By Kandy Derden

Assistant Editor

After a full day of working, or shopping, or playing sports, or anything else for that matter, nothing satisfies quite like a good meal.

Monticello, Indiana is home to Oak and Barrel, a steak house of culinary delights.  This Farm-to-table modern Midwestern cuisine offers dine–in, carry out, and outdoor seating with occasional live musical entertainment.

Members of our party all selected different entrées: filet mignon, tenderloin, ribeye, brisket and prime rib.  The variety of side dishes include sauteed mushrooms, fire roasted corn, garlic mashed potatoes, oven roasted Yukon potatoes, onion straws and steamed broccoli, just to name a few. 

The sauces were unfamiliar to me so I was a bit skeptical at first, but the chef’s choices of sauces to accompany each side and entrée created some wonderful combinations of aroma and flavor.

According to owner Chantz Ledyard this location was selected because it is in the heart of agricultural country, enabling the business to procure local meat and produce, thus establishing them as a ‘farm to table’ restaurant choice.  Although discouraged from selecting an area where there aren’t many such restaurants, Chantz recognized it as an opportunity simply because there weren’t any other places like it in the area.

Cecil Johnson is co-chef with owner Chantz who had a basic New York style cheesecake recipe.  He shared it with Cecil who has developed several variations and continues to add new creative combinations.  As a result, they have built a reputation for producing irresistible cheesecake.  Sales have increased by 400 % since their opening in February 2021.  It only took one bite to understand why.  It was delicious!

     There are plenty of epicurean delights available for even the most discerning foodie.  However, make no mistake:  this is still a steakhouse where purists can sink their teeth into a delicious slab of meat.  In my opinion, this is the best combination since baked potatoes were introduced to dead cow.