NEW CARMEL SPOT Freeland’s Restaurant certainly shares some similarities with founder Tom Main’s Herron-Morton standard bearer, Tinker Street. There’s the same spirited chatter of happy diners packed into a modest array of close-set tables, the trademark complimentary toast that’s poured almost before you take your seat, and a consistent attention to detail, plating, and customer comfort. You might even spy familiar faces, such as sommelier Ashlee Nemeth and Braedon Kellner, the onetime Tinker Street chef who serves as Freeland’s food runner most nights. But Main has largely started from scratch at this intriguing, one-of-a-kind restaurant inside a historic family estate.
It’s also a late-career passion project that Main nearly abandoned before it began. The story of Freeland’s dates to September of 2021. An ambitious realtor reached out to Main, hoping to get him on board for an upscale restaurant in Carmel’s developing North End neighborhood. “I was just reopening Tinker Street,” Main says of those exhausting pandemic days, “and I barely had enough energy left for that. I think I pulled out of the Freeland’s deal once, maybe twice.”
The original plan to renovate the spacious, pillared home, formerly at the end of two lush lanes of maples, into a 5,200-square-foot complex wasn’t exactly Main’s ambition. The local community persisted, however, assuring Main he was the man for the job, and with restoration plans scaled down to closer to 1,200 square feet, Main found it hard to resist. What ultimately won him over was the spirit of this unique housing development, which includes a 40-unit share of a nearby apartment building set aside for residents with developmental disabilities, along with a program to assist with job opportunities—including some at Freeland’s.
The result is a new supper spot that feels unlike any other in Hamilton County. The bar is the most colorful area in a somewhat straightforward, intimate space, with a backdrop of floral wallpaper reminiscent of William Morris. Darling table settings, including saucers, teacups, and dessert bowls, are all sourced from nearby estate sales and whimsically mismatched.
To shape the cuisine, Main tapped chef Matt Hamilton, a Fort Wayne native with restaurant and farming experience in Chicago, Seattle, and Houston. Hamilton dug into the ancestry of the original settlers of the North End community and discovered that many had roots in Eastern Europe, translating that into a menu in which some dishes work well, while others continue to evolve. Light, fluffy shapkat, cornmeal and leek fritters on a bed of deeply savory whipped feta, is a standout starter and pairs perfectly with the bar’s funky, well-poured elixirs. Also excellent are tender pelmeni, lamb dumplings in a soothingly straight forward broth, and a verdant beet tartine with plenty of pickled bits on a toasted slice of Leviathan Bakehouse rye.
By contrast, a Technicolor plate of sweet carrots is a bit too al dente and a bit too charred, with a mélange of seeds and spices leaning toward bitter. Lusciously clean-tasting, fork-tender beef tongue gets lost under a hefty accompaniment of chewy Savoy cabbage, and varenyky, another traditional dumpling filled with a purée of mushrooms and red pepper-
eggplant relish, are too simply plated under a shower of raw cabbage and radishes.
Other dishes shine with Hamilton’s light touch, such as his “coq au vin” small plate of plump chicken hearts and maitake mushrooms in a silky red wine sauce. Delectably oily, flaky sturgeon atop a luxurious carrot purée with bits of roasted cauliflower, beurre blanc (finally—butter!), and clever crispy potato chips compose the dish that most highlights his skill.
Desserts from pastry chef Molly Greenwood evoke the classics but with modern architecture. Apple strudel is a toss of lightly cooked apples with a scoop of ice cream under crisp triangles of pastry. It’s light and fresh, though perhaps more restrained than one might want. And the traditionally layered mille-feuille employs thin pastry sheets that can barely stand up against overly thick stripes of both vanilla and chocolate pastry cream.
While Tinker Street celebrates a decade in business this year, Freeland’s shows that Main still has some tricks up his sleeve. Indy diners can be happy that he has brought a new and thoughtful dinner destination to an address both steeped in the past and looking toward the future.
875 Freeland Way, Carmel
317-400-0436
Hours:
Tue–Thu 5–8:30 p.m., Fri–Sat 5–9:30 p.m.,
Sun 5–8:30 p.m.
Vibe: Eastern Euro date night
Tasting Notes: Seasonal dishes rooted in Hoosier traditions, with early-immigrant influences
Neighborhood: North End Carmel
Must-Order: Flaky, rich sturgeon with carrot puree, roasted cauliflower, and crispy potato chips; chicken heart “coq au vin”; a verdant beet tartine; and tender lamb dumplings in a comforting broth.
