Caprae Restaurant at Prairie Fruit Farms: Champaign, IL

I've been quiet on the blog as I've been working on a big project - my next book. In the fall of 2024, I released Unique Eats & Eateries of Indiana from Reedy Press. Although Indiana is now my home, I spent the rest of my life living in the state of Illinois. I was very interested in doing a book on Illinois restaurants, as well. My cousin, who lives in the Springfield area, and I joined together for this next book. It's also in the "Unique Eats and Eateries" series by Reedy Press and will focus on the Prairie State. 

We met up this past week in Champaign to do some research for the Unique Eats and Eateries of Illinois title. With some great suggestions from Cristy Gillespie with Experience Champaign-Urbana, we visited several places. Our last one was a unique farm-to-fork experience - a restaurant situated on a goat farm where some amazing cheeses are produced.

We enjoyed dinner at Caprae Restaurant at Prairie Fruit Farms in Champaign. It was a very usually almost 70 degree day in February and before dining I made my way over to get a peek at the adorable goats that reside there. 

There's a brief, but exciting menu by Chicago-trained chef Garron Sanchez that changes seasonally with specials each week. The Kendall College Culinary School grad highlights farmers, artisans and purveyors, sourcing locally as well as from their own farm.

We started with a Chèvre en Croute with Prairie Fruit Farm's chèvre, puff pastry, Luna's Farm oyster mushroom conserva, olive tapenade and preserved lemon. It was a beautiful blend of flavors and textures, which was light, yet felt decadent.

We also enjoyed a Winter Greens Waldorf salad and I loved this elevated take on a classic with a variety of greens. It also included watermelon radish, which I'm a little obsessed with these days. The roasted grapes were a lovely touch and the creamy citrus vinaigrette is a perfect way to tie it all together without too much sweetness.

I sampled a mocktail that I can't recall the name of, but was reminiscent of a mule with ginger beer and mint sprigs. 

The award-winning farm has a collection of medals on the wall. You can walk over to the farm market to purchase cheeses and other locally made goodies on your visit.

My favorite item we had was the Crab Cavatelli. The pasta was house-made and accompanied by jumbo lump blue crab, saffron cream and arugula. 

We also tried the Black Garlic and Maple Pork Chop, which was delicious, and sourced from a local farm, Kilgas Farmstead and served with braised greens, farro and roasted apple.

We were satisfied and ready to call it a night, but then saw the Pumpkin Pot De Crème on the menu and our willpower wilted. It was a perfect bite to end the night.

I'm hoping to revisit sometime for their five-course chef dinner, which sounds amazing. In scanning their Facebook page I also see quite a few events at the farm from cooking classes to art gatherings to themed holiday menus. For more information, visit prairie fruits.com.