Tinker Street - Revisit

Recently a friend invited us to go to Tinker Street. I haven’t been there for several years—which is true of a lot of places lately--whole pandemic and all. We’re back to going out a little bit more widely now. 

Anyhow, we started with the Brussels sprouts ($17), the chicken and caviar ($27) and the cured tuna ($18) (there were 5 of us). All of these dishes were very good. The Brussels sprouts were honestly some of the best I have ever had I think. There were the sprouts, caramelized onions, hazelnuts, Point Reyes blue cheese, preserved lemon-thyme vinaigrette and then served with multigrain toasts. I really liked the blue cheese with it and the tangy vinaigrette. Actually, we ended up having a second order with dinner. 

The fried chicken thigh was also so good I ended up ordering another one to have on my own for dinner (with some more of those Brussels sprouts). It was fried just perfectly and served with a hoecake, caviar and pickled onions. It was drizzled with crème fraiche and some jalapeno honey. Seriously, what a great bunch of flavors. Again, I was so sad about only having a small bite of the shared one, that I went ahead and just ordered it again for my dinner. It’s an appetizer, but it is pretty filling.

I enjoyed the tuna myself, but others didn’t like it as much as the other items. It was cured with smoked soy so it had a little different texture than most tuna crudo type things that you might taste, but I enjoyed it. It was served with yuzu gel, avocado puree and a slaw made with pickled beets. I liked all of it except for the beets, which I never like. 

My husband had the pork belly ($26), which is one of the classic items they have had at Tinker Street since the beginning. He said it was good, but I think he enjoyed the apps better. To be honest, I think they sounded better overall than the entrées and I will likely always order from this part of the menu. 

We also had the doughnuts for dessert ($11). They are ricotta doughnuts with maple ice cream. They were also very good. Generally, I find you can’t go wrong with doughnuts. We also had the s’mores bar ($11) which was also really good—it had a chocolate custard and marshmallow cream that was seared on top to give it that campfire taste—and it had an ash dust alongside There was a graham cracker crust too. Also, really good. I do have a weakness for singed marshmallow.

It was a very good meal and I was glad we got to go back. We will certainly add it back into the rotation.  Just remember, it’s 21+ and they now take reservations.

Tinker Street

402 E 16^th Street

Indy 46202

317-925-5000

https://www.tinkerstreetrestaurant.com/

Bocca

I know it’s been awhile, but I have to let you know when I have a great meal at a new place. Recently my husband and my son went with me to check out Bocca, which is in the old Shoefly spot. I like the remodel and it feels a lot more like a nice restaurant with a pretty bar, rather than a lunch place. The front door is strangely not really marked, but it is in the same place as Shoefly was if you ever went there. A nice sign on the door might make sense (and maybe a curtain or something to stop the draft from the door to some of the tables).

It was actually still Devour when we were there, and I did order it because there were some good options—I often don’t, but it seemed like a decent deal if you wanted to try a dessert. The Devour price was $45 for 3 courses. I chose the tuna appetizer which was marinated raw tuna with avocado, red onion, olives, and oranges—it had a tangy vinaigrette with some heat from a few peppers and a little truffle flavor. It was delightful and one of the most creative crudo/tartare versions I have seen in a long time. It was really good and I would easily order it again. The boys ordered the arancini ($12)—arancini are fried arborio rice balls and these are filled with gooey fontina cheese. They are served in a nice light and fresh marinara sauce and these were absolutely delightful as well. We were extremely happy at this point in the dinner and started to get nervous that maybe we had peaked.

Well, my son and I also had very good pasta dishes. The one I got with my devour was the mushroom lasagna (normally $22 on the regular menu). It was a rich white sauce-based veggie lasagna with pesto, shitake mushrooms and spinach. It was very rich and decadent, but also quite delicious. I like the way the pesto gave a hit of something to cut through the bechamel. My son got the Bolognese ($21) which was fresh tagliatelle with meat sauce and a mushroom ragout on top. The pasta was perfect and the flavor was good. I liked that even the tomato sauces were fresh and acidic. He loved it and between the three of us, it was gone pretty fast.

