Harvest
So my first entry will be about Harvest. It's one of the few high end restaurants in town. Highly praised as one of the best dining experiences in Madison, during my recent visit I found it thoroughly disappointing. l went to Harvest with fellow cook Ben Hunter. He shared my sentiments. Harvest's food has little to recommend it. In fact, the only reason to visit the restaurant is if you wish to encounter the finest service in town.
Our meal began, as it so often does, with bread. Made in a cast iron skillet, it had a wonderful crust and a surprisingly chewy texture. It was undoubtedly the best course of the evening. Yet it was plagued by a problem that recurred throughout our meal: it was inappropriately salted. I LOVE salt. More so than is healthy for me; perhaps more so than is healthy for an elephant. Yet the bread was over-salted. Rather than bring out the flavor, in many bites it was the flavor. And while I appreciated the high quality grey salt, I didn't appreciate how it dominated the dish. The bread was served with a very disappointing butter. Given that we live in "America's Dairyland" and there are many many farmers around Madison who make fantastic butter, I'm not sure how or why Harvest served us the bland butter they did.
Next we were treated to an "amuse busche": something that is meant to amuse the palate before a meal. Really it's just stuff they give you in pricey restaurants so that you don't think you're paying too much (after all, you got something for free!). Ideally, this should have come before our bread, but no bother. It was a celeriac soup with black truffles. It was fine. Boring, the kind of thing anyone could make at home if they were willing to put that much butter and cream in a soup (trust me, you wouldn't be willing to do it). The "truffles" did nothing for the dish. Three little drops of truffle oil at the top provided extra fat and little else. I found no black truffles in the soup. I couldn't detect their flavor. Since Harvest is part of the trend to use local seasonal ingredients, someone may want to tell them that the truffles they used are well out of season. This is perhaps why they didn't taste like anything. "Black truffles" come into season in late December through March (the high season being January). Perhaps they used the summer truffle, but even so, the season is in May-August. Put simply, they added no taste, only cost, and made little sense this time of year.
For appetizers we ordered the Foie Gras and the Sweetbreads. Yes, Foie Gras is immoral. And yes, Sweetbreads are organ meat (thymus gland). Deal. Sweetbreads are usually delicious. Like other "worked" parts of animals, they have flavor, unlike, say, filet mignon, b/c they have blood flowing through them (they're working!). The blood carries the flavors of what the animal eats (where it lives) and makes for tastier food. Yet both dishes were incredibly disappointing.
The Foie Gras was not proper cleaned. The liver comes in two lobes, with a vein running through the two. The kitchen had (probably) removed then main vein, but had left several of the secondary veins. And we got a piece of Foie Gras with plenty of these. This means that rather than being smooth and silky, it was chewy and veiny. Doesn't sound pleasant? It wasn't.
The Sweetbreads, on the other hand, were well prepared. Perfectly cooked, of good quality, they pointed toward optimism. But they soon disappointed. Like the initial bread course, they were incredibly over-salted. So much so that they were only just edible.
Both courses were missing something on the high end. In other words, they were rich, heavy, and full bodied. What they needed: acid. Something to cut through the dish, if only slightly, to provide a little spark on the palate (ideally, vinegar or citric acid in any of the sauces). I suspect the chef tried to provide this spark with the salt. But it couldn't do it. And I was disappointed that the chefs wouldn't know that.
For the next course I had veal two ways (belly and shank), Ben had Hanger steak. The veal bordered on edible. The Hanger steak was nowhere near it. Hanger steak should be chewy. Again, it's a worked part of the cow, from the underbelly. This makes it super flavorful, and if cooked well, chewy yet tender and delicious. It was far from cooked well. It was pretty much a plate of gristle, a cut that should not have been served. When the chef cut the meat (it is usually cut against the grain before served so that it presents as tender), (s)he should have sighed, and gotten another cut out of the fridge and made it anew. Instead, it was served to Ben, and it was terrible. Further, to continue with the salting problems, the steak was completely devoid of salt (a crime!). What came out was a plate full of beef connective tissue. And no amount of the reasonably good sides could save the dish.
