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 

Recess - Revisit

This week’s quickie post is about Recess. I saw in their social media that they were doing the Room 4 cheeseburger for a couple of nights and I needed to eat it. The kids are also fans, so we trekked over as a family.

That burger? One of the best in town (fat burger wise anyhow). Tender meat, cheese, Dijon/mayo, lettuce, onions, pickles (I had to get them on the side because I was sharing with hubby) and a Brioche bun. Perfect.  And the crispy fries (more like slices) are strangely addictive. There were fights over them at our table. Those burgers were just pouring out of the kitchen all night.

We also ordered the chirashi, or scattered sushi bowl—the first time I have really tried the new raw bar menu. There was tuna, Hamachi and salmon sashimi served over sticky sushi rice with chunks of cucumber (could have lived without those personally) but I loved the shaved lightly pickled cucumbers on the side. Wonderful fish, delightfully simple, but great dish.

My daughter also ordered the goat cheese quesadilla with chicken. It was wee, but mucho delicious. We ended up ordering a second one because everyone wanted some of the first one. 

The food at Recess is always great. The service can get a little sketchy. Prepare for a little more time than you would think is my advice. And enjoy every bite. And if that burger’s on the menu, go get one. 

Recess

4907 N. College Ave

Indy 46205

317/925-7529

www.recessindy.com

Recess - Revisit

It has been awhile since I’ve been to Recess. I am always telling people it’s one of our best restaurants and then I’ll look back and think, holy moley, it’s been a year since I’ve been there. So in the name of research, it was time to return. 

I’m sure you know the drill with Recess—it’s a set menu. This one was $60 for the four courses. You get what you get and you don’t throw a fit. Well, you do get to choose a course some times. This time it was the starter course. The choices were a salad of chicories, green beans, fennel, Parmesan, horseradish and rye croutons with a creamy anchovy dressing or golden beet-carrot soup with shaved Brussels sprouts, pickled cabbage, pulled pork, crème fraiche and caraway. I went with salad. Not a fan of beets that much and carrot soup isn’t my thing either. I did have a bite of the soup and it tasted much like it was described, but like I said, not my thing. Glad I went with the salad, even if it was my least favorite of the courses. The lettuce was just a lot of fairly bitter greens—there was also horseradish grated on top, which also added a strong flavor. I just felt like it needed something to balance it a bit—and there wasn’t much dressing to it, so you mainly just tasted a lot of fennel and bitter greens and the horseradish. Others at the table liked it better than I did I think.

I liked the next course a lot more—it was halibut with multi grain risotto, squash sofrito and truffle arugula coulis. The fish was perfectly cooked and perfectly tender. It was seasoned simply with salt and pepper—perfect to go with all the flavors underneath. I enjoyed the texture and light crunch from the “risotto” which was more like a wild rice mix. There were bits of the squash mixed in, which broke up the purely crunchy risotto. I really liked the flavor of the arugula truffle coulis, which gave it a bright kick from the fresh arugula.

The Fisher Farms beef ribeye was probably the favorite savory course at our table. It was served atop a potato-root vegetable mash with roasted broccoli rabe and grilled scallion chimichurri. You can just look at the picture to see how beautiful that steak was. And again, the freshness of the chimichurri, but with a slightly smoky taste from the grilled scallion in it, made for the perfect winter sauce with beef.

I was really impressed with the desserts. Again, we had a choice—either apple butter cake with spiced cider sorbet, salted caramel, sage and pecan or blood orange panna cotta with sesame biscuits and blood orange-cherry compote. Hubby and I ordered one of each to try, and honestly, would be hard pressed to pick a favorite.  Well, we each leaned slightly toward a different one. I really liked them both, but was really impressed with the blood orange panna cotta. It had the exact right combo of tartness from the orange combined with the creamy custard. And when you added the really strong sweet/tart compote with each bite, it was heavenly. Loved the almost savory flavor from the biscuits as well—they were perfect with the custard and compote. The apple butter cake was wonderfully tender and how can you really go wrong with a warm salted caramel sauce? I really like the way they play with a traditional base—like the custard or the sorbet and infuse them with more unusual and unexpected flavors. Again, both were outstanding.

