Cholita - Revisit

While hubby and I are vaccinated and can be a little looser with the rules about where to eat now, the kids still aren’t and we’re still on the quest for good patios (please continue to share your favorites), Cholita is a good option because it is enclosed with plastic sheeting, but there are still large gaps of fresh air, and the tables are pretty well spaced (although when we were there, there were several patrons walking about one end of the patio
without masks).

It has been quite a while since I have been here, definitely over a year—and I was looking forward to trying it again. I will admit the last time we went (probably at least 18 months ago), things had fallen off a bit—there was a lot of cabbage and not a lot of the meat/veggie stuffing or other more interesting toppings. We started out this visit with some chips and salsa ($3) and the queso fundido ($8). We also had a couple different margaritas. The chips and salsa hit the spot and I like their salsa. It has a nice flavor without being too spicy. The queso fundido is tasty too, although a little challenging to eat with the little wedges of soft tortilla on the side-they taste good together but eating it with the chips was easier. The cheese is super rich and I appreciate the spicy salsa chile morita (smoked jalapeno) they serve with it to cut through the richness and add a kick of heat. The margaritas are tasty, but I recommend the top shelf because the regular house margarita is a little tart.

The menu is pretty much tacos after that, and they have a lot of good options including a rotating monthly special. Hubby and I shared a fish taco, a fried avocado taco, a shrimp taco, and the special chicken tinga taco (a “side piece” includes three tacos and beans for $13.50—you can also buy a la carte and the tacos range from $3.75-$4.25). The fish was so, so good. It is fried cod topped with shredded Colby cheese and cabbage and has a “California wine sauce” and pico de gallo. This was my favorite of the night. The fish was a light tempura-type batter and tasted fresh and super crunchy. All the toppings were just right. 

The fried avocado also really good, and is topped with baja sauce, pickled vegetables, cabbage and pico de gallo. I really like the additional of crunch in the texture of the fried items in the tacos. That combined with the creamy avocado was tasty and I think the pickled veggies add a great hit of acid to balance all that. 

The shrimp is fine, but not as good as the others. It was topped with all the same things as the avocado, but maybe the lack of texture variation made it not as interesting. The shrimp was cooked properly though and had an adobo taste. It definitely brightened up with a hit of lime. 

The special chicken tinga was the last one and probably the least favorite. There was nothing wrong with it, but not as much creativity in the toppings—mostly cabbage and sour cream.  I am intrigued by the hot fried chicken version and will try that one the next time. 

All in all, it was a very tasty meal and a good place to go eat on a patio and be protected and warm if necessary. I am glad to see they have made it through the pandemic (and it was about as full as it could be). Who has been lately? What’s your favorite flavor?

Cholita

1001 Broad Ripple Ave

Indy  46220

317/389-5555

www.cholitatacos.com 

Offshore at Sun King Brewery

The family and I went in to try the newest Sun King restaurant in the old Three Wiseman spot in Broad Ripple. They have a relationship with Pier 48, which has recently opened a restaurant downtown. This one is called “Offshore.” So you can get a pint of beer and some seafood—they explained it is all flown in daily and is very fresh. There are several non-seafood items as well. 

I was torn about what to order because several things looked good, but I ended up settling on the “Rachel Marie” lobster salad ($14.50). Hubby had the “Midnight” Cuban sandwich ($12.50), my son had a bowl of clam chowder ($8) and my daughter and boyfriend the Italian flatbread ($12).

I really liked that lobster salad—it was really unique and interesting. The lobster was super fresh and tossed in a crème fraiche-based dressing with a ring of seasoned dressing around—sort of like a Louie dressing or a remoulade. Then, on top of the pile of lobster was a fried poached egg with all kinds of little fingers of the fried batter making a beautiful presentation. When you cut into the egg it was yolky and delicious. And all the crunchy bits gave great texture. The only thing I would add is a squeeze of lemon (serve it with a grilled lemon would be perfection). This was not a super filling dish, but it was extremely good and extremely well-executed. I would get this again for sure. 

Hubby enjoyed their version of the Cuban sandwich. It is made with cider brined pulled pork, bacon, Swiss cheese, pickles, and mustard and it’s all stacked on Leidenheimer bread, which is the classic po boy bread made in New Orleans. It wasn’t your classic flat smashed Cuban sandwich, but it was a really good sandwich. And that bread is delicious, even if not a po boy—light inside with just the right amount of crunch on the outside. I kept sneaking more and more bites. It really grew on me.

My son had a bowl of clam chowder which comes with cornbread. It’s a full on cream-based soup, but with nice flavor and nice pieces of clam that weren’t all chewy. The cornbread was just ok—maybe would have been more interesting with a nice dollop of soft honey butter or even just some nicely salted soft butter. 

