Dig In 2012

I tweeted a lot about this year’s Dig In, so I am going to keep my post fairly brief and just talk about a few of my favorite dishes from this year (in no particular order) (and I didn’t get to try every single item, although I did try a lot of them).

Goose the Market’s “walking taco”

You can always count on something interesting from Chris Ely of Goose the Market and Smoking Goose and this year was no exception.  (You can also count on some of the longest lines there). You got a little paper bag full of tender goat meat and some crunchy cracklins on the bottom—the “tacos” had a bit of seasoning in the form of some chopped onions, but mainly you got to add toppings yourself.  There was tomatillo salsa, a creamy sauce, corn pico de gallo, cilantro, cabbage slaw (the things I remember off the top of my head).  I put a little bit of most of the things on and really enjoyed it.  And I am sure goat is certainly a meat that a lot of Indy people might not have had before.

Brad Gates Catering Bison Succotash

This dish included a decent portion of slow cooked bison shoulder with lots of great local (and crispy fresh) veggies—corn, cabbage, green beans and tomatoes.  I thought this was one of the dishes that had the most varied flavors and the meat was also super tender.  As it turned out, it was one that had quite a line later in the day as well.

Late Harvest Corn Salad

I loved Late Harvest’s corn, walnut, goat cheese, and housemade pancetta salad.  The pancetta was nice and salty and I really enjoyed that this dish also had a bit of acid to it—there was a lot of rich food to eat at Dig In, and this one stuck out to me because it was different and was a really nice combination of flavors.  I may have to try and recreate this one at home.

Chef JJ’s Sweet Cheeks

This was a dish that was somewhat similar to Brad Gates’ dish, but made with pork—and I loved the crunchy bits of falafel on top.  Few dishes could really give a good crunch under these circumstances and this one was really good.

Duos (Food Truck) Goat Cheese Quesadilla

This was probably my favorite vegetarian option and I really enjoyed that it was also something totally different from pretty much everything else. It was a potato, mustard green and goat cheese quesadilla.  You definitely need to like goat cheese to like this one, but I love goat cheese and thought it was really good.  I liked that there were veggies being used that weren’t the corn, tomato and green beans that were in a lot of dishes (and I love all of those things as well, don’t get me wrong).

I got to go as a VIP (I was given 2 tickets for my work as a gastronaut), which meant we got in the gates at 11:00 and didn’t have to wait in line for much of anything, which was really nice.  Overall, our impression was that the food has continued to improve over the course of the 3 years that Dig In has been around. My general observations about the food this year--tacos and chilled soups were the most popular dish and many people tried to come up with novel ways to serve the food that didn't require a spoon or fork, which was nice since you are walking and eating. (Which reminds me, the little tortilla filled with pork and seasoning from Indiana Downs was also really good--see pic below.)

The good news is they ended up selling out all the available tickets, which was a goal I know they wanted to achieve and it makes me happy that so many people were excited to eat local Indiana food. The downside, from what I saw and have been hearing, is that the lines got really long shortly after 12 and remained that way for most of the afternoon.  Apparently several chefs also ran out of food by 3:00 or so.  I am not sure what the solution is, but hopefully they will get it all worked out by next year (although there will always be lines I think).  I know I really enjoyed my day and nearly everything I ate.

So what were your favorites? And what was your experience like?

Dig In

A Taste of Indiana

www.digindiana.com

Goose the Market- Revisit

It has been awhile since we have been to Goose the Market and we really liked it the first time. We always forget about it for lunch just because it isn’t quite downtown, and it isn’t quite not downtown ya know? So we generally are thinking of somewhere that is downtown or somewhere that isn’t when going through our choices.

Ever since the first time we went, we knew we needed to try the “Batali,” the sandwich that was named number one in an article in Bon Appetit about sandwich shops around the country. The sandwich itself is filled with spicy coppa, soppressata, capocolla (all various forms of cured meat thinly sliced), provolone, tomato preserves, hot giardinara, marinated red onion, mayo and romaine, all served on a chewy French baguette and toasted. You would think with all these things, this would be one of those sandwiches that you couldn’t fit into your mouth. However, at Goose, all the sandwiches, regardless of the number of toppings included, are approximately the same size, and that size is reasonable—I really can’t stand sandwiches that are too fat to eat. The flavors were great together and I can see why this sandwich was recognized by Bon Appetit. There is enough cheese to balance out all that meat, and the spiciness of the giardinara with the tang of the marinated red onions (I think these onions were my favorite part of the sandwich. I wonder if you can just get a side of those?) makes this sandwich truly something special. Sounded like a lot of cured meat to me, but I was totally wrong. And I am so happy I tried it in spite of my doubts.

We also shared the “Avery,” which was face bacon, lettuce, tomato and mayo. Sounds sort of simple (especially compared to the “Batali”), but it was also really good. The flavors were great, the tomatoes were great, and the mayo was great. I loved the flavor of the face bacon (which I am assuming is exactly that) except there was a bit too many fatty bits that were too chewy to eat, and some edge pieces that were too hard and chewy too. But the other pieces were delicious. It was also served on the same French baguette and toasted.

We shared some of the market salad which on this day was beluga lentils, smoked trout and Greek ricotta. There were teeny dices of red pepper and red onion in there as well. The flavor combination was pretty good, but I found the salad overall a little dry.

There are also so many other tempting items in this store, it is hard to leave with just your sandwiches. I didn’t, and picked up some amazing scallops while I was there (as well as several other things). Made them into a great ceviche for dinner and hubby and I had quite a good food day.

Damn! I just saw a new sandwich on the menu—the “Hawkins”—roasted lamb leg, olive tapenade and fennel carrot slaw (have I mentioned how much I like olives?). That sounds awesome. I am going to have to get one of those soon if it is still on the menu.

The thing about Goose is, they don’t have a lot of sandwich choices, but they change them frequently (with the exception of the “Goose” and the “Batali”—I reviewed the “Goose” in my last review.) But they are not your average sandwich. And let me tell you what, this place has a gift of putting the right (and not necessarily common) flavors together and making a tremendous product.

Goose the Market
2503 N. Delaware Street
Indy 46205
317/924-4944
http://www.goosethemarket.com/

Goose-The Market

Today we finally got around to trying Goose the Market for lunch based on recommendations from several people, including my readers. Everyone else seems to know about it, but if you’re not in the know, it is located at 25th and Delaware. It is a great little neighborhood/gourmet market with lots of great looking meats and a nice stock of various other things such as wine, beer, cheese, gelato (an entire case of it just like in Italy) and baguettes that look pretty good. They also do a small lunch menu with several sandwiches and a soup of the day. You can check out what’s on the menu on their blog on the website listed below. The staff was also very helpful and friendly.
Image via Wikipedia
Since it was my first time, I tried “The Goose” sandwich—figured if it was named after the place, it must be good. Well, it was quite good. It was a warmed baguette with hunks of fresh mozzarella (very creamy), layers of thin proscuitto, extra virgin olive oil and shredded basil. Sounds simple, I know, but this is some of the best proscuitto I have had in Indy and the slightly warmed bread really added to the sandwich, particularly on a cold winter’s day.

Goose specializes in lots of dried cured meats and has several different sandwiches highlighting these yummy treats. If you’re in the neighborhood, stop in and give one a try. And while you’re there, check out the rest of the place, there are certainly lots of temptations!

Goose the Market
2503 N. Delaware Street
Indy 46205
317/924-4944
www.goosethemarket.com