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/

MIlktooth-- Revisit

Hubby and I had a rare day off when the kids were still in school just before Christmas and decided to hit up Milktooth. Wowza, it was packed. I guess other people had the same idea. Anyway, we waited about 30 minutes but it was actually one of those sunny days and we sat outside in the sun.

We had already looked over the menu when we did get seated, so we ordered right away. While there were several things that sounded good, this was a menu that wasn’t as compelling as some I have seen. But it changes all the time, so this will happen sometimes. We were intrigued by the Indiana hot wings, but the warning that came on the menu that they were extremely hot and that no refunds would be offered scared us off so we decided to pass on those. If they have that kind of warning, we figured they must be really hot. And I’m not the type to love super fiery hot stuff that destroys my taste buds anyhow.

So we ordered the burger ($14), because, let’s face it, it is usually one of the best burgers around these days. They vary it up and this one was different and extremely tasty. It was a thin beef patty topped with asiago, shitake mushrooms, cream cheese chive aioli. Oh, and of course, we added an egg. Part of what makes it so good is that Amelia’s Pullman bun too. It’s just perfect. Light but exactly right to hold up to the stuff inside. Seriously, we split this (as well as everything else) and hubby really wanted to order a second one for dessert. We were both savoring every single bite.

We also ordered the Dutch baby pancake with Manchego, grapefruit, shaved Brussels sprouts, Sherry vinaigrette and chopped hazelnuts--oh and we added the meat option ($16). I want to say it was morcilla? I was glad we added it though—although it was a bit chewy, it added a nice smoky hearty flavor. I liked this better than the last Dutch baby I had at Milktooth because it was pretty much purely savory. The acid and intensity of the grapefruit was a nice contrast with the cheese. The Brussels sprouts were very tasty too and overall were sliced very thin. There were a couple that were just a little too thick for me, but overall, this was a dish that was super interesting and really good.

We tried to get the ham and cheese croissant, but sadly they were out of it, so we decided to get the latke ($5) instead. They usually have some sort of latke on the menu, but they mix it up as to what’s in it, and what’s on it. This one was potato and rutabaga and was topped with acorn squash butter and green harissa cream. I loved the harissa cream—it was tangy like it was made with sour cream. I didn’t really like the acorn squash butter as much, but it didn’t really matter because I just pushed it out of the way and ate all the rest. 

Ok, we had some wine, and in order to prevent hubby from ordering that second burger, we decided to try a pastry for dessert. We got the twice-baked pumpkin/chocolate croissant ($4). I was suspicious because pumpkin flavored things aren’t typically my first choice, but this was really good.  Decadent.

The only downside was the service was pretty slow. But like I said, they were really busy, so I think our server might have been a little overwhelmed. But we had nowhere to be and had wine, so we were generally pretty happy. I’ve said it many times before, but we are lucky to have this place and I am glad to see it still living up to the hype. There’s always something new to try, and always a twist on an old favorite as well.

Milktooth

540 Virginia Ave

Indy  46203

317/292-2280

www.milktoothindy.com

Bluebeard- Revisit - Lunch

I met my friend Suzanne for a slightly late birthday lunch at Bluebeard. It’s been awhile since I have eaten at Bluebeard for lunch, so it was nice to go back. The hard part is not ordering everything on the menu—so I let her choose and we split both items.

The first item was the Canadian bacon sandwich ($10), which had Canadian bacon, spinach cream cheese, garlic mayo, roasted red peppers, arugula and red onions served on Amelia’s Pullman toast. There was a lot going on in this sandwich, but it was extremely tasty. I really enjoyed the softness of the bread, even though it was also nicely toasted. The cream cheese and aioli added a kick of acidity. My only knock on it was the bacon was very fatty, which maybe some people like, but it gives it a bit too rubbery of a taste sometimes for me. I just pulled off some (not all) of the fat and really enjoyed it.

Bluebeard is sourcing their meats from the new Turchetti’s down the street (I overheard the waiter telling this to another table). It’s exciting to see a new local business featured in a restaurant like Bluebeard.

