Eggshell Bistro- Revisit

I met my friend Suzanne the other day at Eggshell Bistro for my second visit. I enjoyed it my first time and was excited to go back—the menu was quite small when I first went, and some friends had told me it had gotten a bit bigger since then.  This is a menu that has my name written all over it because it is full of eggs, and more specifically sous vide poached eggs (there are other types as well though). I love them so. I had a tough time narrowing my choices down and could happily eat my way through the whole menu.

This time I had the pancetta crostini (I didn’t note the price but everything was between about $9-12).  I really enjoyed it. It was a long piece of thin and crispy (but not burnt, like crostini often is) toasted baguette and was topped with one of those beautiful poached eggs, La Quercia pancetta, roasted asparagus and red onion marmalade. That pancetta? Amazing. It was crisp, but practically melted in your mouth. I had to ask where you could buy it locally (Whole Foods). It actually makes my mouth water thinking and writing about it.  The asparagus was good as well, appropriately crunchy but fully cooked and the onions added a slight sweetness that was overly cloying. My only complaint was the way it was laid out (it looked pretty) because it made it challenging to get a taste of everything. You kind of had to move stuff around a lot if you wanted all the flavors together (which were great). I would have loved another egg too but I could eat about 10 of those. I liked the way they are seasoned as well. I normally always salt an egg, but this one didn’t need it.  

I also had a little bite of Suzanne’s sweet potato hash.  It was really good as well. The hash had more of a Mexican bent to its flavors with black beans and jalapeno with a little pico de gallo-type diced tomatoes on the side. I am often not a huge sweet potato fan, but these were done really well and seasoned in such a way that they weren’t overly sweet (I am not a fan of sweet potatoes where more sugary things are added, I like them to be very savory).  And she got 2 poached eggs so I was jealous.

I also ordered a side of Smoking Goose bacon on the side (they offer regular and lamb bacon as a side) because last time I was there it was so amazing.  This time it was still good, but not as crisp, so it didn’t blow me away as much (it was partly my fault because I forgot to order it until awhile after we placed our initial order and I think they cooked it really fast to get it out to me quick).

I really like this place because I really like this kind of food. The ingredients are top notch and I find the portions reasonable. I think a lot of people would complain they are small because they are used to massive breakfast plates of food.  Our server was very nice and helpful, but the service is leisurely to say the least (I think this is the kitchen).  Go when you aren’t in a rush and expect a lovely plate that will taste great.  It won’t be huge, but bigger isn’t always better.

Eggshell Bistro

51 West Carmel City Drive

Carmel, IN  46032

317/660-1616

www.eggshellbistro.com