The only let down was the carbonara ($21), which is typically one of hub’s favorites. It is spaghetti (did not seem fresh) with guanciale, egg, black pepper and romano cheese. It is meant to be a pretty simple dish and the egg and cheese are what make it rich and decadent. This one just fell flat for some reason—the pasta itself wasn’t as good and the dish was just a little one dimensional. 

The dessert was not a star either—it was the bombolini which came with devour (usually $12), which are fried doughnuts with lemon curd. The doughnuts themselves were just a little dense and we didn’t finish them. I saw the tiramisu come out and it looked good—I would probably try this next time. And I have had friends tell me how much they liked the bombolini, so maybe it was just an off night for this particular item.

All in all though, we were really excited by the food, the menu and the place—the server was very nice as well and the wine list was interesting. We had a nice Italian Soave that we then ordered from the wine store because we enjoy it so much. I would recommend it and will happily plan a trip back, which is not something I saw often about Italian restaurants in Indy.

Bocca

122 E. 22^nd Street

Indy. 46202

317-426-2045

https://boccaindy.com/ 

Modita

I’ve been excited to try this place for a while—it’s new so of course everyone seems to be trying it so make a reservation in advance if you want to go. It’s located at the Bottleworks too—but it’s a full sit-down restaurant. It’s also a Cunningham joint. It’s got a modern vibe inside, unfortunately was freezing when we went inside (classic Hoosier move) but luckily, they had a sort of outside area with a garage door so we sat there so we didn’t need to have parkas on in July.

Anyhow, we started with several apps—the soft-shell crab tempura with chili aioli and cabbage (hold the candied peanuts because my son is allergic) ($18). We also had the bao buns with grilled pork, Asian slaw and miso aioli ($16). Both were really good. My favorite was the crab—it was perfectly fried and still really hot and crisp and the aioli was just spicy enough. My family loved the pork buns and they were good—I liked the crisp edge on the pork and the fact that they had a different flavored aioli for those—hate it when places repeat the same sauces on everything. I also liked that the pork wasn’t too fatty.

We shared a bunch of stuff for our main dishes. We had the mapo tofu ($12), the umami noodles ($16), the robata grill salmon ($27) and the robata grill Wagyu striploin ($95). Yes, the steak is a huge splurge that we had to convince hubby of, but it was well worth it in the end and both he and my son still talk about that steak and how they will definitely be ordering it again. Wagyu has that melt in your mouth quality and then the super high heat of the charcoal robata grill gives everything it cooks a super crisp grilled edge that not only adds flavor but texture to the outside without tasting like it is burnt. We asked for our miso-glazed salmon to be pretty rare and it was really wonderfully cooked as well—super tender inside with that crisp edge. All the robata entrées come with “wasabi mooncakes,” which are basically hash brown cakes with a little wasabi flavor. They were tasty and each plate came with 2, so we each got one. Anyway, as you can probably tell, the robata stuff is really good. I would like to try it all.

Hubby and I also really liked the mapo tofu, but I can’t seem to sell my kids on tofu and my daughter doesn’t love really spicy things. It has a spicy bean sauce on it and it was pretty spicy, as it should be, and really well done. There were toasty rice cake balls in there as well—I love the combination of these textures of the crisp tofu that is still soft inside and the rice cake. I would easily get this again, especially in different company where I could share as it is a generous portion. 

The only let down were the noodles. They were kind of dense and stuck together—maybe like they were a bit overcooked. The favors were pretty rich—pork belly, edamame, black garlic and parmesan. There was a lot of umami, but it was just too much if you ask me. I was pushing for the tamarind noodles which probably have more of the taste I would prefer, but hopefully the noodles would not be overcooked next time. Honestly with so many options on the menu we didn’t get to try at all (dumplings, sushi, tartares, etc.), I would probably just skip the noodles next time and go with something else.

