Canal Bistro --Revisit

As soon as the weather gets nice, the family likes to start returning to Canal Bistro. Hubby doesn’t like the inside chairs, and they have a very lovely patio on the canal in Broad Ripple. They run fans so you never get too overheated. Of course this summer, it has taken til July to get to the point where it wasn’t raining every other day, but that’s another story.

Anyhow, we had a great evening, so we took the kids and headed there for dinner. I love that you can get a small order of hummus if you want, which is what we do. Their hummus is some of their favorite and I like the extra olive oil and chopped tomatoes they put on top to add some freshness. They do a good job with their pita too—they grill it till it’s lightly browned and nice and warm. The kids just like the bread dipped into the seasoned oil they also give you.

Hubby and I always get the spinach pies ($8)—or spanakopita here because they are really, really good. I have talked about them before I’m sure because, seriously, we always get them. It s spinach and cheese wrapped in phyla dough, but here, I am pretty sure instead of just baking them, which will certainly crisp up the dough--they actually deep fry them I think making them extra super crispy and nicely browned. I also love all the little bits that come in the middle of the pies—the hunk of feta, the tomatoes, lightly pickled red onions and the kalamata olives. My son finally tried them this time and I am pretty sure we’re going to be up to two orders next time.

My kids usually order a gyro platter ($15) and hubby picks at it as well. They all really enjoy the meat here—my daughter eats hers with pita, my son just eats the meat and fries. They have a solid gyro for sure.

This time I really wanted to try something new as well so I decided to go with the ceviche ($10). I remember a reader or two recommending it before, and I generally really like ceviche, so I went for it. Unfortunately, this is not the thing to order here. I think it was tilapia, which on its own is not the end of the world, even though it’s not my favorite, but the fish was very mealy and a little too fishy. It really wasn’t very good. And now that I think of it the one time I had mussels here, they didn’t seem overly fresh either. I think it might be best to stick with the standards here and not vary into seafood dishes.

Regardless, it’s still going to be a place we frequent and enjoy. I’m staying with the spinach pies for sure (maybe a whole order just for me) although I would love to hear if you guys have any suggestions for other yummy dishes that might be fun to share and try.

Canal Bistro

6349 Guilford Ave

Indy 46220

317/254-8700

www.canal-bistro.com