Poke Bros.

Ok, full disclosure-- it is a chain, but still, I was excited by a poke place finally that wasn’t downtown or in Hamilton county—it’s the kind of thing I crave for lunch, but don’t necessarily want to drive really far for—you know what I mean. This one is in Ironworks so recently the kids and I headed over to check it out. It was so new as you can see, the sign wasn’t even up yet.

Anyhow, I found out about this place from a flyer we got in the mail. They just do one size bowl (but you can add extra proteins if you want). Also, I really like that they don’t count tofu as a protein (it’s a free topping) so I don’t feel like I am “wasting” a protein on a cheap ingredient like some other places do. And I really like tofu in my poke bowl to add a little creamy texture. 

Anyway, if you haven’t been to one of the poke places yet—you get a bowl, pick your base (white rice, brown rice, or greens, or a combo of two) and then just go down the line and add what you want. Lots of veggies and fruits to choose from. Most  of the toppings are unlimited except avocado, mango, masago, and seaweed salad which have a little upcharge. The bowls end up costing between $10-13 or so depending on what you get.

For proteins, they have the raw fish (salmon or tuna, seasoned or unseasoned, shrimp, chicken, or spicy chicken). I went with the marinated tuna as my protein and added avocado, tofu, edamame, masago and green onion. I do half rice and half greens. They top everything with soy sauce (they call it “OG sauce”) unless you don’t want it. Then you can add additional sauces. I added a little of the Sriracha aioli and a bit of ponzu to try and get a little acid. It was maybe a little too sweet but I liked the spicy mayo. 

My other favorite thing about this place is that you can add various crunchies on top for texture variation—they offer sesame seeds, tempura flakes, crispy onions, crushed cashews and wonton chips. I went with some tempura flakes and some wonton chips. I was a little nervous for my son who is allergic to cashews about cross-contamination, but luckily they had the containers right behind the counter and were willing to give him some that hadn’t been on the bar. 

My kids got similar variations to me with slightly different veggies, although my son got salmon and tuna. We all enjoyed it and they are certainly generous portions. The fish was fresh and tasty and I didn’t get any of those awkward fatty bites. All in all, I wish I had a locally owned option nearby, but I will likely eat here again as close as it is to me. And I am all about the free tofu. 

Poke Bros.

2727 East 86^th Street Suite 148

Indy. 46240

317/875-1699

https://eatpokebros.com/

Verde

Ok, it’s a chain, but it’s in Ironworks (there are some other central Indiana locations as well), and I had to try it because that’s super close to my house. A friend and I headed over for a weeknight meal. I was surprised it wasn’t busier than it was—usually new places seemed to be packed in this town no matter what they are. But It was probably only about half full.

Anyhow, we settled in and ordered a couple of the barrel select margaritas ($16)—which is their top shelf margarita. It has fancier liquors in it and it also has a fair amount of orange in it. It was a good margarita but maybe just a little too orange for me. I think I would try the house margarita next time. They also brought the obligatory chips and salsa. The salsa was fine—had a mild, fresh taste. The chips were not good.  They were like the cheapest grocery store tortilla chips. And not warm. You can make chips so good (just look at Nada) or go with quality non-homemade chips, but these were disappointing. I guess on the bright side, I was not tempted to eat more than a couple.

It’s also a really big menu (as it seems that most Mexican places are). There is a fair amount of tasty sounding items (I would like to try the ceviches, which I love when done well, but it was just too damn cold out). We settled on sharing the empanada trio ($12). There were three—one with chicken, one with steak, and one with cheese and corn. They served them with a special salsa and pico de gallo. They were all pretty good. The cheese one was nice and rich and I really enjoyed the slightly pickly topping on the steak. I also liked adding some freshness from the pico de gallo. I sort of wished for a light crema or guac but I enjoyed them all. The crust was nice and crisp. Mind blowing? No. Quite tasty? Yes.

We then ordered their street tacos—you can get them in sets of three or order three different ones, which is what we did ($15). I had the tinga chicken, fish, and shrimp (the fish was one of the signature flavors). I will say the fish was probably my favorite—I liked that the fish was in smaller hunks rather than one big piece. This made it much easier to eat. The fish had a slightly spicy chipotle flavor and was topped with red cabbage and a slice of avocado. While I love avocado, this big slice was a little hard to eat (sorta like when the fish is one big piece). Maybe chop it up or use some guac for extra flavor? Same goes for the shrimp taco which was basically the same seasonings and toppings. However, these were whole shrimp and kept spilling out when I was eating it. Again, would love it if they chopped them into smaller pieces to make it less messy. The chicken taco was a bit easier to handle—it was seasoned shredded chicken topped with queso fresco. The menu said crema too, but I wasn’t seeing any. I got some extra pico de gallo and used the lime and salsa with the tacos and they were decent. Most interesting tacos I have had? No. But not bad. I liked the empanadas better and next time I would try something other than tacos. The elote corn on the side was mushy and sort of lukewarm.

