A Night at EsterEv

by

“Top Chef Wisconsin” was so exciting to watch, not only to bring light to the incredible cuisine in our state but to watch one of our very own get to the final three contestants. As the season ended, I knew I had to make some reservations at Dan Jacobs’ restaurants before it got too difficult. Plus, I hadn’t had dinner at the new EsterEv location, 2165 S. Kinnickinnic Ave., so I wanted to go for many reasons. 

It wasn’t impossible to get a table, but I did have to book a couple of weeks out. Three of us went on a beautiful Wednesday and were met with a full house. The former Ceviche Bay View space has been transformed into what could only be described as trendy grandma vibes, which fits because EsterEv is named after the Dans’ grandmothers. We were helped by head server Alex who was a true delight for an experience like their ever-changing tasting menu. 

The way the menu works is that it’s a four-course tasting menu with choices for each course. And there are two small supplemental courses you can add at the beginning and before the dessert if the whole table agrees to do so. After ordering, you’re greeted by Chef Dan with a small housemade chicken soup with elevated bread and butter. Much like an episode of “Top Chef,” he gives a personal story behind the dish, of course coming from his grandmother’s tradition of serving broth as a welcome dish. It warms you up for all the goodness to come. 

Tonight, I chose my own adventure and opted not to share. Sometimes you just want your plates to yourself! First, we added the caviar tater tot for the table which I highly recommend. They describe it as the best McDonald’s hashbrown covered in beluga caviar and creme fraiche and that’s spot on. Then, there were three or four choices for the preset four-course tasting menu. 

I opted first for the grilled hamachi with green garlic, salsa matcha and granola, followed by the sunflower with morels, greens and rabbit (a dish Dan made on the Top Chef Indigenous cuisine episode), then finishing the savory with duck featuring fava bean, kanzuri, lovage and tabbouleh, and the blueberry with cornbread, calamansi and elderflower for dessert. As a bonus, each table is served with two seasonal bites at the end—ours were snap pea shells filled with some decadent flavored ice cream and raspberry tarts with basil. Forgive me that I do not know the specific names or ingredients of these, but they were amazing.

In full honesty, I do not know what most of those ingredients are offhand but put together and they’re strokes of genius. All very powerful flavors, rich in texture and coming from truly original thoughts, this tasting menu is unlike one you’ve had before. You can tell there’s a story behind each dish and your servers will share a bit of it with you upon gracing your table. One big thing to note is the presentation of dishes, each on a uniquely handmade dish that serves a purpose for the dish that’s on top. 

What’s great about EsterEv is that every time you go, you can choose or will be offered a completely different menu and experience. And I believe you can order items a la carte at the bar during certain hours. They’ve really figured out how to do an unpretentious yet highly curated and delicious tasting menu service. 

As someone who had been to the EsterEv that was once inside of DanDan, it’s very nice to see it has more sunlight and its name on the building. And, if you’re lucky, you might have a reservation for one of the nights with guest chefs from the last season of “Top Chef” What’s so great about the Dans and their restaurants is that you can see the collaboration from the name of the business down to the plate that’s served in front of you. It’s all very much a team effort and you can tell the staff feels grateful to be a part of it. As Bayview continues to attract some of the greatest restaurants in town, it’s nice to have the Dans on this side of the river!