Nourish

****NOURISH IS OUT OF BUSINESS*****

Hubby and I had a date night, and as usual, I wanted to try something new. I gave him a few of the menus of some of the latest openings and he picked Nourish.  We were trying to picture where exactly this place is—on South East Street—and it made sense when I saw it was right next to Bosphorus Café.  We debated what the space was in its past life. I’m not sure, but we settled on a video store based on the layout and windows.

They have done a nice job with the interior though—they’ve made what are steel beams look like wood, added booths and nice lighting. The bar was cute with the shelves looking like tree branches. The whole place has a slightly more organic, feminine style than most places these days, and I appreciated the variety. (My one knock, the windows are set high up so once you sit down in the booths, you can’t really see out of them—I think I would have raised the booths a bit).

Anyhow, our server was extremely friendly, and was enthusiastic about the menu. She wasn’t overly familiar with the wine list, but we worked through it. They were offering wine specials the night we were there—not sure if it was a weekly thing or what, but it was nice.

The food is fairly sophisticated sounding—and also incorporates a lot of healthier options. There are more vegetarian options than many restaurants (and even some vegan) and they use lots of grains, etc. instead of things like potato and pastas for sides. I’m always a little worried with these kinds of menus, wondering if they can really make “healthier” taste good.

Our first courses were the zucchini tortilla ($6) and the grilled radicchio ($7). I enjoyed the tortilla. It is the Spanish version of a tortilla—which is almost more like a quiche with layers of potato in it. This version incorporated slices of zucchini as well as Idiazabal cheese on top. There was a very strong  smoky pepper sauce underneath that honestly was a bit overwhelming to me with this dish, a little went a long way. But I enjoyed the tortilla, even if it was a fairly simple dish.

Unfortunately, the grilled radicchio did not fare as well. This dish was a couple of radicchio heads that were simply split in half and then grilled—and I think not long enough. If you are familiar with radicchio, you know it is pretty bitter on its own. I think softening it by grilling it is a good plan, but this didn’t go far enough. Also, the menu described it with feta and olives. There was a light creamy (I’m guessing feta-based) sauce under it and on it, and while it was tasty it just couldn’t stand up to that bitter radicchio. As far as olives, there were 4 halves, so didn’t add a lot. I did appreciate the super thinly sliced red onions, which are good on just about anything really. However, when our server noticed we ate very little of the dish, she asked us for honest feedback and we told her what we thought. The manager offered us another salad (we said no) and without saying anything, they just simply took the radicchio off the bill. This is proactive customer service and I really appreciated it.

This was a place where we enjoyed the entrées substantially more than the apps. I ordered the miso chicken ($16). It was a beautifully prepared miso brined chicken breast with lovely crisp skin. They used rye berries as the grain underneath it, and the whole thing was in a ginger scallion sauce—it had a salty kick from the soy but a really nice ginger flavor as well. And the grains had a nice nutty flavor, but I really liked it with the sauce and the chicken. I was impressed with how tender the chicken was and, while it did feel healthier than many restaurant entrées, it still had all the flavor and skill of a high-end dish.

Hubby liked his walleye dish ($17) just as much, and in fact we argued over which was better. I really enjoyed his as well—and it had a richer flavor profile from the mascarpone cheese mixed into the faro that was used here as the side. There were also wilted leeks in there, and a nice drizzle of lemon oil giving it further richness and a hint of acid. The fish was cooked very well—not dried out at all and with a nice crispy skin (just like the chicken). I really like it when the fish or chicken can be so tender, and the skin rendered so crisp. Not only does it add more flavor, but texture as well. The use of both of these grains was done superbly.

All in all, we were pleased with our meal (I would not order the radicchio though for sure). And so far, I’d order heavy on the entrées here, although I am keeping an open mind. I am also looking forward to trying lunch here. If you’ve been, I’d like to know what you had and what you thought. 

Nourish

931 S. East Street

Indy 46225

317/737-1699

www.thenourishindy.com