My daughter and boyfriend enjoyed the Italian flatbread which had pepperoni, capicola, salami, mozzarella, smoked provolone, and lemon ricotta. An interesting variation on a classic combo of flavors. They liked the soft crust. I am guessing there are still pizza ovens in there from 3 Wiseman, and it is a good use of the equipment. Regardless, they did well with it. Flatbreads always make me wary, but this was good and they have some interesting toppings. They also had some fruity non-alcoholic drinks that they really enjoyed. 

We also shared an order of whoopie pies ($5). They were simple, but I liked the marshmallow butter cream. The sandwich part was nice and soft as well. 

All in all, I find this menu interesting and the ingredients are all high quality and they clearly know how to not screw up seafood. Would love to try the fish and chips as well as the lobster roll. It’s not cheap, and I wish there were a few more wine choices (not much of a beer drinker), but I will take it. I am looking forward to a second trip. What do you guys think?

Offshore Broad Ripple 

(in Sun King Brewery)

1021 Broad Ripple Ave

Indy 46220

https://www.facebook.com/eatoffshore/

Northside Social - Revisit

Hubby and I were having a hard time deciding where to eat the other day, but we wanted a nice sit-down place, not too far, locally owned, and where we could get in without a reservation.  So we settled on Northside Social. It had been awhile, and I have heard a few good things lately—and the last dinner I had was pretty good even though it was a long time ago. I like the low country bent of the menu—southern coastal food with a fair amount of Cajun type flavors. 

I appreciate the upscale interior of this place—particularly in Broad Ripple. Sadly, it was pretty empty when we got there—although it picked up somewhat while we were there. Our server was very friendly and knowledgeable about the menu. 

We started with the mushroom tart ($13). It was a tart crust topped with a whole lot of sautéed (local) mushrooms, a big slab of Capriole Kentucky Tomme cheese, petals of pickled red pearl onions and crispy fried kale. This was truly delicious. Honestly, I couldn’t get over how good it was. The buttery tart with the rich, slightly pungent cheese, earthy mushrooms and kale and the perfect hit of acid with the onions was tremendous. I would get this every time.

For our main dishes, we got the fried chicken (shocker I know) ($23) and a special pasta dish with shrimp. The fried chicken was pickle brined and buttermilk marinated and had more of a corn meal sort of breading. It was served with pimento mac and cheese and bacon braised collard greens. I loved the very mild sour flavor from the pickle and buttermilk, the crust was unbelievably crisp—normally I don’t prefer a cornmeal crust, but this was really tasty. And we didn’t eat it all that night and it was almost better the next day. I was super impressed by how moist and tender all the chicken was—even the breast, which was very large—which I find to be notoriously dry usually. The mac and cheese was a large portion and extremely decadent with pimento cheese. The collard greens weren’t bad either, although compared to everything else, they weren’t as impressive. 

Sadly, the pasta was not as tasty as everything else for me, although it was still good. It was pasta with a light buttery pesto-type sauce with spring peas, pine nuts and some large shrimp. The shrimp were not overcooked, which was nice. Hubby liked it more than I did—or I guess I just preferred the other things. 

All in all, I was quite impressed with the food we had and the various flavor profiles in each dish. If you haven’t been in a while, you might want to check it out again. 

Northside Social

6525 N. College Ave

Indy.  46220

317/253-0111

www.northsidesocial.com 

Smallcakes

My daughter is a bit of a cupcake fanatic. Really sweets in general, but she is easily lured in by cupcakes. When she saw that there was a new place in Broad Ripple, she wanted to try it right away. Sadly, the first time we went there, they were totally out of cupcakes. Still open, but no cupcakes. It was kind of a bummer. I guess they also service ice cream, but we were in the market for cupcakes only.

The next time we went early, and luckily, they were fully stocked with everything. We had people over, so we got an assortment of flavors. We had pink chocolate (which is really just chocolate cake with pink buttercream icing, vanilla and chocolate (yellow cake with chocolate buttercream icing), lemon drop, chocolate cream, a dulce du leche, and one with caramel and pretzels that was a special. Oh, and a strawberry one for the daughter’s boyfriend.

The best of the lot was probably the chocolate cream—which looks like a fancy hostess chocolate cupcake with a little cream filling inside and some on top of the fudge icing as well. I liked this one a lot because the cake was one of the moistest of them all and the icing was super rich and fudgy. My next favorite was the lemon drop because it was really fresh and lemony—I was surprised by its tartness, but it was a pleasant surprise. 

