The Loft at Traders Point Creamery
As soon as your tires hit the gravel drive that rolls into Traders Point Creamery, the city grit floats away. A working dairy farm since 2003, the rural Zionsville property holds 150 acres of free-range livestock, antique outbuildings, and the occasional worker slogging by in Wellies. If the farm-to-fork restaurant wanted to coast on the grounds’ pastoral allure, it would probably do just fine. Fortunately, chef Brandon Canfield—whose resume includes a stint at San Francisco’s Michelin-starred Campton Place Restaurant—gives the kitchen the respect it deserves. His creative spark shows in rotating arrangements like roasted boneless rabbit with porridge and escarole (above), or a grass-fed filet with wilted broccoli rabe, mashed potatoes laced with the creamery’s Herb Fromage, and a scoop of bacon-liver-onion butter. A cheeseboard is the essential starter, stocked with a range of TPC wheels and creams. But the meats get just as much attention here. The lamb comes from Whitestown’s Full Circle Farms, and the rack of venison, decorated with smoked pecans, heeds the call of the wild.
WINE DOWN: Thursday’s half-price–bottle night is a great opportunity to explore the list of organic, sustainable pours.
PREVIOUS MENTION: Best Restaurants 2011
9101 Moore Rd., Zionsville, 317-733-1700, tpforganics.com
See all 25 Best Restaurants here.
This article appeared in the May 2014 issue.
