Oakley's Bistro-revisit

Wow. There is hope after all. We had another great meal at Oakley’s the other night. Restores my faith. I know it hasn’t been that long since we have been there and I reviewed it, but it was hubby’s birthday and his choice and this is where he wanted to go. And I am really really glad he did.

It took me awhile to figure out what exactly I wanted to order because I was trying to make sure I didn’t order something I had ordered and reviewed in the past and my tendency is to go for the shellfish items on the appetizers. Both the scallops and the lobster waffle sounded good, but I am pretty sure I have had both before. So I decided to go with a salad and a starter for my meal and save room for dessert.

I had the Spinach salad with roasted fingerlings, radish, bacon streusel, lavosh, almonds onions, and mustard sherry vinaigrette. This was really good. I love roasted fingerlings in a salad, particularly when they are properly cooked which these were, and there was a dusting of the almonds and crumbles of the bacon streusel on the bottom of the plate and the lavosh (a type of cracker) was shaped into a circle and the salad was inside it. Nice presentation and nice flavors. The dressing had a sharp zip from the mustard and I really enjoyed it (and the fact that the salad was dressed properly).

Hubby had the butternut squash gnocchi with mascarpone, sage, pecans and crispy pancetta. These were out of this world. Truly outstanding. The gnocchi were super light and all the other things melded into a sauce that just was a delight. I didn’t order it myself because I tend to find pasta dishes, whatever course they are, are often too big and filling, but I thought this was just the right portion and I could have eaten the whole thing myself. Really good.

For my main, I had a starter-- the crab risotto cakes with butternut maple puree, pumpkin seed pesto and goat cheese fondue. I was questioning whether to order them because I was sort of imagining them to be like crab cakes made with risotto with some crab mixed in (which in crab cakes I always find to be in short supply). But when I asked our server about them, she said the crab was actually on top of the risotto cakes and I was sold. SO glad I ordered them. They were so good. There were two of the risotto cakes and they were properly tender with a crispy outer shell and topped with lump crab meet which was drizzled with the goat cheese fondue and set over the butternut maple puree and pesto. Wow. A unique and delicious flavor combination. I wish I had some right now. So, there were only two of them, but they were rich and actually quite filling I thought, and I even gave hubby a couple of bites (it was his birthday after all). I would so get these again.

Hubby had the beef short ribs because he has had them before at Oakley’s and really enjoyed them. This time was no exception—they were served with Portobello puree potato mash, and a blue cheese tater tot. He was really really happy with his choice and proclaimed he had out ordered me and was happy about it. I disagree, but a salad I guess isn’t inherently as exciting…

We also had the chocolate brownie cake with cashew caramel corn and caramel sauce and vanilla ice cream. I have had it several times before (or some variation of it) and have always enjoyed it. This time was no exception.

So all in all, what a fabulous meal. And I am not sure if things are more exciting on the menu or what, but it seems like in the last two visits I have had to Oakley’s, things have just stepped up a bit. I have always liked the place, but now, it is rocketing up there to one of my favorites. And I like the feel of this place—it is not overly fussy, but you feel like you are in a nice dining room. The service is professional and our server really new the menu and what she was talking about. The balance is there and this may just be one of Indy’s best restaurants right now.

Oakley’s Bistro
1464 W 86th St
Indianapolis, IN 46260
(317) 824-1231
www.oakleysbistro.com