Harvester Kitchen was now in downtown.  Co-owned by Bryan Moscatello and Jim Entenman it opened in 2021 and then moved to this location in last Jan when it became HK.  Previously it had been a much larger space, accommodating over 40 people and with the new space their limit is now 24 but also it has additonal space next door for a wood-fired pizza place called Nunzio’s Food Hall and BlackFork Farms a cocktail bar.   Entry to HK was through a wine room then into the long dining room with one wall being a nicely padded bench opposite pleather coated tables backed up by a blond wood service cabinet.   There was also one free standing table.  The gray tones were off set by the hand glued wood wall – made up of 8000 wood chunks.  It was nicely stylish with mood music in the background but cursiously bright lighting.  With carpet on the floor and extra cushions on the bench noise level was not a problem.  They offer 2 tasting menus of 5 or 9 courses with optional wine pairings and the addition of caviar service.  Service was provided by one person for the room but she did an amazing job of letting no one lag for too long.  While the food was mostly attractive it was unfortunately quite dull.  We got the longer of the tastings and wish we hadn’t, but I thought the move and smaller venue might have improved things since fellow restaurant blogger Mel went there in 2024.  If you go, get the smaller menu, the longer one was not worth the almost double price.

Set-up

 

Food

We started with a gin and tonic which was light and refreshing.

 

Three Part Squash was 3 forms of Delicata and Kabocha squash.  The Kabocha was a purée with sesame on the top.  In the middle was tempura fried Delicata and the left dish was consommé.  It was a nice array of squash flavors and textures with the server’s advice to taste the tempura and then it could be used to dip in either of the bowls.

 

Walnut panna cotta was topped with crispy serrano (ham), quince, fresno gel and Nutello liqueur.  The panna cotta was quite smooth but the ham was not that crisp.  Something in the mix was pickled that focused the flavors nicely for a tasty dish.

 

Caramelized sunchoke was with white miso, flaxseed and spring onion.  This one had milder flavors but lots of textures but overall was not an intense dish.

 

Local shrimp tartlette was with sesame, mushroom, sea beans and dill.  The shrimp were from somewhere south of Minneapolis and were mixed with a vinaigrette and a bit of mayo-like sauce.  The tartlette had a thicker shell in a ‘bundt’ shape.  Herbs added to the mild flavor.

 

Crispy skin squab was alongside wild rice, walnuts and pickled shallots.  The squab was room temperature which was strange.  The rice dish had a creamy sauce binding it together and the pickled shallots served as a punctuation mark.  The rice could have been seasoned more and cooked a bit longer, as it still had a lot of bite.

 

Some bread and butter included a light roll with a crisp crust and nice butter topped with some coarse salt.   It was odd to arrive just before the last savory dish.

 

Heluka pork belly was with caramelized apple, cabbage and garlic aioli topped with crispy shallots.  The pork looked really dry but parts of it were better than it looked.  The barely cooked, layered cabbage leaves were very strange.  The aioli dressing made it cloying and not fun to eat.  The caramelized apple under the pork was very salty while the pork had none, but the mix was still too much for me.  Overall this was not a good plate.

 

The intermezzo granite was a huckleberry and strawberry combination topped with prosecco.  The prosecco made a nice foam that faded too quickly. The smooth sorbet was good but I would have preferred them served separately.

 

Binchotan peaches were with honey, buttermilk and chamomile.  A very sweet cake was well soaked and halfway under a cooked peach.  It was good.

 

Bourbon Bavarois was on a toffee cake on blackberry compote with ginger and decorated with caramel and chocolate.  This was another sweet plate that was cool and smooth.  However it only came across as okay.

 

Chocolate chip cookies came with the bill and were probably the best, most intensely  flavored item of the night. Crisp, hot and buttery – great.

 

A treat to go was a bag with a cinnamon buttercream macaron, a rhubarb -strawberry pâte de fruit, and a chocolate macaroon.  The macaron was edible, the jelly left your fingers sticky and was tough and the macaroon was so-so.