Canal Bistro - Brunch

I had a brunch meeting on a weekend with a small group, and we decided to try Canal Bistro because they take reservations. On the weekends, I just don’t have the patience to wait an hour to eat. I had never been to Canal Bistro for full on brunch, so it was almost like going to a new restaurant.

They have a very large menu of choices for brunch, although there are several areas that are variations of similar items—various breakfast sandwiches/pita wraps takes up half of the back page for instance. It’s nice to see some interesting things on there though. I ordered the Mediterranean frittata ($11). It is described as a frittata with leeks, roasted tomatoes and spinach topped with feta, sundried tomatoes and basil. So I sort of pictured a frittata that had the first three ingredients mixed in and the other stuff baked on top. This was more of a (huge) piece of frittata with everything baked inside. It wasn’t bad, but I didn’t really get much of the cheese flavor. The whole thing was decently moist, but just a little on the bland side. They should throw some olives in there. It’s huge though. I also ordered a side of bacon, which was crispy and delicious.

Oh, and if you like a mimosa or bloody Mary with your brunch, they were $5. And you can get your mimosa made with a range of various juices. I had a mango one and it was very nice.

My daughter had “The Classic Fool” breakfast plus one egg (she got it sunny side up, but you can get it however you want). This is a bowl of slow-cooked fava beans mixed with olive oil, tomatoes, onions, parsley and fresh lemon and then topped with the egg. The egg was cooked nicely and she enjoyed the dish. It was nice that it had a touch of acid to it.

All in all, while the dishes didn’t blow me away, this is a nice spot to sit outside and have brunch. The menu is quite large, and I look forward to trying something else next time.

Canal Bistro

6349 Guilford Ave

Indy 46220

317/254-8700

www.canal-bistro.com

Canal Bistro - Revisit

The weather is warm again so it is time for Canal Bistro. But in breaking news, it looks like we will be able to go in the winter now as well, because we spied new dining room chairs inside. Hubby hated their old chairs, and thus, we only went during the warm months when we could sit outside. But now, it looks like we can just go whenever we want. I have written about this place before, and much of the things we order are the same, but I want to keep reminding you all about all the great independent restaurant options we have in Indy.

We did sit outside because it was a nice day. It looks like they have changed up the menu just a bit, although all the old favorites seem to still be there. We did notice what seemed like it might be a new appetizer, although I might just have missed it before--the fried Lebanese pickles ($7). They fry up their very pickled pickles that they often serve as a garnish and then serve them with a tahini sauce. I will say, this was our first time with these and it will certainly not be the last. They are delicious and so is the sauce. The batter is nice and crisp and those pickles have a ton of flavor. I highly recommend if you like fried pickles. But, the main reason we went is for spanakopita, which we owed my son (long story), and we had promised to make up to him. They have my favorite spanakopita because it is so, so crispy. The crunch is my favorite part. I decided to go with the mazza plate ($14), in which you get to choose four items from a list of various appetizers. I chose spanakopita (you get two), hummus, olives and feta. I think they also have very good hummus, and they give you nicely grilled pita bread. And I like to eat olives with every bite. I would probably skip the feta next time—it was fine, but just big hunks of somewhat dry cheese. There are several other choices—I might go with baba ganoush or falafel.

I have converted hubby to the spanakopita as well, so he and my son split an order ($8) and a gyro wrap ($9). My son got everything on the side except the meat (kids) so you sort of had to doctor it up to make sure it had all the right flavors and moisture, but the meat itself is pretty good here. They have tasty fries as well that we had topped with garlic and feta. And my son is now obsessed with the spanakopita as well—so I wouldn’t be surprised if you see us there at some point with just a table covered in orders of spanakopita.

If you have a favorite item though that you think we should try, let me know.

Canal Bistro

6349 Guilford Ave

Indy 46220

317/254-8700

www.canal-bistro.com

Canal Bistro- Revisit

After traveling to Europe this summer and really enjoying our time (and food) in Greece, we were kind of itching to go back to Canal Bistro, which is one of our favorite summer haunts anyway, to see how their Mediterranean food matched up.

First off, we laughed because we always thought it was funny how they had French fries on the menu and how everyone always talked about them as a highlight. And then we went to Greece, and in fact every single Greek restaurant (just about) featured “freshly fried potatoes.” They do in fact like their fries over there. So we felt totally justified getting some. And adding garlic. And feta.

Anyhow, we started with our classic order of hummus ($7). I really like their hummus—it has a nice consistency and the addition of olive oil on top as well as the chopped up tomatoes adds even more flavor and moisture. They serve it with toasted pita bread (strangely, pita is something you rarely see in Greece, and when you do, it’s a small round piece that is much denser than what you get here. Anyway, their pita is nice and soft and warm and they have some of my favorite hummus too. We also got a side of olives because I like an olive bite with just about all my bites of hummus and now that the kids are giant olive nuts too, we need a lot to go around.