We also were feeling indulgent and got the loaded fries ($14), which were extremely good and extremely bad for the diet. But whatever. There was Mornay sauce, cheese, bacon and of course lots of crispy fries. Oh and a sunny egg on top. The Mornay sauce though—damn, it was so good. It wasn’t just pure flat and rich, it had an edge to it that made it completely addicting.

Bluebeard is a solid choice you guys, even for lunch. It feels like a nice grown up place, and isn’t so crowded that you have to wait to get it for lunch. And you know you want to eat those fries.

Bluebeard

653 Virginia Avenue

Indy, 46203

317/686-1580

www.bluebeardindy.com 

Pioneer - Revisit

My family has really enjoyed Pioneer in the past—and when given the option, the kids chose to go back. They have changed up the menu bit and our last visit was probably the best one yet. I also recently had the pleasure of a private wine dinner there and had a really good meal as well. It’s a place you should definitely check out if you have not already.

We started out with the everything pretzels ($8) with dill cream cheese and tomato olive schmear. I liked the play on an everything bagel, with the seasonings on the pretzels and the cream cheese. They are soft pretzels, but have a nice crusty crunch to them with the spices on top. As long as they’re on the menu and I am with my kids, I am pretty sure they will be ordered.

My daughter is also obsessed with arancini, and we had an order of these ($9). They have had a version of them in the past, but I think I preferred the lightness of these the most. They are rice balls that are seasoned with saffron, lightly fried and served with parsley aioli. Hubby wanted the meatballs ($12), and no one objected so we had those too. These were very tasty, even for meatballs. They were served with a rich red sauce and crostini. If you’re a meatball person, you should get them.

Hubby and I also ordered the frisee salad with a “fried” egg, guanciale, and fingerling potatoes. The only bad part of the meal was that they forgot to bring this until after we had already gotten our entrées, but we decided to eat it anyway, and I was so glad, because this is so good. I will certainly order this each and every time if it’s offered. The frisee is nicely dressed and acidic to balance the richness of the egg, which is barely poached and then breaded and deep-fried. It remains yolky and delicious. This is the perfect thing for me and I would happily eat this as my main dish—as it was I basically ate it as a dessert, which was fine by me.

Pictures from the wine dinner

Oh man, though, the star of the meal was the beer brined half chicken ($21). My son and I split it. Normally I don’t order chicken out, but this may change this practice. If you have ever been to San Francisco and ate the “chicken for two” at Zuni Café, this is very reminiscent of it. Pioneer does a bread salad underneath with greens—there’s a good amount of acid in the salad and it is so good with the extremely tender chicken. The chicken was just so good—it sort of fell off the bone and even the breast meat was tender and delicious. I highly recommend this dish.

Hubby and my daughter both had linguine and clams ($21). They both enjoyed them but agreed that other things were the stars of the night (hubby thought the salad and chicken were his favorite things and my daughter would say the pretzels). They use nice smallish clams and give you a decent amount of them. The sauce is flavorful, but could use maybe a little bigger punch of red pepper. 

Overall, this was a great meal and it’s a great place to remember when you want a nice local meal in Fountain Square.

Pioneer

1110 Shelby Street

Indy 46203

317/986-6761

www.pioneerindy.com 

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 

La Margarita

Hubby and I took our son to La Margarita the other night. I haven’t been there since they have been in Fountain Square (that’s a really long time) and we were looking for something casual and where my son could catch some Pokémon.

We had to wait a bit for a table but not too long. There were a lot of families there, which is a nice thing to see. Before we were seated, hubby and I ordered a margarita while we waited. Oh boy. That was not a good margarita. I mean, there’s hardly a margarita that is terrible, but this one was pretty close. It was so sour it was hard to drink. After being seated, we switched quickly to something else.

We ordered the chile con queso ($6) to start. My son loves queso dip and loves to compare them. This one is actually made with real cheese giving it a gooey, stringy experience. It was really good. There was red salsa mixed into it (but a very liquid type of sauce, not chunky at all) and it gave it really nice flavor. This was probably our favorite item of the night. We ate every bit of it. They also give you a nice portion of chips with three different kinds of salsa—loved that one of them had chunks of avocado in it—you can always win me over with avocado. All the salsas were pretty good. The chips were kind of disappointing. They’re kind of generic. Honestly, the Kroger brand tortilla chips are better (seriously, they are pretty darn good, have you tried them?)