Recess maintains its hold on the title of one of Indy’s best restaurants as far as I’m concerned. This may have not been my favorite top to bottom meal at Recess, but it was still very enjoyable.You may not always love every single item you are served, but you are certainly likely to try some things you might otherwise not have tried. I can’t say either of those desserts would have jumped out at me on an a la carte menu, but I was very happy I got to try both. 

Recess

4907 N. College Ave

Indy 46205

317/925-7529

www.recessindy.com

Room Four -Revisit

Hubby and I decided to have dinner at Room Four the other night—I am subscribed to the emails that tell you the menu every day, and while I don’t always read them, on this night I did and it was very appealing (and we had a sitter). Honestly, I think Room 4 is still kind of a hidden gem, even though it has been open for several years. It seems to be the place that when people ask me about my favorite restaurants, and I mention it as one, they have never heard of it. They know Recess usually, but not Room 4. And the crowd was still pretty light when we got there at 6:30 or so (it did pick up though). 

Room Four is such a good place to get some of Chef Hardesty’s (and staff) refined food but in a more casual, a la carte setting. Often the things being offered are using ingredients from Recess, and in our case, our dessert was the exact one being served at Recess the night we were there.

We started with the cream of celery soup with porcini mushrooms ($14) and their version of a Caesar with tomatoes, mushrooms, sweet onions, Parmesan and a Caesar vinaigrette ($12). The soup was very good. It had a deeper earthy richness than most vegetable-based soups have because of the porcini flavor. It also had hunks of soft celery in there, which is something I like in a “cream of” soup. I don’t like them as well when it’s just a puree. The taste of celery was very strong though so you had to really like celery to like this soup. 

Frankly, we were a little disappointed with the salad—maybe because we always have such high hopes from salads from this kitchen as they are usually perfectly balanced and dressed. This one was heavy on the lettuce and light on the dressing. It wasn’t as composed as salads here usually are.

After that though, things certainly improved. The rest of our dinner reminded us that Recess/Room Four is definitely one of Indy’s best.  We had a second course of the roasted flank steak with Napa cabbage, shitake mushrooms, scallions, spicy ginger sauce, and chopped peanuts ($13). What a great take on an Asian-inspired dish. The beef was cooked nice and pink and the sliced shitakes blended in with the meat just adding that additional depth. The dish had just a teeny bit of heat, but mainly was seasoned with an acidic ginger sauce. In this case, the fresh veggies were marinated in the sauce perfectly, and the crunch and saltiness from the peanuts added texture and seasoning.

For the main part of our dinner, we split the crisp whitefish with kalamata olives, asparagus, roasted tomatoes, basil and yellow beet coulis ($20). I also think fish has always been a strength from Hardesty’s kitchen and this was no exception. Perfectly cooked and not dry at all, with the briny salty olives (one of my favorite things) and the acid from the tomatoes. Neither hubby nor I are huge beet people, but we even enjoyed the beet coulis underneath. We both love asparagus and it was really good and well cooked-- just enough to preserve the flavor and a bit of the toothiness. We also shared one taco—we were torn as to which one to get and decided on the pork. It was grilled pork tenderloin, queso fresco, avocado, cilantro, onions and salsa ($6). Ok, I have heard people complain about “six dollar tacos” but come on, these things are delicious. And I like them because it isn’t just the meat and the tortilla. You get all kinds of goodness in there too. Let’s face it; while I appreciate the cheap, basic taco, these are fancy. And gooey. And super good. Don’t get me wrong, it’s still restrained in some ways—the stuff isn’t totally spilling out of the tortillas, but it’s just a great combination of flavors and textures. We had to restrain ourselves from getting another one. 

We did however, get lured in by dessert. Because it was cheese—the cheese course they were serving as one of the dessert choices at Recess on this particular night ($12). And it was fantastic. It was Sartori gorgonzola dolcina paired on a plate with blueberry honey and toasted nuts. There were these super thin crisp slices of bread served with as well. Every single part of this dish was perfect together. The lightly sweet light blue cheese with the sweet honey but a slight acidity from the fruit. And nuts and cheese—well, they’re made for each other right? In theory, it was simple, but comes across as complex when you get all the flavors together.

