The long and eagerly anticipated barn, planned as a centerpiece of Purdue’s Discovery Park, has opened. Read more about its history and construction here. Called The Lawrence, named after Lawrence Beck, founder of Beck Seeds, it had only been open a few days when the Dining Divas & Dudes decided to try it out. Located at 150 McCutcheon and hard to miss, it’s a giant barn after all, the largest one in Indiana in 1937 when it was built, and the first impression is stunning—the architectural finishing of the barn, tasteful decor, and the sheer immensity of the place. It’s hard to take in all at once. We may need to make a return visit. The Lawrence is in the Cunningham Restaurant Group, one of their concept restaurants. Food is cooked from scratch, farm-to-table when possible, with many ingredients sourced from CRG—Cunningham Hydroponic Greenhouses. The agricultural connection between Purdue’s beginnings and mission and The Lawrence are inescapable.
So, we ate a lot of food. Leisurely. It is not fast food and best not to go in a hurry. The menu is not huge, a good sign for any restaurant claiming to make food to order. Seven entrees, seven appetizers, three soups, and five salads. OK, that sounds like a lot of choices, and it was plenty, but think of the restaurants you’ve been to where it takes an hour to read the whole menu. Popular at our table was the “Create Your Own Pairing” option, which allows you to choose 2 from Soup, Lite Bite (sandwiches and wraps), or Garden, and 3 of us opted for that.
But first, our waiter James recommended the Crab Fritters and the Sweet Potato Parker House Rolls for appetizers. We picked the crab (one of the non-farm to table options). Two large deep-fried crab fritters with a smear of guajillo remoulade on the plate and frisée salad. We all agreed it could have used a tad more sauce, but taking a bite of crab fritter with the very citrusy frisée was a perfect union.
Linda chose Potato Bacon Chowder and Short Rib Grilled Cheese. The soup was hearty and filling; the sandwich had crusted Parmesan on the outside, so was extra crispy. The shortribs had a touch of sweetness and paired well with the jalapeños and pickled onions. Even if it wasn’t shrimp, Linda was very happy.
Ken combined the potato soup with the Fried Chicken Caesar Wrap and was impressed with both, especially the size of the wrap. The crispy chicken was freshly made and the salad super tasty.
Kay got the French Onion Soup with the Mixed Greens Salad. For an onion soup lover, she was very satisfied. Deeply flavored broth, lots of melty cheese and toasted bread. The mixed greens included goat cheese, mint, and apricots which were unexpected and a great combo.
Jo added salmon to her Charred Cabbage & Carrot Slaw. Her salmon was cooked to her specifications, and she especially liked the sunflower/sesame crumble which added crunch to the slaw and the sunflower dressing. Jo had been earlier in the week and added shrimp to her Mixed Greens salad—she is a big fan of the salad options here and the proteins you can add on.
Tetia was impressed that the waiter asked how she wanted her salmon cooked and it came out perfectly. She combined it with the Roasted Beet Salad, which was beautiful to look at as well to eat. The earthy flavor of the beets and sweet Cara Cara oranges topped with Stracciatella cheese and sesame breadcrumbs made it a feast for the senses.
Jerry just came for dessert. He’d read online that Crème Brûlée was in the offing, and since he had another lunch engagement, thought he’d just do dessert first. But he weakened and had a bowl of Potato Bacon Chowder too, and maybe saved a little room for his other meal.
Which gets us to desserts. We don’t always get dessert, or we order one or two and lots of spoons, but we sampled almost the whole dessert menu this time. Jerry, of course, got Crème Brûlée and wasn’t disappointed. Ken got Cheesecake, Jo got the Chocolate Torte with espresso mascarpone, caramel, & meringue. Linda got the Seasonal Ice Cream which was black cherry and chocolate chip. And Tetia got the Galette. We sampled them all and would have been happy with any of them, but the Galette was exquisite—served warm with a flaky crust, cinnamon-y apples, crunchy streusel complemented by the vanilla ice cream—and plenty large enough to share.
We enthusiastically recommend the hearty and elegant fare at The Lawrence, and we feel it will definitely be a centerpiece of Discovery Park.
