New Years Eve at Harp and Fiddle

I generally don't make plans for New Years Eve.  That doesn't mean that I don't do anything, it just generally means that I have a quiet night with friends with good food and drink.  I had no plans for this last New Years Eve, but a friend noted that an Irish Pub in a suburb close to where they live was doing a five course dinner for a good price.  It sounded like a good deal and I would be hanging with my friends, so I decided to go.  I had been to The Harp and Fiddle, in Park Ridge, before and knew that they had a pretty good craft beer list and did some pretty good bar food. I arrived on New Years Eve and saw (and heard) that there were live musicians playing, but we were sitting on the other side of the dining room, so we could actually hear each other speaking.  Looking at their multi-page list, I was looking for something unusual and there were a few beers that certainly fit the bill.  I started with Untitled Art Barrel Culture Dragonfruit Sour IPA.  With the exotic fruit and the fact that it was purported as both a Sour and an IPA, it really interested me.  The risk of trying something unusual that you don't really know much about is that you might not like it.  With the pour, I saw that it had a nice head and an unusually red color.  It had a nice tart and citrusy aroma and flavor, but the finish that some have called floral, I found soapy and didn't care for it.  I was able to drink it, but I don't know that I would ever order it again.  The fact that I disliked it was totally on me, and while I didn't care for it, I'm glad I tried it out.

While I was sipping my beer, our first course came out.  It was an incredibly creamy Wild Mushroom Bisque, topped with  Black Truffle and Arugula Coulis.  It had a great mushroom flavor with a creamy texture and a sprinkling of truffle oil on top.  The Coulis added the funky and savory truffle flavor on top of the savory mushroom flavor, as well as the bitter pepperiness of arugula.  Several of us would have been happy with another large bowl of this.

Our second course followed the standard course progression map and was a vegetable dish.  It was a salad of sorts with a Shredded Brussels Salad with Shaved Parmesan, Carrots, Baby Heirloom Tomatoes, and Cherrywood Smoked Bacon.  It was crisp and very flavorful, with a very nice Creamy Garlic Dressing and this I enjoyed as well.  With two courses down that were both wins, I was wondering if I should up my preconceived assessment that they did good bar food, but don't expect much more than that.

Our next course was our first entree, Grilled Salmon.  It was served with a Rattatouille made with Sliced and Grilled Zucchini and Summer Squash topped with a Tomato White Wine Broth that really reminded me of Ketchup.  The salmon was tender, flaky, and flavorful without being exceptionally strong.  The vegetables tasted fresh and cooked enough to be tender without getting mushy.

Our second entree, the red meat, could have theoretically been pretty simple.  The chef and company, though, amped things up to good measure.  As presented, it looked like steak and mashed potatoes, the steak cooked medium well, though still juicy.  The steak was actually Filet Mignon, topped with a Mushroom Madeira Gravy, and the potatoes were actually Pureed Parsnips.  The filet was fork tender and very flavorful.  The gravy, which very much tasted like the soup at the beginning of the meal with added Madeira Wine was also very good. 

 

By this time, dessert, I was looking for my second unusual beer, but one that would also go well with dessert.  I went with an Imperial Oak Sinister Minister Quad with Tart Cherries.  For dessert we had a the Chef's Special Bread Pudding that was topped with Syrup, Whipped Cream, and Cinnamon.  The beer was something else.  As it was a Quad, it was pretty big.  It was pretty big and tasted boozy, both from the fact that it was a quad and the barrel aging.  In addition, it had a nice and tart cherry flavor.  It was heavy, but it was also cold out, so it was a fitting beer to be drunk.  The bread pudding was good.  It was soft, sweet, and a fitting end to a fun night.  I really enjoyed myself and my opinion of their food has increased.  I am not saying that I had thought that their food was bad, I thought it was good, but pretty simple.  The food that I had had tonight impressed me and while it is a little far for me to hang out.  I would come for something special.