I love the food here, and we are seriously lucky to be able to get these delicious little ever-changing tidbits so easily at Room Four. I also took note of the fact that they serve a fancy burger every day and I saw a family with a kid come in and order it plain for him for dinner and he loved it. So my kids might start seeing the inside of this place soon as well.  The service is spot on and professional. My only complaint? We went on one of those really warm evenings we’ve had recently and the place was FREEZING inside. Seriously. I still don’t get why only in Indianapolis do they have to turn the thermostat to 50 degrees just because it gets warm outside. I have never noticed this problem in any other city. Even other midwestern cities. Our server did his best to adjust it for us (he said others had complained as well) but it didn’t change much. It won’t stop me from going again because I love the food so much, but next time I will dress appropriately.

Room Four

4907 North College Ave

Indy  46205

317/925-7529

www.recessindy.com 

Recess - Revisit

It has been awhile since we’ve been to Recess—not sure why, it is still one of the best restaurants in town. I guess maybe it seems like such a commitment, time-wise and food-wise.  The good news is, it is totally worth it.  It was on my in-laws list of places they have wanted to try in Indy, and it was the holidays, so a good excuse (not that you really need one).

I am sure you know by now that Recess is a price fixed menu—you get 4 or 5 courses—usually you have  a choice for the largest protein and often there is an additional supplemental course for an extra charge (this night it was $56 with a $12 up charge for the pate).  So you have to go on faith with what they are making that day.  Most meals I have had have been good to really great, although there are always courses that I like better than others.

The first course on this night was the weakest one for me (and I think everyone at the table). It was mixed greens with sliced jicama, radishes and tortilla chops and queso fresco.  There was a little dab of avocado puree there as well as what was described as a roasted poblano vinaigrette. The problem was there was so little dressing you couldn’t really taste it at all and it made the salad really hard to eat because it was like trying to fork dry leaves off the plate—there was nothing to stick them together.  The particular greens used were also very bitter –without more dressing to smooth them out, they were pretty assertive.

The next course was fluke (which is a semi firm white fish) and it was perfectly done. I have always appreciated how well fish is prepared at Recess. It was seasoned and seared and served on top of cauliflower puree with arugula and artichoke hearts and hunks of bacon.  The flavors were nice—it didn’t feel ridiculously heavy for a seafood course, but had a nice wintery feel to it with the bacon and the roasted artichoke hearts.

After that, we had the supplemental course that you could get if you wanted for $12. It was pork pate with caper berries, mustard and pickled red onions. We got one order to share between the four of us, and I think it as plenty to share (I saw one table where everyone got the supplemental course—no way could I have eaten the entire thing on my own). The pate was good—quite strong on its own, but I loved a bit of it on the bread with a little bit of each of the other accompaniments. They were a perfect combo. In the past, I have not been a huge fan of caper berries, even though I love capers and olives, because the ones I had were really firm.  These were great with it though, and were soft.  This was the kind of dish in which you realize every ingredient had an integral part—it was really well done.

Next was the main dish and on this night there was a choice between tombo tuna or hanger steak.  I had the tuna and everyone else got the steak (although my mother-in-law and I agreed to share our two dishes). The tuna was amazing. It was quickly seared on the outside and served on top of wild rice, roasted Brussels sprouts, golden raisins and tot soi (a green). The sauce was perfect with it—it was a soy based glaze flavored heavily with ginger and lemongrass. I loved it all. The wild rice gave it some interesting texture in contrast to the buttery tuna. A little sweet burst from a raisin every once in awhile was a nice surprise as well. Honestly, this was a dish that I wouldn’t have ever designed because some of the ingredients aren’t typically my favorite things, but it was perfect.  It was a dish that makes you appreciate the lack of choice at Recess because it makes you step slightly out of your comfort zone.

The beef was also very good (hubby and I argued over which was best) but I liked the tuna better. The beef was a great dish too though. It was nice medium rare slices of hanger steak with celery root, mushrooms, snap peas and served with a red wine beef sauce.  A rich, hearty wintery meal for sure. For me, it just couldn’t compare to all the different flavors in the tuna.

