Punch Bowl Social

My in–laws were in town for a couple of days over the holidays and we were looking for something to do to get out of the house for a bit with the kids and maybe try something new. I was kind of randomly scanning through new places that had opened and saw Punch Bowl Social. Seemed like a good idea…. I have to say though I wasn’t sure if kids were even allowed or if this is just an adult place, but as it turns out, kids are welcome until 10:00 p.m. They also take reservations, which it didn’t look like we needed for lunch on this particular day, but I am imagining this is more of a late night place.

They serve food obviously, but also have a plethora of various games offered from old arcade games, to bowling, to cornhole, to foosball, to ping pong and darts. Lots of stuff going on here. So yeah, a fun choice with kids actually. We sat down and looked over the menu—I would describe it as pubby food with a southern flair. It’s a concept from celebrity chef Hugh Acheson.

They serve all kinds of cocktails (punch particularly) but it was lunch so we just went with some beer and wine. Weirdest thing though? They card everyone who orders alcohol. I mean EVERYONE. My father-in-law just turned 80. EIGHTY. They wouldn’t serve him a beer because he didn’t have his i.d. on him. That seems crazy to me. Anyhow, make sure you bring your i.d. if you want a drink, and I don’t care how old you are. Also, Punch Bowl Social, if you’re reading this, that’s kind of ridiculous.

Anyway, we got our drinks (the kids enjoyed milkshakes, my FIL had a diet coke) and ordered some poutine to start ($10). On the menu here, it’s called “The Canadian.” It’s fries, brown gravy and white cheddar cheese curds. It’s pretty simple and straightforward, but my family was really digging it. Both hubby and my son wanted to order more of it. I liked the way the cheese curds were just getting melty as it sat a bit. You have to realize that the fries are not going to be crisp with gravy on them, but the flavor was good (although I thought they needed a little salt). A nice thing to share between the six of us (even though I’m sort of itching to try the pimento cheese and the chips with charred onion crème fraiche).

Hubby and I were torn about what to get, and based on the recommendation of our server, we decided to try the tacos from the starter men ($10 for 4) and the Alabama chicken sandwich ($10) and split them. I have to say, both were really well done. The tacos were small but packed full with cocoa dusted pork carnitas, salsa adobo, radish, thin sliced yellow onion and cilantro. There was supposed to be cheese and crema on there too, although I didn’t get a ton of that in the ones I ate. But the flavor of the tacos was very good. The pork was very, very tender and I loved the onions and the squeeze of lime, Honestly, I think these were better than the tacos I have had around the corner.

The chicken sandwich was a hunk of chicken breast meat that was deep-fried with white BBQ sauce, bread and butter pickles, tomato, and shredded lettuce. This was

also very tasty. The breading on the sandwich was nice and crispy, and there was a nice depth of flavor coming from the white BBQ sauce and the pickles (can we all agree pickles and fried chicken just go together?). The bun was not overwhelming and didn’t take over the flavor with breadiness. They serve it in an iron skillet (for looks I guess because it wasn’t hot at all) and with a side of fries. Their fries are good—very crisp, but next time I would ask for a side of something more interesting than ketchup to dip them in.

My daughter wanted breakfast and was pleased to see that you can order it here until 3:00 and so she did. She was happy enough and thought the breakfast potatoes they serve were good-they were little rounds of crispy fried potatoes. The bacon was only so-so though, it didn’t have a lot of flavor. They seem to be trying to incorporate local ingredients, so someone should tell them about Goose the Market bacon. My son had a burger and said it was fine (he got it pretty plain, so I didn’t even try it—I love some sort of fancy burger sauce on my burgers, which their adult version includes.)

All in all, it seems like a fun place (as long as you have your id) with pretty solid pub food. I know hubby is anxious to go back….and I would like to go with a group to take advantage of some of the games and to try some of the other starters (you need a pretty big group to try much because the portions are pretty generous).

Tell me about your experiences here. What did you think?

Punch Bowl Social

120 South Meridian Street

Indy   46204

317/249-8613

http://www.punchbowlsocial.com/location/indianapolis 

Nada - Brunch

While we were in Cincinnati recently, we decided to eat brunch at Nada before heading out of town. Mostly because it was right across the street from the hotel. I have only eaten at the Nada in Indy once and had a kind of mixed experience, but was intrigued to try their brunch menu. And you can get reservations. (And the menu for brunch in Indy appears to be the same).

