Peterson’s
7690 East 96^th Street
Fishers, IN 46038
http://www.petersonsrestaurant.com/

Peterson’s is a locally owned restaurant owned by Joe Peterson that tries to fill the role of the high-end steak and seafood restaurant meeting the needs of those seeking a special night out or the social elite who like to congregate in Peterson’s bar area where live music is often part of the scene.  My first trip to Peterson’s was about five years ago to celebrate the completion of my first 500 Festival Mini-Marathon and I thought a good steak would be a reward for my accomplishment.  On that night, I walked away from Peterson’s disappointed that they could not get a rare steak order completed correctly.  Since then, Peterson’s has hired a new executive chef, Jeff Heaviland, that I had heard positive comments on from other patrons prompting me to give Peterson’s another shot.

Environment:  When you pay the prices that Peterson’s charges for its food, you know that environment is part of the cost.  My wife and I visited on what was a hot summer night and the restaurant was packed.  Unfortunately we felt packed in and the dining room was so hot that I actually sweated through most of the meal and my wife was uncomfortable.  Our table was near the entry way to the kitchen with server traffic constantly buzzing past our table.  We were not off to a good start.  On a side note, lighting in the restaurant is dim making it difficult to get good picture quality for this review.

Service:  When our server introduced herself, she also introduced a second man that would also be our server.  Two servers for one table?  I never was told why we had two but finally figured out that the male server was in training and he was given primary responsibility for our table.  Although he did a good job answering any questions I had about the menu, there was no trust put in him by the more experienced server that was training him.  As a result, she was constantly questioning us on whether we were taken care of instead of asking the other server directly.  Questions were often duplicated by the two servers sometimes less than a minute apart.  Between the hot dining room and the constant confusion and interruptions by the servers, the food was going to have to be outstanding to overcome the negatives of the environment and service.

What I Ate:

Appetizer: Oysters Rockefeller $20

Although I usually prefer raw oysters, I decided to give this baked oyster dish a try.  Peterson’s claims they fly their seafood in daily and these oysters tasted and smelled fresh.  The combination of spinach, cream and Pecorino Romano was proportioned well and had a nice crispy texture from the baking process.  Combined with the freshness of the oysters, this appetizer choice was a big hit and I would order them again without hesitation.

Bacon wrapped shrimp stuffed with crab: $ Surprise

My wife loves jumbo shrimp and the idea of them being stuffed with crab and a good sales pitch from our server sold my wife on this appetizer special.  Her order came with three shrimp and they looked well done and my wife enjoyed them enough to order another three with her filet main course.  I decided to order three for myself.  Although difficult to see in the grainy picture with my main course, the shrimp were a good size and tasted fresh.  Unfortunately, they were slightly overcooked and the bacon was hard and overpowered the crab stuffing.  The shrimp I got did not look nearly as good as the same shrimp my wife had has an appetizer thirty minutes prior.  The real kicker came when I got the bill and found out the nine shrimp cost a grand total of $54.  Yes, $6 a shrimp!  Perhaps my rare visits to “fine dining” establishments is showing through here, but I was not expecting this and especially for shrimp that was overcooked.

Drink: Mojito $9 each

With it being so warm in the restaurant, my wife and I both decided to get a Mojito as a cool refreshment. It took forever to get our drinks and when they did come, they we not very cold, tasted watered down and lacked any punch. They were a complete disappointment in comparison to other Mojitos I have gotten elsewhere. Appetizer and a drink had my bill over $90.

Main Courses:

Shark Special: $30-35

Due to my prior Peterson’s experience of not being able to get a steak cooked to what I define rare, I decided to go with a seafood dish.  The server sold me about a shark special that included a combination of peppers and corn topping covered with cilantro on top of white asparagus. Perhaps the server told me the shark included white asparagus.  I honestly do not remember him mentioning the white asparagus and had I heard the dish included asparagus, I would have never ordered a side dish of green asparagus.  I have had shark before and this dense filet was cooked well.  Although the pepper corn and cilantro idea sounded good, it lacked any kind of kick making this dish just average and one I might expect to pay $22 for at another fish restaurant.  After a few bites, I was regretting my order and wishing I would have given Peterson’s another chance to see if they could make a steak that is rare to my taste.

Petite Filet: $29 Peterson’s uses Prime Grade Beef and my wife ordered her 8 oz. filet medium-rare.  After my last experience of getting overcooked steak, I had he cut into her filet and once again, I thought the filet was and overcooked medium.  Although she thought it was close enough for her taste, I would have sent it back.  Flavor of a the filet was just average and did not compare to what I have had at Eddie Merlot’s on 96^th St. or even Morton’s downtown.

Sides:

Au Gratin Potatoes: $9

Peterson’s au gratin potatoes come topped with bacon that was too crunchy and the potatoes were undercooked.  It almost tasted like they were hurried out of the kitchen before the cheese and potatoes had time to meld together.  An easy simple dish not done well.

Jumbo Asparagus: $9

There is nothing worse than overcooked asparagus but Peterson’s got this just right. Although I am sure the Hollandaise Sauce is made from scratch, it tasted no better than what I make at home using a store bought packet at the holidays.

Dessert: Chocolate Bread Pudding $9

My wife and I split dessert and this bread pudding included milk chocolate, pecans, caramel and a scoop of vanilla ice cream on the side.  Although I have never cared for bread pudding due to the texture, I truly enjoyed this combination.  My wife who is somewhat of a bread pudding connoisseur, said it was one of the best she ever had.

Would I Buy It Again?  No. With our total bill coming to about $220 for two including a $25 gift certificate, nearly all the food had to be a hit.  Unfortunately, my main course (shark dish) lacked any special appeal, the horribly overpriced and overcooked bacon wrapped crab stuffed shrimp, hot dining room, and annoying service left me walking away from Peterson’s disappointed again.

WIBIA and I both believe Eddie Merlot’s on 96^th Street sets the bar for steak & seafood restaurants in Indianapolis.  Their service is outstanding, environment is always comfortable and service is among the best.  When pricing out a similar meal to the one my wife and I had at Peterson’s, we could have gotten the same food for about $160 saving $80 to $100 on food that is superior in taste.

-EatHSE

Tags: asparagus, bread pudding, Food, mojito, peterson's, potatoes, shark, Shrimp, Steak

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