The last course was dessert and it was also really, really good. It was a little apple fritter with a side of bourbon maple ice cream and topped with spiced nuts.  The fritter was fried and had little bits of apple inside it. The fritter with the ice cream was really nice—again, a nice wintry dish that felt rich without being too heavy.

We did the wine pairings as well, and I think they do a very good job with them. I think the pours are fairly generous (not quite a full glass). I don’t think there were any selections that I didn’t like.  The biggest downside of the meal was actually the pacing. Service was quite slow in between a couple of the courses—and not because of the server himself, but the kitchen just seemed to be having trouble keeping up or something.  The place was pretty much full most of the time we were there which was nice to see. I was surprised to see that Room 4 was not very busy on this particular night for some reason.  I haven’t been in awhile. I wonder how their business is going. Anyone been in awhile?  Anyhow, Recess is certainly one of Indy’s culinary gems and we are lucky to have it.

Recess

4907 N. College Ave

Indy 46205

317/925-7529

www.recessindy.com

Room Four - Revisit

Wow. As you can probably tell, we go out to eat a lot, and while I have a lot of good meals, I am still always excited when I have one that really makes me repeatedly say things like “this is sooooo good” throughout the entire meal.  Anyway, this meal was one of those. And makes me regret not going here more. It was a random Wednesday and we ended up with a sitter—I had seen the Room Four menu earlier in the day and had thought that it sounded good so off we went (some days certainly sound better than others).  We were seated right away, although the place was probably 2/3 full and people continued to come in the whole time we were there.

I ended up getting a starter that wasn’t actually on the online menu-- so sometimes there are additional or slightly different variations of things once you get there.  My starter was a salad of thinly sliced prosciutto, fennel, and green apple on top of a blue cheese mousse and topped with crumbled pistachios ($10).  There also seemed to be a very light vinaigrette on top as well.  This salad was superb. Seriously—definitely one for the mental bank to try and re-create at home.  On the bottom of the plate was a fairly thick blue cheese cream that was topped with the little mounds of prosciutto, several slices of tart apple and lots of the fennel. I was worried the fennel might be overpowering, but it wasn’t. It was all light and crisp and went really well with the meaty softness of the meat and cheese.  The pistachios also gave it a nice teeny bit of crunch. (Side note though, I was surprised to see them since they weren’t listed on the menu—and as a mom of a kid with some severe nut allergies, these things stick out to me).  It was really, really good though. A bunch of ingredients that I probably wouldn’t have thought to put together, but which I will be in the future (with something else to replace the nuts).

Hubby had the rabbit rillette ($12) which was also really, really good.  It was basically like a light pate made from rabbit—and served on top of the perfect pickled carrot mustard—I like some mustard with things like this to cut the fattiness, but sometimes it can be too sharp.  This was perfect--and without the pickled carrot flavor it wouldn’t have been as good.  There were also hearty sunflower shoots on the side that gave a nice crunch with everything else.  The thinly sliced sourdough bread that was toasted and buttered was great too. We only wished for another piece or two.  We had a hard time deciding which appetizer we liked better, but honestly they were the perfect two things to split.

For my main, I had the fried pork tenderloin tonkatsu over soba noodles ($16).  I absolutely loved this dish.  It was thinly cut, breaded and fried pork tenderloin that was sliced across a bowl of noodles that were slightly cold.  There was a ton of flavor in the noodles from the ginger scallion sauce—lots of small bits of ginger and scallions in there and maybe a bit of heat from some jalapeno?  The pork was perfectly tender and the breading also added some nice, slightly salty, flavor.  Hubby really liked it too, and honestly I had a hard time sharing it.  We ate every single bite.  If this was a dish available regularly somewhere, it would be one of those dishes that I would crave and buy a lot.  Fairly simple, but perfectly executed.

Hubby got the both the tacos of the day ($6 each). The first one was a chicken version with avocado, arugula and chipotle salsa.  The other one was with black olive picadillo, roasted poblanos, queso fresco, and cilantro cream.  We both really liked the chicken version—and I have to admit I kind of like the gooey more “fancy” tacos quite a bit that you get at places like this and H2O.  All that cream and stuff may not be totally authentic, but it sure is tasty.  The chicken was super tender and the salsa gave it just a kick of heat.  Not too much, but enough you could feel it.  Honestly, neither one of us was as big of fan of the other one—there was something strange about the consistency of the filling for us.  It was even spicier than the chicken one—although I did like the cilantro cream which I have had before on other tacos at Room 4.  The taco menu changes daily but they almost always have some flavors—I look forward to trying some of the other flavors.