We started with the queso gringo ($7), which was very good. I assume this is on the regular dinner menu too, and I would get it again in a heartbeat. It had a layer of refried black beans on the bottom of the bowl ad the cheese (smoked gouda) is mixed with habanero peppers and pico di gallo. All of these things together made for a tasty, chunky, delicious take on queso dip. Much more interesting than many I have had. I also really like their freshly fried chips which are light, but flaky if you know what I mean—they sort of peel apart in layers. Really good. 

I was torn by what to order for my main dish, but was intrigued by the eggs goettadicto ($12). I thought this dish might only be available in Cincy, where goetta is from, but as it turns out, looks like it’s in Indy too. Which is good news for you guys because it was delicious. It was English muffins topped with crispy fried goetta, perfectly poached eggs, lots of avocado, and an extremely lemony Sriracha hollandaise. So goetta, if you don’t know, is a product from the Cincinnati region made up of sausage, oats, and spices and its all mixed together, sliced and cooked like a sausage patty. I really like it because while it has the flavor of sausage, it has the crunchy texture that you can imagine from the oatmeal. I absolutely loved how much acid was in the hollandaise though. A great lemon flavor to go with the eggs and goetta. And a little pico di gallo to pull it all together. A great dish. One I would (and will) happily eat again.

Hubby and one friend both got the huevos rancheros ($9) and they also did a very nice job with this dish as well. At first I was torn about which I liked better, but in the end, the goetta and that hollandaise convinced me mine was best. The huevos rancheros had a flavorful bean mix on the bottom, some crisped tortillas and two fried eggs. There was a nice diablo sauce as well. I liked the way the tortillas were crispy, making it slightly different from many versions, which use soft tortillas. By crisping them up, it made them taste a bit like chilaquiles, which are one of my favorite things.

All in all, I really enjoyed this brunch and was pleased to find such a tasty option that we also have in Indy. We also had a breakfast cocktail, and my blood orange mimosa was quite good, so if you like a cocktail with your brunch, this might be a place you should try.

Nada

11 West Maryland

Indy 46204

317/638-6232

www.eatdrinknada.com 

Cajun Table/SOTSOT

So I have been itching to try the Cajun Table or SOTSOT (“Some of this, some of that”), depending on whom you ask. This place is the brick and mortar version of the SOTSOT food truck. The sign outside the restaurant says Cajun Table, but much of the other items (menus, social media etc.) are branded with the SOTSOT name.

Anyway, I was on a tight schedule one day downtown and last minute ended up meeting a friend who was also downtown. They open at 11:00 (and I even called to be sure) but when we got there at 11:00, the doors were still locked. Shortly someone came and let us in (which was good because it was snowy and cold outside). The bad part was that they had clearly just gotten there themselves, and do not run the heat when they aren’t there. It was freezing in the restaurant throughout our entire meal, even after they did turn the heat on. A little tip to them, someone may want to show up an hour or so before the restaurant opens to get the heat going. We had to wear our coats the whole time. And it was still cold. The staff of two was exceptionally friendly though and apologized to us the whole time we were there.

We agreed to share several items from the menu, the shrimp po boy ($10 + $2 for fries), a pick two sampler with shrimp and crawfish etouffee and bourbon chicken ($11.50) and a cup of chicken and sausage gumbo ($5).  The po boy was huge! So big I found it nearly impossible to eat as a sandwich and just sort of ate it open-faced or ate the shrimp on their own. The shrimp were fine—seemed like they are premade frozen type of shrimp battered and fried, but there were a lot of them and they were very crunchy and had nice seasoning. The bread was nice too—had a great crispy edge to it. The star of this dish though? The sauce that was drizzled on it—especially combined with the lettuce and tomatoes on the bun. That sauce was great—super acidic, it was exactly what this sandwich needed. Because of it, I quite enjoyed the sandwich, even though the shrimp themselves were ok. The fries were standard seasoned fries and were just fine.

The other thing on the table that was really tasty was the gumbo. I am really glad we added it (you can’t get the gumbo as part of the combos). It had the most Cajun seasoned flavor to it. A real depth of various spices. Just the broth alone was really good. A couple chunks of chicken and veggies in a bite with some rice and that broth were great. The sausage was just ok—nothing super fancy going on here and the slices were quite big, but they were fine. The overall flavor though was very good.

