fave with you, my readers).
Set-up
Food
Snacks in the den room were shishito, mackerel, cucumber and nori. The shishito peppers were tempura style and a definite favorite for both of us. The cucumber was topped with herbs and burst with fresh flavor. The mackerel was nice as was the warm nori broth. They kindly give you a moist towel for pre and/or post eating.
Selection of chilled vegetables, fruits, and herbs varied some from the night before. Tonight there was a sesame coated celtuce, cucumber painted with Meyer lemon, zucchini with eggplant, raw and lightly dried pears, purple potato with confit labneh, eggplant with dashi, spinach poached in dashi and poached spring onion – of what I got noted. The bites were all delicious with a grand range of tastes and textures but it shows the versatility of the products from their ranch/farm.
Bluefin tuna belly that was marinated in cherry tomtoes and vinegar was beside eggplant in a tomato marinade. The eggplant was fantastic and the marinade good enough to drink afterwards. The tuna was like velvet on the tongue with some very tasty eggplant hidden underneath.
Purple sea urchin was with tomatoes. The urchin was from Ft. Bragg and mixed with cucumber, cherry tomatoes and topped with a tomato vinegar gel. The gel worked well with the funk of the urchin and made it almost sweet. This was an absolutely delicious combination.
Black cod was with King Trumpet mushrooms in a red leek dashi. They are placed raw in the warm broth and the timer indicates when you can take the lid off and enjoy it. On the side was a bowl of green beans with a quinoa oil that were almost raw with a divine flavor. The silky fish is a rightly chosen favorite of mine and this one was true to form. From our room earlier in the day we watched the local fisherman pull them from his cooler and the chefs then took inside. Can’t get any fresher than that.
Poached red abalone was cooked in dashi sake and then covered by a smoked abalone foam. It came with koshihikari rice mixed with the offal sauce and house made pickles. Abalone has a nice chew to the meat but is still tender when cooked right, and this was. The smoke flavor was light and well accented by the sharpness of the pickles. The rice is to die for.
Steamed rockfish was plated with maitake and salted stonefruit sabayon. The first photo shows the espelette pepper that the sabayon covers. The fish was cooked over vegetable broth and sitting beside some wonderful grilled maitakes. The pepper nicely sparked the rich sauce and made a great combination with the lightly cooked fish. The mushrooms were excellent.
Sourdough bread and ‘croissant’ roll were with options of sea lettuce butter and olive oil. The laminated roll was painted with cow parsnip seeds and a definite new favorite.
Richardson Ranch lamb loin was plated with spring onion and wild blackberry jus made with the lamb trimmings and clarified butter. The meat was tender, tasty and cooked just right but the jus was outstanding and also a great vehicle to use the last of the bread in.
Amazake namelaka is an ulta-creamy Japanese dessert similar to a mousse. This one was made with the Japanese drink made from fermented rice and topped with flavor grenade plums/pluots. The fruit was sweet and fruity and perfect with the creamy custard. Something in the mix added a crunchy texture but I didn’t catch what it was – too busy eating I guess.
Wakame seaweed (kelp native to the NW Pacific Ocean) ice cream was topped with bee pollen and in a bowl with strawberries alongside a walnut lace cookie filled with goat caramel. The ultra ripe strawberries supplied some of their juice to go below the ice cream. The strawberries were absolutely wonderful as was the jus to mix with the creamy ice cream. Then that fabulous crunchy cookie filled with caramel finished it out perfectly.
Infusion of sundried chamomile was the warm tea to go with an iced selection of cantaloupe, pluots, nectarines, and peaches. All the fruit burst with sweetness and strong flavor that made them a delight to eat. The chamomile tea was more to my liking than the fir last night.
