H2O Sushi - Omakase

****H2O is CLOSED********

Sushi, oysters, shumai and rice cakes

Wow. I wasn’t going to write about this one because it was kind of a special dinner—some friends of ours had won an Omakase dinner at H2O at last year’s Taste of the NFL fundraiser, which raises money to fight hunger locally.  Omakase, if you aren’t familiar, is just a way of saying you’ll leave the dinner to the Chef’s discretion. The dinner was for four, and they were kind enough to invite us along. After checking out the menu, most of the items we had were available individually on the specials (although I never would have been able to order so many of them just on my own), so I figured I would go ahead and talk about them. Also, I asked Eli Anderson, the Chef and owner, if this was something people could get if they came in for dinner and he said absolutely. I would just let them know in advance.

Our dinner also included Sparkling wine and wine but I am just going to stick to the food here, although I really enjoyed the wine pairings as well. We started off with an oyster shooter for each of us—the petite oysters (how I like them best when they’re raw) and topped with a bit of masago. Next were two versions of Hamachi crudo with two different flavor profiles. The first had more of a delicate Asian flavor with lime vinaigrette, thin slices of jalapeno and micro cilantro. Loved the slight heat the jalapeno gave as well the sour taste from the lime. We had another version that had a different type of vinaigrette and was topped with capers and chopped jalapenos as well. I loved the briny taste of the capers with the fish—I had a hard time deciding which I liked better.

At this point, the food just kept on coming and I was loving it. We each had a shumai dumpling, which was filled with beef and topped with the perfect sauce of soy, sambal and sesame. I liked the sauce so much; I picked up the bowl and drizzled it all over my dumpling. That’s what I do.  Next was seared tuna with ginger/caramel pineapple, pea shoots, and a slightly citrus tasting chili sauce. It was interesting, because pineapple isn’t always my favorite thing, but this was great with the tuna. The sharp flavor of the fruit was softened and sweetened by the cooking of it. The tuna on it’s own was just seared and needed the combo of flavors. It was one of those dishes with just the right amount of variation of flavors that needed to be eaten together.

Next were roasted rice cakes with scallions, caramelized onions, sesame seeds and red dragon sauce. These reminded me a lot of the ones hubby and I had at Momofuku Noodle Bar in NYC. These were spicier though and had a decent kick to them. I love the slightly chewy texture of the rice cake. These were quickly followed by a riff on something else we had at Momofuku—the pork bun. H2O often does pork belly in a bun, but these were like spicy pulled pork. I enjoyed these as well—my favorite part is the thin pickles that balance the spicy flavor just a little.

Beef tendon

The next thing is maybe something I have never had singularly as a dish and it was beef tendon—I loved the rich beefy flavor of these, and can see how they add flavors to broths and things like that. I wasn’t a huge fan of the chewy consistency of them on their own, but it was certainly an interesting dish (and one of the ones that was not on the menu).

After the rich hearty flavors of the pork and beef dishes (and the rice cakes), it was a refreshing change in the pacing to be given a couple of sushi rolls and the bright apple salad. The sushi included one of my favorites—the crazy ho roll (read about it here) and something I had not had in this particular combo—the Joe Pesci roll (shrimp, jalapeno, avocado and cilantro) and topped with some of my all time favorite tuna tartare. Not sure this is a regular item on the menu, but I bet they would make this for you since they have all the stuff on hand. It was a fun combination.

Apple salad, tuna, monkfish

The apple salad was really delicious and a great palate cleanser. It was julienned apples, cilantro, peanuts and dried blueberries in a light vinaigrette. It had that great mixture of sweet and tangy that I love with the crunch and slight saltiness of the peanuts. Not sure this one was on the menu either, which is too bad because it’s delicious. The last savory item we had was roasted monkfish with roasted garlic and lemon lentils. This one was probably my least favorite dish of the evening, just because the monkfish didn’t have a ton of flavor—normally it has a sweet flavor similar to lobster, and this one was kind of bland. The lemon lentils were a nice contrast in texture and added a light citrus note.