The etouffee was okay, maybe a little bland. And the sauce sort of overwhelmed the pieces of shrimp and crawfish that were in there. The bourbon chicken was also fine; we agreed it tasted almost more like an Asian flavor profile—maybe some soy in there. Not bad, but not exactly what you are expecting when you are thinking of Cajun food.

The biggest downer for me though was the temperature of the place. I hate sitting through a meal with my coat on and still feeling cold. I think they need to rethink the cost savings on this one, or they may drive customers away. It’s a cute place inside though, with several booths and lots of brick and wood (the ceiling could use some sort of treatment though). And I am glad to see at least some of the food trucks doing well enough that they can move into a brick and mortar location, and that someone cared enough to rehab this very cool building. If you go, definitely get the gumbo. If they have the seafood version I see listed online, I would especially be intrigued to try that one.

Cajun Table/SOTSOT

2405 North College Ave

Indy  46205

317/602-5869

https://www.facebook.com/sotsot1catering 

Happy anniversary! Let me know you're still out there!

Hey you guys! It's been 9 years! Nine!! Hard to believe. Anyhow, just to make sure you're all still out there...will you leave me a comment and tell me about a place you tried after reading a post here? Or something along those lines? Your comments make me very happy, as does your feedback on twitter and facebook! I hope you've enjoyed the ride through our growing food scene and I appreciate each and every one of you!

Cheers,
Erin

Melting Pot - Revisit

Leave it to my kids to request the Melting Pot again for a birthday. This time it was my son, and after a couple of years, I felt like I was up for going back. The time before I was kind of put off with the whole, “nothing was that great and I had to cook everyone’s food even though we were at a restaurant” thing.

I was pleased to see they had changed up the combos on the menu a bit—at least in the cheese and chocolate areas (which as it t urns out are really the only reasons to be coming here). We ordered the Quattro formaggio cheese fondue, which well, obviously had four kinds of cheese (Butterkase, Fontina, mozzarella, and parmesan), as well as roasted garlic, white wine and basil and sun dried tomato pesto. It was really quite good. They give you bread to dip it in (my kids fought over the bits of pretzel bread) as well as raw veggies (not so much fighting here). This cheese had a lot of good flavor to it, much better than the sort of bland with a touch of nutmeg thing we had last time. I could easily just make a meal out of this.

When you get the whole meal deal, you get a salad course as well. Mine was the California, which had mixed greens, tomatoes, candied pecans and Gorgonzola cheese with a raspberry vinaigrette. Again, not bad. Much better than the house salad I think I had last time. My son’s a Caesar eater and seemed happy with it as well.

I’m not even going to get into the main course portion very much, other than my suggestion is to skip it. They bring you raw meat and seafood to cook at the table in hot broth. Much of the seafood tasted fishy to me and the sauces they give you with everything (a lot of sauces) all tend toward the sweet side.  It’s really expensive ($40-50 per person for the four courses depending on what you get) to eat here I think considering you’re doing the cooking yourself. My advice: go and get the cheese and dessert and call it a day. They mix that part for you and all you have to do is dip your stuff into it. And it tastes good. The meat part, not so much.

Speaking of the dessert part, we had the chocolate s’mores with dark chocolate. It has marshmallows and graham cracker crumbs and is lit on fire at the table. You can’t really go wrong with chocolate fondue right? And then they give you cookie crumb coated marshmallows, pound cake, brownies, blondies, fruit, and rice crispy treats to dip in there. Yeah, it’s melted chocolate and it’s good. Like I said, go and get the cheese and the chocolate and you will have a lovely, tasty dinner for about $18 per person instead of $40-50. 

The Melting Pot

5650 East 86^th Street

Indy 46250

317/841-3601

www.meltingpot.com 

Road Trip: Cincinnati: Boca-Revisit

For hubby’s birthday, he wanted to go to Cincinnati to see a good friend and to eat at Boca, which is one of his favorite places. It’s a beautiful restaurant, it’s GREAT Italian food (hello Indy, I’m talking to you) and the service is wonderful. 

