Bluebeard - Revisit

Just a friendly reminder about all the wonderful restaurants we have in Indy—so today I am reminding you about Bluebeard. One of our best, and a place to revisit again and again. Hubby chose it for Father’s Day, and we were all happy to oblige.

With the kids we always have to start with a small bread plate ($5) and chips and dip ($6). Not that I am complaining, because both are always good. And when we were there, the rotating flavored butter (they seem to always have the anchovy and the garlic olive oil as well as one other changing flavor) was guanciale cheddar butter and it was delicious. I mean pork, cheese and butter? How could it be bad? And I like it better than fruity options, which are sometimes too sweet for me. The Bluebeard version of chips and French onion dip is also delicious. And I was excited to see they have switched out their homemade potato chips from being fingerlings, which were good, but so skinny they broke off too easy. They are using regular potatoes now and they were heartier and super good.

Hubby and I split the salmon poke boat ($18), which was super cute, as it actually came in a little boat, and tasted just as good. It was salmon, cucumber, toasted sesame and wakame (a type of seaweed) marinated in a dark soy yuzu sauce and served on top of rice. Crunchy fried shallots garnished the top.  We really enjoyed this dish—it had lots of flavor and nice texture variation with the fish and the shallots. And the more poke I see on menus, the happier I am.

Hubby celebrated by ordering the bucket of prawns ($42), which was sort of like an ode to Red Lobster, but with actual fresh, delicious seafood. There were a bunch of peel ‘n eat prawns, and these were some of the best I have had in Indy. Super big, but exceptionally tender. Dip them in the miso butter, and they were perfect. We had to force him to share, and we all wanted them. There were hunks of Andouille sausage in there as well. And the side dish of cheddar bay biscuits? More fights broke out over them, because cheese biscuits are the best biscuits. This was an excellent, yet simple dish.

I ordered the halibut tacos for my main dish and these were just as good as hubby’s shrimp (and I was much more generous about sharing). There were battered pieces of fish at the bottom of each tortilla and they were topped with this deep rich adobo type sauce. There were some lightly pickled onions in there as well as some jalapeno slices on top. I would happily eat these again any day.

My son ordered a skirt steak, which he didn’t really care for that much, and it wasn’t our favorite dish of the evening. He was a little miffed at hubby for convincing him to order it instead of the halibut that he had his eyes on at first. And I will say, the beef dishes at Bluebeard are never my favorites either. Go with something more interesting and it will be more satisfying.

Hubby had to have his chess pie; something that Bluebeard has had on the menu pretty much since the beginning. It was good as always, and has even been perfected to be a bit easier to eat because the crust is a bit flakier. My son wanted a dessert that had nuts in the crust, so he couldn’t get it. The staff was kind enough to bring him a complimentary bread pudding to eat, which was quite nice as well. They do a nice job with desserts here, and they are more homey in nature than super fancy.

Bluebeard is a staple in Indy and is consistently good. So just a gentle (somewhat selfish) reminder to keep going there and supporting them to make sure they stay around. We’re lucky to have them. 

Bluebeard

653 Virginia Avenue

Indy, 46203

317/686-1580

www.bluebeardindy.com 

Bluebeard, once again

A couple of trips to Bluebeard lately are reminders of how lucky we are to have such a continually inventive and good restaurant in Indy. 

A highlight from one trip was the rabbit confit-type dish with fried chicken livers on top. You know I love fried chicken livers and these were delicious. Also great? The oysters Rockefeller they do (they are often on the menu and you should really get them. The oysters are so good, and the toppings divine. My son liked them so much we had to get a second order. 

chicken livers et al

oysters

My daughter ordered quail and would only give me a tiny bite. Loved the little bit of thigh that I had. Hubby and I shared the Bluebeard version of ramen and I might just say, it was possibly more flavorful and interesting than most of the bowls of ramen I have had around town.  The big slab of pork belly helped the flavor along, as did the perfect soft egg, but really it was the broth that made it so good. My only complaint was the bowl it was in wasn’t big enough, making it a challenge to eat.

quail

ramen

Another visit had me loving the cool salmon crudo ($16). I’ve had mixed experiences with crudos at Bluebeard, but this one with pickled and grilled ramps, a bit of asiago biscuit, orange olive oil, hollandaise and fried shallots had me won over. It had a good bit of tartness and the salmon was melty soft.

salmon crudo

scallops

cauliflower

The bay scallop and Arborio gratin was also really good (and something I’ve never seen before) ($18). It was small but mighty with its richness—there were little scallops mixed with bits of cauliflower, spring garlic, Gruyere cheese, and horseradish Parmesan cream and truffle breadcrumbs on top. This was wonderful. It was better as an accompaniment to other things, because the scallops were almost a purely textural element, but yummy. Speaking of cauliflower, the roasted cauliflower with anchovy, caper, mint, Parmesan and sunflower seeds was also a great side. Bluebeard knows how to roast veggies.

chopped livers

truffled egg toast

The chopped livers dish ($14) was a bit heavy on the pork liver and was a touch strong for us. The chicken livers in the dish were great, but the pork livers overpowered everything. If the same dish (bread, vinegar, rams and whipped cheese) were done with just the chicken livers, it would be spectacular. Also, while I have loved the truffled egg toast ($26) in the past, this time it was just too bready. I did appreciate the morels and the runny egg though. I really miss the version they did once with bread and light and fluffy truffled scrambled eggs. Wonder if they ever do that one anymore? 

pork belly

The Mexican-style pork belly ($18) was tasty and I like the crunchy bits served alongside it, but I don’t know, maybe I am just getting to be over pork belly. It’s a little overused these days I think and it rarely seems to blow my mind anymore.