We were on such a food high, we went ahead and got dessert because we pretty much knew it would be good because it is usually the only offering at Room 4 and it has always been good.  The candy bar cookies ($5) are basically big gooey chocolate chip cookies with bits of random candy bars in them. Pretty sure there was some Kit Kat in ours.  They serve them with some whipped cream dusted with chocolate.  If you like warm, gooey, chocolate chip cookies, you are going to like these. (And really, who doesn’t?)

All in all this was up there as one of the best Indy meals I have had in awhile and is going to remind me to think of Room 4 more often when we are going out.

Room Four

4907 North College Ave

Indy  46205

317/925-7529

www.recessindy.com

Room 4--Revisit

Recently, I had the opportunity to take advantage of Recess/Room 4’s special lunch hours during Super Bowl week.  Even though technically, by the time you read this, you won’t be able to take advantage of it yourself, since they were just offering their normal Room 4 fare, I figured it was game for a post (even though we were actually sitting in Recess) because you can always go to Room 4 and get some similar types of stuff. 

I was with the BFF and we both started with the “hangover chicken soup” ($11) which was perfect for me because I felt like I was getting just a touch of a cold, and the spicy rich broth was exactly what I needed.  The soup was loaded with pieces of seasoned, tender chicken and a ton of veggies—celery, carrots, onions, jalapenos, tomatoes and zucchini.  There was a nice little garnish of cilantro on top. The veggies were tender, but not tasteless mush, like so often happens in soup.  But seriously, the thing about this soup was the well-seasoned broth.  It had so much flavor, a nice amount of heat, tasted good, and seriously helped out the sinuses. I also liked the lime wedge alongside to add to the freshness from the cilantro.

The grilled fish tacos ($16) were great.  I think this was the first time I have had monkfish in a taco, and it was really nice. The fish was grilled, and very slightly charred on the edges, but the fish was really tender and I love the way monkfish has such a sweet taste.  But my favorite part about these tacos was all the flavor from all the toppings. There was mashed avocado, a tangy cabbage mix with lime and fresh sliced jalapeno.  They were topped with a seasoned crema, which had a little spice, but still gave you the creamy coolness that made the whole thing a perfect combo.  I had just a little taste of my friend’s carnitas as well, and it had a nice meaty taste (had cotija cheese and salsa on top) but if I were going back and had the same choice, pretty sure I’d be going with those fish tacos. They were bright and delicious.  There was also a black bean salad along with the tacos, and while it was good, I enjoyed the tacos (and soup) so much, I didn't have much room for it.

I was glad to hear that several of our Super Bowl celebrity guests got up to Recess to try the food here.  It was good to see a few of them venturing outside of the chain-zone downtown.  I am looking forward to a return visit soon for dinner.

Room 4

4907 North College Ave

Indy  46205

317/925-7529

www.recessindy.com

Room Four

I was interested to check out Room Four ever since it had opened, but I hadn’t gotten around to getting there. The thing about this place that sort of surprises me is that it seems like it is flying a little under the radar—as big a deal as the opening of Recess was, it seems like Room Four has just sort of quietly opened, and there hasn’t been a lot of press.  I have mentioned it to several friends-who have all eaten at Recess, and they had no idea what I was talking about.  In case you don’t know either, it is the newest addition to Greg Hardesty’s ventures and is actually accessed through the same door as Recess—instead of going in the front door and turning right, you go left to a new, smaller dining area.  The menu is a la carte, less expensive and they don’t take reservations.  I had heard that it was easy to get in, so we called some friends and asked them to meet us.  Unfortunately even at a fairly early hour (6:30), while they weren’t full, they had no tables for 4 available so we had to wait about a half an hour to be seated.  The tiny room (almost a hallway) is made up completely of tables for 2, which they push together for larger groups.  We did get some wine while we waited, which was nice, but it was a little frustrating that there were several tables for 2 available but not next to each other. (I would’ve happily bought a glass or two of wine for any couple willing to scootch down one table so that we could slip into a table for 4, but hubby wouldn’t let me ask any of them).  My advice though is that you can probably get seated fairly quickly if there are just 2 of you—more than that and you may want to prepare for a wait.