My absolute favorite thing there is the spinach pie (i.e. spanakopita)($8). It’s an appetizer, but I always get it for my main dish (and am forced to share one with hubby). They’re little triangles of phyllo dough stuffed with cheese and spinach and wrapped tightly and then I am pretty sure deep-fried. They are so crisp and crunchy they practically shatter when you bite into them. I love that they serve the pies on top of a mix of pickled onions, regular pickles, chopped herbs and a hunk of feta cheese. I like eating a little of all of this with each bite of the spinach pies and it is so good. Hubby informed me next time he is getting his own order.

The rest of the family had gyros of some sort—my son and hubby split the gyro platter ($15), which is a big plate of meat with the accompaniments on the side—as well as a little pyramid of rice. You also get tomatoes, cucumber and tzaziki sauce (a yogurt cucumber sauce)(by the way, the picture you see is a half order-they split it in the kitchen). Now, our experience with gyros in Greece was a bit different. In Greece, you don’t see them as often and the times we got them (always my son ordering them), they were usually made of thinly sliced pork. The ones at Canal Bistro (and most US restaurants I have seen) are made with lamb and beef I believe. They are a much denser consistency. Different, but both good in their own ways. Because this is a full meal, you also get a salad with it. Hubby got the Greek salad, which has a nice topping of crumbled feta and a couple more olives and a tangy balsamic vinaigrette.

My daughter had the gyro sandwich ($9), which comes in wrap form. She likes the tzaziki sauce on the sandwich, but everything else she gets on the side, which is fine with me because more pickled onions for me! This is where we got the side of fries with garlic and feta (slight upcharge) and they were hot and delicious.

All in all, we loved the food in Greece and we really enjoy Canal Bistro as well. There are certainly similarities as well and difference, but it’s all good. Also, they have a weekend brunch menu now and I am intrigued to try it. And it’s one of the best patios in the summer—lots of shade, but not crazy traffic like some outdoor patios in Broad Ripple.

Canal Bistro

6349 Guilford Ave

Indy 46220

317/254-8700

www.canal-bistro.com

Canal Bistro --Revisit

As soon as the weather gets nice, the family likes to start returning to Canal Bistro. Hubby doesn’t like the inside chairs, and they have a very lovely patio on the canal in Broad Ripple. They run fans so you never get too overheated. Of course this summer, it has taken til July to get to the point where it wasn’t raining every other day, but that’s another story.

Anyhow, we had a great evening, so we took the kids and headed there for dinner. I love that you can get a small order of hummus if you want, which is what we do. Their hummus is some of their favorite and I like the extra olive oil and chopped tomatoes they put on top to add some freshness. They do a good job with their pita too—they grill it till it’s lightly browned and nice and warm. The kids just like the bread dipped into the seasoned oil they also give you.

Hubby and I always get the spinach pies ($8)—or spanakopita here because they are really, really good. I have talked about them before I’m sure because, seriously, we always get them. It s spinach and cheese wrapped in phyla dough, but here, I am pretty sure instead of just baking them, which will certainly crisp up the dough--they actually deep fry them I think making them extra super crispy and nicely browned. I also love all the little bits that come in the middle of the pies—the hunk of feta, the tomatoes, lightly pickled red onions and the kalamata olives. My son finally tried them this time and I am pretty sure we’re going to be up to two orders next time.

My kids usually order a gyro platter ($15) and hubby picks at it as well. They all really enjoy the meat here—my daughter eats hers with pita, my son just eats the meat and fries. They have a solid gyro for sure.

This time I really wanted to try something new as well so I decided to go with the ceviche ($10). I remember a reader or two recommending it before, and I generally really like ceviche, so I went for it. Unfortunately, this is not the thing to order here. I think it was tilapia, which on its own is not the end of the world, even though it’s not my favorite, but the fish was very mealy and a little too fishy. It really wasn’t very good. And now that I think of it the one time I had mussels here, they didn’t seem overly fresh either. I think it might be best to stick with the standards here and not vary into seafood dishes.

Regardless, it’s still going to be a place we frequent and enjoy. I’m staying with the spinach pies for sure (maybe a whole order just for me) although I would love to hear if you guys have any suggestions for other yummy dishes that might be fun to share and try.

