Don't let its folksy facade deceive you. Although Daniel Orr's FARMbloomington restaurant has a casual, farmhouse feel, underneath is the culinary creativity you'd expect from a big-city chef. Because, regardless of his small-town address, that's what he is.
Orr, formerly of La Grenouille and Guastavino's in New York City and CuisinArt Spa and Resort in Anguilla, returned home to be closer to his family and launched his Bloomington restaurant in January 2008. Since then, he has refined his rustic concept a bit, adding some seating and subtracting some kitsch, opening a basement blues bar and expanding his emphasis on local and regional ingredients.
Bar fare sampled on a previous visit -- appetizers and pizza -- were very good, so we were looking forward to dinner when we stopped in on a Tuesday night. There was a good crowd, and though we hadn't made reservations, we were quickly seated. However, this was before fall classes had started on the nearby Indiana University campus; reservations are recommended, especially for busy football weekends.
FARMbloomington has gotten mixed reviews on Internet sites such as Chow-hound and Yelp in the year and a half it's been open, with complaints about uneven service and high prices, others about the countrified decor. Admittedly, it's not a hushed and romantic or sleek and sophisticated kind of place. FARMbloomington has been called an upscale Cracker Barrel, a description that's OK with Orr. He wants the place to be accessible to everyone -- students, parents, locals -- and he's probably accomplished that. In fact, it was the $10 Tuesday night special that was the hit of the evening.
But before we got to that, we started with an Upland wheat ($4) and a signature cocktail (the "Pitchfork," $7) and opted to split another special, stuffed squash blossoms ($10), as an appetizer. Filled with cheese and mildly spiced sausage, the plump, crisp squash blossoms were delicious.
The FARMbloomington dinner menu includes a variety of dishes, some with Orr's signature combination of regional fare with a global influence, from Great Lakes walleye in a lemon brown butter sauce to bison ribeye with curried slaw. We loved the meatloaf special ($10), the generous, flavorful slice proving that even familiar fare can be delicious. Served with mashed sweet potatoes, leek crisps and sauteed chard, it was a bargain to boot.
The evening's pasta special, oven-roasted penne ($17), featured local beef and sausage in a rich bolognaise sauce. Topped with lots of cheese, it was hearty, satisfying and plenty good.
Desserts ranged from fruit cobbler and strawberry shortcake to more intriguing options. We especially enjoyed the rhubarb soup ($6.50), a chilled fruit soup served with a scoop of vanilla ice cream. Another ice cream offering ($6) included a surprising combination -- scoops of tomato-basil and asparagus ice creams, both rich, sweet and subtly flavored.
While we were pleased with the creative fare and the relaxed ambiance at FARMbloomington, we were also happy with the bill. Dinner for two, with a shared appetizer, entrees, drinks, and desserts with cups of hot tea, came to less than $70 -- not cheap, true, but definitely nothing to complain about.
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