Anyway, we eventually got seated and had already checked out the menu, so right away we ordered several appetizers—the corn fritters ($8), the mixed greens salad ($9) and the quesadilla (which was actually listed as an entrée--$13).  Loved the corn fritters—there were 3 fritters to an order (ok, we had 2 orders) and they were super moist little fritters that tasted wonderfully of sweet corn, with a crisp pan fried edge.  But my favorite part was the topping on them—the menu called it “avocado cous cous caviar.”  It was cous cous mixed into a lightly seasoned avocado spread—sort of a milder guacamole.  I loved the addition of the cous cous. What a unique way to add another texture to what was a very tasty dish.

The salad was also really good too and was a nice thing to have on what was a scorching hot night (and this place can be a little warm even with their blinds drawn) because it was cold.  There were mixed greens topped with sliced roasted shitake mushrooms, thick slices of beautiful ripe tomatoes, jalapenos and a ginger vinaigrette.  I liked this salad because it wasn’t necessarily something I would have put together myself, and the flavors went together really well—it had a bit of Asian taste with the dressing and the shitake mushrooms, but also great sweetness and the right acidity from the tomatoes, and a touch of heat from the jalapenos.  I have always liked the thoughtfulness of flavors in Recess (and other Hardesty restaurant) salads.  This one was certainly no exception.

The quesadilla was also universally enjoyed and devoured quickly (and another one promptly ordered).  It was a crisp tortilla filled with Capriole goat cheese, zucchini slices and black beans.  I have never made a quesadilla with goat cheese and I am pretty sure it will be happening around here soon.  It was so creamy but had that extra depth of flavor that goat cheese has—tangy yet light.  The other ingredients gave it nice weight and the salsa of charred tomatoes, cilantro and chunks of avocado on top were perfect.  I so enjoyed eating all these wonderfully ripe tomatoes…hopefully by the time this post is up I will have a few of my own coming out of my garden.

We also all shared one of each of all the other entrées (ok, so we ordered everything on the menu except the soup because it was like 150 degrees outside, what can I say? That is the benefit of taking other people with you.)  The chicken wings ($13) at Room 4 are some of the best in flavor when it comes to chicken wings.  They are marinated and well seasoned and then deep fried and served on top of a fairly thick pool of blue cheese celery sauce—I really liked the sauce—a ton of blue cheese in it, but it wasn’t a really cold sauce as you usually get with wings, but a room temperature sauce which I liked—gave the wings a little more gourmet feel.  There were little bits of celery in it, instead of your traditional side of celery sticks.  An interesting twist.  And the wings themselves were so hot (as in temperature) we had to wait a bit to eat them.  While I enjoyed them, and have had the pleasure of having them before (although with slightly different seasonings I think), I wouldn’t say they were my favorite thing of the evening.

Their take on “spaghetti and meatballs” ($13) was also a good one.  Normally, I would never order spaghetti and meatballs in any restaurant.  To me, it isn’t exciting or overly interesting and a fairly easy dinner to make at home, so why bother?  Since there were several of us and we were going to share everything, we went ahead and got it.  It was different—more like papardelle and meatball.  There was one large meatball, and the tomato sauce, was a super fresh one with large hunks of fresh ripe tomatoes.  It was lighter than what you think of with spaghetti and meatballs and I enjoyed it because of that.  The meatball was also tender, unlike most meatballs I have had in my life.  Everyone enjoyed it.

The last entrée we had was the gilled cobia ($15) served in a light broth (described as chimichurri butter sauce) with zucchini, French horn mushrooms and kale.  Ok, so this is the one I can speak the least to, because it was the farthest away from me on the table, and I only got about a bite before it was gone.  The fish was very tender, although with a very distinct, slightly fishy taste (I think because the skin was on the fish).  You have to like fish to have liked this—we all did, but it wouldn’t be a dish for someone who likes only very mild fish. It is a little firmer than a lot of other white fish as well.  The veggies with it were wonderful and as I have said before, Chef Hardesty has a way with fish.  It is always cooked properly and with just the right things on the side.  Being served in the buttery sauce also made it even more intensely moist.