Canal Bistro

6349 Guilford Ave

Indy 46220

317/254-8700

www.canal-bistro.com

Canal Bistro - Revisit

The other day hubby and I wanted to go out to eat somewhere for lunch where we could sit outside. We wanted something good to eat, to not be right on a super busy road AND to have a drink with our lunch.  A lot to ask I know.  We settled on Canal Bistro.  We hadn’t been there together in a long time and it was the perfect day to sit along the canal.

We were having a pretty big dinner that night so we didn’t want to eat too much. We had the Mediterranean pizza ($11) and the spinach pie ($6) to share.  I have had the pizza before and I really quite like it.  It is basically a pita that is topped with kalamata olives, red onions, artichoke hearts, tomatoes, lots of herbs and feta and baked so that it is crisp on the bottom and everything on top is warm.  It is a fairly simple idea, but with great flavors from the olives and artichokes and crunch from the onions.  This one had maybe just a little too much cheese, which made it dominate the other things maybe just a little too much, but all in all, this is something I really enjoy. Particularly with a glass of wine.

The spinach pie (or spanikopita) was great.  I have had it before and didn’t remember liking it as much as I did this time (but spanikopita in general is one of my favorite things at Greek restaurants).  Basically they are little triangles of phyllo dough wrapped around a filling of feta and spinach.  What made this one so great was how wonderfully crispy the phyllo was without being burned at all.  It was perfectly browned all over.  Honestly, it was almost like it was quickly deep fried, it was so evenly crispy (usually this dish is baked, and is often not so uniformly browned and crisp).  I also love the little salad underneath of pickled red onions, olives and parsley (as well as a little chunk of fresh feta).  A little bit of the salty, tangy flavors from this with each bite of the pie was perfect.  I would get this again in a minute.  It has everything that makes me crave something—crunch, saltiness, tanginess, smooth cheese and the savory flavor from the spinach. Makes me want to go pick up an order right now actually.

Anyway, a great place to grab lunch—and I could order off the appetizer menu for days.  But what do you guys like here? Maybe next time I will delve deeper into the menu.

Canal Bistro

6349 N. Guilford Ave

Indy 46220

317/254-8700

http://www.canal-bistro.com/

Canal Bistro

I have been bad lately about getting to some new places for lunch—things just get so busy this time of year! And honestly, I have just been in a mood lately for comfort food and places when I go out for lunch, so I have been hitting a lot of usuals. But I finally managed to get somewhere new the other day with the BFF. We went over to Broad Ripple and ate at the Canal Bistro.

I was pretty happy with this place—there were some hits and some misses, but all around I would put it on the repeat list. I had the mazza plate appetizer sampler for my lunch so I could try lots of things (you know I love to do that). It had hummus, tabouli, spinach pies (i.e. spanikopita), a couple of falafel and various marinated and non-marinated veggie garnishes and olives.

The things I liked about this plate the most were the hummus and the spinach pies. The hummus was not too thick and not too thin—a pleasant consistency that was thin enough you could dip straight in with your pita, but not so watery that it didn’t have the heft that hummus should have. I liked the seasoned olive oil on top with a few diced tomatoes as well. I love a bit of olive oil on top of hummus, adds a nice richness.

I also really liked the little spinach pies. They were very little triangles of the phyllo stuffed with feta and spinach. I think I have told you all how much I love these little crispy things before, and these were certainly great ones. The fillings were still moist and the phyllo was pleasantly browned and appropriately crunchy. Next time I would certainly get an order of just these. They were yummy—and there were only two on the sampler and I wanted more for sure.

The tabouli I wasn’t as impressed with. The flavors were very fresh, the herbs obviously very fresh, and there was a fair amount of lemon. But there was so little of the cracked bulgar wheat that it seemed like a Mediterranean pico di gallo almost. Not bad to slap on top of some other things, but alone, just couldn’t spoon it directly into my mouth.

I thought the falafel was pretty dry and didn’t have a lot of flavor. But then again, I think that about falafel in general. These were a little over fried maybe and even mixed with some of the other things and sauces on the plate; I just didn’t see the appeal.

Loved the olives (big surprise) and I love mixing an olive with just about any bite of the other stuff. And in fact, my friend had the restaurant’s version of a grilled cheese which was grilled feta with olives, cucumbers, tomatoes and other seasonings on pita. She gave me a piece of it (quite a generous portion) and it was very tasty. I would order that again as well. Actually, there are a lot of good sounding entrées on the menu that I would like to try for dinner, but for lunch they seemed too big. I will certainly go back and give them a try one of these days.

The servers were super friendly and the food was pretty fast. The chairs are a bit uncomfortable (don’t tell hubby or I’ll never get him in there for dinner). But a pleasant experience for sure.

Canal Bistro
6349 Guilford Ave

Indianapolis, IN 46220
317-254-8700