The dulce du leche was a favorite as well—I think the caramel and cream added moisture too. The regular ones with buttercream were the least exciting and also the dryer ones of the lot. They didn’t have any filling either, which added to the dryness.  I love a vanilla cake with chocolate icing, but I would have preferred a fudgy icing likes the one on the chocolate cream. 

All in all, a tasty addition to Broad Ripple, with some tasty options that I would get again. If you’ve had any of the special flavors, let me know your favorites.

Smallcakes

930 Broad Ripple Ave

Indy 46220

317/389-5447

www.smallcakescupcakery.com

Cholita brunch

I know it hasn’t been that long since I wrote about this place, but I feel like it is my civic duty to inform you all about their Sunday brunch. So, it’s $15 and it’s all you can eat. And it’s not a buffet, but you order off the menu. It is a different menu than their usual one, and actually it has even more choices. I have been twice already and have tried a lot of different things because both times I was with several people. 

They have some drink specials including several flavors of mimosas ($10). The first time I tried the passionfruit mimosa, but I stuck with margaritas after that. The mimosa was mostly just a glass of sparkling wine with some passion fruit syrup that sort of sunk to the bottom and never really mixed in well. Their margaritas are quite good though.

As far as the food goes, it was mostly all good, and some things were exceptional. My favorites are probably the chilaquiles and the tlayuda. The chilaquiles are made with nacho cheese Doritos and they served them in the split open bag—the chips at the bottom with cheese, bbq carnitas, boiled peanuts, pico de gallo and a fried egg. This was a popular choice at the table-- hubby especially liked it. It is definitely on my must-order list here. The tlayuda is a good thing to split with a group, otherwise it might fill you up too fast because it is big. It’s like a Mexican-style pizza—the crust is a giant crispy tostada topped with cheese, seasoned ground chorizo, scrambled eggs, beans, crema, salsa verde and pico. It’s really tasty. The first time I had it, I brought leftovers home to hubby and my son and they ate it immediately. A good mix of various flavors. And if you order a side of guacamole (it’s $8 though, not included in the all you can eat price), you can put some of that on top too. 

Speaking of guacamole, they have certainly improved it since my first visit. I felt like there wasn’t a lot of it when we went the first time and that it was mainly a lot of pico. But now it feels like you are getting a full serving of it. You can get chips and salsa as part of the $15 and their salsa is good. It is fire-roasted and has that deeper flavor that comes from roasting the tomatoes and peppers. I recommend getting some to add to various other dishes as well. They serve those homemade fried flour tortilla chips, which I particularly like, even if they are a tiny bit greasy. 

Hubby loved the bacon wrapped hotdog, which basically comes served as 2 tacos with the hotdog, beans, cheese, egg, guac, pico and hot sauce. I will admit, it was pretty darn tasty and not something I would typically order. It had a nice breakfast flavor with the eggs, bacon and pork. If you like sweets for brunch, the chocolate waffle is darn good as well. I had to be forced to take a bite because I usually avoid sweets for brunch, but I was really glad I did—it is really rich and chocolatey, with just a little bit of spice in it. It has dulce de leche, vanilla custard and banana with it. A great combo. They should add this to their dinner menu for dessert. You can also get churros, and they were better the two times I had them as part of brunch then the first time we had them for dinner. I think they have perfected the fry time on them and they are crisp outside but still slightly soft inside. And they have caramel and chocolate drizzle underneath. 

Back to savory though, I also enjoyed the pozole soup much more than I thought I would—the spicy chile broth was so tasty—it has a smokiness to it and a depth of flavor that was really spicy, but not hot spicy. There is chicken, hominy, cabbage and radish in there too. And they serve it with big fried tortillas. Seriously something I wouldn’t have probably tried but was glad I did (and it was thanks to our server who brought it when we told her to surprise us with a couple of things). The other thing she brought us was the drowned eggs, which I have now had both times. These were poached eggs cooked in tomato chipotle salsa with chiles, cheese and crema. I liked this as a very flavorful option with less carbs than most other things. You really got the smoky flavor from the salsa and they know how to poach an egg here. They were all just right. 

There was also a poached egg on the carnitas gorditas, which were pieces of masa cakes with beans, cheese and some sliced avocado. There was a verde hollandaise as well. It was sort of their version of an eggs benedict. I liked the flavors here, and again a nicely cooked egg. This was one I was torn on-- the masa cakes were strangely hard to cut, but you could bite through them. The flavors were good, but they were just maybe one of the weaker choices. 