The veal, by contrast, was quite good (but a Big Mac might be good by contrast to the Hanger we got). The leg was well cooked (although a bit beyond medium rare), the belly fatty and tasty (as one would expect). But AGAIN, the salting was completely off. While the belly was vastly oversalted (I didn't mind that much), the leg had hardly seen any salt. The sign of a good kitchen is often that it knows how to salt its food. This one clearly does not. And AGAIN the kitchen had difficulty bringing in any high end - anything that could cut through the richness of the dish, provide a hint of contrast, and bring out the full flavors of each meat. If I were ever to return to Harvest I might bring the chef a present - a bottle of red wine vinegar, say - and tell him/her, "This is acid. It is your friend. It cuts through heavy dishes, provides a spark to many sauces, and allows people who eat your food to appreciate a wider variety of flavors within your dishes".
Two final notes about the main course. First, what somewhat saved it was our wine. We ordered the Chateau La Fleur Peyrabon (1999 - a Bordeaux from Pauillac). It was reasonably priced, still a little young, but it opened quickly and was tasty. It was someone harsh with low acidity, but the harshness cut through the food. Ben said to me in the middle of the meal, "well, at least the food makes the wine taste great". I agreed. It was too bad the reverse wasn't the case. Second, could a restaurant in town PLEASE cooking with some interesting combinations? Let me sum out the main dishes: meat, starch, veggie. Sound familiar? Yeah, that's cause it's something you eat every day. At home, out, etc. But as it turns out, you don't have to eat that way! Restaurants could introduce not only new flavors, but new ways of looking at eating food. But I guess restaurants in Madison won't do that. Still, if I see steak, potato, and seared greens on another "high end" menu in town I'm going to scream.
Finally, the dessert. Ben's apple cake was like what you'd get in any good coffeeshop. Which is fine. But not when you're at what's supposed to be a very good restaurant. Fine doesn't cut it. The ice cream (made in house, I suspect) was quite good. But Haagen Daaz makes good Ice Cream. And at $3/pint it's a real bargain by comparison. One doesn't order dessert that is only good ice cream. Again, it should be a dish that pushes you to think of food in new ways (or causes you to rethink a classic). My dessert, however, was the finest dish of the night. A pumpkin cake topped with a pumpkin cheesecake topping, it was, I must say, delicious. The cake had a nice crust and a spongy inner texture. The pumpkin cheese top was smooth creamy, and full of pumpkin flavor (it was the only dish that reminded me that I was eating during Fall!). Did it make the meal worthwhile? Certainly not. But I was appreciative that our waitress steered me in its direction. I was further appreciative that she gave is a fine dessert wine that paired well with the desserts. The course made me realize that the baker (bread, desserts) was by far the most talented person in the kitchen.
The only thing that did make the meal worthwhile was our waitress (in fact, the entire wait staff, with the exception of the maitre d'). She was attentive, friendly, and seemed to know exactly what kind of dining experience Ben and I wanted. While the food didn't provide it, she certainly did. In fact, the only reason I'm not filled with rage given the amount I paid for the meal is that out waitress made the experience a pleasant one. Ben had his 16 month old daughter with him (not ideal for a high end restaurant), and the entire staff was responsive to her, us, and seemed relatively unbothered by her presence. In fact, many seemed pleased to see her. While brining a child to a fine restaurant would normally put one on edge, the Harvest staff (again, except for the maitre d') put us at complete ease. This was not small task, and it was greatly appreciated. And I must say, having an adorable girl with you during an otherwise bad meal makes you somehow forget how bad things are.
So, overall, what did I think?
Food: 2.5/10
Service: 9/10
Price: Very Expensive (want pricey ingredients butched by a kitchen? go to Harvest)
I wouldn't recommend the place.
