Monday, December 28, 2015

Pioneer

I told you hubby and I are trying to catch up on the new places in town—so the other night before heading to a concert downtown, we decided to try Pioneer. This is the newest spot in Fountain Square located in the old Deano’s Vino. It’s right across from The End of the Line.

spiced walnuts
The first thing I noticed as I walked into the place on a chilly December night was it was warm in there! Hallelujah! A restaurant that is at a proper temperature that you don’t need a parka. Seriously, I always dress in layers in restaurants in this town. Seems like summer or winter, they’re always freezing. But this place was perfectly comfortable. Cozy even. The main dining room is actually pretty large though—and with a stage on one side is maybe less so—we were seated in the bar space, which I thought was done well. It feels more like the size of your average Fountain Square restaurant—it had nice tables and comfortable chairs and a rustic vibe with the bare brick walls. I liked it.

The menu is a little bit different—it has a lot more sharable small plates then it does regular-sized menu items. This is totally fine with me, because I like getting lots of things, but some people might feel differently. My only gripe about the set up was that it seemed like many of the small plates were cold items, which might be a bit strange if you’re making a full meal out of them, particularly in the winter.

We started with the spiced walnuts ($6), the chicken liver mousse ($12) and the butter lettuce salad ($12).  We really enjoyed the chicken liver mouse and the salad—the salad was particularly good and different from most. I honestly rarely order salads out because they kind of bore me a lot of times, but this one sounded good on the menu and it was good. It was large leaves of butter lettuce properly tossed and fully dressed (but not too much) in blood orange and basil citronette. It was topped with fresh ricotta, shallots and fried crispy chicken skin. Why are more people not topping salads with crispy chicken skin? It was very well done—just exactly the right mix of stuff on the salad to give you an interesting flavor profile, but not just piling so much stuff on top that you can’t tell it’s even a salad any more. 

The chicken liver mouse with schmaltz, pickled veggies and Amelia’s bread was also very tasty. I use that word tasty because it really did taste good—the look of the dish was not overly appetizing though. The mousse was kind of smeared on the plate in a heap. The bread was amazing –split and buttered and toasted and just exactly right. The mousse was rich a creamy without being gamey the way chicken liver things can sometimes be. It was very good, even if it wasn’t the prettiest thing.

The walnuts? Well, they were fine, but I wouldn’t be itching to get them again unless you have a really large group to share them with—they are extremely strongly seasoned with rosemary, salt, and pepper, and while I enjoyed a couple of them, I didn’t want to eat much more. Actually, all of these “small plates” would be better with at least four people sharing I think—they are pretty good-sized portions, and I would like to try a few more things than we were able to.
steak tartare..so pretty

For the next course, we ordered the steak tartare ($15) and the cavatelli pasta dish ($13). You know it’s easy to lure me in with a tartare, even though I am particular about it. This one though? It was one of the better ones I have had in recent memory, and it was truly beautifully presented. I was suspicious that they are using ribeye in their version, but was pleasantly surprised by the luxuriousness that the extra fat gave to the beef. It was plated so well too—in a line with perfectly bite-sized house made croutons placed throughout. And the whole plate was then artfully dotted with aioli and mustard and topped with fried capers and chives. It was done in such a way, that it was so easy to get a perfect bite each time (ok, I secretly wanted like one more crouton, but that’s just me). I was truly impressed with this dish. I felt like it had so much finesse—and more so than say the chicken liver, even though it tasted good as well. I would highly recommend this dish.

The pasta was good, although not as good as the other things in my mind. Hubby really enjoyed it though. It was cavatelli pasta (kind of looks like little shells that are tightly wound) with rapini, leeks, chili flakes and a white wine and butter sauce. It had a little kick from the chili flakes—not too much though. I do like the way much of the food had a little heat in it somewhere—even in the salad—I think it was the way the chicken skin was seasoned. The pasta dish was a nice dish to have with other things, but I just don’t think I would want a whole plate of it as my main dish—it is definitely a better dish served to share. Hubby managed to finish it all up though. 

We were totally not going to get dessert, but I was lured in by the apple strudel—it was wrapped in phyllo after all. This makes something almost a guarantee I will get it. And I was very glad I did—it was really tasty. I liked it because it wasn’t overstuffed with apples, leaving the phyllo nice and crispy. It was topped with a caramel sauce and some cinnamon sugar topping and a buttermilk Chantilly cream. Really nicely done—not over the top on anything and cooked just right.

Overall we really enjoyed our experience at Pioneer. It was comfortable and our server was friendly. On the whole, the food was very good, even if some things were just okay. But I would be happy to go back and try some other things. And get that tartare again for sure. Let me know if you have been and if so, what you thought.

Pioneer
1110 Shelby Street
Indy 46203
317/986-6761

7 comments:

  1. Glad to hear about this one. An old friend of mine is a manager or something there so I was hoping it would be good. Can't wait to try it.

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  2. We were there just last week for the first time and thoroughly enjoyed our dinner. We had the broccoli rabe (it is served warmed), the potato pancakes (crispy on the outside, soft on the inside), the cavatelli and the spaetzle (I am not a pasta person but the spaetzle was wonderful) and finished it up with the sausage plate and half a roasted chicken. Some of the best chicken that I have had in a long time. The sausage, which I think they said was made in house, was very good. We had several people with us so we were sharing.

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    1. I really wanted to try the potato pancakes--good to hear they are good. Intrigued by the chicken!

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  3. My husband and I have gone several times now, alone and with other couples. We always get the butter salad and split a couple other dishes. While not anything exciting, the gnocchi is excellent tasting and filling. The service has been good every time too and I agree, it's WARM and comfortable. It's so great to have another dinner option within walking distance of home.

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  4. Due to your review, four of us had dinner at Pioneer tonight and we all loved it! Each couple ordered two small plates, a pasta and dessert. Collectively, we had the potato pancakes, pork belly, steak tartare and brats with sauerkraut. We ordered the cavatelli and gnocchi and then had the apple strudel and cranberry apple pie. All of us agreed we could've had a second plate of the pork belly. I never had potato pancakes before but I'm sorry I never tried them before now. The steak tartare was very good but I would've liked more aoli but I was the last one to get their share of the dish. I didn't like the brats, but everyone else at the table thought they were good. Both pastas were very good but the gnocchi was the best. It melted in your mouth and had some heat to the dish. Both desserts went over well with everyone. We were all surprised at how comfortable we all felt after eating this meal - no one felt overstuffed. We will gladly return and will recommend the restaurant to friends.

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  5. We went shortly after they opened... I couldn't tell you what meats we got if I tried (table of 5, shared a handful of dishes) but I distinctly remember the broccoli and the carrots being amazing.

    Funny how the simplest things can really stand out, huh!?

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