I also tried the chicken and cactus and egg tacos. Both are good, especially with some of the salsa on top, although compared to the rest of the things, they are maybe slightly less exciting. The only thing I had that I just did not like were the tamales. They are pretty dry. They do have various sauces drizzled on top, but it isn’t enough to make up for the dense dry interior. 

Overall, this is one of the better brunch options in town. You can try all kinds of tasty treats. And the drinks are nice too. For $15 you can eat as much as you want, and the food is freshly made. Let me know what you think if you have been. There are still a few items I haven’t tried…

Cholita

1001 Broad Ripple Ave

Indy  46220

317/389-5555

www.cholitatacos.com 

Cholita

Hubby and I were looking for something new and decided to try Cholita. It’s in the ill-fated 10 01/Miss Behavin spot (what a terrible name). We went in slightly worried just because of the past experiences but were pleasantly surprised to see they have revamped the interior and that it was comfortably crowded even before 6:00. There is a large bar area in the restaurant that was full, and there is a good-sized seating area that was about half full with families as well as groups of adults. Our server was prompt and got us a drink quickly. I also liked that she didn’t have us order everything at once, as the food comes out pretty quick.

We each got a Cholita margarita (regular is $8, grande is $13). They were very tasty. They had a nice tart taste and weren’t overly sweet, which I appreciate. They use a bit of seasoning in the salt on the rim, which make it have a little kick. We also started with the queso fundido ($8) and added the chorizo option ($2). They serve this extremely hot bubbling cheese with tortillas to fill with the cheese and meat. It was really good. The edges of the cheese kind of burn on the little bowl it is served in. That crispy edge peeled out and put in a tortilla was delicious. I liked the chorizo, and appreciated that it was ground so it was easy to eat, but I thought there was maybe just a little too much of it. It sort of overtook the cheese in quantity. It all tasted really good though. The salsa that they served with it was also really tasty. It has a smoky flavor and we saved it to use on everything else. It added a nice extra dimension to the cheese and tortillas. We did not get any chips, and I am curious to know how they are. If you’ve had them, let me know. 

The majority of the items on the menu are tacos, so we got a bunch of different ones and shared them. They make all the tortillas in house and it shows. They are really good. The two seafood choices were great. Probably my two favorites. The shrimp one ($4.75) was amazing. It has bite sized pieces of shrimp (it has been cut up), cabbage, pickled onions (lots of pickled onions here), pico de gallo and baja sauce. I loved, loved the acid from the pickled vegetables. And I don’t know exactly what the baja sauce is, but it was really good. It was a great balance of flavors. The baja taco was also delicious ($4.50). It is a large piece of beer battered fried cod with cabbage slaw, pico de gallo and pickled tartar sauce.  Great crunchy taste and again, plenty of acid to make me happy. And did I mention they give you a bunch of limes to squeeze on top too? And not those dried out things you get sometimes.

The Brussels sprout taco was probably my next favorite ($4.50). They also offer a fried cauliflower veggie option that is intriguing as well. Next time. Anyhow, the Brussels sprouts version had roasted and grilled halved sprouts with melted cheese, caramelized onions, chili cream, pickled veggies and pico de gallo. Seriously, this was great. Loved the cheesiness. This was one of hubby’s top picks for sure. Really interesting and really well done.

Meat-wise, we had the skirt steak ($4.75) and the al pastor ($4.25). I have to say, after the acid and pickled veggies and all the flavor of the others, the meat ones were my least favorite. The steak was good though—it has pinto beans, guacamole, salsa and cactus pico de gallo. It is a hearty one for sure with the steak and beans, and the steak was nice and tender. Lime helped jazz it up. Don’t get me wrong, it was very good, just didn’t wow me as much as the others. The al pastor had chunks of pork, chipotle salsa and pineapple (which is the classic accompaniment). You’d expect a lot of acid with this mix, but you’d be wrong. For whatever reason, this one just fell a little flat for me. Compared to the others, it was just kind of bland. The pork was well done though and a couple of bite of just the pork showed that it was well cooked and seasoned. 

Brussels Sprout taco

I am so excited to have this place in Broad Ripple. Other than a couple of notable exceptions, I feel like Broad Ripple restaurants are just so so over all. This is a place that will certainly go into regular rotation, assuming they keep quality at the level it was on our visit. Oh, and downstairs, they have a tiki-style bar where you can order the same food, but where they offer a range of more tiki-inspired drinks. It’s cozy and nicely decorated, and I can see sitting down there and eating tacos when the kids aren’t with us.

Yay! A new place. It’s reasonably priced and they have tasty margaritas. I can’t wait to taste all the other taco flavors too. If you have been, what have been your favorites? Oh, and they have a mighty fine looking all you can eat brunch menu. 