We did get a dessert as well and it was very good too. It was the marshmallow pudding with miso caramel and a sesame seed wafer. It was interesting and different and really tasted like marshmallow, but somehow more sophisticated with the miso and sesame. This was a hit with everyone.

All in all, we had a really good meal and it is one of the places my daughter has requested to go again before she goes away to college on the East Coast. I will keep you updated. 

Modita

850 Massachusetts Ave, Suite 100

Indy  46204

317/316-0470

www.modita.com 

Nesso - Revisit

A trusted twitter friend mentioned a great meal he had recently at Nesso (thanks @tokenwhitedude) which made me intrigued to go back, especially now that the whole family is finally fully vaccinated (thank you science). The first meal or two I had here were great and then the food seemed to go toward that generic Midwest Italian giant portion thing for a bit. But I am happy to report that they are back doing great food and interesting pasta combos (with some “classics” to make everyone happy). They also have a nice variety of protein main dishes, although we didn’t try any on this visit.

Man, the appetizers were great. I honestly think I would consider making a meal of them next time, or at least getting more of them and splitting a pasta or entrée with someone. We had the carpaccio ($15), the focaccia bread ($5), the burrata ($13), and the crab arancini ($15). That carpaccio is a perfect version of carpaccio. Extremely thin sliced raw beef topped with arugula, parsley oil, parmesan, lemon, fried capers and topped with these cornbread croutons. Wow—this is a dish that had the perfect amount of salt and acid. I think it was everyone’s favorite.

However, the burrata was so good too—mostly because of these amazing lightly roasted tomatoes that burst in your mouth when you ate one. I am totally doing this with my garden cherry tomatoes. Simple, but so good. There was also a topping of candied onion and salsa verde. A bite with everything was just great—the cheese was the perfect smooth rich foil for it all. And it was served with sliced, toasted and oiled bread. The focaccia was also superb (and when my daughter is with us, we order all the bread)—even though it would be hard to not order it every time. It was served with olive oil and balsamic to dip in, as well as herby butter, neither of which was really necessary because the bread was so good, but it was nice to have. It was also good with the burrata.

My daughter also has a love affair with arancini and we almost always have to order them if they are on the menu and these were very good—they were very moist inside (unlike a lot of arancini in this world) and had a nice cheesy interior studded with bits of crabmeat. They were served on top of a fennel aioli, which was delicious with them as well as a tomato sauce on the side (which I found unnecessary). I appreciated the lemon wedges as well for an extra acid hit, as well as the pickled and slight spicy vegetables on the side.

We all got different pasta dishes for dinner. We had the agnolotti ($18), the ravioli ($20), the lobster tortellini ($27) and the bucatini alla nerano ($20). I think the two vegetarian pastas (the agnolotti and the bucatini) were the favorites but they were all good. The agnolotti was little pillows stuffed with cheese and mushrooms in a very rich parmesan broth with truffles shaved on top. If you like mushrooms and truffles, you can’t really go wrong here. However, like I said, super rich. No way I could eat this whole dish of pasta by myself. The bucatini had a pesto type sauce but made with zucchini and walnuts. There were small chunks of zucchini in there as well. More truffles on top and lots of parmesan. It was really good too—and while it was rich and creamy, it was well-balanced. 

The ravioli were large and stuffed with ricotta cheese and were then topped with a lamb ragu—there were peas in there too. My son had played a lot of tennis that day and basically wolfed it down because he was so hungry. I think he liked it but I didn’t get a bite. 

Hubby ordered the lobster tortellini which as stuffed with lobster mousse and had chunks of rock shrimp alongside. There was a light tomato sauce and some lemony breadcrumbs. The dish was good, but probably my least favorite—although I am not a huge tomato sauce with seafood person.

The kids had some amazing dark chocolate gelato for dessert and everyone was happy. This was one of the best meals I have had in Indy lately for sure—and I was so impressed with the finesse especially in the appetizers. 

