We have been having some great dinners lately. And a couple of weeks ago it was hubby’s
birthday and at his request, we headed up to Joseph Decuis (not like he had any
trouble convincing me). We checked in at
the Inn, where we had not yet stayed, and walked down the street to dinner. I
love Roanoke at the holidays because it is such a cute little town anyway, and
then when you add lots of lights, it is even cuter.
For dinner we were seated in the glass atrium part of the
restaurant, which was also new to us. I was a little worried it would be cold
in there with all the glass (and it was a cold night), but it was well
insulated and well heated—a nice change of pace for restaurants in Indiana. All
the little twinkly lights gave it nice atmosphere. Hubby and I usually split
pretty much everything and since it was his birthday, I sort of let him choose
the path. The first thing he wanted to
do was to skip any kind of soup or salad course and get the charcuterie platter
($18). It was one of the best ones I
have had in memory. There were about 6
different house cured meats (well, apparently one came from Smoking Goose) and
they were delicious. I liked that they gave
you lots of different accompaniments as well—everything from a little
wedge of cheese to various pickles and sweet chutney. I also really liked the
hearty mustard they served with it—this is one of my favorite things to eat
with charcuterie. Who needs greens when
you can have an amazing selection of cured meats right? We had a hard time deciding which was our
favorite.
For our second course we ordered a special (they always have
quite a few specials, so don’t make up your mind until you hear about them)
which was polenta with mushrooms and parmesan. Wow, was this good. It may have
been my favorite item of the evening.
The polenta was creamy and rich, but just coarse enough to give it an
interesting texture and not taste like you are eating baby food or something—the
mushrooms were cooked with bits of pancetta and the whole thing was drizzled
with white truffle oil. I seriously
could have licked the plate on this one. I had a hard time sharing.
We also shared the Oysters casino ($15) which we have had on
another visit as well. They were topped with
Tasso ham, green onions and parmesan and then broiled (supposed to have bell
peppers as well but we skipped them).
The Tasso ham made them a little spicy and added a definite salty taste
which was great—and it reminds you of New Orleans (the restaurant has a
definite Cajun/Creole bent to many dishes).
The green onions were very plentiful—not used just like a garnish as
they often are and gave it a nice slightly crunchy flavor as well as a gentle
onion taste. The top was a little
crunchy from the cheese and I think a bit of breadcrumbs. I tend to prefer my oysters briefly cooked,
and these were a great example.
For our main dish we shared one actual entrée, the Creole
seared grouper ($36)(picture is a half portion). The fish was a total New Orleans-style dish and they
pulled it off really well. The fish was perfectly seared and tender and served
on top of dirty rice, crab étouffée and with collard greens and
Hollandaise. There were a lot of flavors
going on, but they are all things that complement each other so well, and I
liked the tangy Hollandaise to lighten up the spiciness from the other things
(and the heat built on your lips the more you ate it).
At this point we were pretty stuffed, but we were completely
spoiled when they brought us a very generous cheese plate to take back to the
Inn with us. And since we had the whole inn
to ourselves that night (sheer luck) we sat in the dining room and enjoyed it
with our leftover wine. The cheese plate
was great—loved the marcona almonds which are a slight addiction for me right
now. I also loved that on both the cheese plate and the charcuterie, they
toasted the bread just right. It still had some softness in the middle, but
some nice grill marks that gave it a nice toasty flavor (and made it not so
soft it was hard to spread cheese on it). I always love some sweetness as well,
and we got that with apple slices and dates.
This is one of our favorite restaurants in Indiana, and we
seem to always hit it around hubby’s birthday and Mother’s Day (go figure) (if
you go in the spring, and they have the fried morels, they are a must order—I included
a picture from our last visit). We need
to figure out another time of year to go I think so we can try some of the
other seasons’ food (or maybe it is just an excuse to fit in another trip). Hmmm….and I would love to see that carpaccio
back on the menu..man, that was delicious. Regardless, next time you want a
road trip (about an hour and a half from Indy) and some really, really good
food, I highly recommend Joseph Decuis.
Joseph
Decuis
191 North
Main Street
Roanoke,
Indiana 46783
260/672-1715
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| morels |
I'm surprised and impressed that one can find real grouper in Indiana. Haven't had it in years and got tired of ordering it as they always try to cheat you with not real grouper. (Almost always in south Florida)
ReplyDeleteWe just ate at Joseph Decuis and had the polenta with mushrooms dish, outstanding! I agree I wanted to lick the plate. I feel the same way about the fried morels! These two dishes have been my favs. I had the grouper, but wasn't real wowed. Guess I'm not really an etoufee fan.
ReplyDeleteWould it be weird to go here by oneself? Work trip coming up but if it's all romanticness, don't want to feel weird.
ReplyDeleteI would totally go by myself if I was in town. You could either sit at the bar in the bar area (less of the romanticness) or on certain days (Fridays I think) they have a bbq out on their patio--I think that would have a much more casual feel.
ReplyDelete