At this point, we held our hands up and told them we were completely stuffed, but we still managed to force down a couple of the famous H2O cookies. It is really hard to pass those things up that’s for sure.

This was one of the best meals I have had in Indy in quite awhile and I really enjoyed the mystery of what was coming next. I was told based on what we had, a meal like this would likely run just under $50 a person (without drinks and gratuity) and that they would be happy to do this with any size party, as long as the whole table goes along. And I highly recommend it.

H2O Sushi

1912 Broad Ripple Avenue

Indy 46220

317/254-0677

www.h2osushibar.com  

H2O Sushi - Revisit

*********H2O is CLOSED **************

Ok, so H2O is one of my favorite places. I probably go out to dinner there more than almost anywhere (and carry out, etc).  I was thinking, if you have just started reading my blog, or have a memory like I do, or just don’t know me personally, you may not realize this.  Therefore, I decided it was time for a revisit.  I have also had a couple of great meals the last couple of times I have been, but didn’t take pictures of one, so I decided to make an effort this last time.

We were with my in-laws, who had never been before, and are generally not sushi eaters, but they were game to try any place we liked so much.  We got a bunch of different stuff and shared.  The first thing (as always) was the tuna tartare ($14).  This is a staple for me and I think I would cry if I was told I couldn’t have it. I know I have talked about it before, but it is diced tuna that has been marinated in ginger, soy and lemon and mixed with radish, chives and cilantro and served with masago on the side (mix it in people, it gives a nice little teeny extra texture).  Fried wontons are on the side to scoop it up (I always ask for extra). I love this stuff.

We also got a couple of orders of one of the day’s specials, the pork shumai ($6), which I had seen on the menu before, but had never ordered.  They were outstanding.  They were little dumplings stuffed with pork and seasonings and sitting in a bowl of what they called a sweet and savory sauce. It had soy and I would say some vinegar as well as something making it a little sweet.  Since you generally only get chopsticks at H2O (or a fork if you ask), I was not too proud to put one on my plate and then dump some of the sauce on top. The dumplings were rich and the broth had all the variation in flavors that kicks them up a level—salt, sweet, and acidic. I would easily get these again (and I know hubby would demand it).

My in-laws ordered the shrimp tacos ($10), which we let them eat since they only come 2 to an order and since I have had them many times before.  They are some of the better of the “gourmet” tacos you see on menus around town—tender grilled shrimp, with yuzu adobo sauce (giving a little tartness and a smoky flavor), guacamole and crema (adding to the creaminess) as well as cabbage and radish giving them just a little needed crispness so that they don’t become too soft.  These are on our regular rotation as well (and are on the menu all the time).

We also shared the special noodle dish of the day which was Shanghai noodles with roasted salmon ($27).  Usually their noodle dishes are some of my favorite things, but this one wasn’t as exciting for me, probably because cooked salmon isn’t my favorite fish (I prefer it raw or smoked).  The noodles were a slightly thicker noodle (like linginue) and were in a ginger miso broth. I really enjoyed the flavor of the broth but it was kind of hard to get a lot because I was using chop sticks and we were sharing.

Lastly, we got a couple of rolls because, well, it isn’t a visit to H2O without ordering the crazy ho roll ($14).  We also got the ultimate California ($10).  I love the crazy ho (I mean who doesn’t really?) and this is another thing we almost always get.  It is spicy tuna and wontons inside and is layered on top with avocado, snow crab (real crab, yay!), eel, eel sauce, spicy sauce and masago (the little fish eggs).  Yeah, it’s a lot going on, and yeah, it is everything I like (even the spicy tuna which isn’t that weird tuna salad-ish sstuff  you get a lot of places).  It’s gooey, and it’s good.  A little bit of crunch from the wonton and little spiciness from the spicy sauce and tuna, but a touch of sweetness from the eel sauce. Delish. 

The ultimate California is crab (again, the real stuff), cucumber and avocado inside and the roll is lightly coated in more of the masago.  This is definitely one of the better California rolls I have had, but it is clearly a much simpler thing, and to be quite honest, I love all the stuff that is going on with the crazy ho.

