It’s no exaggeration to say that PostBoy, which opened last fall in New Buffalo, is the biggest restaurant news to hit Harbor Country in decades.

Photos by Gabrielle Sukich

The team behind PostBoy, a New Buffalo restaurant that opened late last fall, has some serious restaurant cred. Chef/restaurateur James Galbraith founded foodie-favorite Houndstooth, along with Anemel in Benton Harbor. 

Galbraith previously worked under some of Chicago’s best-known chefs at Intro, Blackbird, Elske, S.K.Y., Bellemore, Boka and more. 

PostBoy’s chef de cuisine, Dont’e Shaw, cooked in the kitchen of Alinea, Chicago’s three-Michelin starred restaurant. He also worked at a Farrand Hall, a private dining venue in Colon, Michigan where some of the country’s top chefs cook.

With those credentials, you might know not to expect a standard lineup of sandwiches, salads, soups and pastas. PostBoy’s ambitious menu features dishes like nam chim (sweet chili sauce) olives with toasted rice, peanuts, apricot and ginger; hamachi crudo with blood orange; sweet potato with cashew tahini, raisins, feta and crunchy chickpeas; a fish of the day (whole roasted branzino when we visited); short rib with kimchi; barbecued carrots with hazelnut aioli, chimmichuri and everything bagel crunch.

There is, in fact, a burger (with bacon and cheese ground into the meat) and a fried chicken sandwich, either of which can be paired with fries dressed up with Cajun spice and malt vinegar served with a cacio de pepe mayonnaise. The impressive Caesar comes as a single head of grilled romaine with red miso, crunchy squash and furikake seasoning.

On Thursdays, find a rotating dim sum-inspired menu with items like McDonald’s-inspired bao buns, jalapeño popper spring rolls, and cured egg yolk prawns with sweet and sour sauce. 

Also look out for special chef collaboration dinners with the likes of lauded Chicago chefs John Manion (El Che/Brassero) on April 24th; and Stephen Gillanders (Apolonia/Valhalla/S.K.Y) on  May 8th. Check the restaurant’s social media page and website for other upcoming dinners. 

The restaurant is kid-friendly (we saw several tables with children and there is a children’s menu) but the menu is not particularly vegetarian-friendly, though the chefs will alter dishes to accommodate non-meat-eaters.

Desserts are of the spoonable variety: an “Orange Julius” with vanilla panna cotta, milk jam and oolong honey; “Smores Tres Leches” has marshmallow fluff, golden grahams and peanut crunch.

Bar director Krystin Reuber (from Brewster’s in New Buffalo) has worked up some creative cocktails including Moonlight and Madness, with rum, sake, jasmine, green tea, and eucalyptus; and Leisure City Harry, with soju (similar to vodka), yuzu, ginger, and grapefruit. 

Prices are what you might expect for this level of culinary wizardry; plan on $100 a head with a drink or wine. 

PostBoy, named after a mail ship that ran aground on the shore of New Buffalo in the 1800s, is the brainchild of entrepreneur Ben Holland, who spent his summers in New Buffalo and has long dreamed of opening a fine dining restaurant in the town. 

When we visited a few weeks after the opening, Holland came to our table to ask how everything was, and told us of plans to add soundproofing and larger booths. (A friend reports it’s still loud.)

Pro tip: Go now, before the summer rush. Inside the bright, airy dining room there is seating for 100 and for 140 on the outdoor patio, and I imagine all those seats will fill quickly come Memorial Day. 

PostBoy, 207 N. Whittaker St., New Buffalo, 269-767-8269