This Friday I'm off to L'Etoile - the other top restaurant in town. I'll tell you want I think...
Our meal began, as it so often does, with bread. Made in a cast iron skillet, it had a wonderful crust and a surprisingly chewy texture. It was undoubtedly the best course of the evening. Yet it was plagued by a problem that recurred throughout our meal: it was inappropriately salted. I LOVE salt. More so than is healthy for me; perhaps more so than is healthy for an elephant. Yet the bread was over-salted. Rather than bring out the flavor, in many bites it was the flavor. And while I appreciated the high quality grey salt, I didn't appreciate how it dominated the dish. The bread was served with a very disappointing butter. Given that we live in "America's Dairyland" and there are many many farmers around Madison who make fantastic butter, I'm not sure how or why Harvest served us the bland butter they did.
Next we were treated to an "amuse busche": something that is meant to amuse the palate before a meal. Really it's just stuff they give you in pricey restaurants so that you don't think you're paying too much (after all, you got something for free!). Ideally, this should have come before our bread, but no bother. It was a celeriac soup with black truffles. It was fine. Boring, the kind of thing anyone could make at home if they were willing to put that much butter and cream in a soup (trust me, you wouldn't be willing to do it). The "truffles" did nothing for the dish. Three little drops of truffle oil at the top provided extra fat and little else. I found no black truffles in the soup. I couldn't detect their flavor. Since Harvest is part of the trend to use local seasonal ingredients, someone may want to tell them that the truffles they used are well out of season. This is perhaps why they didn't taste like anything. "Black truffles" come into season in late December through March (the high season being January). Perhaps they used the summer truffle, but even so, the season is in May-August. Put simply, they added no taste, only cost, and made little sense this time of year.
For appetizers we ordered the Foie Gras and the Sweetbreads. Yes, Foie Gras is immoral. And yes, Sweetbreads are organ meat (thymus gland). Deal. Sweetbreads are usually delicious. Like other "worked" parts of animals, they have flavor, unlike, say, filet mignon, b/c they have blood flowing through them (they're working!). The blood carries the flavors of what the animal eats (where it lives) and makes for tastier food. Yet both dishes were incredibly disappointing.
The Foie Gras was not proper cleaned. The liver comes in two lobes, with a vein running through the two. The kitchen had (probably) removed then main vein, but had left several of the secondary veins. And we got a piece of Foie Gras with plenty of these. This means that rather than being smooth and silky, it was chewy and veiny. Doesn't sound pleasant? It wasn't.
The Sweetbreads, on the other hand, were well prepared. Perfectly cooked, of good quality, they pointed toward optimism. But they soon disappointed. Like the initial bread course, they were incredibly over-salted. So much so that they were only just edible.
Both courses were missing something on the high end. In other words, they were rich, heavy, and full bodied. What they needed: acid. Something to cut through the dish, if only slightly, to provide a little spark on the palate (ideally, vinegar or citric acid in any of the sauces). I suspect the chef tried to provide this spark with the salt. But it couldn't do it. And I was disappointed that the chefs wouldn't know that.
For the next course I had veal two ways (belly and shank), Ben had Hanger steak. The veal bordered on edible. The Hanger steak was nowhere near it. Hanger steak should be chewy. Again, it's a worked part of the cow, from the underbelly. This makes it super flavorful, and if cooked well, chewy yet tender and delicious. It was far from cooked well. It was pretty much a plate of gristle, a cut that should not have been served. When the chef cut the meat (it is usually cut against the grain before served so that it presents as tender), (s)he should have sighed, and gotten another cut out of the fridge and made it anew. Instead, it was served to Ben, and it was terrible. Further, to continue with the salting problems, the steak was completely devoid of salt (a crime!). What came out was a plate full of beef connective tissue. And no amount of the reasonably good sides could save the dish.