There were 6 of us, so we got a lovely round booth and promptly ordered a couple of orders of pommes soufflé “1942” ($15). These are a hold over from the restaurant that was in the same spot for years and years before Boca took over. The old restaurant was the Maisonette and hubby and I dined there once when we were very young. Anyway, these things are delicious (and you can sometimes get a version of them at Vida here in Indy). They are basically like a three dimensional potato chip. I am not really sure how they make them, but I don’t care. They’re a super tasty treat. They serve them with Bernaise sauce for dipping. Also delicious. We also got the bread plate ($2/person), which is a mild sourdough local  bread served with Vermont creamery butter. It’s good bread, but nothing spectacular.

We all decided to get three courses, so I started with the Hamachi crudo ($21). You guys, this might have been my favorite item of the evening, it was so so good. And everyone who I shared a bite with agreed. It was a pretty generous portion of the raw fish sitting on top of compressed avocado, which just tasted extra buttery somehow….not sure how you compress avocado either, but after tasting this, I recommend it. There was a ponzu sauce as well, which was perfect. It had some soy in it and wasn’t overly sweet. The tart wedges of grapefruit were perfect with it to bring a sharp acidic hint (sorry I forgot a picture). If you go here, you should order this.

My second course was a scallop and Brussels sprouts dish ($24). These Brussels sprouts were apparently slow-cooked in butter for like six hours of something. They were so rich—they were dark and took on an entirely different texture—almost like a mushroom. There was a perfectly cooked scallop sitting on top as well. The whole thing was dressed with brown butter vinaigrette, giving just the hint of acid you need to cut through this insanely rich dish.

Several at the table moved on to a pasta course for their second course, and one in particular that I got to try was the gnocchi con fonduta ($16). Again, super, super rich, but so, so delicious. They were little crispy potato gnocchi topped with a rich taleggio fondue and shavings of black truffle. That cheese sauce was the thing that made it so rich, but I loved the slightly stinky edge it gave the dish. And I loved the texture from the slightly crisp edges of the dumplings themselves—even under the sauce, you still could get the texture. And the little bits of truffle on top were perfect. I love real truffle.

For my main dish I actually got chicken ($29), which is very unusual for me. But last time we were there I remembered trying the chicken that was on the menu then and really liking it. Plus, this one was served on top of mushroom and truffle risotto, so that sold me. I love risotto when it is done right, which is rare in a restaurant. But I had faith in Boca. And they did not disappoint. The risotto was creamy and full of beautiful mushrooms and the chicken was seasoned wonderfully and was so tender, it seemed almost impossible.  Great crispy skin too. Everyone who had a bite was shocked at how good it was. I mean, it’s chicken right?

For dessert I had the “buckeye candy bar” ($10). Not that I really needed dessert, but I was intrigued by this. It was like a rich creamy chocolate brownie with peanut butter nougat and gelato and a little sprinkling of salt on top. A great way to end the evening.

They also let us bring a couple of bottles of wine into the restaurant for a corkage fee, which was nice because we got to split a couple of nice bottles of red that would have been way too expensive to order from the menu.

This place knows how to do a meal just right from top to bottom (and Italian food no less!). The atmosphere, the service, the spectacular food, etc. I would kill to have it in Indy.

Boca

114 East Sixth Street

Cincinnati, OH  45202

513/542-2022

http://bocacincinnati.com 

Tinker Street-Revisit

I wasn’t even going to write about this meal, but I had such a good one, I figured I would share. We were with friends who had never been to Tinker Street--we started with a couple of different appetizers to share. One was a special that was meant to split between two people—it was actually a bison tenderloin with roasted mushrooms. It was an interesting choice to serve as an appetizer—I guess because it was on the small side, they thought maybe it wasn’t quite big enough for a main dish, but it would have been just right for me. We all really enjoyed it. I particularly thought the mushrooms were really nice. Roasted just right.

We also shared the escargot vol-au-vent ($13), which was puff pastry with an herb garlic sauce and several escargot (snails). One friend had never had them before and wanted to try it. Hubby was thrilled because he loves escargot.  These were very good. My biggest problem with escargot is that sometimes they are kind of rubbery, but these were not at all. They were a good size and very tender. And who doesn’t love puff pastry right? The sauce was nice and flavorful as well (which has been a problem for me with some dishes at Tinker in the past, that they were bland). This was nicely done.