This is definitely a place to put back into the rotation, and I would argue one of the best Italian places in the city. Have you been lately? What do you think?

Nesso

339 South Delaware

Indy  46204

317/643-7400

www.nesso-italian.com 

Vida -- Revisit

This past weekend was our wedding anniversary, and we really wanted to go to Vida, even though I didn’t think they had outside seating (which they actually do—at least 4 tables that I saw). Anyway, we went for it hoping that the spacing would be good and hoping for good air filtration. We were the only ones inside for the first half of our meal, and after that the tables were very well spaced apart. I am still nervous about eating inside, but as the weather gets colder, I am starting to consider it. How are you guys feeling about dining in a restaurant?

Anyway, hubby got the 4 course (which is $65), in which you pick 4 courses from the menu, or you can go the a la carte option, which is what I did and then we split everything. But first, they brought us an amuse bouche that was cold soba noodles with a little bit of tuna and some carrots and fish eggs—I have had this flavor combo before here at Vida—and I love the sesame flavor here and the kick of salt from the fish and eggs. I could easily eat a whole appetizer of this.

Our first ordered course was the Hamachi crudo (a la carte is $16), which was two large but thin slices of raw hamachi with slices of perfectly ripe mango, a little avocado mousse, sliced radish, habanero onion and cilantro. This was so good. I wasn’t sure how I felt about mango because it really needs to be just perfect, but it was. And the dish was salted/seasoned just perfectly too. The fish almost melted in your mouth.

Our next course was the wall greens salad ($12) and the crispy chicken thigh ($12). The salad was a good mixed salad with some of my favorite things—blue cheese, nuts, sliced figs and a tangy vinaigrette. The lettuce was soft and supple (and I assume came from their wall of greens, based on the name). The chicken was even better though because you got a little of a similar salad aspect, but with a slight sweet, slight spicy perfectly tender fried chicken thigh underneath. And the flowers on top made it look like art. Art that tasted delicious.

For the main dishes we had the ribeye ($42 a la carte) and the cacio e pepe cappelliti ($28 a la carte). Hubby wanted the ribeye really badly after having a bite of someone else’s the last time we were there. He was not disappointed. There were roasted potatoes and black truffle gnocchi and a few Brussel Sprouts leaves on top. It was rich and delicious. The pasta was soooo good. It was little stuffed pastas with Trillium cheese, crispy roasted broccoli, slices of pecorino cheese and black pepper. Fresh pasta is so worth it—and the cheese inside was delicious. The most amazing part was the broth it sat in that was rich and buttery with just a hint of lemon. The waiter brought us some extra freshly made focaccia for soaking it up and it was much appreciated (oh yeah, the complimentary bread plate is always awesome too—this one had the herb focaccia and zucchini bread).

Finally, we had the ricotta doughnuts ($11 a la carte) which I think have been on the menu since the start. And there’s a reason. They are little like beignet-sized doughnuts with a bourbon maple glaze, candied bacon and caramel ice cream. Seriously, a perfect mix of sweet, rich and salty and savory all at the same time. And one of the best dessert wine lists in town (just ask). 

Our service was also spot on, and it is one of the nicer feeling atmospheres in the city. And I love the extra space between tables. I know it’s not cost effective, but I would love it we could maintain some of it even post-pandemic for having more private conversations. 

Overall, one of the best meals I have had since I can remember. I am already thinking about how I can plan some private dinners in some of the private spaces for some even safer dinners. Seriously, this is probably one of Indy’s best fine dining places right now. Check it out and don’t let them close!

Vida

601 East New York Street

Indy 46202

317/420-2323

www.vida-restaurant.com 

King Dough -- Revisit

One of the last places I went to eat before the shutdown was King Dough and it was one of the first that was requested by the fam when we decided to venture out (and I mean to sit outside and eat somewhere). So at King Dough, they are basically offering their food as carry out (don’t worry you can get drinks too) and then you can sit and eat it at their outdoor tables. So they aren’t really serving it to you, but they put it in a box and they do give you some disposable plates etc. to use. 

