Vida - Revisit

I was excited to try Vida again—I mean, we had such a good experience the first time; we were intrigued to see if it would hold up. So we went with friends (all the better to try more things with) and went in for our second go round.

Right away, we noticed the service was a bit off. Our server couldn’t get to us. It was fine; another server apologized and took our drink order. Our server stopped by to say he would be there when he could but that he was really busy. He assured us an amuse bouche would be served to us soon. Anyhow, we looked over the menu and made our negotiations and eventually got our order in.

We started with the charcuterie plate ($14 for the small) and the crab and octopus roll ($16). We were torn about whether to go with the large or small charcuterie, and settled on the small. Other than needing a little more of the toasty (and delicious) bread, there was more than enough for the four of us. There were a lot of good, and interesting things on the board. There was morcilla (a blood sausage), ‘ndjua (spicy spreadable pork), and some lovely crunchy chicharones. How can you not like crispy fried pork skin? There was also prosciutto and another salame. They did a great job with the accompaniments here as well.  There were a couple of types of mustard and some nice pickled veggies—lots of red onions, my favorite.

The crab and octopus roll was also very good. It was wrapped in exactly ripe avocado, and was a little light on the crab and octopus filling, but it tasted wonderful. It was a light appetizer, and honestly, I could have easily eaten at least half of it on my own. Let’s face it, I would happily eat the whole thing on my own.

At this point we got the amuse, which was kind of weird after we had already started eating our first course (it’s supposed to be a tease for your palate), Anyhow, I can’t remember what it was at this point, but we ate it up.

The entrées came next—I had the salmon ($29). It was lovely—really really good. It was a thin piece of salmon that was seared really crisp. When I first saw it, I was worried that it would be dry, but it was moist inside but just wonderfully crispy outside. It was served with asparagus, artichokes, yellow tomatoes and Nicoise olives. Ok, it also helped that those are all some of my favorite things, but this dish was great. There was great acid balance, which is my thing.

The server had convinced hubby to get the New York strip steak ($39) because he just kept talking about how great it is. Hubby rarely orders steaks out, and even more rarely is wooed by a NY strip, but he was convinced. And this was an outstanding steak. While nicely marbled, it was still really tender and not chewy. It was served on a bright Béarnaise sauce and topped with these light and wonderful pommes soufflé. We had these before at an old line restaurant in Cincinnati and these were just as good. Almost like a 3D potato chip. Another wonderful dish.

Our friends had the shrimp dumplings ($26)(which we had the first time and really enjoyed) and the short rib dish, which was also really good—the two men kept negotiating bites of their dishes with each other. 

We also got dessert this time. Those little doughnuts with the Bourbon caramel sauce? Outstanding.  Their pastry chef is doing inventive things and you should really try one of the desserts when you’re there.

Well, I think if anything I was more impressed with the food this time because there were no dishes that I thought were inferior. I will say the service was nowhere near as good as it was on that first visit, but it wasn’t horrible. They were definitely a bit in the weeds on this particular night though. I’m really happy to have Vida on the Indy list of cool and really good restaurants to recommend. I just hope the food stays as good as it has been on my first couple of visits.

Vida

601 East New York Street

Indy 46202

317/420-2323

www.vida-restaurant.com 

Bluebeard, once again

A couple of trips to Bluebeard lately are reminders of how lucky we are to have such a continually inventive and good restaurant in Indy. 

A highlight from one trip was the rabbit confit-type dish with fried chicken livers on top. You know I love fried chicken livers and these were delicious. Also great? The oysters Rockefeller they do (they are often on the menu and you should really get them. The oysters are so good, and the toppings divine. My son liked them so much we had to get a second order. 

chicken livers et al

oysters

My daughter ordered quail and would only give me a tiny bite. Loved the little bit of thigh that I had. Hubby and I shared the Bluebeard version of ramen and I might just say, it was possibly more flavorful and interesting than most of the bowls of ramen I have had around town.  The big slab of pork belly helped the flavor along, as did the perfect soft egg, but really it was the broth that made it so good. My only complaint was the bowl it was in wasn’t big enough, making it a challenge to eat.

quail

ramen

Another visit had me loving the cool salmon crudo ($16). I’ve had mixed experiences with crudos at Bluebeard, but this one with pickled and grilled ramps, a bit of asiago biscuit, orange olive oil, hollandaise and fried shallots had me won over. It had a good bit of tartness and the salmon was melty soft.

salmon crudo

scallops

cauliflower

The bay scallop and Arborio gratin was also really good (and something I’ve never seen before) ($18). It was small but mighty with its richness—there were little scallops mixed with bits of cauliflower, spring garlic, Gruyere cheese, and horseradish Parmesan cream and truffle breadcrumbs on top. This was wonderful. It was better as an accompaniment to other things, because the scallops were almost a purely textural element, but yummy. Speaking of cauliflower, the roasted cauliflower with anchovy, caper, mint, Parmesan and sunflower seeds was also a great side. Bluebeard knows how to roast veggies.