Cholita

1001 Broad Ripple Ave

Indy  46220

317/389-5555

www.cholitatacos.com 

Taste of Havana- Revisit

It has been a minute since hubby and I have been back to Taste of Havana for lunch. We both really enjoyed it when we went, so the other day, we took advantage of a free lunch time together and headed to Broad Ripple. They have expanded since the last time we were there (I told you, it has been awhile), and it’s nice to have more seating. It’s casual seating and there’s a fair amount of it. The only downside is it was freezing in there, which made us eat very quickly and get out. Who knows, maybe that’s what they want.

Anyhow, we went with the traditional Cuban sandwich (I got the mini version for $7.50, and it is really not that small). It is your traditional pressed Cuban sandwich with roasted pork, ham, Swiss cheese, mustard and pickles. It hits the Cuban sandwich spot for sure and I like that it is pressed and not so fat it’s hard to eat. When I was waiting for mine, I heard someone else ask for extra pickles and I think that is definitely the way to go. There were only a few pickles on there, and they are some of my favorite parts. I just went and asked for some on the side and doctored it up myself. The pickles and the mustard are where its at for sure. It’s a solid, traditional sandwich. If you want something on the side, you have to get it separately. I just went with a bag of chips.

The sandwich that hubby ordered, that we have had before, that is probably the star though, is the pan con lechon ($10.49). This one is served on the same type of bread as the Cuban, but is topped with pulled, marinated, roasted pork, caramelized onions, and mayo. They also give you a little container (you’ll want two) of au jus to dip in and it is fabulous. I like the way it makes the sandwich nice and moist as well as adding some saltiness. I love the pickle and bite of the mustard on the Cuban, but this is probably even better.

All in all, it’s a cute place and the owner is exceptionally friendly. I am glad to see they are doing well and have expanded. And it’s a place I need to think of more often.

Taste of Havana

815 Broad Ripple Avenue

Indy 46220

317/559-4369

http://www.tasteofhavanaindy.com/

Noise rating: 0 bells (out of five)

Thr3e Wisemen -- Revisit

Every time we go to Biscuits for chilaquiles (and it’s fairly regularly), hubby always says, “one of these days, we need to go back to Three Wisemen.” So the other day, when we were debating a lunch choice, and my family refused to go for chilaquiles, that’s where we headed.

We started with an order of the Zoe pretzels ($7), which are pretzels made from pizza dough—they are kind of like breadsticks, but that are prepared with a pretzel finish. Not sure if they boil them and the whole nine yards, but that are coated in salt and they were tasty. We had the beer mustard sauce and the nacho cheese sauce. The beer mustard was pretty strong, and the nacho cheese was pretty basic, but a little of them together in the same bite was a really good flavor. They really need a beer cheese, and all would be perfect. But I basically kind of made my own.

Next, we shared a wedge salad ($8). So in the picture you see just half of one (with tomatoes on the side, because that's my son's half). Pretty big huh? Anyway, I love the fact that they actually use romaine lettuce instead of iceberg. I know iceberg is traditional, but this makes it easier to eat and easier to get a bite with all the toppings. Iceberg wedges always seem to end up with just a lot of undressed lettuce. Also, in a move that made her one of my favorite servers, our server just automatically brought us an extra side of dressing. This was awesome. I nearly always end up asking for extra dressing with a wedge, and I didn’t have to. They also brought the split salad each with its own breadstick and dressing. I thought the salad was very good and would happily eat it again.

Hubby and I split a pizza ($10). You can either get the thin crust the normal way or hand-tossed for an upcharge. We really like a thin crust, so we just got it the regular way and topped with red onion and mushrooms. They put a good amount of toppings on it, and I like their cheese mix—but sadly, the middle of the crust suffered a bit from being soggy—it could have used a few more minutes in the oven I think. It still tasted good, but the texture was just off a bit.  My son had the hot ham and cheese sandwich ($10) and seemed to like it fine. They use nice looking ham—looks like it is pretty good quality. I can’t speak to it personally, because I didn’t try it. The chips are good as well.

Overall, I think Three Wisemen is a good place to keep in mind. I might just ask that they cook my pizza a tad longer than normal—then it would have been nearly perfect. And I would totally get that wedge again.

Thr3e Wisemen 

1021 Broad Ripple Avenue

Indy 46220

317/255-5151

www.thr3ewisemen.com 

The Vanguard--Revisit

For Mother’s Day we ended up having dinner at the Vanguard. We had recently been for their Longbranch pop-up and it was so good (I really hope they bring that back every so often). I honestly thought it was better than the original Longbranch, if that is possible. Anyhow, they have moved on to a new spring menu, and since it was a new bunch of items, I thought I would do a little update.