The veal, by contrast, was quite good (but a Big Mac might be good by contrast to the Hanger we got). The leg was well cooked (although a bit beyond medium rare), the belly fatty and tasty (as one would expect). But AGAIN, the salting was completely off. While the belly was vastly oversalted (I didn't mind that much), the leg had hardly seen any salt. The sign of a good kitchen is often that it knows how to salt its food. This one clearly does not. And AGAIN the kitchen had difficulty bringing in any high end - anything that could cut through the richness of the dish, provide a hint of contrast, and bring out the full flavors of each meat. If I were ever to return to Harvest I might bring the chef a present - a bottle of red wine vinegar, say - and tell him/her, "This is acid. It is your friend. It cuts through heavy dishes, provides a spark to many sauces, and allows people who eat your food to appreciate a wider variety of flavors within your dishes".
Two final notes about the main course. First, what somewhat saved it was our wine. We ordered the Chateau La Fleur Peyrabon (1999 - a Bordeaux from Pauillac). It was reasonably priced, still a little young, but it opened quickly and was tasty. It was someone harsh with low acidity, but the harshness cut through the food. Ben said to me in the middle of the meal, "well, at least the food makes the wine taste great". I agreed. It was too bad the reverse wasn't the case. Second, could a restaurant in town PLEASE cooking with some interesting combinations? Let me sum out the main dishes: meat, starch, veggie. Sound familiar? Yeah, that's cause it's something you eat every day. At home, out, etc. But as it turns out, you don't have to eat that way! Restaurants could introduce not only new flavors, but new ways of looking at eating food. But I guess restaurants in Madison won't do that. Still, if I see steak, potato, and seared greens on another "high end" menu in town I'm going to scream.
Finally, the dessert. Ben's apple cake was like what you'd get in any good coffeeshop. Which is fine. But not when you're at what's supposed to be a very good restaurant. Fine doesn't cut it. The ice cream (made in house, I suspect) was quite good. But Haagen Daaz makes good Ice Cream. And at $3/pint it's a real bargain by comparison. One doesn't order dessert that is only good ice cream. Again, it should be a dish that pushes you to think of food in new ways (or causes you to rethink a classic). My dessert, however, was the finest dish of the night. A pumpkin cake topped with a pumpkin cheesecake topping, it was, I must say, delicious. The cake had a nice crust and a spongy inner texture. The pumpkin cheese top was smooth creamy, and full of pumpkin flavor (it was the only dish that reminded me that I was eating during Fall!). Did it make the meal worthwhile? Certainly not. But I was appreciative that our waitress steered me in its direction. I was further appreciative that she gave is a fine dessert wine that paired well with the desserts. The course made me realize that the baker (bread, desserts) was by far the most talented person in the kitchen.
The only thing that did make the meal worthwhile was our waitress (in fact, the entire wait staff, with the exception of the maitre d'). She was attentive, friendly, and seemed to know exactly what kind of dining experience Ben and I wanted. While the food didn't provide it, she certainly did. In fact, the only reason I'm not filled with rage given the amount I paid for the meal is that out waitress made the experience a pleasant one. Ben had his 16 month old daughter with him (not ideal for a high end restaurant), and the entire staff was responsive to her, us, and seemed relatively unbothered by her presence. In fact, many seemed pleased to see her. While brining a child to a fine restaurant would normally put one on edge, the Harvest staff (again, except for the maitre d') put us at complete ease. This was not small task, and it was greatly appreciated. And I must say, having an adorable girl with you during an otherwise bad meal makes you somehow forget how bad things are.
So, overall, what did I think?
Food: 2.5/10
Service: 9/10
Price: Very Expensive (want pricey ingredients butched by a kitchen? go to Harvest)
I wouldn't recommend the place.
This Friday I'm off to L'Etoile - the other top restaurant in town. I'll tell you want I think...
posted by shakha at 2:28 PM
12 Comments:
In my opinion, L'Etoile, its bakery Cafe Soleil, and maybe Maharaja are the only restaurants worth eating at in Madison. Besides those places, you'll have to fly to a coast if you want a decent meal -- skip Chicago.