We got a bottle of wine to share (you can only get whole bottles FYI) and the kids all got some drinks. We had to wait a bit to get a table in the shade but got one just before our food was ready. We had the meatball starter ($14), a Stinky Pete pizza with an egg on top ($18.25), a burger and fries ($13), and a baby margarita pizza ($8.5), also with an egg on top. 

I was happy to see that from my first visit till now, things here are consistently good. The crust is what makes the pizza so yummy I think and even though this one didn’t have quite as much of the “stink factor” that the first one I had did, it still tasted great.  My only knock on both pizzas were neither egg was cooked quite enough, leaving a bit of gelatinous white. The burger is a surprise hit for a pizza place, and I think it ends up being one of the better burgers in town. They serve a 5-ounce smash burger with American cheese, pickles, lettuce, tomato, grilled onions and secret sauce on a sesame seed bun. I like that the bread is not too much for the burger and it is just a super tasty, and again, consistently solidly good (this is probably the 3^rd time ordering a burger). Well worth ordering, even at a pizza place.

And I didn’t mention the meatballs, but they have become a perennial order as well—and for a person who is generally not a meatball lover, they are very good. Really tender and great with the fresh marinara and ricotta. 

All in all, a good relatively safe (as far as distancing and cleanliness goes) option if you really need to get out of the house and get some food. Honestly, if I lived closer, I’d be getting carry out a lot from them. Too bad they don’t have a location further north. 

Also, please keep sharing your favorite safe, outdoor places to eat...this is about as far as I am going right now---not quite ready for inside seating,

King Dough

452 N. Highland Ave

Indy 46202

317/602-7960

http://www.kingdoughpizzas.com/

Livery--Revisit

We had a family night out the other night and one of the places the kids repeatedly ask for is Livery. Everyone really likes it and it’s one of the places when people ask me where to eat on Mass Ave, I always recommend.

Anyhow, it had been awhile since we had been and one thing we all knew was that we wanted was empanadas. It was just a matter of which flavor, how many, and at what stage of the meal. The negotiations began. So we ended up settling on getting a couple of appetizers and then including a bunch of empanadas with some main dishes and sharing it all.

To start we had the carnitas taquitos ($10) and the artichokes ($9). There were two fairly large taquitos filled with carnitas meat and topped with Amarillo gastrique. There was a little escabeche salad with it and some guacamole. Everyone gave this dish great reviews. The taquitos were nice and crunchy and I really liked eating them with the creamy salad. Hubby loved the salad on its own and ate it all even after the taquitos were gone. I agreed, it was a well composed dish.

The artichokes were also very good. They were grilled half artichokes that had a chili vinaigrette and a grilled lemon served alongside. I loved it with the squeeze of the really juicy lemon. Another great, really well composed dish—and the oil and the acid from the vinaigrette and lemon really accentuated the artichoke and that is something that is often a challenge for restaurants to pull off in my experience. Both appetizers were enjoyed and devoured.

For dinner we had chicken, lamb, and mushroom empanadas ($9 for three).  We ordered a lot of them and our server sort of gave us the side eye about it, but whatever. Our family loves the chicken empanadas and this time was no exception. They are stuffed with seasoned chicken, tomato, and beans, and served with what they call an avocado salsa but is basically like a light guacamole. They also serve a little kale salad on the side with the empanadas. Again, the chicken is one of our standard orders. We tried the lamb for the first time, which was ground lamb in a tomato-based sauce and served with a poblano crema. These were also really good and I would say table-wise, they were probably the favorite over the mushroom, although hubby and I really liked the mushrooms ones as well. They had huitlacoche and white cheddar inside with the mushrooms and were served with a jalapeno crema. We also got some of the bean puree that usually comes with the cheese empanadas at my daughter’s request.  I was really torn about which I liked best. I’d be hard pressed not to get them all. They do a great job with empanadas. 

