Continuing in my quest to try new things at the City Market,
on this particular day we got a catfish po boy from Papa Roux. I have reviewed
them before at their main location, and hubby and I had both quite enjoyed
it. The menu at the City Market is more
limited (no shrimp po boy, boo!), but ultimately that was good because it
forced me to try something new this time.
We got the catfish po boy with a side of the mushroom
étouffée ($10.50). I like the way you get
a side included with every sandwich (not that you will be needed more food, but
nice to get to try something else). The
thing I really like about Papa Roux sandwiches is the combination of flavors
you get from your filling, the “vouxdoux” mayo and the cole slaw. Especially the mayo. It has a nice tangy flavor to it with just a
little bit of heat and some nice spiciness (think like Old Bay seasoning). Although the dressing of the cole slaw is probably
part of the tanginess—there’s some vinegar to it. The catfish itself is pan fried and was
pretty juicy. Although, just one filet
seemed a little small for the huge bun.
I mean, it reached end to end, but the ratio of meat to bread was a
little off.
Which brings me to the part of the sandwich I didn’t
particularly like—the bread. Not that it
tasted bad, but the bun was so thick, I felt like if you ate it together, you
could barely taste anything but the bread.
We figured out a solution and just took the top bun off and folded the
bottom one around the fish. This was a
much better ratio although made us miss out on a lot of the dressing and slaw (we
scraped it off the top bun and added it to the part we ate as much as
possible).
The mushroom étouffée was a little too bland for
us—honestly, I think there were one or two mushrooms in there and a sort of
cheesy sauce and rice. But what was
missing was flavor. If I had some hot
sauce (we were already upstairs at this point) I would have doctored it up…but
I wouldn’t get this particular side again. Hubby really wished we had stuck with beans and rice.
I do like the flavor combinations on the po boys at papa
roux—I have yet to try one of the more Hoosier-style ones (pork tenderloin etc)
but I would be interested to hear what you guys like. And it won’t be long until I have eaten everywhere
at the City Market (a girl’s gotta have goals).
Papa Roux
Indianapolis
City Market
222 East
Market Street
Indy 46204
317/
603-9861
I do like their po boys. My fave is the bacon, though one should only have a few of those in a lifetime.
ReplyDeleteThe blackened ham is good too. You forgot to mention the tasty sodas that come with your meal, and how they have no HFCS!
ReplyDeletePersonally, I'm not sure if I like the amount of mayo they slather on or not. Its quite delicious, but possibly too much? Undecided. will have to return for further study!
Although I work downtown, I've never eaten at the City Market location. No matter how good, I guess I find this type of meal too heavy/rich for lunch. It's usually something I save for Faturday (pun intended).
ReplyDeleteAt the East side location, I had an egg po' boy sandwich with cheese and sauteed peppers/onions. It was super messy and I had to ask for a knife to make it more manageable (which they kind of make fun of people for doing). Messiness aside, it was so delicious! My favorite side item was the garlick stew; very spicy and I love garlic. Unfortunately, they were out of the bread pudding when we were there. Guess we'll have to make a trip back...
Sidenote: I know you're not a vegetarian, and you probably get tired of my vegetarian comments, but this restaurant is a great example of doing an amazing job of catering to many dietary needs, including gluten free and carb free diets (not sure how that would work with the po' boys). All of their sides are vegetarian and none of them are boring salad options. Big points in my book, Papa Roux!
Erin, Joan and I had a great weekend in Indianapolis on the 4-6.
ReplyDeleteWent through the City Market and, quite frankly, the range of "pick up" food is pretty incredible. Want to try a few of the vendors next time. Papa Roux smelled great!
Per the other poster's comment about being a vegetarian, all I can say is that if a restaurant wants to succeed, they need a goodly numer of expertly prepared vegetarian options. We thought Seasons 52 had a goodly number and they looked good.