Daredevil Hall

Continuing with the new brewery/restaurant theme, we recently tried the new Daredevil Hall, which just opened in the Ironworks building, which, yay, is right by my house. Apparently Neal Brown is in charge of the kitchen, so that is always intriguing,

It’s a pretty classic brew pub type menu with a nod toward things German—spaetzle, sausages, etc. But I was lured in by the Instagram photo of one of the burgers on the menu, so I decided to get a burger. The picture depicted two patties that were smashed and thin….and you know I like thin burgers.  I had the brewery cheese burger ($12) with two thin patties, remoulade sauce, lettuce, tomato and pickle. This was a very good burger. The patties were nice and flat as promised and I liked that the bun didn’t overwhelm it and kind of smoshed down into the burger. The sauce was good, but kind of thin—I used the garlic aioli that I asked for with my fries and smeared a little of that on there too. That burger was really good though—really juicy and just the right proportions. Actually, I think because the bun is nice and soft I might be able to do a single and still enjoy it as much. I look forward to trying the other burger on the menu though, with a big hunk of beer cheese in between the patties. The fries have potential for sure but were cold when they came out. I think if they were cooked just a little longer and were hot, they would be outstanding. It’s early days, so hopefully the kitchen is still figuring it out.

My son is a poutine hound and enjoyed their version ($10) with fries, cheese curds, and lots of gravy. He thought the gravy was a little bland though, and while he ate it, there are others in town he prefers (amazing the variety of poutine we have in Indy now). The biggest disappointment was hubby’s spaetzle dish ($10). It was fired spaetzle noodles with cheese curds and mushrooms. He liked the roasted mushrooms, but the spaetzle was dry and the cheese not very melted (it came off in your fork in one big glob). And overall, it was a pretty bland dish—not a lot of flavors going on here. Hubby really enjoyed his beer though, and part of my burger.

All in all, like I said, I see potential here. I think the kitchen is likely still finding its groove. But I highly recommend the burger, and I am sure we will be back to get more of them soon. They have a couple of good brunch items on the weekend that I would like to try as well. 

They were doing a nice business and our service was pretty good. I suspect this place will do well—it’s a nice add to Ironworks for sure and I appreciate that its family friendly. What else has everyone tried? I would love to hear feedback on other menu items.

Daredevil Hall

2721 East 86^th Street

Indy  46240

317/757-2888

http://daredevilbeer.com/thehall/ 

FIeld Brewing

My daughter and I were on our own the other night while the boys were at a Pacers’ game, and since my daughter needs to get more practice driving hours, we decided to head over to Westfield and check out Field Brewing. It’s a happening spot and was quite busy when we got there. They don’t take reservations, so we checked in and were told it would be about 30 minutes. The nice thing is, you can grab a drink and they have a separate building where you can wait with games, a TV and lots of seating. And Mad Libs! That's what we did. I am assuming it has a purpose other than that, but it is nice to not have to cram into the restaurant on a cold night. It looks like when the weather is warm, there will be nice places to hang out and play games outside as well. 

We were seated in just about the time frame given, but sadly, at a table next to a large window and doors. The whole restaurant is mainly glass and our table was freezing on a cold night. We both left our coats on the entire time, which is sort of a pet peeve of mine. Indiana restaurants: cold in the summer and cold in the winter. I appreciated the noise absorbing foam under the tables and some panels on the wall, because this place can get pretty loud. Our server was a little overwhelmed and our service was a bit spotty and slow. We both got a drink—my daughter had a hot chocolate ($3.50) because she was so cold, and she really enjoyed it. I am not really a beer drinker but enjoyed my glass of wine. 

I have to say, the appetizers looked very appealing and we had to restrain ourselves from over-ordering. We ordered the pretzel ($6) with beer cheese and mustard, and the deviled eggs ($7). There were a bunch of others I would like to try. The pretzel was very good and we both really liked the beer cheese. We were nearly licking the little ramekin to get it all out. I do wish the pretzel had a little more salt, but that was the only thing I would change. The deviled eggs though, neither of us cared for them at all. And I am a huge lover of deviled eggs, but not these. They were made with pimento cheese, spicy nduja and dill and first of all, the filling was almost too smooth, and second, they were really spicy. They just were not our cup of tea at all. We each had one and were pretty much done. 

My daughter ordered the gnocchi ($19) and I had the braised chicken thighs ($24). Of the two, I preferred the gnocchi because of the kick of acid from the saba drizzled on top. The gnocchi were made with ricotta and were very light. I appreciated the richness of the mushrooms and vegetables, but it was nicely balanced with the greens and acid. I also liked the crunch from the pumpkin seeds. They are making their pastas in house, and it showed with the gnocchi. I would be interested to try one of the straight pasta dishes as well—or even the mac and cheese made with fresh pasta.