I was excited to try the chilaquiles ($12) because they are typically one of my favorite Mexican food items. They are chips mixed with cheese, chicken, salsa and you can add an egg for $1 (duh). I chose the red salsa (you can do red or green). I was kind of disappointed in this—it didn’t have the casserole kind of feel that my favorite versions do. This tasted almost more like nachos. The chips were still fully intact and just topped with the cheese and salsa and the egg was plopped on top. It didn’t taste terrible, but didn’t wow me.

Hubby felt similarly about his chile relleno ($11). It was one poblano pepper stuffed with cheese and chorizo and topped with a chili sauce and sour cream. He thought it was good, but nothing about it that made it really stand out. My son was happy with his chicken and cheese quesadilla, but loved the cheese dip the best.

Overall, it’s not my favorite Mexican that’s for sure. It’s fine, and it’s a nice family friendly place in Fountain Square that’s pretty approachable to all tastes. A nice outside area in warm weather. Bummer about the margaritas though.

La Margarita

1043 Virginia Ave, Suite 1

Indy  46203

317/384-1457

www.lamargaritaindy.com 

Pioneer--Revisit (New Chef)

After spending three weeks in Italy this summer, my kids have been itching for some good Italian food. Yeah, we all know how that goes in this town. Particularly after you have actually experienced Italy and the wonderful variety of food that is offered (I know, I’m a broken record but it’s not just red sauce and alfredo people).

We decided to give Pioneer another try because I have been told they have a new(ish) chef (Lane Milburn) and that he used to work in San Francisco at Delfina, one of our old favorite neighborhood Italian joints. The menu has a Northern Italian/Alsace bent.

It’s a big place and I usually prefer sitting in the bar area for a bit of coziness, but we had the kids with us, and well, this is Indiana so we sat in the main room. I am happy to report that by the time we left, it was pretty full out there. And again, it’s big.

To start with, they brought us some little happy hour freebies (nice to see them doing this outside the bar area) of fried chickpeas, olives and sausage with pickled mustard seeds. It was a nice little treat, everyone loved the chickpeas and you know olives and me. Hubby was particularly fond of the sausage.

As appetizers, we ordered the pretzel with beer cheese and honey mustard ($6) and the short rib Milanese arancini ($6). The pretzel was a huge hit with all of us. It was obviously homemade, and had just the right amount of texture to it as well as salt. I am going through a little beer cheese obsession right now, and this one was just how I like it. More of a spreadable consistency (not melted) and had a nice kick from the beer. The honey mustard was also a nice variation or addition to the beer cheese. Pretty sure there will be two orders of this in the future if we take the kids again. The arancini were also very well received, particularly by hubby. The rice was nice and tender and stuffed with some short rib. The outside was breaded and fried just right so that it gave it the crunchy edge without drying out or liquefying the inside. They were sitting on a bed of saffron aioli, giving them a nice dipping sauce with just the right amount of tanginess.

Both the kids wanted to order pasta for their main dishes, so hubby and I went a little lighter on our choices because we knew we could eat part of theirs. When we were on the Amalfi coast in Italy, my entire family became obsessed with the tiny clams that are everywhere there. They are like the size of your fingertip. I have never seen them anywhere in the U.S. But there was linguini and clams ($21) on the menu at Pioneer, and my daughter was determined to get it and hopefully relive the vacation experience. While they weren’t the teeny tiny clams that we had (like I said I have never seen them here), they were nice and small and the dish was excellent. Definitely one of the better pasta dishes around town. The linguine was cooked just right and well seasoned with pancetta, red chili flakes, and white wine. The clams were small and tender.  A really tasty dish.

My son went with the rigatoni with “Sunday supper sauce,” meatballs, ricotta, and pancetta bread crumbs ($19). You want a rich and hearty (and delicious) plate of pasta? This is for you. I loved the balance with the creamy, tangy ricotta and the texture offered by the breadcrumbs. It was a deep, rich red sauce with a lot of flavor, but was so much more interesting because of the other things going on in the dish. Really well done. Again, one of the better pasta dishes I have had around Indy.