chopped livers

truffled egg toast

The chopped livers dish ($14) was a bit heavy on the pork liver and was a touch strong for us. The chicken livers in the dish were great, but the pork livers overpowered everything. If the same dish (bread, vinegar, rams and whipped cheese) were done with just the chicken livers, it would be spectacular. Also, while I have loved the truffled egg toast ($26) in the past, this time it was just too bready. I did appreciate the morels and the runny egg though. I really miss the version they did once with bread and light and fluffy truffled scrambled eggs. Wonder if they ever do that one anymore? 

pork belly

The Mexican-style pork belly ($18) was tasty and I like the crunchy bits served alongside it, but I don’t know, maybe I am just getting to be over pork belly. It’s a little overused these days I think and it rarely seems to blow my mind anymore.

          

I feel like there are always several truly winning dishes each and every time I eat at Bluebeard, and then a couple that are solidly good, but not as amazing. But I will take that kind of consistency any day. And now that the outside patio is open, and they have an additional dining room inside that isn’t in the bar, there is less of a wait the last few times I have come, which I also appreciate. This is a place I always want to go, and a place where I always know I am going to have a good meal. Oh and chess pie, I'm pretty much always having the chess pie.

Bluebeard

653 Virginia Avenue

Indy, 46203

317/686-1580

www.bluebeardindy.com 

Kizuki Ramen and Izakaya

Everyone is talking about the new ramen place in Carmel—Kizuki. It’s a chain that actually originated in Japan—good timing for them to open in Indy when everyone is now finally getting ramen crazy. I met my friend Suzanne there because she lives not too far away and loves to try a new restaurant as much as I do.

There are a LOT of ramen choices on this menu. Almost too many to know which to choose. Plus, all those small plates on the menu make you want to order them as well. Luckily, Suzanne is a good sharing friend, so we decided to get a couple of the small plates and split a bowl of ramen.

I asked our server for recommendations for which ramen to try and she recommended the garlic tonkotsu shoyu ramen or the spicy miso ramen (both $13). I was kind of already thinking about the garlic tonkotsu one she mentioned because it is described as “extra rich” and is made in limited quantities. Nothing like making something sound rare to make it alluring. Plus, my one complaint about some ramen I have had is that it’s too bland, so “extra rich” sounded good. It was a good bowl of ramen. Would I say it was great? Eh, not particularly. The broth actually tasted a little muddy if you know what I mean.  The slice of pork in it was nice (except I still always wonder exactly how you are supposed to eat them—they are too big for one bite, but chopsticks and a spoon make cutting it difficult). There was also bamboo shoots and some bean sprouts, which were fine. The star of the dish was clearly the egg. It was soft boiled as it usually is, and done nicely, but it was also seasoned in some sort of marinade and was super delicious. It was unique from most ramen in that the egg itself tasted so good on its own. Next time, I would go with a spicy broth and an extra egg. I also liked that there were lots of different seasonings to use in the ramen on the table--I used a couple and it helped jazz it up a bit.

We also got the chicken karaage ($6.50) and the pork gyoza ($5). I really enjoyed the gyoza—the dumplings were very hot and tasted very fresh. The skins were thin and had the exact right amount of crispiness on the pan-fried side. The vinegar soy sauce was nicely balanced and had enough vinegar to it that you could actually taste it. I would get these again.

Karaage chicken is Japanese fried chicken—it’s typically breaded with starch instead of a bunch of flour, so it has this lighter, crispier crunch to it. They also marinate the chicken beforehand. The chunks here seemed a mix of light and dark meat—some bites were really tasty and some a bit dry, but it was a decent dish. They served it with a spicy mayo that took it a step further in taste. I enjoyed the mayo.

There are a lot of people working here, (you might be startled by how many of them say hello to you in Japanese when you walk in) and they are more than happy to help as much as possible. They are doing a decent business as well. Overall, I enjoyed my visit, but wasn’t blown away.

Would love to know what you have had if you have been as well.

Kizuki Ramen & Izakaya

2450 E. 146^th Street

Carmel, IN 46033

www.kizuki.com 

U.S. Adventures: San Francisco, Spring 2016- Vol. I

Recently, the family and I went to San Francisco for Spring Break. We did so much eating…it’s hard to imagine writing about it all. But I will, because surely someone out there is interested in SF, and because, well; it’s my blog and kind of my food scrapbook.

We had a direct flight that landed at 8:00 am SF time, which was 11:00 Indy time and by the time we got to the City, we were starving. But it was the morning. But we wanted lunch. And to avoid the crowds eating breakfast on a Saturday morning, so what did we do? Dim sum! At 10:00, which was 1:00 our time. Perfect.

Yank Sing is my favorite dim sum in SF I think. Certainly it is not the cheapest, but man, they know how to fry things up. This was the kids’ first real experience with it and they loved it. They loved that the carts were out and about immediately (did I mention we were starving?) and they loved the food.