So for dessert, we had an order of “the cookies” ($8.50) which I have had many times and love—they’re like the ultimate oatmeal cookie—chewy and warm and served with espresso cream for dipping (and which we had to get because it was my in-laws first visit).  But hubby and I were excited when they had a couple of other dessert options.  Nicole Anderson, one of the owners (married to the chef Eli Anderson) is a pastry chef and when she does other things, they are just as great as the cookies.  If there is one thing I have learned, when they are offering something else (which they often don’t), just order it. This day’s selection (among others) was a caramel cream pie ($8). Wow, was it good.  It had the deepest caramel flavor and was topped with a ton of fresh whipped cream and little caramel covered rice crispies. Hubby was so happy—caramel is one of his favorite things dessert-wise.  Honestly, I am not sure whether his parents got much of it because the two of us ate it so fast.

So, there’s the update. A few of my classics, a few specials, and an amazing dessert treat.  If you haven’t been to H2O before (and even if sushi isn’t your thing), you are missing out. This place is in my top 5 Indy restaurants.

H2O Sushi

1912 Broad Ripple Avenue

Indy 46220

317/254-0677

www.h2osushibar.com 

H2O - Revisit

****H2O is CLOSED********

So it has been awhile since I reviewed H2O, and while I know I have done it before, I felt like it was time for an update. And I actually got some sushi this time, and since, ahem, a few people have gone completely insane over the fact that I have reviewed this place without reviewing the sushi; I figured this was a good time.  We were in the mood and got a couple rolls. We also had my sister and her husband with us, so we could order a little more than we usually do.

But first, one of my favorite go to dishes at H2O is the tuna tartar appetizer ($14).  I think I have even discussed it before in my review, but it is yummy and something I crave on a regular basis.  It is tuna with chives, cilantro, and radish and marinated in lemon, soy and ginger.  The fish is super fresh and the marinade and seasonings give it a nice texture variation as well as a light, but distinctive Asian flavor.  They serve it with crispy wonton chips and I just love it. I could eat it all the time.

The next thing we had were the rolls.  We had the serpent roll ($13.50) which was a special. It was delicious.  It had a lot going on, but an impressive combination of flavors.  Inside it was spicy tuna, romaine and crunchy onions and it was wrapped with eel, avocado, spicy sauce and bonito.  It was more of a gooey type of roll, which is probably not truly traditional, but I really enjoyed it. I liked the spiciness from the tuna and the sauce, the soft eel and avocado on top and the little crunch from the onions and lettuce.  I would get this one again.

In contrast, the other roll we had was much lighter in flavor. It was the seafood delight ($13).  Inside the roll was shrimp, jalapeno, cilantro and avocado and it was wrapped with crab and super thin lime slices and topped with a ginger sauce.  While totally different,  I enjoyed this one too.  I really liked the fresh citrus kick from the lime and the slight spice from the ginger and a little kick from the jalapeno. If I had to choose, I probably liked the decadence of the serpent roll the best though.  

We then had tacos—one is a regular on the menu (and a regular for us) and the other was a special.  The carne asada tacos ($12) were the special and they were really tasty.  It was marinated Wagyu flat iron steak with salsa, queso fresco, radish, onion and cilantro.  They were served with a side of pickled veggies that were really nice to put on top for a bit of tanginess.  There were pickled jalapenos, carrots and onions. I really liked the onions.  There were two tacos served in doubled up soft corn tortillas.  The beef was flavorful and really tender—not cooked to death.   You could really taste the meat through the other things, because the toppings were not over the top.

One of the carne asada tacos

 The other tacos we had were the grilled shrimp tacos ($10). While similar in theory, these had different fillings and are one of our perennial favorites.  The shrimp are perfectly grilled and not tough, and they are inside a soft flour tortilla that is also filled with shredded cabbage, guacamole, radish, cilantro, sour cream and a yuzu adobo sauce.  They have a slightly smoky flavor and are much creamier than the beef ones because of that cream, guacamole and sauce.  But they still have a bit of crunch from the veggies.  I have had them several times and have always thoroughly enjoyed them—they are also 2 to an order.