Ok, so there was only one dessert.  Of course we had to order it.  They were cookies. Warm homemade cookies made with large hunks of various chocolate-y candy bars.  Seriously, even with as full as I was (and a bit too much wine), I could have eaten several more of these.  I don’t know if they are always on the menu, but I hope so.

So to sum up, this place is such another great addition to the ever-growing group of restaurants in the City that are taking familiar dishes and tweaking them a bit to give it a gourmet spin.  And in the hands of this kitchen, they are doing it with more finesse than most.  The ingredients are impeccable and many of the flavors are complex, but the dishes are approachable and affordable.  I have always loved Recess, but this place will have something to please everyone I think, and I know I cannot wait to return.

Room Four

4907 North College Ave

Indy  46205

317/925-7529

www.recessindy.com

Recess- Revisit

You know I like Recess, I have written it up already a couple of times before. I love the fact that they change the menu every day and highlight what is really fresh and seasonal. We were celebrating a sort of personal milestone and it was hubby’s choice. He wanted to be guaranteed a good meal so Recess it was. And I figured since they change the menu every day, every review is a new one right?

As usual, I really enjoyed the meal, although this time there was a course that I didn’t care for—the salad course. This is sort of unusual for me because unique salads are something I think Recess excels at, and something that usually makes me really happy. And actually I can’t say it wasn’t unusual, I just didn’t like it. It was broccoli and cauliflower florets which were raw, a bit of tomato and onion all tossed with a ginger cilantro vinaigrette. Don’t get me wrong, I love all the ingredients inherently, I am just not a fan of raw broccoli and cauliflower. It was just was a little too crunchy for me—especially the cauliflower which were even larger pieces. More of the tomato would have helped I think, but all in all, it just wasn’t my fave (and the course I didn’t get a picture of either).

The next course was amazing. It was house made pasta (fettuccine size) with chanterelle and oyster mushrooms, fava beans, and peas in a thyme nage. It was a rich dish, and the mushrooms were wonderfully flavored with the nage (think light butter sauce). The peas and favas gave a nice snap to the dish and the pasta was perfectly prepared. It was sprinkled with a bit of parmesan. (My picture was after a bite or so, so that is why the plate does not look perfect). The one downside, even for me, was that it was a small portion—just enough to give you a taste for it, and want more. But I have to say, this was another example of a local chef making fresh pasta with interesting ingredients that puts to shame a lot of the local Italian places.

The next course was either wild king salmon or local beef tenderloin (Fisher Farms) served with a corn cake, collard greens, and bacon zucchini relish. Wow, this one was great as well. Hubby had the salmon and I had the beef so we could try both. I would be hard pressed to pick which one was better. The steak was perfectly prepared and tender, and the salmon was crispy on the edges and perfectly cooked as well. I loved the sides also; the collards had a great flavor, especially mixed with the bacony zucchini. All the veggies were also beautifully cooked and flavored. And the corn cake. It was my favorite accompaniment. Sweet with nice pieces of fresh corn. And corn so far this season has been out of the world for me. There was a nice drizzle of a savory vinaigrette around the plate that just perfectly blended the sweetness of the corn, the saltiness of the bacon flavor and the slight bitterness of the greens, with its touch of acidity.

The dessert course was called a goat cheese croquette—it was sort of like a square of a firm goat cheese flavor panna cotta that was coated in crushed pistachios and served with marinated cherries and blueberries. I loved this course too. The pistachios added a nice crunchy texture to the silky smooth cheese and the fruit, while sweet, was not overly so. Now I love cheese as a dessert in itself, but this was a dessert that could make a cheese lover or a sweets lover happy.

I also really enjoy the low key, yet extremely professional service at Recess. Everyone is laid back, but they know what they are talking about and bring your wine before your food, change your silverware as needed and just generally do the job of a restaurant with ease. It makes you feel like you are amongst professionals, and I really appreciate this.