Service was decent, but maybe a little slow at the end considering it wasn’t that busy. It took a fair amount of time to get the check. I am sure we will be back at some point considering the proximity to our house…so please send me your favorite items.

Verde (multiple locations)

2727 East 86^th Street

Indy  46240

317/280-7410

www.verdeflavorsofmexico.com

Rize -- Revisit

I have been to Rize a couple of times, but I always seem to forget about it---and hubby had not yet been, so one day when we had some time for lunch together, I actually remembered it and off we went. It was a really nice day (and yet, it was freezing in the restaurant), so we chose to eat outside. They have a nice little patio that’s not on such a busy road (it faces the parking lot).

Anyway, I find this menu very appealing, and so did hubby. It was closer to lunch time than breakfast, but we decided to get a little of both types of dishes and share. We ordered the egg tart ($11), the ham sandwich ($13), and the crispy potatoes ($5). I have had the tart before and it is pretty tasty. The custard comes in a tart shell, and then is topped with all kinds of veggies—there’s broccoli rabe, mushrooms, squash and spinach I believe. And pickled onions on top as well as some micro greens. There’s this hibiscus mustard on the plate that makes the dish. With all those veggies, I would have loved a little more. To be honest, the egg part actually kind of gets lost in all those veggies. I think if I ordered it again and it came so veggie heavy, I might just remove half of them right away to make the proportions a little more balanced. I feel like there were more of them than the first time I went. 

The ham sandwich sounds simple., but they use a croissant, scrambled eggs, prosciutto, high quality cheddar and then hollandaise. We asked for the hollandaise sauce on the side (on the recommendation of our server), which I think was a good plan. This sandwich was so good—and so was the hollandaise. But it was nice to use as much as you want and not have your croissant go all soft and gooey. They do the eggs really well, they are light and fluffy. The ham was very tasty and in just the right amount. There was also a nice little side salad that was maybe slightly underdressed, but still good. 

Finally we had the crispy potato side dish. Hubby was in love with this dish, and they were very good. Imagine like a giant tater tot—it was round and made of shredded potatoes and was very nice and crispy. It sat on top of a creamy mornay sauce (cheesy cream sauce), but I will say, I had a few yummy bites dipped in the hollandaise. These are completely worth ordering and I know they will always be ordered when I am with hubby.

After trying this sandwich, it makes me want to try the other sandwiches as well. They have some nice combinations and it seems they try hard to come up with something more interesting than the standards. Even the grilled cheese seems interesting. I hope this place stays around, as I find it so much more interesting than the other breakfast place at Ironworks. Now, if we can just fill the B Spot space with something good, we’ll be all set. What do you guys think should go in there?

Rize

2721 East 86^th Street

Indy 46240

317/843-6101

www.rize-restaurant.com 

Sangiovese

Recently when my in-laws were visiting, we decided to try Sangiovese again. We had not eaten there since they moved to Ironworks. I never loved it when it was at its old location, but I heard a few things from a few different people that inspired me to want to try it again so we did. 

We started with the torta di caprino ($14), which is described as a goat cheese pie served with a rosemary cream sauce, roasted red peppers and crostini. I will admit, it didn’t jump out at me on the menu, or when it was served (my daughter was the one who really pushed for it), but I was pleasantly surprised when I took a bite. First of all the crostini was done really well—nice and crisp with parmesan baked on, but still light—you didn’t feel like you were going to break your teeth on it. And I was pleasantly surprised by the texture and flavor of the cheese. It wasn’t just like cold goat cheese, which is what it looked like. It was creamy, and had much more depth than what I was expecting. I was trying to eat a little healthy on this night, but this pulled me back in for several bites.

Possibly my favorite item of the evening though was the insalata mista ($9) that I split with hubby. A salad, I know. It was mixed greens that were topped with marinated tomatoes and Gorgonzola. These little tomatoes showed up on multiple items and are delicious. This is such a better way of serving tomatoes in the winter. Add some kick to them by marinating them a bit. The salad was dressed—like every single leaf was dressed—with a creamy balsamic vinaigrette. It was a fabulous little salad, and I appreciated that it actually had enough dressing on it!

Like I said, I was trying to be a little healthy on this particular night, so instead of pasta, I ordered the half roasted chicken ($16), which is listed as a house specialty. It is marinated in rosemary, lemon and garlic olive oil. It was quite good actually, although with all the oil and the roasted potatoes on the side, not sure it was super healthy. I really enjoyed the rosemary flavor. I also liked that they also used zucchini in the vegetable mix, as it is a veggie that can be cooked in a variety of ways, and usually come out good. I find many side veggies are either over or under- cooked and almost serve the purpose of being a garnish more than a part of the meal. I thoroughly enjoyed my meal though and would likely order the chicken again. And you could easily split it with someone.

