Gourmets' Garden Bed and Breakfast

[Brad Ballinger]

For those interested in notes on the wines mentioned in this write up, go here.

Late last fall I was having my car serviced at the dealer. I spied a copy of Mpls/St. Paul magazine in the waiting room, and began thumbing through it. This particular issue (October, 2003, I believe) had a feature on the top ten Bed and Breakfast places in Minnesota. Many of them sounded like ideal getaways, but one in particular grabbed my attention to a point where I started planning our wedding anniversary six months in advance, which is unheard of for me. And that was the write up on the tenth one listed in the article. Gourmets' Garden Bed and Breakfast in Harmony, Minnesota.

The unique appeal of GGB&B (as I’ll refer to it from here forward) was that dinner was also served on the premises. Not just any dinner, your option of a three course or five course dinner paired with wines. And if you’ve ever been to Harmony, you know your other options are the pizza parlor, the diner, or the sports bar – all of which, I’m sure, serve up fair fare, but this would be our anniversary, after all.

So, six months in advance, I booked a room. There are only two rooms in this B&B. Since we usually spend our anniversary with another couple (and they theirs with us), I booked both rooms. I also asked if we could bring our own wine. That would not be a problem. As a matter of fact, they would create a menu to go with our wines if I let them know what we’d be bringing in advance. Way cool.

Fast forward six months to our arrival. The property is situated on a gravel road about 1.5 miles southeast of town. Driving up to it, it looks like a typical farmhouse built long ago, and added on to since then (but still a while ago). There is a barn and a couple of outbuildings. There is a large garden in front. It’s on the south side of the gravel road, which is important since, during the summer at least, the wind is usually from the south. So when a car passes by, the dust created drifts north.

Marcia and I were warmly welcomed by the husband and wife owner/operator couple of Stephen Larson and Lisa Flicker (more on them later). We walked through a porch that has been converted into a dining area (they also offer dinners to non-guests), and into the actual dining room across which we saw the demonstration kitchen (cooking classes are also offered here). More on the kitchen later. To our right was the living room, three comfy, cushy leather loveseats. A wrought iron spiral staircase led upstairs to the guest rooms. Since carrying luggage up that way would be a bitch, the outside stairs leading to a balcony and second story entrance were what we used. In warmer weather, guests can opt for breakfast (maybe dinner, I’m not sure) on the balcony.

Our room had a wrought iron queen-sized bed, table and chairs, reading chair, and a bathroom with a very deep, very heavy, clawfoot tub. The tub uses hot forced air (not a motorized pump) to create a Jacuzzi effect. And two can fit, but that’s all I’ll say about that.

We headed downstairs after unpacking, were offered a glass of wine, and asked Stephen and Lisa their stories. He was raised in rural Minnesota (I can’t recall where) and she is from the Rochester area. Stephen is classically trained as a shef and has worked at Alfredo’s (when it was in business), Primavera (ditto), and D’Amico Cucina. He met Lisa (for those who’ve noticed her last name, yes she is the sister of Auriga’s Doug Flicker) when she was working in one of the restaurants, and they’ve been together ever since. Together, they had dreamed of opening a B&B, preferably in a more rural setting. But finding any property, let alone a suitable – and affordable – one, proved to be a larger challenge then they though. On the path to attaining that, Stephen put in a stint at Mrs. B’s Inn in Lanesboro, one of the more well-known establishments in southern Minnesota. But it seemed like they simply had to wait for someone to die in order to get a chance at a property. By pure chance, they were in a bar and overheard someone saying how he wasn’t going to buy a property after all. They surreptitiously grabbed some bar napkins, eavesdropped some more, and scribbled down the necessary information. That’s how they came upon the property they are in today.

Of course, there was the renovation, and all the hard equity and sweat equity that go into that. But they wanted to not only operate a B&B, but to do dinners and offer cooking classes on top of that. The kitchen is nicely done. There is an island with six ultra high-tech burners (26,000 BTUs each). The rest of the island space is one massive cutting board, although there are raised cutting boards on certain parts of it. Stephen stands facing the dining room, and there are stools on the other side for those who arrive for a cooking class.

While we were chit-chatting, Stephen and Lisa was doing the prep work for dinner. She is the baker and pastry chef, and he does the rest (or most of it, I gather). They run a working farm. There is a cow. There are hobby horses. There are Pekin ducks, which provide the eggs. They used to have chickens when they first opened, but found that ducks were cleaner, less maintenance, and produced more flavorful eggs. They actually did a large amount of chicken v. duck egg testing in various preparations, and found the chicken eggs tasting more “chickeny” and the duck eggs just more “eggy.” The duck eggs have a higher yolk to white ratio, too, which yielded a “that’s just bonus” comment from Stephen. There are also eight cats (at present), which are always outside.