Of course we had to have “the cookie” for dessert served with the espresso whipped cream.  This is still one of the best cookies I have ever eaten—a rich, warm, chewy oatmeal type cookie with pecans and even a bit of coconut I think.  If you go to H2O for the first time, these are a requirement.  It was a first visit for my sister and her husband and while they enjoyed everything, they really seemed to love the cookies. 

This has been one of my favorite places to eat in Indy since I first went, and continues to be.  If you haven’t been, and even if you don’t like sushi, you should give it a try.  The sushi is great, and so are all the other wonderful things on the menu.

H2O Sushi

1912 Broad Ripple Avenue

Indy 46220

317/254-0677

www.h2osushibar.com  (P.S. So happy to see the updated website and the daily menus.)

Zoobilation 2011

It has been a couple of years since we’ve been to Zoobilation, but we were able to get there this year—it’s always fun to people watch at this event, particularly later in the evening.  I also ate a ton of different things, but here were some of the highlights that stuck out in my mind:

Tilapia ceviche from Adobo.  Maybe because it was so hot, but the cold dishes were hitting the spot.  This ceviche was light and limey with a hint of heat from jalapeno, and had a perfect slice of avocado on the plate. 

Shrimp, octopus and tuna ceviche with avocado, cucumber, cilantro, tomato, soy and yuzu from H20. It was served on a tortilla chip and the flavor was great.  I also like that it was easy to eat—not so big that you made a mess, and it was easy to walk and eat it.  Handling your drink and a plate with a fork got to be a little challenging sometimes—especially when you are trying to take pictures of it on top of everything else.  And I noticed it is on the menu tonight at H20, so you can go check it out yourself if you want.

Lobster voodoo from Ruth’s Chris. These were two small pieces of deep fried lobster tail that were coated in a spicy voodoo sauce.  They had quite an impressive set up with deep fryers behind the booth.  This was one hubby went back to for 3 helpings throughout the night.

Baked snow crab rolls from Sensu.  These were nice bite sized items as well—just one piece of a sushi roll with snow crab and Dynamite sauce (chili, garlic and mayo) and crunchy bits of tempura.  It was rolled with rice paper.  This was a really nice bite as well—and I was excited to get to try this because we had just been to Sensu and almost ordered this on their menu and hadn’t.  (P.S. Look for my full review of Sensu on Monday).

Dessert-wise I had several things I really liked.  The sticky toffee pudding from R Bistro was outstanding—sort of like a dense spice cake topped with a caramel sauce. (This won one of the best of the best awards.  I also really enjoyed the dark chocolate tartlets which were filled with caramel and sprinkled with sea salt from Circle City Sweets and the chocolate cake shooters with buttercream frosting and a bit of raspberry from Cakes by Cathy—that may have been the moistest cake I have ever eaten.

Circle City Sweets

I was happy to see a lot fewer sliders than 2 years ago when we went. There was a really good variety of different types of things served in different styles.  I didn’t eat every single thing there, but I got a pretty healthy sampling of most of the things.  It was also fun to see a lot of our City’s great chefs all together in one place. 

If you went, tell me what you liked or didn’t and your overall impressions of the night.  It looked like a lot of people were having a lot of fun, even if they were all pretty sweaty!

Zoobilation 2011 (next year’s date is June 8^th)

Indianapolis Zoo

1200 West Washington Street

Indy, 46222

317/630-2001

http://www.indianapoliszoo.com/

H2O- Revisit

I am bumping my other posts out a bit and squeezing this one in immediately for the sole reason that I want you to get in there and eat these soft shell crabs while you can. I was really hopeful when we decided to go to H20 on this night that there would be soft shell crabs…I just kept missing them everywhere else. But this time I was in luck.