Like I said, hubby and I got appetizers as mains (and some sides) because we shared the pasta. I ordered the beef Carpaccio ($13) with radicchio, caper berries and Parmesan and hubby ordered the warm chicory salad with a poached egg ($11). We also ordered a side of the spatzle ($5) and the German potato salad ($5). The Carpaccio was a little different than most I have had—the beef was sliced a little thicker, but it was very good. It was so tender it was not hard to eat, even though it was a bit thicker. Loved the caper berries that were sliced on the plate to give it the acid that Carpaccio absolutely needs. The Parmesan added some saltiness. My kids were begging me for more bites of this all through dinner. It was a crowd pleaser for sure. Personally, I may have slightly preferred the chicory salad though. Wow, that was a great salad. It was slightly warm, so the chicory wasn’t too tough and it was dressed with a garum vinaigrette, which is a dressing made with a spice blend that gave it a great flavor. Plus there was more shaved Parmesan, croutons, and that wonderful poached egg giving it a rich creamy decadence. A wonderful salad. I highly recommend.

The sides were the only things that didn’t really impress as much. The potato salad was the better of the two, and was seasoned with gorgonzola, bacon, and dressed with Banyuls vinaigrette. It sounded much more interesting on paper than it actually tasted. I was looking for more kick from the dressing and the blue cheese, but it was kind of bland. Not bad, just not as exciting as I had hoped. The spatzle was quite dry and didn’t seem to have any seasoning to me. It was supposed to have lemon and black pepper, but I wasn’t really getting much of it. We left most of this one.

All in all though, this was a really, really good meal and I look forward to returning soon. If you are looking for some interesting Italian dishes, go give this place a shot. I still feel like it flies under the radar a lot more than it deserves. Go give them some love. (Only downside here...what is up with the parking in Fountain Square? Oy. Although Pioneer does have it's own parking lot in back).

Pioneer

1110 Shelby Street

Indy 46203

317/986-6761

www.pioneerindy.com 

Rook - Revisit

Rook, you guys, is one of the most creative and tasty places we’ve got going around here. Hubby hadn’t been to the new location so we headed over there on one of those nights when it was still unseasonably warm and sat outside—they’ve done a nice job with the outside seating. Even though it’s pretty near the street, it feels a little calmer than many places.

We started out with the steamed pork bun ($5). A friend had insisted we get the Spam bun because she says it is amazing, but hubby couldn’t be swayed from the pure pork version. And it is really delicious. The soft doughy bun and the just right crispy pork belly with no too much fat. My favorite part is the homemade pickles giving it a fresh crunch and some acid. There’s a sprinkle of peanuts and some hoisin sauce too. So good.

We also got an order of the fried pigs’ ears with fermented black bean mayo and a 63-degree egg ($8). We have had tasty pig’s ears before, but they are often too chewy. THESE WERE SO GOOD. You couldn’t sop eating them. It was almost like eating light fried pork skins—super crispy and not at all chewy. That mayo had a little tanginess to it as well, and well, you know me, put a perfectly runny egg on top of that mayo and it may just be the perfect dish. No way we would ever pass this by if it’s on the menu. Dipping the pigs’ ears into that runny egg and mayo was just perfection.

For our second round, we had the Ora King salmon poke ($18) and the Vietnamese crepe ($17). We really enjoyed the salmon—really nice-sized cubes of raw salmon—and if you aren’t familiar with Ora King, it’s super buttery and delicious (you can get it at Caplinger’s if you want to experiment at home). And then the salmon was served in a bowl on a bed of rice and flavored with soy, charred seaweed, sesame seeds and an avocado cream. There was also a big egg yolk in the middle of the dish, which made it into a rich, decadent dish. We really enjoyed it, but it was so rich, I was glad to be sharing it. I don’t think I could have eaten this whole thing on my own.

If I was going to pick a least favorite item of the evening, it was the Vietnamese pancake. And these are typically one of my favorite things in Vietnamese cuisine. It was stuffed with a large amount of duck confit, boiled egg, bean sprouts and bacon. It was drizzled with fermented chili aioli and had a side of a fish sauce-based sauce to season with. I’m not sure what made this dish a little lackluster for me, but I think it was the fact that there was a little too much of the filling inside (you couldn’t really appreciate the crepe itself) and the fillings were on the whole cold. When I have had this elsewhere in the past, the fillings are quickly sautéed or something so they are warm. Maybe they just put so much in there, it couldn’t all get warm before the crepe was totally done. The boiled egg was a new thing for me in a crepe like this. I appreciated some of it, but still, there was just a little too much.

