I can see why Lone Pine is getting recognized by the James Beard Foundation this year. Why? In short: The food is dope, the service is attentive, the restaurant is classy but approachable.
But mostly it's for Aaron Hansen, the chef at Lone Pine. He's a semifinalist for the Best Chef: Great Lakes (IL, IN, MI, OH) category. What an honor! I'm curious to see if he gets the medal, but even if not, hopefully this recognition will draw people to visit Lone Pine, because people really need to visit.
I don't know how Lone Pine would describe its menu, but I would call it elevated comfort food. One of the things my table ordered was chicken piccata. When was the last time you saw chicken piccata on a menu?! It was delicious, and served with mashed potatoes and lettuce leaves that added a nice, fresh crunch to each bite.
We also got the roasted salmon, which was served with fingerling potatoes in a pesto sauce, with arugula on the side. This, too, was delicious and rich, yet fresh.
I ordered the short ribs, which came with polenta and caramelized pearl onions. The short ribs were just fatty enough, and the sauce that they were surrounded by was unctuous and wonderful to eat with the polenta.
I guess I should have started this review by writing about our first course! We got the French onion soup, bloody Mary wedge salad and the Caesar salad.
The Caesar salad at Lone Pine is probably the best Caesar salad that I've eaten in Carmel, and maybe in all of the Indianapolis area. The thing that Lone Pine does differently and spectacularly is that they use breadcrumbs and not croutons. That makes all the difference! Granted, it does look a bit like a pile of pencil shavings on a plate, but sometimes the dowdiest foods are the best-tasting foods. The result is a satisfyingly salty, crunchy, creamy, crispy salad that I couldn't stop eating. I know I will be back to Lone Pine for the Caesar salad.
We ended our meal by sharing two desserts: the apple pie panna cotta and the Lone Pine chocolate cake. Both desserts were amazing, but the cake won us all over because it looked deceptively heavy, but it was light and airy, and came with slightly sweet whipped cream.
The service at Lone Pine is exceptional. They pay attention to detail here, and all of the little things are taken care of. Our server gave us just enough time between courses. Our water was refilled unobtrusively. We didn't get asked whether we've dined there before (because who cares?) and the menu wasn't over-explained (thank goodness, because I can indeed read). One thing we also noticed that we appreciated: The music was just loud enough to hear it, but not loud enough to notice it too much! It's these little things that come together to make a great dining experience. read more