They were offering them in a traditional spider roll, but they were also offering a tomato salad with an option of adding a soft shell crab on top. We added two (no way were we sharing one). Wow. That’s all I can say. I seriously just wanted to skip the rest of the stuff we ordered and just get another order. The tomato salad itself (which you can get without the crab, but you would be insane) was really really good as well. The tomatoes came from My Neighbor’s Garden and were also really good for early season tomatoes. They were cut into large chunks with lots of thinly sliced basil, an almost guacamole-ish avocado topping, some beautiful sliced cheese and wonderfully tasty vinaigrette (drag your crab through THAT—perfection). Seriously, so get in there soon, these little babies don’t stay around too long (they start getting their regular hard shells).

The crabs were lightly fried and were quite large, but in the perfect state of soft-shelled-ness. Sometimes you get pieces that are still just a little too crunchy. These were not, just the right crunch with what was quite a meaty crab. (In the picture, you can only see one crab because I couldn’t stop hubby from removing the other one before getting my camera out).

Ok, now that my frantic rant is done. I will tell you about the rest of the food. We also had one of the chicken buns which was a soft doughy bread (sort of like a pita in shape, but smaller) that was holding some exceedingly tender slices of chicken that were seasoned with a slightly sweet sauce giving it a slightly more mild flavor similar to that in a Chinese pork bun (which is usually heavily sweet barbeque sauced shredded pork of which I am not usually a huge fan). This was nice though, and was handled with a much more delicate hand. There were some barely pickled cucumbers on top that made for a nice variation in flavor (although I would have liked them more if they were pickled a teeny bit more).

We were also served a special dish of “temple and cheek” pork tacos that were outstanding. Just some tortillas with exceedingly tender pork from literally the head of the pig (hence the name temple and cheek) and topped with a bit of pico de gallo and a wedge of lime on the side. These were outstanding as well, especially with the squirt of lime which made the tender pork so bright and tangy. I hope these go on the menu.

We also had the marinated beef lettuce wraps. Hubby was reluctant because we generally aren’t a fan of lettuce wraps, but we thought we’d give them a go. They weren’t our favorite thing, but the beef was lovely and rare and sliced thin and the presentation was beautiful. The beef was placed on top of some kim chi in a super fresh cup of butter lettuce. There was some nice sticky rice on the side as well. However, I can't say we are any more a fan of lettuce wraps in general.

Finally we ordered the hamachi (or yellowtail) served with chick peas, arugula and a light brothy truffle scented jus. The hamachi was seared, and a nice piece of fish, but unfortunately was a little too dry to really enjoy because it was overcooked. The broth was amazing though and if the fish was cooked a little less, it would be amazing (hell, you could throw that fish in there raw and have an amazing combo).

Oh man, and we had the cookies. Those cookies will knock your socks off. Now this is not news to a lot of you , but since Eli and Nicole Anderson have re-purchased the restaurant and brought back Nicole’s cookies and sorbets, you can get an amazing cookie at H2O. For me, this was my first Nicole Anderson cookie and I was suitably impressed. It was a warm oatmeal raisin cookie served with some lightly flavored espresso cream (great for dipping). This was a perfect ending to our meal.
I am going to reiterate what I said before on my last H2O post though—I think we have a gifted chef in our midst and I hope people get in there and take advantage. And don’t worry if you don’t like sushi (I am not a big fan of rolls myself) because I think the best (and most creative) things are going on on the left side of the menu.

H2O Sushi
1912 Broad Ripple Avenue
Indy 46220
317/254-0677
www.h2osushibar.com (please please please update the website with the current menu items! I would love to be able to see what is on that left side)

H2O Sushi

We drive by this place probably 6 times a week, and probably at least half of those times we have said, “We should really try this place.” And now that there is a new-ish chef, I thought, hey, what better time? And I have recently heard the previous owners have just recently reacquired the place as well. The exterior of this place and the fact that really the main entrance is really more the back door than the front is sort of weird, but once you get inside, the soothing, minimalist, modern interior calms you. The lighting is soft and the music nice.