For Friday night’s dinner, it was just Marcia and I. The other couple, as it ended up, were not able to come down until Saturday. I had emailed Stephen the list of wines ahead of time. When I surrendered them upon arrival, he removed them to the climate controlled cellar and cooling unit. Here’s Friday’s dinner…

Amuse bouche – Crouton topped with caramelized onion, rhubarb compote and French brie cheese. I believe it also had a drizzling of red wine reduction. This was a one-bite, pop-in-your-mouth piece of ambrosia. With it and the next three courses, we paired a 1996 L. Aubry “Cuvée Aubry de Humbert” Brut Champagne.

Hors d’oeuvre – Deviled duck egg with warm bacon and reserva Sherry vinegar dressing on a chiffonade of French sorrel. I’m not a huge fan of deviled eggs, but I watched him make these while we were visiting, and he kept the mustard quotient low. This was one of my favorite courses of the evening.

Appetizer – Warm oven-poached black tiger shrimp mousse with avocado and lime cream. It was more custard-like than mousse-like, but still packed with flavor. Marcia particularly liked this one.

First course – Garden asparagus risotto with shaved Grana Padano parmesan, black truffle oil, and Italian prosciutto ham. They had offered to pour us one of their wines with this (just a glass each, not the bottle), but we still had some Champagne left, and my wife isn’t a boozer. This course was very nice. The rice was al dente, and the texture of the risotto was as creamy as it should be.

Entrée – Seared beef ribeye fillet on a crisp potato galette with brandy and dried plum sauce. The beef was cooked rare (which is bonus for me), and the sauce was plate-licking tasty. The course probably could’ve used some color, but there’s no arguing with the flavor. For this course and the salad, we enjoyed a 1987 Lafite Rothschild.

Salad – Mixed spring greens tossed with raspberry vinegar, honey, and grain mustard dressing, topped with local Amish bleu cheese and candied walnuts. The sugar coating on the walnuts was onionskin thin. I love ending a meal with salad. They wanted to pour a separate salad wine for us, but we were fine with the Lafite.

Dessert – Saffron-infused panna cotta with an oatmeal tuile. I brought a dessert wine for this, but we still had some Lafite left, so we finished off this velvety delight and went back to the wine. I love panna cotta (I actually prefer it to crème brulée and flan – it could be the use of gelatin over eggs, I don’t know), and I put this up there with the best I’ve ever had.

Breakfast the following morning. Needless to say, lunch would not be needed during the day…

Coffee and tea (in room)

Fresh orange juice

Fresh herb and aged white cheddar cheese duck egg omelet

Garlic and extra virgin olive oil roasted tomato with toasted bread crumbs

Thick-cut hickory smoked bacon

Dried cranberry and candied ginger scones

Ruby grapefruit segments in honey-mint syrup

House-made low-fat organic oat granola with dates and almonds

The omelet was more like a rolled frittata (not a complaint) than a folded omelet. The grapefruit in syrup was heavenly.

Our friends arrived. We bought some of Friday dinner’s bleu cheese at the Amish factory across the Iowa border. We golfed nine holes. In the late afternoon, before dinner, we sat on the porch playing euchre and Stephen and Lisa opened a bottle of wine for us. Then came Saturday dinner and the continuation of the food orgy. On Friday, Marcia and I ate in the enclosed porch. On Saturday, the four of us ate at the dining room table because there were eight additional guests for dinner only, and they fit better on the porch…

Amuse Bouche – Chilled roasted portabella mushroom, red bell pepper, and goat cheese torte. The serving portion was more than an amuse (oh, darn), and had to be eaten in several bites. With this and the next course, we had a 1998 Iron Horse Vineyards Brut Rosé. I think there was also a port syrup served over this torte, but my memory may be foggy.

Hors d’oeuvre – Grilled prosciutto-wrapped black tiger prawns on mixed spring greens with extra virgin olive oil, thyme, and reserva Sherry vinegar. These prawns were huge – and tasty.

Soup – Cream of garden asparagus, spinach, and potato soup with a chiffonade of French sorrel. The soup was served in a teacup, and was silky smooth. A highlight of the evening for me. With this we opened a 1995 Olivier Leflaive Meursault, Les Perriers Premier Cru.