Finally we shared the fried Brussels sprouts ($11). These were rich and very tasty with just a light crisp edge. They were tossed with a Dijon vinaigrette and topped with almond dukkah, which is a mixture of herbs, spices and ground up nuts (almonds here). I really liked the extra texture from this mix and the additional flavor that it added. I love nuts mixed into a salad or with vegetables to give it a little more heartiness.

For his main, hubby had the wild coho salmon with parsnips, creamed swiss chard and a miso glaze ($22). It was a great dish as well. It’s nice seeing the shift into slightly more wintery veggies being served with salmon, but still showing creativity. Both the chard and the parsnips were very good, and the fish was perfectly cooked medium rare.

But the best thing on the table for me was the dish I ordered for my main, which was actually a starter. It was the mapo tofu dish ($12). There were large chunks of tofu, pieces of rice cakes (not the flavorless dry diet things you think of, think of like a crab cake made with rice), lion’s mane mushrooms and fermented beans. The sauce is a ginger and soy based sauce with a fair amount of chili in it, as well as those fermented black beans. It had some heat for sure, but also I just loved all the soft but varying textures from the tofu, the mushrooms and the firm, yet slightly chewy rice cakes. I really liked this dish. Hubby agreed. We licked the bowl clean.

I think our friends enjoyed their first visit—one is a vegetarian (who sometimes eats fish) and she appreciated the many offerings they had on the menu. Hubby and I were happy that everything was so good. We’ve had some ups and downs here, but this one was a definitely up meal and everything we had was very enjoyable. If they have that tofu though, get it. I am going to have to try a version of my own at home.

Tinker Street

402 East 16^th Street

Indy  46202

317/925-5000

www.tinkerstreetindy.com 

Livery

The other night I met my favorite sharing friend Jen at Livery before the Yelp Totally Bazaar (which by the way, until they move it to somewhere else, I am never doing that again—way too cramped and crowded) for an early dinner. This is the newest place from the Cunningham Group (Vida, Mesh, etc.) and it’s located in a really cool old brick building on College just off Mass Ave. One I have been eyeing for years. So glad to see someone took this place on.

It’s a very nice interior—highlights the brick and lots of dark wood. I didn’t really get a real Latin flair from the décor, but the menu most certainly is. Our server was very nice, if not bit harried, disappearing for significant periods of time. We ordered the two margaritas on the menu—the Livery margarita ($9) and the Carriage House margarita ($12). Both were very, very good, even though margaritas on a freezing snowy night are a little weird. The carriage house is more of a top shelf type margarita and uses orange brandy. The Livery was more your classic margarita, but was spot on. I love the little freebies they serve as you get your drinks. They called them something like chicharone wagon wheels, but they are not actually a pork product. I think they are actually called duros. Anyhow, they’re more like flour-based chip—I have had them before at other places, but I love the seasoning they put on these. Spicy chile with a huge dose of lime. They were addictive. We had a couple bowls of these (partly because our service was a little off).

We ordered several items off various parts of the menu, but I will discuss them in the order we ate/were served the items (we told them to bring them how they thought was best).  The first thing we were brought was the manchego crisp ($8) off of the ensalata portion of the menu. It sounded so intriguing when the server described it. It is basically a taco shell made of fried manchego cheese, and it stuffed with herb salad, orange, avocado, red onion, olives, fresno pepper and marcona almonds. Sounds interesting yes? But ehh, it was our least favorite thing of the evening. It’s hard to believe something that was such an acid bomb with olives and orange could be so one-dimensional. It was very heavy on mashed avocado. And as much as I love manchego, it doesn’t make a crisp in the same way that Parmesan can. Just doesn’t have as much flavor. I expected a bit more of the greens, since it was labeled a salad, but it was a bit of a mish mosh of ingredients that didn’t really coalesce.

Next we had empanadas. We ordered the barbacoa version ($9) based on a couple of recommendations, including from our server. It comes with a little salad of kale and peppers and chipotle salsa. We realized after a couple of bites that we did not in fact get those, but actually got chicken ones. The bite I had was pretty good, but probably would have been better with the right sides—green salsa and crema. Based on my limited bite, I’d like to try them though. The barbacoa version was tasty as well. A nice flakey crust and meaty, yet juicy, interior. The salsa and the greens on the side make the dish though. Without it, the empanadas wouldn’t have stood out in the way they did. The salad was dressed with some heavy citrus, but it was just what the empanadas needed to brighten it up. I also like the smoky depth of flavor from the chipotle salsa.