I was also really impressed with what appeared to be a new menu item to me—the potato tart ($15). It is a crustless tart of crispy sliced potatoes that was topped with burrata cheese, mushrooms, arugula, tomatoes and tomato crema. I loved the slightly smoky flavor in the potatoes and the nice amount of acid from tomatoes. I wasn’t sure what to expect with this dish, but we were very pleased. 

We also had the skirt steak with polenta/Manchego fries, broccolini, tomato crema and jalapeno butter ($18). The steak was seasoned and cooked very well and was a generous dish that was also a crowd favorite, but a particular favorite of my steak-loving son.

All in all, while we always have enjoyed Livery, food-wise, this was top to bottom one of our best meals. The service was a little slow and absent at times, but otherwise, we had a good experience. And it is nice to see it routinely busy, as it deserves to be. I was also happy to see some variation in the menu as well, even if certain things don’t change. What are your favorite of the empanadas?

Livery

720 N. College

Indy 46202

317/383-0330

http://www.livery-restaurant.com/ 

Spoke and Steele

Recently hubby and I were looking around for a good date night spot and I was somewhat uninspired by the menus I was looking at. It’s partly the season and that I didn’t want anything heavy…I just wanted something lighter and brighter even though it was Fall. Spoke and Steele has been a place I keep meaning to get back to try again since I knew that Greg Hardesty had a hand in creating the menu and when I looked at the menu and the abundance of seafood on there, I was sold. 

It’s an interesting menu—there are some definite Hardesty-ish menu items (remember that endive salad that came from Elements and then would pop up on the Recess menu?). And a big hearty burger. But there are also some interesting Asian influences as well as Cajun influences as well. All things that make me happy. The current head chef is Erin Gillum, which is a new name for me, but I like her ideas on paper.

At the recommendation of our server (who was very helpful and professional), we started with the biscuits with Vermont creamery slated butter and local honey ($7 for 2). Loved the creamery butter with just the right amount of salt, but I can’t say the biscuits on their own were super special. I mean, nothing wrong with a solid biscuit, but these could have used some gravy or something to really take them to the next level (maybe on the breakfast menu?). The butter and honey together added nice flavor though. We ended up just sharing one and taking the other one home.

The biscuits actually came out with the lobster and shrimp potstickers ($19), which were the clear highlight of the meal for me. But this course also reminds me of one of the things I would be vocal about when ordering—the timing and spacing of items. The food came out really fast and the salad was one of the last courses, which is not what we wanted. So if you go and you would like a more spaced out meal, I would order one or two things at a time and if there is something you want to start, let them know. Anyway, back to the potstickers—so, so good. There were 5 of them, stuffed with lobster and shrimp in a light wonton wrapper that was perfectly seared on one side. The broth though—wow—full of ginger, miso and soy—and topped with some peppers. I instantly wanted a second order, but hubby restrained me. The only complaint I had about these was I wished they were just a little warmer, but even so, I inhaled them. And then we dipped our biscuit inappropriately into the broth.

The next course we got were the pork belly and shrimp bao ($16). I love a good stuffed bun, but these were a bit of a miss for us just based on execution. They were 4 large buns—2 were filled with a large piece of shrimp and 2 with a small piece of pork belly. The meat quality of both was very good—the shrimp had nice flavor and was plentiful to fill the bun. The pork, while tasty, and perfectly crisped on the outside was way too small for the large bun. There was just one small maybe two inch by two-inch piece in mine and it was dwarfed by the bun and the excessive amount of spicy mayo. These could be perfected for sure. First, the amount of filling should match the bun. So either more filling or less bun. Then, less mayo—just a drizzle would be plenty as it is very rich (I would add a little acid to this as well). And finally, while I really liked the pickled cucumbers—and they are the things that make these little buns to me—you couldn’t really taste them due to being overwhelmed by the other ingredients. But like I said, there is definitely room for improvement. And I appreciate that they are doing something different. 