Well, I've had good food at New Soule, the Lao place on Willy, and some other places in town. Not great, but good. I'll keep the reviews coming (and get fatter by the day). It's fun. And I'm thinking maybe I should make this a collective blog. Friends could write reviews as well.
While agree with you on many of your points about harvest i think the overall review is a bit harsh. I have had a number of good meals at harvest. I think the error was that your order was in some ways looking for food that was traditional french mainstays, foie gras, sweet breads, veal. I think that harvest does not excel there. I have really enjoyed the chicken i had there which is the best i have ever had as well as many of their soups. They do great things with parsnips and celeriac mixing in apples that is one of the better soups i have ever had. Also there combination of ingredients was bland at the time but a few weeks ago i had a radiccio, bacon gratin that has inspired my lastest faze of love of interesting combinations for gratins.
Lastly i think that you miss the true beauty of harvest. While pricey the food is much under the shitty places that you could spend way more for in chicago or ny or even in madison. It is consistent even though i never expect anything amazing. I have been very pleased many times. Give it another shot sometime. Sit at the bar order a couple of appitizers and maybe one main course. L'etoile on the other hand can be very disapointing if you have any expectations.
Jonny
I have to disagree with Jonny regarding L'Etoile. Almost every dish I have had there has been tasty and most have been at least moderately inventive. On the other hand, I find Harvest uninspired and overpriced. Come to think of it, L’Etoile is a bit steep as well given the location (Madison) and the food quality. (I’m not complaining, mind you: we are lucky to have a restaurant of L’Etoile’s quality). Frankly, for the price of a meal at Harvest or L’Etoile, I could have amazing meals in either NYC or SF -- and I don't just mean cheap ethnic food.
Maybe you're right Jonny. I guess I was really pumped up to try out Harvest (I hadn't been in years) and so my high expectations may have clouded my experience.
Also, it was Halloween. Maybe the good folks weren't working in the kitchen. Perhaps it was less bad food and more bad ordering! But really, you shouldn't buy pricey ingredients if you can't cook them. Or better yet, you shouldn't have stuff on your menu that isn't good.
Also, I was in a bad mood today (work). I a meal at Dotty's that BLEW. That'll be the next review. Best burger in Madison? I hope not!
As for my expectations from L'Etoile, well, I'll try and keep them low.
I disagree with Jonny. I liked the review. I had a similar experience there this last week. Chef could be out of town?
One more comment on the food at harvest. I learned that Jeff Orr at Harvest has been really busy opening his new restaurant cocoliquot (sp) and the other partner at harvest is opening the old fashion. So while i think it is bullshit when a restaurant looses quality when the chef takes up new projects i can give them slack a little around the openings.
Anyway i think madison will be for the better when both those restaurants open.
Shamus maybe you should open the blog up a little bit and let other people review restaurants. Just an idea.
Jonny
p.s. if you post anonymously please identify yourselves.
Okay. So to be added as a person who can post on here contact me and I'll add you. Jonny, I already sent you an email about it.
I totally agree with you on those new restaurants, Jonny. What Madison needs is more middle-range places (12-20).
L'Etoile was disappointing. That review is to come. But first, I'm off to Chicago! Some Dim Sum for brunch and then off somewhere nice for dinner.
Oh, and what I meant to say: if you want to be added as a "reviewer", contact me. I'll add you. skhan@ssc.wisc.edu
If you don't want anonymous comments, turn off the function. But don't allow anonymous comments and then demand to know the identities of the commenters. That's ridiculous.
Yeah. As the administrator of the blog, I've made no demand that people say who they are.
It's great!!! Visit Madison Restaurant Review to see a Madison metro area site with detailed reviews and pictures with at least 1 new restaurant review each week.
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