Peterson’s
It takes some diligence to maintain a spot on this list after 17 years. Peterson’s, which has been dishing up elegant surf and turf in its clubby, dark-paneled dining room since the dawn of gourmet mac and cheese, also has a lock on consistency. Throwback starters—like tempura-fried, tail-on lobster “fingers” served with honey mustard and drawn butter, and an elaborate iceberg-wedge nest of Danish blue cheese, Asian pear, and walnuts drizzled with balsamic reduction and red-pepper coulis—never disappoint. Once you get hooked on the delicate, seared Day Boat Diver Scallops, kissed with black truffle oil and arranged on a pad of mushroom risotto between discs of apple tuiles, it’s hard to explore deeper into the menu. But executive chef Ricky Hatfield has other surprises: a mesquite-smoked Tomahawk pork chop with chili-lime cracklings, for example, and rich, coffee-rubbed beef cheeks braised until fork-tender in Flat 12 Bierwerks’s Pogue’s Run Porter.
TIP: The bar—nearly a restaurant unto itself—delivers a dressed-down version of the Peterson’s menu. Snack on Parmesan truffle fries and $4 gourmet bites of blackened prime rib, pork belly, and Wagyu beef.
DON’T MISS: The rosemary-crusted prime rib, served on Fridays and Saturdays.
PREVIOUS MENTIONS: Best Restaurants 2004–2008, 2010–2011, 2013, 2014
7690 E. 96th St., Fishers, 598-8863, petersonsrestaurant.com
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