We started with two “smalls,” the popcorn ($5) and the chicken liver toast ($9). The popcorn was cooked with pork fat and had Sriracha spices on it. It had some kick to it, but it was very good, and very addictive. And pork fat should really be a part of more popcorn. The chicken liver toast was really kind of disappointing. It was visually beautiful, but I think they must be made in advance and refrigerated because the toast was not crunchy and was bordering on soggy. On the toast was chicken liver mousse, chevre (goat cheese), and nettle mustard. There was a lot of the mustard on the bread, which dominated the whole thing and probably added to the bread sogginess issue. I would have preferred a lighter hand on this, crispier bruschetta, and more of the chevre and liver.

We were all kind of sharing everything, and the next thing that came out was the “ham and cheese” ($11). This was more of a charcuterie plate, and I enjoyed it. There was some perfectly toasted bread here (hmmmm….) along with speck (smoked prosciutto), Bellamy blue cheese, oil and vinegar on the side, and microgreens. The ingredients were very good, although we needed more bread than they offered (which we asked for, told we would be charged for, and never got). But the flavors of everything was good. For this course, we also had the warm cobb salad ($12). This was warm wilted mustard greens, boiled egg, tomato, bacon and an avocado vinaigrette. It was very good. For some reason, I feel like this place pulls off salads really well, so I am always tempted to order them. Hubby kind of balked, but he loved it too. It had a slightly spicy kick from the greens and the vinaigrette and tomatoes gave good acid. It was extremely flavorful. I will continue on my habit of ordering salads at the Vanguard.

For our mains, hubby and I split the “buttered noodles” ($18) and the special, which was pork tenderloin tacos. The buttered noodles were made with crème fraiche, greens, parmesan and pepper. This was a really good dish for such. Love the use of crème fraiche here giving the pasta more than just a rich cheesy flavor. It was a good thing to split though, because it still was rich enough. The tacos were just ok. Not much going on there—and the meat itself was a little dry. There wasn’t much to them—some cheese and garnish and a couple of limes.

My son had the special steak for the evening—it was a ribeye and it was very tasty, although because of all that fat, it probably would have been better if it were cooked slightly more medium, but he ordered it medium rare. There was some asparagus and greens here as well. It had a great flavor. My daughter got the fried butter quail with butter and cilantro ($15). She enjoyed it although they had forgot it at first, and she ate it after we were pretty much finished.

The Vanguard is a good option for a more high-end dinner in Broad Ripple. It feels like a grown-up restaurant and I like that. The food changes around a fair amount, and I like that too. There are always some really tasty things, even if not everything is always amazing. And if they bring back the Longbranch menu, I highly recommend checking it out. The service can certainly be up and down, and this was one of the down experiences, but hopefully it will be better next time.

The Vanguard

6319 Guilford Ave

Indy  46220

317/254-1147

www.vanguardindy.com 

Bento House

My daughter and I had a Friday night to ourselves while the boys went to an Indians game and we decided to try something new. Bento House opened in the old Boogie Burger space and from what I understand is owned by the people who also own Watami---the all you can eat sushi placed a couple doors down.

It was pretty dead in there when we got there—only one other table. People did come in and out for carry out orders, but it was quiet. A few other tables came in as we were leaving, but still on the slow side. The service was pretty speedy though even though I think there was just one server waiting on all the tables. She was very nice.

Ok, so the most positive thing I can say about this place is that they give you a lot of food for the money. We each ordered a Bento Box with various things in them and they were around $12-14 each. I started with the hot and sour soup and she got miso (soup comes with the bento box). The hot and sour soup was pretty good—it had a nice amount of heat actually, which sometimes can be lacking. I love a lot of tofu in my soup, and there wasn’t a lot, but that’s probably just random. My daughter enjoyed her miso.

In my bento box ($12.95), I had the hibachi chicken (you get a choice of a meat entrée), the crab Rangoon (you can get this or spring rolls, which she got), gyoza, chicken skewers (they come in all of the boxes) and white rice. My daughter had sweet and sour chicken, spring rolls, shrimp tempura, the chicken skewers and fried rice (which is an upcharge) ($14.95).

What can I say except the food was all just kind of ok. It wasn’t bad per se, but there was nothing that I really liked. My daughter enjoyed her orange/passion fruit boba smoothie ($4.50), but other than that, she felt about the same as I did. The chicken on my plate was pretty dry, especially the skewers. The hibachi chicken was really pretty bland. The fried things were probably the best—I liked the shrimp tempura just fine, although it wasn’t the best I have had for sure. The dumplings were pretty good too. The weird thing is, they put the appropriate sauce in the little compartment with the items they go with. I think I would prefer them on the side, as I sometimes like to use just basic soy with some things. My daughter’s sweet and sour chicken was not tossed with the sauce—it  was just on the side, which was also a little strange I thought. Good for takeout maybe to keep it crispy, but in the restaurant, sort of came across like battered chicken nuggets.