Hubby and I always order the shrimp dumplings ($7.15) and the shrimp and chive dumplings ($5.95) as well as the fried spring rolls ($11) and the fried shrimp ($13.15). As usual, all of those things delighted. I am a firm believer in mixing crunchy with steamed. Because we had two additional (hungry) people with us this time, we also had the potstickers ($11), which were a favorite with the kids and the pork buns ($5.50), also a favorite with the hubby. We had these interesting dumplings filled with soup, which I had never seen before—they tasted good but were challenging to eat (imagine soup squirting out of your mouth when you took a bite).  We also had the fried crab claws and the Peking duck bun, neither of which were a big hit-the crab was a little bready and the Peking duck a little bland.  Overall, this is the kind of place that makes me long for San Francisco. Quality dim sum with carts constantly being pushed around. There are many such places in the bay area; I wish we had one in Indy.

With some time to kill until we could check into our flat, we also hit Craftsman and Wolves to pick up some pastries and goodies for future breakfasts. My daughter had seen it on the Food Network and had added it to the list. The pastries are gorgeous and the Asiago bun filled with a runny egg made me happy. We also got a lovely loaf of bread we ate all week.

The first two evenings we ate with friends. The second night in Berkeley at a place called Ippuku. This place was a trip. It is a Japanese restaurant, but specializing more in the grilled robata style dishes. Oh yeah, also chicken tartare. As much as I love almost every tartare, I passed on this one. (Dishes averaged between $7-15 depending on what they were, we had about 12 for the 4 of us). The grilled items were perfectly charred without being chewy.

The grilled chicken thighs and chicken livers were probably a couple of my favorites—simple but delicious. Their version of the fancy onion pancake was also really, really good. Loved the bonito flakes on top that gave the dish a little movement. It was a rich version of an onion cake—it had more gooey batter-type taste than most. I also had ginkgo nuts for the first time. They look very cool—almost like teeny eggs you have to pull out of the shell. They were a nice thing to snack on while waiting for the next course. One of the last things that we had was a beef dish that was simple but was so, so good. We had lots of other interesting things—uni, a whole squid, some fried chicken, blistered shishitos, some grilled whole sardines and even some ramen. They were all fun, but not as good as the things I mentioned first. The atmosphere here is cool too, it has a dark, hip vibe. You have to take off your shoes and sit at tables sunken into the ground. You sort of feel like you’re in a secret club or something.

Our next lunch was at Perbacco—my daughter’s choice. We went there on our last trip and it was her favorite meal ever, because she loved loved their gnocchi ($20), so she requested a return visit. We enjoyed ourselves, and the garlic/potato gnocchi with green garlic, chanterelles and asparagus was very good (we ended up with two orders of it), but everything else we had was fine, but not as amazing. I had a tuna crudo and hubby a pappardelle with short rib ragu ($21). The bread service here is delicious though. And it made my daughter’s trip to get to come back—she has dreamed about their gnocchi for years. Too bad the server was not as friendly to my kids, like our last visit, which had added to the charm last time.

I was excited to take the kids to The Slanted Door for dinner. This is a place hubby and I began eating at when it was a tiny place in the Mission. Now it is a jam-packed huge restaurant right under the Bay Bridge in the Ferry Building. And even with its massive success, it is still outstanding. Pretty much everything we had was great.  Both of our appetizers, tuna tartare with rice paper crackers ($18) and the Dungeness crab soup with mushrooms and light airy egg strands ($8) were delicious. I have their cookbook—I need to make this soup.

You can’t go and not order the Shaking Beef ($38). It’s filet that’s been cubed and stir fried with this delicious lime sauce and served with red onions and watercress. I have tried to make this one from the cookbook, and it just never turns out as good. Everyone loved this and honestly, we should have gotten two orders. The cellophane noodles with Dungeness crab, green onion and sesame ($22) are also totally worth ordering—a great accompaniment to the beef. Light but with that depth from sesame oil. The bok choy was also a nice veggie addition to the meal. Everyone enjoyed it. We also had the clay pot chicken ($22), which was the least favorite. It just couldn’t compare to the other stuff. We also had dessert and the kids’ confection plate ($10), which was topped off with a large cone of cotton candy was a favorite. They made sure that nothing would harm my nut-allergic son as well, which I appreciated. The churros ($10) hubby and I ordered were kind of meh. The view out the window of the bridge, which is now lit up with all kinds of cool changing lights is awesome.

The final meal I’ll touch on here was a nice lunch I had with my old boss and his wife in Oakland. It was the cutest little wine bar in the middle of downtown Oakland called Downtown Wine Merchants. Naturally, there was wine (you gotta appreciate a pretty flight of white, rose and red), but we also had some tasty small plates. Loved the cheese and charcuterie boards ($15 each) and the cheesy spaetzle ($10). They also made interesting flatbreads—the one we had was a special with squash blossoms. The interior of this place and the friendliness of the people running it are what really made this place. And catching up with old friends.

Ok, so I am only through a few of the days of our trip so far, so prepare for at least one more SF post! Ok, maybe two.