The chicken thighs were good as well, but extremely rich and hearty. This is stick to your ribs food. There were grits on the bottom, lots of fall veggies (brussels sprouts and carrots were predominant) and crispy parmesan crumbles on top, adding nice texture. The chicken thighs (my favorite part of the chicken) were very tender and well-seasoned. This was a very well-executed dish that just wasn’t my favorite because it was so, so rich and almost stew-like. 

The food here is being created and designed by a chef (Alan Sternberg) and it shows. Right now it’s winter and everything is aimed toward that seasonality, which I understand and appreciate. It’s just not my favorite kind of food. That’s just me. I look forward to trying this place again in the spring when things are maybe a little lighter. I bet it will be great. Like I said, everything is really well done (except those eggs, did not like those) and the ingredients are great and cooked just the right way. And what a welcome addition to the far north side. I am just over winter I guess and am tired of eating wintry foods. I will be keeping my eyes open for spring menu changes. And Spring can’t come soon enough!

Field Brewing

303 E Main Street

Westfield, IN 46074

317/804-9780

www.fieldbrewing.com 

Road Trip: Taxman Brewery--Bargersville, IN

We were on a road trip the other day and based on a friend’s recommendation, decided to hit Taxman Brewery on the way home for lunch. Well, it was brunch actually—that’s what they serve on Sundays, and I have to say, if there was a place like this in Indy, I think it would make a killing. Brewery plus brunch would be a popular idea (hint hint).

Anyhow, it’s a good-looking menu and was hard to choose what to get. There were 6 of us, so we started with their breakfast frites ($10) to share. It’s a large portion of frites that are thick cut but I am guessing they’re made in house. They are topped with two eggs (they were scrambled, I probably would ask for them runny), sausage, bacon and pimento cheese. Really, this is kind of a genius idea, putting breakfast on fries and then melting pimento cheese on them. Hubby really liked the sausage they used—it was in pretty big hunks. And even though I would have enjoyed the runny yolk mixed in too, it was nice to get a little bit of egg in just about every bite. It’s a good thing to share with several people though, because it would be a bit much to eat on your own.

For my main, I went with the biscuit BLT ($9)—they make their own chive biscuits, which are little, but tasty—they put two next to each other and then top them with 2 eggs (mine were over easy of course), bacon, big pieces of iceberg lettuce and tomato jam. I wasn’t sure how I felt about the iceberg at first, but it gave a nice crunch and presentation-wise, it made it look like a massive sandwich. I cut it down the middle to eat one biscuit at a time. I really enjoyed it. I liked that the egg and bacon was cooked just right and that the tomato jam wasn’t ridiculously sweet (always my worry when I see “jam” on a savory dish). I think it may have been my favorite thing of everything I tried at the table.

Hubby had the moules frites ($10). They do a daily preparation of their mussels—this was a buffalo style version. I don’t think I have ever had buffalo mussels before—they were good. The sauce was quite spicy and had a lot of hot sauce flavor. I like buffalo-flavored things, so I enjoyed these as well even though it was quite strong. I liked the chunks of blue cheese on top as well. There weren’t a lot of frites with them, but the frites, as mentioned above are good. Luckily, my daughter ordered a side of them so we pilfered a few of hers.

My in-laws shared the chicken in a biscuit ($10). This was good as well, although there was a lot of stuff going on here. There were more of the chive biscuits topped with pieces of chicken that was stuffed with spinach and bacon and then fried and topped with gravy. I liked the chicken-it had good flavor but I wasn’t a huge fan of just how much gravy was on it. 

Speaking of, my son had biscuits and gravy ($9). I think this may have been my least favorite. They were the same biscuits, which are good, but the gravy was just ok—just didn’t have a ton of richness to it. There was sausage in it, but not a lot of it. It also didn’t help that it wasn’t very hot. But then again, biscuits and gravy have to be really good to make them really stand out to me.

They have done a nice job with the interior (and exterior) of this place—it’s kind of one of those places you feel like is in the middle of nowhere, but even on a Sunday at around 2:00, they were doing a pretty big business—maybe too big as the service started to suffer after a large party came in from the Indy Brew Bus. They do have lots of beer to try, and hubby really enjoyed Taxman’s triple. I had a glass of wine, what can I say? They are using lots of local ingredients in the food as well. Again, it’s a nice place, with an interesting brunch menu, with a lot of beer choices (both their own and from other breweries). I think it’s a great idea for places like this to offer a special brunch menu and I wish more places in Indy would do it.

Taxman Brewery

13 South Baldwin Street

Bargersville, IN  46106

317/458-0210

www.taxmanbrewing.com