Anyhow, glad to see a new place go in there, and that it is independent, but I can’t say I will be rushing back. Has anyone else been?

Bento House

1904 Broad Ripple Ave

Indianapolis, IN 46220

317/280-7770

www.bentohouseindy.com 

Noise rating: 0 bells (out of five) (with the exception of the alarm bell that went off every time someone entered the restaurant.

Vanguard -- Revisit

For whatever reason, it has taken us awhile to get back into Vanguard—not sure why. I have always enjoyed it and they have a new(ish) chef (Adam Ditter) who came from the now-shuttered Longbranch (hard to believe that already two restaurants have closed in that same space). Anyway, hubby and I stopped in recently without a reservation and scored one of the last tables.

We started with the salmon pastrami dip with house kraut and house made pretzel bites ($7). This was a really tasty share plate. You have to really enjoy the seasonings in pastrami, as they are strong here, but a bite with the acidic kraut and the absolutely wonderful, soft pretzel bites was great.  It is a unique dish and quite tasty…Perhaps just a couple more of the pretzels would be great though, as the dip is quite plentiful.

Next we shared two starters—the gnocchi salad ($11) and the carnitas ($12). I loved the gnocchi salad. I wasn’t exactly sure what to expect, but it was truly most like a green salad with gnocchi mixed in. And tomatoes, peppadew, banana peppers, red onion and nice hunks of feta. There was a sherry vinaigrette on it, and it was dressed all the way through (hallelujah). I read this menu descrition and thought, it sounds like it will have nice acid, and it did. It was very good.

We also shared the carnitas, which was presented very attractively. There were two crusts that were described as cheddar piecrust, which was filled with the carnitas. There was also apple sauce and crème fraiche served with it—the apple sauce was on the dish, the crème fraiche on the side. I sort of wished it had been reversed. I didn’t care for the sweetness that the apple sauce gave the dish, but I liked the slight sour flavor of the crème friache. The meat was very tasty. It was hard to really get a full feel of the taste of the crust because of the apple sauce, which was a little bit of a bummer, because I was very intrigued by the idea of the cheddar crust.

For our dinner, we split the fried chicken ($21). We were torn between it and a tuna special that came highly recommended, but I hadn’t had this new version of the fried chicken and wanted to check it out. They brine it in adobo and it is served along with coconut cauliflower rice. The dish has a decidedly Asian flair to it, and I really enjoyed it—especially the chicken. It had a great spicy, sort of smoky flavor that went all the way through to the tender meat. The dish was served with several lime wedges, which were good both on the “rice” and the chicken itself. I love a dish with extra acid on the side.  You get four pieces of chicken, so it is certainly easy to share. I’m a little undecided about how I feel about the cauliflower rice. It is certainly different, and lent a unique flavor….but still tasted like vegetable rather than a starch.

We decided to get dessert because it was Texas sheet cake, which is a family favorite. What makes it “Texas” in my mind though is the addition of a fair amount of cinnamon, giving it a slightly spicy flavor. That seemed to be missing from this version. They also put nuts in the icing, which I skip when I make it, because I prefer it with a smooth texture. It was a fine dessert, but not outstanding. They served it with a scoop of ice cream.

All in all, if you haven’t been, or haven’t been in awhile, it’s worth going back to Vanguard—especially with so few grown-up restaurants in Broad Ripple. 

The Vanguard

6319 Guilford Ave

Indy  46220

317/254-1147

www.vanguardindy.com

Louie's Wine Dive - Revisit

A friend was in town recently and we had a quick dinner at Louie’s in Broad Ripple. I have only had dinner there once and was interested to try it again. I appreciate the fact that it’s an adult-ish kind of option in Broad Ripple and has an interesting wine list. I like the interior, even though it tends to be a little cold in the winter with all those windows. Our server was very nice as well. The place wasn’t very busy, but it was a Monday, so hopefully that’s why.