All in all, this was a really good dinner. The first two items blew us away and we were also really impressed with the salmon. I love the way the menu varies from visit to visit. Hubby was also really impressed with the new (ish) digs, as they just feel more sophisticated, while it remains casual and approachable still.

If you haven’t been to Rook, you owe it to yourself to check it out for sure. It is certainly one of the most interesting places we have going and the food quality (and service for that matter) is very high. Can’t wait to try some other new things.

Rook

501 Virginia Ave

Indy 46203

317/737-2293

www.rookindy.com

Marrow - Revisit

A few weeks ago some friends and I decided it was time to go back to check out Marrow again. These are my friends who like to order heavy and share, so always a good couple to go out with. 

We started out with the smoked deviled eggs ($3 ea.) and the pickle plate ($6) because we just can’t say no to those deviled eggs—we’ve had them every time I think and even hubby, who isn’t a huge fan of deviled eggs like I am, really enjoys them. They had crab mixed into the filling, so how could you not like that? And they were topped with wasabi tobiko (love the pop from the fish eggs), crispy shallots (more texture) and a slice of pepper. The eggs were on top of some eel sauce so they don’t slide around too much. These are certainly some of my favorite deviled eggs in town.

The pickle plate was also one of the more interesting ones I’ve seen—and it seems like pickle plates are everywhere! This one had pickled cherries on it, which were very intriguing. Still sweet, but less so. I just kept eating them because they were so unusual. There were also onions, some curried cauliflower and some kimchi, which were tasty albeit less unusual. My other favorite was the pickled shitake mushrooms. Very cool. That earthy flavor but with a briny hit. These would be good in lots of dishes.

We had to get an order of our first favorites (and a couple of the few things that have remained on the menu since the place opened I think), the fried tandoori chicken ($24) and the paneer mac and cheese ($12). The fried chicken was just as tender and flavorful as the first time I had it. They serve it with a swath of various sauces on the bowl—a cilantro based sauce and a pepper chutney. It’s truly a delicious, and a nice Asian twist on what is one of my favorite things—fried chicken. And it’s a good one.

The shells and paneer is a take on mac and cheese made with a curried butter sauce, and chunks of paneer cheese—this is a firm cheese—it’s typically served in Indian food. The creamy sauce is accented nicely with the curry sauce as well as pieces of veggies—carrots, peas, corn and spinach. It’s a great dish because it is comforting like mac and cheese, but also interesting because of the more unique flavors. 

We also tried the fried chitlins. Rarely see these on a menu. They were pretty good, and in a nice zippy sauce. Some were a little tough maybe, but maybe that’s the nature of the beast (I have not eaten a lot of them in my life). There was a brisket dish as well that also had an Indian flair to it that was also a popular dish on the table. It was served with rice and chana dal (a type of Indian bean—sort of like a lentil or a chickpea). 

We also tried the little cornbread muffins. These were probably the most disappointing for me. The muffins were just too dry and uninspired compared to everything else we had. They did come with a side of sorghum and miso honey, but still just couldn’t really stand up to the other dishes, and just had a note of being sort of one-dimensional. 

We had this super fancy  drink for dessert that was very interesting. I think it is called the Miss T—it’s got a bunch of Irish whiskey, apple brandy, some tea and is infused through fruit and herbs to make a warm almost tea-like beverage with a serious alcohol kick. It was fun to watch it get heated and boil through the process but honestly, I’m not really a whiskey girl. But it was kind of cool. I can see how it would be a nice warming drink in the winter, if you like em strong.

Anyhow, we really enjoyed our meal overall and I love how often they mix up the menu here. What interesting dish have you eaten here and really enjoyed (I know you remember how to make comments on the blog—and they make me so happy!)?

Marrow

1106 Prospect Street

Indy 46203

317/986-6752

www.marrowindy.com