Appetizer – Carpaccio of beef New York strip steak topped with radicchio, oil cured black olives, and celery with tomato-basil vinaigrette. Dan (husband in the other couple), who doesn’t like his beef cooked rare, was all over this. His wife, Nita, and I rubbed in the fact that he has been missing out all these years. This was an interesting take on the typical topping of EVOO, lemon, parmesan, and black pepper. And it worked very well. For this course, Stephen and Lisa poured us a glass of Banfi Col di Sasso from their stock.

First course – Fresh hand-rolled pappardelle pasta tossed with red wine braised rabbit ragu, and topped with shaved Grana Padano parmesan. The ragu was fantastic, and pappardelle is in the top three of my pasta preferences. I was digging this course. We had a 1995 Joseph Phelps Insignia with this one.

Entrée – Lamb shank slow roasted with fresh morels, rosemary, and black-eyed peas. Just earlier that morning we were talking about morel hunting, and how it had probably been too cold for them to sprout yet. While we were out golfing, through pure serendipity, someone dropped off fresh morels at the house. Lucky us. The black-eyed peas were a bit out of place with this dish, going better with the mushrooms than with the lamb, but I wolfed it all down. With this course, we drank a 1992 Silver Oak Cabernet Sauvignon, Alexander Valley.

Cheese/Dessert – Tasting platter of: local Amish bleu, aged white cheddar, and French brie cheeses; whole milk ricotta cheesecake; and ginger poached pears filled with sweet mascarpone. Loved those pears. Two dessert wines – 1998 Niedermayr Aureus and 1998 Forteto della Luja Loazzolo.

As if that wasn’t enough, Sunday’s breakfast on the porch…

Coffee and tea (in room)

Fresh orange juice

Individual baked duck egg casserole Florentine with Grana Padano parmesan cream sauce

American fried white potatoes with peppers and Vidalia onions

Pan-grilled peppered ham steak

Irish oatmeal pancakes with “Bananas Foster” sauce

Honeydew melon drizzled with mesquite honey

Organic yogurt sundae

Then we headed home where we fasted for three days.

GGB&B will likely see the Ballingers again. For those who like to be pampered with food, this is the retreat for you. For those parties that reserve both rooms, an option in place of dinner is to have your own private cooking class. That may be an option we invoke for one of the two nights next visit.

Edited to correct the BTU info (quite an increase from my original post of 200 -- what was I thinking?)

[snowangel]

Thanks, Brad, for the report. I read the same article (dr's office for me). While I enjoy reading about these places in a magazine, it's wonderful when I get a firsthand report from someone who's opinion I trust.

What else is in the area? Bike trails? Hiking trails? Or would just sitting and digesting with a good book be in order?

[Brad Ballinger]

There are biking and hiking trails. In winter, there is cross-country skiing. There are also Amish tours. But this place is all about being pampered by food.

[ronnie_suburban]

But this place is all about being pampered by food.

Sounds like my kind of place. Thanks Brad, for the great report.

=R=

[Betts]

I have just arrived back in town from celebrating our anniversary in Los Angeles and we ate well but nothing to compare. However, there was a piece of raspberry rhubarb pie at the Montana Grill that was a revelation.

I am also much in awe of your powers of recollection and the organization in you writing.

Happy Anniversary to you and Marcia.

[col klink]

What else is in the area?  Bike trails?  Hiking trails?  Or would just sitting and digesting with a good book be in order?

Who the *$#& cares? All I needed to see was the food menu. And something tells me if I made reservations my wife and I won't get the same menu.

Brad, thank you so much -- I just figured out what my wife and I are doing for our first anniversary.

[snowangel]

What else is in the area?  Bike trails?  Hiking trails?  Or would just sitting and digesting with a good book be in order?

Who the *$#& cares? All I needed to see was the food menu. And something tells me if I made reservations my wife and I won't get the same menu.

Brad, thank you so much -- I just figured out what my wife and I are doing for our first anniversary.

Yeah, I know. But it could be a selling point to The Other Half. Never mind that we wouldn't do anything but eat and lay around and...

Sounds like a great anniversary destination for that first, or 23rd.

Edited to add: My folks have a biggie anniv. coming up. Nada on gift ideas until this thread. Thanks, Brac!

Edited May 27, 2004 by snowangel (log)

[rabidscottsman]

Brad, thanks for posting this, I have family in the harmony area and i never knew this place existed. We are going to check this place out. Im going to call this place first thing tomorow morning