I ordered the burger (they call it the “gourmet Sinatra burger) ($13) because I was just feeling that burger call. So it’s a thick burger, but they cooked it just as I ordered—nice and pink inside. They top the burger with some interesting things. There’s cheddar and bacon, but also balsamic, green goddess dressing, and heirloom tomatoes. I didn’t think I would like the tomatoes on there, but honestly, it was all really good together. And the balsamic really added a ncie touch. And so did the green goddess. They used a brioche bun, which was soft and delicisous. I have to say, it’s one of the better thick burgers I’ve had since my last Room Four burger. It’s not just a good burger, but has just the right amount of extra stuff to make it somewhat exceptional. They bacon was delicious too. Just the way I really like it-really salty and flavorful but also really crisp so it would practically shatter when you ate it.

The burger came with fries, and they are the thin, crispy type. In theory, I like this type of fry a lot, but these were strangely cold as soon as they were served. Not sure what happened here, but the timing was just a bit off. Would love to get a batch fresh out of the fry-o-later though. I did get some of the green goddess to dip in, and I recommend it. 

All in all, I would happily eat this burger again when I am in the mood for a fat burger. What’s your favorite burger these days?

Louie’s Wine Dive

701 Broad Ripple Ave

Indy  46220

317/722-0140

www.louieswinedive.com 

Txuleta Basque Cider House

When we were in Toronto this summer, we took the kids to this Spanish tapas place and the kids loved it, so when they heard that Brugge (one of their favorite Indy places) had opened a Spanish place right above Brugge, they were excited to try it. Txuleta serves pinxtos, not tapas, as well as “snacks,” some sharable tapas (they just list them as “for the table),” and then some full-sized dishes. So what’s the difference between pinxtos and tapas you ask? I didn’t really know myself, so I looked it up. Turns out pinxtos are items that are skewered on bread. So there you go.

Naturally we wanted to try lots of things, and it’s fairly easy to do here. For snacks, we had olives ($6), the brandada ($11) and the Serrano ham ($9). The olives and ham were the clear winners here. The olives had a great unique acidic kick—much sharper than many, and they went well with everything else. We are a family of olive lovers, and these will always be ordered. The Serrano ham was also quite delicious. We have had some bad luck with this at other places, but this is a good one. It’s supple and has lots of flavor. They served some nice bread slices with it as well as some almonds, various fruits and a bit of quince paste. Very tasty—and a really nice combo. Would love to see the cheese plate as well. Next time we may need a combo cheese/meat.  The brandada was the only let down of the snacks. It’s meant to be salt cod mixed with potatoes—which it was, but it was pretty heavy on the potatoes it seemed—couldn’t really taste the cod that much. And I would have liked something to eat with it—bread or something to dip in there. It was an awkward thing to share with just a small bowl. Some of the toast that came with the Serrano would be ideal. Unfortunately the brandada came first before we had the bread that came with the ham. 

The pinxtos were the star of the night though. We had several and they were all really good. I liked these the best because they were the most composed dishes and had great flavor combos. My favorite was probably the ribeye ($9). It had a chunk of ribeye on top of the bread, as well as a little ball of fried goat cheese, some fried chips, and an almond picada sauce. The sauce is made with almond and parsley—it looked like a chimichurri. It was very tasty.

My next favorite item was probably the polenta pinxtos ($5). This had a hunk of crispy polenta and another little ball of fried cheese. I really liked the marinated mushroom and tomato at the top of the stick as well. It was really tasty. I would easily get both again.

We also had the shrimp a la plancha pinxtos ($6) with creamed fennel and lemon confit. This one was good too, although I liked the other ones better. Hubby was a big fan though. The shrimp was cooked just right though and was nice and buttery and not rubbery. The creamed fennel was good and I like the idea of the lemon, although I could have used a bit more of the lemon flavor.

We also had the patatas bravas ($8) because my kids always want fried potatoes. These were the least exciting things of the evening I would say and most went uneaten. They were drizzled with a red salsa and aioli. They needed a little extra sauce, which they happily brought us. My son did order the kid’s hanger steak as well, and it was very good (and a great deal at $8). It was served with matchstick fries, which were better than the bravas, and which also come as a dish to share for $5. I would go in this direction if you want some fried potatoes with your meal.

Finally, we were intrigued to try the Basque burnt cheesecake ($8). It is a slice of cheesecake that quite literally seems to have the top and side charred. It was unique and pretty tasty. I liked that it wasn’t overly sweet. Again, it’s a unique flavor, but a good one overall.

They are also making their own ciders, which I didn’t try because I am generally not a huge fan. But you can also get the usual Brugge beers and wines, so everyone can be happy. You can (obviously) also now take kids up there. This is something totally new for Indy, and I am happy to see it. On the whole, the food is very, very good. I am excited to go back and try some more things, particularly more of the pinxtos. Let me know if you have been and have favorites.

Txuleta Basque Cider House

1011 East Westfield Blvd

Indy 46220

317/919-3555

www.txuletaindy.com