Now, in the interest of full disclosure, we are friendly with the server who waited on us the night we were there, because he has waited on us at several other locales, including L’explorateur and Euphoria (and even at Pizzology for a minute). It is also nice to know you are going to get great service from someone who knows about the food. So the chef at H2O, John Adams, is the previous sous chef from L’ex, and is quite young. I love that he is taking the primarily sushi menu and expanding it out. (Not being a huge fan of sushi rolls myself). He has added several hot appetizers as well as some hot entrees.

We started with the tuna tartar and a couple of oyster shooters for hubby. While hubby enjoyed the (small and good quality) oysters with a mignonette sauce, the real star of this course was the tartar. The tuna was outstanding in quality. It was marinated with soy, ginger, lemon and cilantro I believe, and served with wonton chips for dishing it up. It was really good. Even though when we first got it, it didn’t look that big, there is a lot of fish there and it is easily something to share, particularly with how rich and deep the flavors are.

Next as a little treat, we got a sampling of the chef’s charcuterie plate. Wow, this was outstanding. Everything on the plate was housemade and it was all really good, even the head cheese which I am normally not a huge fan of. Well, the platter consisted of the head cheese, a cured tuna, and a pork and chicken liver pate. There were beautiful accompaniments of giardiniera (lightly pickled veggies), caramelized cipollini onions, and pickled mustard seed. Seriously, it was all really really good. The slices of the chicken liver/pork pate were probably our favorite because hubby and I both love chicken liver. The giardiniera and the caramelized onions were delightful to cut the richness of the pate and head cheese. The giardiniera consisted of marinated onions, olives, jalapenos, and carrots. It wasn’t too spicy (although we are told can be varying in spiciness depending on how long it has been marinated). The whole plate was served with nice thin toasted and seasoned slices of baguette as well. I am telling you, this plate was a huge surprise from a sushi place. If they have it as a special, my recommendation is, get it. And it is certainly big enough for many people to share.

Next, we had the salmon carpaccio which was also really good. It was very thinly sliced raw salmon served with a lot of the traditional salmon accouterments, but in a new more refined way. There was a drizzle of a crème fraiche type sauce as well as a creamy green sauce which I believe was a bit of caper flavor. There were some capers on top as well as crispy blue potato chips. Salmon is not traditionally my favorite fish, but this dish made me love it.

Now it was at this point, where hubby said, “everything else could suck and I am coming back here to dinner tomorrow!” Unfortunately, I think he put a little jinx on the rest, because while it certainly didn’t suck, it wasn’t as good as the stuff at the beginning. We had also ordered one of the small warm entrees, the mussels and clams with sausage, blue potato, celery and tomato. Now the mussels were really good, small and tender and obviously fresh, and I loved the delicate but flavorful tomato broth they were served in. The potatoes didn’t really do anything to add and the clams were way too big for me (which to be fair were listed as Cherrystone clams). There was no way to eat the whole clam in one bite and there is just something wrong to me about cutting up a clam.

We also had a fluke cigar roll special which was a piece of fluke wrapped in a spring roll-type wrapper and fried, then rolled inside a sushi roll with some of the giardiniera. The flavors were unique but just wasn’t overly exciting to me, even though I really liked the giardiniera. Hubby agreed and he is more of a fan of sushi rolls than I am for sure.

We also had a dessert which was two spicy brownies served with crème anglaise and raspberries. They definitely had a little kick to them which is fun with a rich chocolately thing, but they were a bit dry.

One little gripe though unrelated to the food. Again, it's with the website. In this case, it looks pretty, but is horribly out of date. In fact, I don’t think it has changed since I started checking the menu more than a year ago. Please, please, with all the wonderful new menu items, get someone to update it every once in awhile.

But, I have to say, even with not being as wowed by the last few items of the evening, the first few items placed H20 up there as one of the better restaurants in Indy, at least in my mind. The chef is doing wonderful, creative things, and I was really impressed with that charcuterie plate. If he keeps up this new direction, they may need to add “Land” into their name somehow.


H2O Sushi
1912 Broad Ripple Avenue
Indy 46220
317/254-0677
http://www.h2osushibar.com/