Next we were served the jamon Serrano ($10) from the primero portion of the menu and the pork pastor ($11) from the Segundo portion. The jamon Serrano was probably our favorite item of the evening. It was a terrine made from potato and poblano peppers with mushrooms, romesco sauce, crema and salsa verde. Oh, and of course, that Spanish ham, which is layered across the top.  This was decadent, and had a lot going on, but tasted really good. It reminded me of a classic Spanish tortilla, which is more like a potato omelet than what you might normal think of when you think of a tortilla that you wrap a taco in. The sauces and mushrooms were great, and if you haven’t tried Serrano ham, it’s a bit like prosciutto but richer in flavor. It’s a bit drier in texture as well perhaps.

The pork pastor tasted very good as well. It was little shavings of the pork mixed with a zesty (as is acidic) slaw, onions, cilantro, and pineapple and served on top of corn cakes. The cakes were a little sweet for me, but I enjoyed the flavors of everything else. I think I would have preferred it served with another vehicle to eat it, even just warm tortillas, but I was happy enough just eating it on its own. I like that so much of the food here is thoughtfully created to be balanced with enough acid, as well as with unique takes on traditional Latin cuisine.

I really want to try some other things—I can’t wait to try the ceviche, it was just too cold on this night. I love ceviche and I bet this one has good flavor. Time will tell if I am right. And pretty much everything on the menu sounds interesting. So to the rest of you who have been there, what have you had? What did you think?

P.S. They don’t take reservations. On a Thursday early, we just walked right in, but I have heard there can be significant waits on the weekends. But you know how Indy folks love a new restaurant…

Livery

720 N. College

Indy 46202

317/383-0330

http://www.livery-restaurant.com/ 

Byrne's Grilled Pizza - Revisit

The other day I took  my daughter to see Cinderella at Clowes Hall. I asked her what she wanted to eat before we went and she said poutine. So I tried to take her to Twenty Tap, but there was a 20-minute wait. On a Tuesday. Go figure (and good for them). So by then we were running low on time and just decided to go to Byrne’s again, because we had eaten there the last time we went to Clowes, had enjoyed it, and had gotten in and out fast.

They have added some art and there were a fair amount of people in there this time and it had a nice casual atmosphere going on. Knowing that their crust is more of a thin, almost cracker-y type of a crust, I was open to trying more non-traditional toppings on my pizza (it just seems like it makes more sense as a flatbread type of pizza for some reason) and contemplated the menu.

First though, we ordered a couple of breadsticks with the garlic olive oil dipping sauce. It’s a pretty simple sauce—literally just chopped garlic in olive oil—but nice and tasty and wholesome. No crazy bright orange cheese stuff (although they do have other options as well). The bread sticks are good—big and doughy. I wish they had a little seasoning on them or something, they’re kind of plain otherwise, but still good. They are filling though, so watch out!

So after looking over the menu for a bit, I decided to go with the “hot chick” pizza, which is their take on a buffalo chicken pizza ($10 for small). It was really good. It was the thin crust, buffalo sauce as the pizza sauce, pieces of baked chicken and then blue cheese, red onions, banana peppers as well as regular shredded cheese. It was served with a side of ranch. I really enjoyed it a lot. I have a weakness for buffalo items and it hit the spot. The chicken was tender—and not just white meat and the sauce had just enough heat to it. Loved all the blue cheese. The ranch to dip in was decadent, but a nice touch.

My daughter had “the Confessional” ($10) which is basically their version of a Margarita pizza. It’s tomato sauce, shredded cheese, large rounds of mozzarella, tomato, and basil. She enjoyed it. After three weeks in Italy, she really likes a basic margarita and said this was a good one.

The real reason she particularly likes this place is for the chocolate chip bread pudding though. A holdover from Oh Yumm Bistro before them, they do a nice job, although it could stand to be heated up a little more.

Byrne’s is a nice neighborhood place—there were families in there as well as tables of adults. I would definitely eat there more if it were in my neighborhood.