Recess
4907 N. College Ave
Indy 46205
317/925-7529
www.recessindy.com

Recess - Revisit

Wow. We had a really great meal the other night at Recess. It was funny because when I looked at the menu that day, I was sort of thinking, “eh, doesn’t seem that exciting.” But wow, everything came together beautifully and I really enjoyed this one much more than my first trip. I wasn’t going to write this one up (and thus, sorry, no pictures) because it wasn’t that long ago that I reviewed it, but after finishing this meal, I felt an obligation.

The first course was a salad of arugula with sliced fennel, shallots and julienned green apples, shaved parmesan with a walnut vinaigrette. There was half a little spring roll alongside too which was filled with, get this, avocado and bacon. Now this is my kind of spring roll. And the tanginess of the dressing and tartness of the apple was great with the richness and saltiness of the spring roll and the spicy kick from the fennel. The only thing I would have changed was making all the fennel pieces uniformly small; a few were so big that I didn’t eat them because it was just too peppery. But this was one of the best salads I have had in a long while. And I loved that everything was properly bite sized and dressed. And seriously, how can you go wrong with a spring roll stuffed with bacon and avocado? You can’t.

The next course was shrimp bisque with an asparagus cream and little pieces of those super skinny asparagus spears I love so much (have I mentioned lately how happy I am that it is spring?) Anyway, I love that this was just a small little portion of soup, not a huge bowl, because for whatever reason, I have a hard time eating a gigantic bowl of just about any soup. This was a nice portion and I ate every bite. The bisque had an amazing shellfish flavor and little bits of shrimp throughout. And a little dollop of the cream and the pieces of asparagus that were just the right amount of soft, but still with a bit of a firm bite to them. It was great.

The next, and main, course was a chicken dish. This is probably why when I saw the menu, was sort of thinking, “ho hum,” but wow. This was outstanding. So it was a chicken breast cutlet which was fairly thin, but not super thin, cooked in a wonderfully seasoned light breading, with all kinds of nice peppery flavor. It was served over a ragout type mix of Portobello mushrooms, wild ramps (which are similar to scallions, but with a bit more flavor) and little bits of the dark meat from the chicken in a soy jus. Seriously, this is some of the best chicken I have ever had. The cutlet was perfectly cooked, not dry in the least, and went perfectly with the other ingredients. It was appropriately hearty for early spring, on a cold night, but not overly so. The mushrooms were my favorite part. Little dices that were so flavorful, I got a little sad when I ate the last one. I cleaned yet another plate (and I am telling you this is unusual for me). Which brings me to my next point; I think Recess is serving the perfect portion sizes. This is what we should be eating America. Not two giant chicken breasts with twice as much starch on the side. But I digress.

For dessert, we had a sour cream panna cotta with dried cherries. Again, I was sort of thinking this didn’t seem that exciting, but it was also really good. The panna cotta had visible bit of vanilla bean in it, so you got that rich vanilla flavor combined with the slight tanginess of the sour cream. It was served with a little crispy wafer cookie that was also a really nice textural ingredient with the smooth panna cotta. And the cherries added a nice component as well. Again, I ate every bite.

So this is a perfect example to me of why what Greg Hardesty is doing at Recess is such a good thing. There’s a good chance I wouldn’t have ever ordered many of these things on a menu, but since you do not have a choice (and on this night there were no choices at all), you just relax and eat what you get. And it was wonderful.

We also had the wine pairing with the food and it was quite nice as well. I love wine, but I am not as knowledgeable as many foodies about it, and I love putting this decision into someone else’s hands. Especially someone who puts some real effort into it and does such a great job. The wines this night were a white Burgundy, a Chardonnay, and a Tempranillo. All were very nice with the food.

My only complaint of the evening was the fact that it was a fairly cold night outside and the restaurant was quite cold inside as well. Of course, this seems to be a common problem in Indy, but I get tired of wearing layers everywhere I go. And it detracts a bit from your meal when your teeth are nearly chattering. But other than that, I would say this was a nearly perfect meal, and I haven’t had one of those in quite a while.

Recess
4907 N. College
Indy 46205
317/925-7529
www.recessindy.com