The next (and originally, we thought last) course was the endive salad ($11) and the broiled oysters ($20). Like I said, ideally, I would have liked my salad in the first course, but maybe that’s just me. The salad is described on the menu as having endive, blue cheese, candied pecans, granny smith apples and white wine vinaigrette. So the heavy drizzle of balsamic was a bit of a surprise but it was fine. You couldn’t really get much of the white wine vinaigrette flavor though. Loved the combo overall though-some of my favorite combination of things in a salad. It was well-dressed and topped with lots of goodies.

At this time we also got the broiled oysters which were 6 small oysters (I so much prefer them on the small side) topped with Cajun butter and parmesan cheese. They gave you a nice juicy piece of lemon to squeeze over them as well, which was the perfect addition. I prefer my oysters cooked, and these were cooked just right. Gave the oysters even a little more creaminess. Totally worth ordering. 

At this point we felt like we could use one more dish, and hubby was forcing me to try something new (because I really wanted more potstickers!) so we went with the “deconstructed sushi roll” ($24) from the raw section of the menu. This was interesting—it was a patty of rice that was seared on the sides like a crab cake, adding some extra texture. It was topped with some slices of avocado (would have loved a few more) and then ahi tuna marinated and cut into cubes. There were two crunchy spicy chili shrimp on the side. There was a bunch more of that spicy mayo on the bottom of the dish as well. Again, the mayo was a little over the top for me—super thick and rich, but the rest of the dish was really good. The shrimp were cooked just right and I liked the other ingredients combined together for a nice little bite.

Our server was excellent as well and knowledgeable about the menu. She also immediately brought a new bottle of wine when the one we ordered tasted off. No questions asked. I appreciate what seems to be a well-trained staff (although I would like the pacing to go just a bit slower). It's pretty loud in there when it is busy (which it was) so we were happy to be in a table near the bar without too many around us).

At this point, we felt like we had enough to eat and we were generally very pleased with dinner. There are so many things I would like to try (along with my potstickers) on future visits. I love all the shellfish on the menu---am intrigued by items like pickled shrimp with pimento cheese and the Brussels sprouts salad with crab and shrimp. Let me know if you have been and if so, what items you have tried—good or bad. I need to build my next order. 

Spoke and Steele

123 Illinois Street

Indy 46225

317/737-1616

www.spokeandsteele.com 

Hoagies and Hops

Recently a friend suggested Hoagies and Hops for a quick lunch—it was crazy because it is just a few blocks from my work, but I had never even heard of it. It’s a cute little place that serves local beers as well as Philly-style hoagies, cheesesteaks and hot dogs. The owner (I believe) mentioned to us that it was the Hog Island sandwich that inspired her to open the shop after living in Pennsylvania. They are importing the bread from South Jersey and chips and pickles from Philly.

We shared a pretzel and beer cheese ($2.79) to start. I liked the beer cheese pretty well. The pretzel was good too, but I wish it had been heated up.  I ordered the 7” chicken cheesesteak with fried onions and sharp provolone. They cook it up fresh and bring it to the table. The ingredients were good, but I sort of wish I had gotten the “Philly Special” that comes with banana peppers, tomatoes, parmesan and spicy sauce just to add a little more flavor to it—I was itching for some acidity or something more. I think the tomatoes, onions and peppers would have done it. But I can’t say I am any kind of cheesesteak expert so I would love to hear what others think—I bet for people who grew up eating these types of sandwiches, this would be a welcome sight—it feels authentic, even though I am not really sure due to lack of experience. 

The cold hoagies seemed popular and that is what my friend had. It was the Hog Island that I mentioned earlier. This includes salami, black forest ham, prosciutto, capicola, provolone, lettuce, tomato, onions and oil. I liked the lettuce and dressing to add some of that flavor I was looking for, although I would put a little vinegar or something in there too. Or maybe some of the whole grain mustard they mentioned in the menu. Loved all the fresh onions though. 

