In conjunction with EsterEv’s first anniversary in its new location at 2165 S. Kinnickinnic Ave., the restaurant has introduced a new way of experiencing the restaurant’s exceptional service and inventive menu of seasonal dishes.

In addition to the eight-course tasting menu, diners now have the option to “choose their own adventure”, whether it be opting for a casual course or two on a weeknight, selecting a cadre of small plates to share with friends over a bottle of wine or picking and choosing from any number of plates to customize their meal. 

EsterEv has never been a fussy place, but the tasting menu did give it an slightly upscale vibe. So the new format piqued my interest.

While I love the experience of leaving all of my meal’s decisions to someone else and wandering elegantly through the flavors of a multi-coursed chefs’ tasting menu, I don’t always have the time or budget to spend (even on a tasting menu as affordable as EsterEv’s, which is under $100).

Being the type of diner who also loves to gather with friends and share numerous dishes, I also love a menu that can be adapted to a more communal style of eating. So, I paid a visit to EsterEv last week to check it out.

So many options

The new menu is divided into three sections: Starters, Seconds and Mains. The dishes in each section are sized and priced accordingly (with portions presented in a larger format than they would be on the tasting menu). Thanks to the knowledge and expertise on the part of the servers, it’s also easy to navigate and choose dishes that are both appealing and appropriately sized.

Before we arrived, our initial thoughts were to stick to the starters and seconds, but when we arrived and perused the spring menu – which is filled with morels, ramps, asparagus and other delights – we decided to scrap that plan so we could try at least one or two of the main dishes as well.

We started by ordering drinks. I’ve been shying away from drinking during the week, but the options on the cocktail menu was too intriguing to pass up. I ordered a 3 Monks in a Pod featuring sugar snap pea-infused bourbon, Green Chartreuse, Ancho Reyes Chili Liqueur, lime and celery ($17). While it had the heft of a bourbon-based drink, its flavor profile was slightly savory and citrus-forward, making it a nice pairing, even for richer dishes.

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My dining companion ordered the Shani Shiso, a tiki-style riff with butterfly pea flower-infused rum, shiso, walnut orgeat, ginger, lemon, Peychaud’s bitters and Wild Thai Banana Maple ($16). It was a beautiful purple color with gorgeous edible shiso leaves mounding out of the top. As predicted, it was also sweeter and nutty (like a tiki drink), but grounded by the herbal flavor of the shiso. 

The Lion’s Mane starter was a wild ride that was perfect for sharing. Lion’s Mane mushrooms were shredded into crab-like pieces and mixed with bright, pickled rhubarb and a sweet-tart Russian dressing made with ground cherries and finished with cilantro, dill and chives on shiso potato crisps ($14). Sweet, tart and texturally meat-like, it was a great snack to start our meal. 

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The White Asparagus was a beautiful dish. We did share it, but I would have gladly eaten all of it myself. It showcased late winter brussels sprouts, spring leeks, roasted white asparagus and asparagus foam with the fresh, brightness of Moroccan chermoula ($15). Fresh and fabulous.

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In the next dish, Tuscan crespelles (crepes) were made with buckwheat, stuffed with earthy mushroom duxelle, crisped on the exterior and served with a blue cheese sauce and pickled bites of Delicata squash ($20). This was sheer comfort food with the earthy mushrooms, nutty and slightly grassy buckwheat, rich blue cheese and (unexpected) bright pickled squash. The nasturtium leaves added a nice peppery zing.

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And then there was the Pelmeni, a take on the Russian dumplings filled with seasoned beef and pork and served in broth with snap peas ($24). The dumplings were garlicky and comforting, pleasantly dense and filling. But the showcase of the dish was really the bright green, slightly sweet broth, doppled with even sweeter pea pods. Pea tendrils scattered on top underscored the sweet flavor of the peas. Definitely shareable, though I could have eaten this as a main dish with the white asparagus (and maybe dessert) and called it a meal.

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Moving forward, we ordered the Red Russian Rice with morels, ramps and almonds ($30). This porridge ate like a generously portioned risotto with the ramps’ oniony flavor offering a backdrop for the savory morels. The rice, which was grown in Wisconsin, would ordinarily have been pink. But it was colored green by the leeks and topped with a deliciously savory (and delightfully crisp) parmesan cheese and almond “streusel”. The leek dust that decorated one side of the bowl offered up an extra punch of salty, rampy flavor that took things one step further.

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And then there was the Lamb served with black lentils, labnah and mango ($35). A truly generous portion of lusciously tender slices of lamb from Pin Oak Farms in Delavan lay atop tasty, well-seasoned black lentils that were augmented by pops of sweet mango and little daubs of tangy labneh. Such a beautifully balanced dish! Excellent for sharing, but I could have eaten it all myself. Again – the White Asparagus and this lamb dish… a perfect meal for $50.

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Of course, we had to sample the desserts, which – at EsterEv – are always as adventurous as the savory dishes. We could have shared just one, but two was more fun.

When I first tasted each component separately, I almost wrote off the Parsnip ($14). Almost. But this relatively ordinary, light, spongy, parsnippy take on carrot cake (topped with a subtle sweet lime glaze) was transformed into something truly amazing when combined with the smoky flavor of the Earl Grey ice cream. It was truly a moment when "how" you ate the dish mattered.

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And then there was the Black Sesame ($14). As our server Alex explained, the dessert was based on Blancmange, a jello-like dish that dates back to the Middle Ages. Traditionally white and flavored with almonds, this dessert was more of a gentle grey. The jello-like exterior concealed a Lilet Blanc-flavored pots de crème studded with bits of black sesame (so delicious). On top was tart maraschinoed rhubarb and alongside were two adorable black sesame shortbread cookies. 

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The rhubarb was sweet and tart while the crème was gently sweet, creamy and slightly floral. There was crunch from the cute little cookies and a pleasant chew from the gelatin… so very interesting. I loved how it challenged my palate, not only with each flavor but the textures as well. I enjoyed it, but never really figured it out. That’s to say:  If you like a nice, intellectually stimulating dessert, this is a good one.

My dining partner ordered a second cocktail, The Fall of Empires ($17). A riff on the Negroni, this cocktail with Woodford Reserve, Cocchi di Torrino, Xtabentun and chai tincture was lovely. It was also a really nice pairing for dessert, the Black Sesame in particular.

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View the full menu online.

EsterEv is open Wednesday through Saturday from 5 to 9 p.m. with best availability for walk-ins on Wednesday evenings. Overall, reservations are highly recommended and can be made online.