Byrne’s Grilled Pizza

5615 N. Illinois Street

Indy 46208

317/737-2056

www.byrnespizza.com

Piada

I had never been to Piada—not sure why, maybe because it’s a chain, but when a friend suggested it for lunch, I agreed. It’s one of those places where you can kind of walk down the line and build your own pasta bowl or sandwich. I went with one of their combinations (I find I really don’t want to build my own anything, I really prefer an expert do that work. I mean, I can do that at home). So I chose the farm club tasca ($7.99), which is sort of like a thinner tortilla stuffed with boneless fried chicken breast, fresh avocado, spicy balsamic aioli, tomatoes, arugula, lemon basil dressing and pancetta. It is also supposed to come with bread and butter pickles, but as much as I love pickles, this just didn’t sound good with everything else to me so I had them leave them off.

I also got a cheesy breadstick just because they looked good when I walked in. My friend had a build your own pasta bowl. The tasca was actually quite tasty—I have to say my expectations were somewhat low, but I was surprised. The chicken had nice flavor and was very tender—and put avocado on anything and I am happy. It’s a little tough to eat the way it’s wrapped—even though in the picture it looks like two pieces, it’s actually wrapped up and is one big sandwich. I also really like the aioli and the dressing on there as well to brighten it up—and that is what makes a sandwich good to me. The other ingredients were nice and fresh—the arugula and the avocado.

I was not a fan of the breadstick though—it had a little bit of a funky taste. Maybe the cheese taste burnt or something? Not sure. Also, my friend had the build your own pasta, which I wasn’t a huge fan of either or it may have just been the choice of things on it. A little too much for me—a very heavy Alfredo type sauce.

All in all, it wasn’t as terrible as I sort of had in my head it might be. It was kind of like Panera with an Italian bent. Ingredients were fresh and the food tasted pretty good. It wasn’t mind blowing, but better than a lot of fast casual chains and certainly with fresher, more interesting ingredients.

Piada

8601 River Crossing Blvd (but multiple locations)

Indy 46240

317/581-9985

www.mypiada.com 

Road Trip: Breakfast/Brunch in Chicago: Publican and Little Goat

A couple of recent breakfast/brunch experiences in Chicago. Both superb.

First, hubby and I ate at the Publican for brunch on a recent trip. I had never been—it’s a big space with just lots of giant communal tables pretty much. We were seated at the end of one and fairly quickly ordered our food.

I ordered the red wine poached eggs ($13)—sort of Publican’s version of deconstructed eggs benedict. The eggs are cooked in red wine and have a great additional flavor coming from it. They are served on top of toasted sourdough and with a bunch of shaved prosciutto on the side, as well as some lightly dressed greens. There was also a béarnaise sauce topping the eggs. I sort of made bites combining bits of everything and it was really delicious. There was so much acid coming from lots of places (the béarnaise, the greens and even the eggs) and when combined with the protein of the pork and the egg, it was a great combo.

However, it was hard to say which was better between this and the pork schnitzel that hubby ordered ($15). It was perfectly tender and fried pork tenderloin, and huge, on the plate topped with an herby corn chimichurri type sauce. There were also two perfectly cooked sunnyside up eggs. We were both so undecided about them (as to which was the best), we gave up and just switched plates halfway through the meal. They seem to change up the toppings on the schnitzel seasonally, but I’m pretty sure you would be well served with whatever goes on top.

The other breakfast I had a few weeks ago when I went to Chicago with my friend Suzanne and my daughter to see Hamilton (go see it!!). Suzanne and I had both been to Little Goat before, but we both loved it, so it was an easy choice for a return visit. Plus I knew my teenage daughter would love it. I was right.

I had the okonomiyaki ($13), which they now describe as “kimchee & bacon & eggs & pancakes breakfast tasty thing” on the menu. They are right. It is super delicious. It is a savory Japanese pancake made with bacon and kim chee and some sort of flour and eggs and topped with a slightly spicy mayo and a poached egg. Oh and these little crispy fried tempura bits. Seriously, this thing was so freaking good. 

I was a worried because I knew Suzanne was ordering the parathas burrito ($13), which I have had before and know is really good. I was worried I’d be jealous. But I would say I would be hard pressed to choose which was better. I love the tangy kick from the burrito from the dressed salad of greens, pickled peppers, beans and avocado, but I also loved the pure richness of the pancake. Thank goodness she’s a sharer. Actually I am pretty sure on any return visits, I would insist on ordering for whomever I am with and getting both. This is a great balanced combo. And if you’re wondering about the rest of the burrito, it is an Indian flatbread filled with two sunny side eggs and sitting on a slightly spicy Indian red sauce.