          

I feel like there are always several truly winning dishes each and every time I eat at Bluebeard, and then a couple that are solidly good, but not as amazing. But I will take that kind of consistency any day. And now that the outside patio is open, and they have an additional dining room inside that isn’t in the bar, there is less of a wait the last few times I have come, which I also appreciate. This is a place I always want to go, and a place where I always know I am going to have a good meal. Oh and chess pie, I'm pretty much always having the chess pie.

Bluebeard

653 Virginia Avenue

Indy, 46203

317/686-1580

www.bluebeardindy.com 

Bluebeard - Revisit

Ok, another quickie Thursday post…. about Bluebeard. It was my daughter’s birthday and her choice (I am raising these kids right obviously).

When it’s her choice, we always get the bread plate ($4). She’s a carb fiend. The bread plate at Bluebeard is always good and this time I was pleased to find the anchovy butter a little less strong than usual. It was delightful. Also sauerkraut and mustard butter, although I did kind of miss a sweet choice.

Also, Crab Rangoon ($14) at Bluebeard? Yes please. Loved they offered two sauces—one being soy and Sriracha based (the other a lemongrass sweet and sour). I always eat my Rangoons with soy.

And octopus? Well Bluebeard never screws it up. How come it can be so god awful chewy some places and so perfectly tender at others? It always is done right here. Served on grilled bread with bagna cauda (a garlic and anchovy type spread). 

They were obviously featuring king crab on the menu in a couple ways, and my son was thrilled to have it as an option for dinner ($26). They even took the shells off. I thought it was great, but he wished it was warm. The waffle fries and curried ketchup on the side? A tad addicting.

My daughter chose the lasagna ($26). Ridiculously huge. This portion could feed a family of four. Made with lamb, it was interesting although probably the least favorite item of the evening. It just didn’t wow us.

I had an interesting “lobster” roll made with monkfish ($18). It was also unique—sort of a deconstructed lobster roll. I really liked it with the pickles on it and the curried lobster remoulade.

But the star of the evening was the bucatini ($18) with a poached egg, ham, sweet potato, zucchini, pearl onions and Parmesan in a carbonara sauce. That my friends, was one of the best pastas I have eaten in Indy in years. Maybe ever. Seriously, you ever see that on the menu, order it. We fought over it.

There were desserts too… also good. This place is solid. So nice to have such a reliably good place to eat in this town.

Bluebeard

653 Virginia Avenue

Indy, 46203

317/686-1580

www.bluebeardindy.com

Bluebeard - Revisit

I may post about this place more than some others, but man, it seems like whenever I go, I just feel like I have to share. I would say Bluebeard is one of the top couple of restaurants we have going in Indy right now, and this meal was no exception.

It also appears the entire city is onto this fact, since the place was jammed at 6:00 on a Saturday in October. We waited about 45 minutes for our table (pretty much exactly what the hostess estimated). I do appreciate that while the space to stand and wait is somewhat limited (if you don’t get a seat at the bar, which we did not), that you are still greeted and waited on by servers in the restaurant. We had a glass of wine within minutes.

Once we were seated, we started our menu negotiations. Standing around in front of the kitchen didn’t help because we saw so many delicious-looking items coming out of there.  We started with the bone marrow with tomato jam, shallot confit, cornichon, whole grain mustard and francese ($16). We ordered this because it sounded very similar to a dish that we had had at Bluebeard in the past and had been blown away by—while the ingredients were very similar, this one was very different. It was more of a deconstructed take on it. You were served the bread with the creamy bone marrow (not sure what they are mixing it with, but it makes it so creamy and smooth) and then everything was on the side to build as you wish. The flavors are great. Rich but balanced with all the pickled things and the slightly sweet tomato and shallot mixes. I prefer it when they put it together for you in the kitchen, but we still really enjoyed it.

The next thing we had was their take on oysters Rockefeller ($12). Man, were these good. Super fresh oysters that were amazingly juicy topped with a creamy spinach mix that had these great little teeny dices of foie gras mixed in. They were then topped with a parmesan/breadcrumb mixture that was perfectly broiled. The dish was just warm enough so the oysters lost nothing. And getting those little bites of creamy foie gras just took a classic dish to another level. There were only three, and usually in a case like that, I give hubby the extra. This time, I made him cut it in half. He wanted a second order.

For our main course, we split one large plate and a small (love that you can mix and match sizes depending on your mood). We had the pappardelle with wild mushroom ragout, chicken and hen of the woods mushrooms, cream and parmesan ($26). So, so good. I am picky about pasta and rarely meet pasta dishes in this town that I love, but this was one of them. It was rich, but not drowned in cream sauce—there were meaty mushrooms and the thick cut pasta was fresh and tender. Again, I ate more than what I would normally eat of a pasta dish. 

But if all these amazing dishes weren’t enough, we also had the toast with soft scrambled quail eggs, golden brook trout roe and crème fraiche ($18). Whoa. This blew my mind. It wasn’t super complicated, but there were a couple pieces of light and toasty bread sitting on the thick and slightly tangy crème fraiche and topped with the moist eggs and healthy amount of the roe. I’m not sure what the deal is with this, but it was perfect. But it was also a little small for me because I really wanted it all for myself. So instead of dessert? Another round of this. That’s how much I liked it for real.

I really love that we have this place. I would gladly eat at this restaurant if it were in any city in the country. I feel like they just keep refining everything here, from the food to the service. I’m so glad to see this place so busy. It’s much deserved.

Bluebeard

653 Virginia Avenue

Indy, 46203

317/686-1580

www.bluebeardindy.com