Overall though, like I said, the shop seems to be a labor of love to the owner (I think) who it sounds like ate these types of sandwiches in Philly and was inspired to open a sandwich shop. The people were really friendly and the service was fast. There were lots of working people grabbing a sandwich here and I love how close it is to my work. I am sure I will give it another try to see if I can create my perfect sandwich. 

Please share what you think if you have been here.

Hoagies and Hops

4155 Boulevard Place

Indianapolis, IN 46208

317/426-5731

www.hoagiesandhops.com

Maialina

I am trying to get out and try some new places and Maialina kept popping up in my social media. It’s a new place that is in the historic Fountain Square building and it’s Italian. I keep hoping for a great Italian place, so I was excited to try it. I didn’t realize till we were there that it was owned by the same family that owns Ambrosia, which lessened my excitement a bit (just never had an amazing meal there), but I wanted to keep an open mind.

We started with the tomato and basil bruschetta ($10), the parmesan garlic toast ($4) and the small Italian chop salad ($7). Ok, I have to say this course was pretty underwhelming. The best thing was the garlic toast and it was very good. Bread was crunchy and it had a nice amount of cheese on top that didn’t make it gooey, but just added to the flavor. The bruschetta had a lot of problems. The biggest one was lack of taste. I liked the small dices of tomato, but it needed acid so much. According to our waiter, I think it was meant to have some balsamic on it, but I tasted nothing. And for me a good piece of bruschetta is toasted crunchy so that it doesn’t get soggy under the toppings. This was very lightly toasted if it was even toasted at all. I ended up using some of the dressing from the salad and putting the tomatoes on the parmesan toast. Then I got a decent flavor bite. But the most important change I would recommend is adding acid to those tomatoes. Please. 

I was a bit puzzled by the chopped salad. When I read chop, I think little chopped up pieces that are all approximately the same size. The menu listed romaine, pepperoncini, salame, provolone, mushrooms, green olives, red onions and croutons. This was certainly not chopped very much. There was a lot of lettuce and large slices of red onion and some olives, maybe 2-3 tiny pieces each of cheese and salame, a lot of croutons, and one large pepperoncini on top. Oh, and no dressing. At all. It was supposed to have red wine vinaigrette, which I eventually asked for and got. And I was surprised at how lacking in flavor it was as well. It was not emulsified at all and the main taste was of oil. So in my mind this salad was a no-go. A chop salad should be chopped and tossed with the dressing. End of story.

Moving on to the main courses, we quickly learned none of the pastas are made in house, which was disappointing. Hubby ordered the cacio e pepe pasta ($12), my son the gnocchi Bolognese ($18), and I got the truffle mushroom flatbread ($10).  Luckily things improved on his course. The best course was the simplicity of the cacio e pepe, which was spaghetti with cheese and pepper. This is a simple dish when done well is really tasty. This was good—the cheese in the right amount both parmesan and percorino. The pepper was strange though—it was just some ground pepper on top (like the kind that comes from a pepper shaker—really fine). A little bit of fresh cracked pepper would have really added to the flavor (and was what was listed on the menu). The Bolognese was decent as well, but a weird choice to put on gnocchi because little pillow shapes of gnocchi don’t really hold on to the sauce that was made with ground meats. The flavor was good but you kind of had to eat them separately—the gnocchi and then a spoonful of the meat sauce. I would recommend a different shape of pasta for this dish. The flatbread was decent as well—I didn’t get a lot of truffle flavor, but I liked the little bit of rosemary. It was maybe a little boring, but nothing wrong with it. I definitely preferred the cacio and pepe. That’s what I would get on a return visit. Which is probably somewhat unlikely.

I will say, this is a pretty new place, so they are probably still finding their groove, but nothing really jumped out to me and the first half of the meal was pretty disappointing. They do have a nice Italian wine selection though. And our waiter was very nice and service was pretty good overall, even though they were very busy (people in Indy do love a new place). If you have been, please give me your thoughts. 

Maialina

1103 Prospect Street

Indy  46203

317/982-7676

https://www.maialinaindy.com/