We all shared a side of the hash browns too ($6), because I have had them and they are so yummy. I think they spiralize them or something—they are super thin and super crispy….and yes, stuffed with cheese, which is slightly genius. They add a nice side of crunch to everything else.

My daughter got the dark chocolate chip crunch pancakes ($12) that yes, come with a side of chocolate malt butter. Whoa, if you like sweets for breakfast, you certainly can’t go wrong with this either. Because of the dark chocolate chips, it was like biting into a softer warm chocolate chip cookie. There were also little crispy malty bits on top of the pancakes. Honestly I am not much for sweets in the morning, but I couldn’t stop taking bites of this. I highly recommend Little Goat for a hearty, but interesting breakfast (they do have some simpler items as well).

Both places are great, and both take reservations, which I love.

The Publican

837 West Fulton Market

Chicago, IL 60607

312/733-9555

http://www.thepublicanrestaurant.com/

The Little Goat

820 West Randolph Street

Chicago, IL 60607

312/888-3455

www.littlegoatchicago.com 

Rook - Revisit

Rook, you guys, is one of the most creative and tasty places we’ve got going around here. Hubby hadn’t been to the new location so we headed over there on one of those nights when it was still unseasonably warm and sat outside—they’ve done a nice job with the outside seating. Even though it’s pretty near the street, it feels a little calmer than many places.

We started out with the steamed pork bun ($5). A friend had insisted we get the Spam bun because she says it is amazing, but hubby couldn’t be swayed from the pure pork version. And it is really delicious. The soft doughy bun and the just right crispy pork belly with no too much fat. My favorite part is the homemade pickles giving it a fresh crunch and some acid. There’s a sprinkle of peanuts and some hoisin sauce too. So good.

We also got an order of the fried pigs’ ears with fermented black bean mayo and a 63-degree egg ($8). We have had tasty pig’s ears before, but they are often too chewy. THESE WERE SO GOOD. You couldn’t sop eating them. It was almost like eating light fried pork skins—super crispy and not at all chewy. That mayo had a little tanginess to it as well, and well, you know me, put a perfectly runny egg on top of that mayo and it may just be the perfect dish. No way we would ever pass this by if it’s on the menu. Dipping the pigs’ ears into that runny egg and mayo was just perfection.

For our second round, we had the Ora King salmon poke ($18) and the Vietnamese crepe ($17). We really enjoyed the salmon—really nice-sized cubes of raw salmon—and if you aren’t familiar with Ora King, it’s super buttery and delicious (you can get it at Caplinger’s if you want to experiment at home). And then the salmon was served in a bowl on a bed of rice and flavored with soy, charred seaweed, sesame seeds and an avocado cream. There was also a big egg yolk in the middle of the dish, which made it into a rich, decadent dish. We really enjoyed it, but it was so rich, I was glad to be sharing it. I don’t think I could have eaten this whole thing on my own.

If I was going to pick a least favorite item of the evening, it was the Vietnamese pancake. And these are typically one of my favorite things in Vietnamese cuisine. It was stuffed with a large amount of duck confit, boiled egg, bean sprouts and bacon. It was drizzled with fermented chili aioli and had a side of a fish sauce-based sauce to season with. I’m not sure what made this dish a little lackluster for me, but I think it was the fact that there was a little too much of the filling inside (you couldn’t really appreciate the crepe itself) and the fillings were on the whole cold. When I have had this elsewhere in the past, the fillings are quickly sautéed or something so they are warm. Maybe they just put so much in there, it couldn’t all get warm before the crepe was totally done. The boiled egg was a new thing for me in a crepe like this. I appreciated some of it, but still, there was just a little too much.

All in all, this was a really good dinner. The first two items blew us away and we were also really impressed with the salmon. I love the way the menu varies from visit to visit. Hubby was also really impressed with the new (ish) digs, as they just feel more sophisticated, while it remains casual and approachable still.

If you haven’t been to Rook, you owe it to yourself to check it out for sure. It is certainly one of the most interesting places we have going and the food quality (and service for that matter) is very high. Can’t wait to try some other new things.

Rook

501 Virginia Ave

Indy 46203

317/737-2293

www.rookindy.com