Hubby ordered the special seafood pasta, which had a lobster cream sauce and several types of seafood in it. There were scallops and shrimp and some fish I believe. He enjoyed it and I liked that the sauce did have a rich seafood flavor. No way I could have finished even a third of it though—the portion was generous and the sauce was so rich.

My son had the lasagna ($18) and seemed content. He likes lasagna and ate a fair amount, and said it was one of the better ones he had. My daughter ordered the tortellini alla effie ($21), which was tortellini with shrimp and spinach in a vodka tomato cream sauce. She said it was fine, but nothing special. Based on my one bite, I tend to agree. All in all, as far as pasta at the table went, I would say hubby’s special won. My mother in law had a fish special that was very, very good. Looking back, maybe the protein heavier dishes were the star, although I really loved that salad! And we also had a lovely bottle of Italian wine that I really enjoyed as well. The service was also on point, and all in all the meal was quite pleasant. You know how I feel about Italian food in Indy, but there's a good chance I will return to Sangiovese.

Sangiovese

2727 East 86^th Street

Indy 46240

317/757-5913

www.sangioveseristorante.com 

Provision

A lot of people have been asking me about Provision so here it is!  Let me start off by saying we had dinner here the first time within like a week of it opening, which isn’t something I normally do, but friends asked us to go and I will rarely turn down such an invitation. That first visit we tried a lot of the appetizers and there were some that really shone and some that were kind of stinkers (the beef tartare for example was very bland). I am not going to write a full review of that visit, because it goes against my regular rules, but I wanted to let you know that the second meal was influenced by it because we ordered things based on that first visit that we knew were better than others. Thus, we crafted a very good dinner, but based on the first visit, there are still some food kinks to be worked out. And service. Woo. That first visit we had pretty bad service, but like I said, it was new and the place was packed.

So on the second visit, we took the kids and sat outside on one of those glorious fall evenings we had awhile back. I like the outside because it isn’t so crazy loud like the inside can be. To start, they brought us a nice amuse of salmon on top of a multi grain type of crouton and a creamy sauce. It was an extremely tasty bite. We then ordered the tuna appetizer ($22) and the seafood cocktail ($20). Again, both choices made based on our first meal. It’s funny, because the seafood cocktail isn’t something I would typically order because while I like shrimp cocktail, how boring can you get right? But this one is unique because the shrimp is dry rubbed with seasonings and then lightly charred. The shrimp are large, but nice and tender and have a wonderful smoky flavor. They also serve it with some hunks of king crab and avocado and a curry red sauce underneath. A nice combo of flavors and we enjoyed it both times. The tuna is also quite tasty. They give you several pieces of seared tuna drizzled with spicy mayo and a crunchy rice cake alongside. I really enjoy the variation of textures in the dish and the flavor from the mayo. You know I love seared tuna and this is a tasty one. We also got the bread plate ($5), because if there is one, and my kids are with me, this will be required. They do a nice job giving you Blue Dog bakery baguette, which is the best local-ish (from Louisville) baguette you can buy, a homemade soft pretzel and some house made pita. They give you butter and a yummy flavored dipping oil. The oil is particularly good with the pita.

I knew I would get to eat some of everyone else’s food, and I was intrigued by the crab toast appetizer ($36), so I got that as my main dish. So wow, this dish had so many different things going on. First of all the bread was so flakey and buttery—almost like it was a croissant underneath. It was topped with big hunks of the crab, jalapeno, Thai basil and a slightly spicy beurre blanc (butter sauce). I liked the combo of the rich, but light and flaky bread and the rich crab with the slight spiciness and acidity of the sauce. A tasty dish for sure. Probably better as a starter to share with someone else though.

Hubby had the special of the evening, which was snapper on top of risotto. It was very well prepared and he really enjoyed it. My daughter ordered scallops ($35) with cilantro gnocchi, spinach and basil-chile beurre blanc. The scallops had the perfect seared edge and were cooked very nicely. She seemed to enjoy them, although couldn’t finish it. My son’s Angus filet ($38) with Robuchon potatoes though was outstanding. And my daughter kept trying to steal bites of those buttery potatoes. All of our dishes were very good. If I had lucked into this as my first meal, I would have been so excited about this new place. As it is, I am still excited; I just know that there are also several items on the menu that aren’t quite as good. I am also looking forward to seeing how they mix up the flavors as the seasons change. I typically really enjoy the new restaurants that Cunningham opens with Layton Roberts in the kitchen. So far Provision is solid, although not as impressive as Vida was when it first opened. It just doesn’t yet seem to have the finesse that Vida had. Maybe that’s not what they’re going for though, who knows.

I have heard many mixed things about this place, so I would love to hear your thoughts.

Provision

2721 East 86th Street

Indy  46240

317/843-6105

www.provision-restaurant.com 

photos from that first dinner

Yolk

We hit Yolk the other day for breakfast. My daughter was at a friend’s house and the rest of us actually get up early enough for breakfast, so we thought we’d give it a try. They have a large breakfast menu, and several lunch items as well.

I started with some of the strawberry orange juice ($3.50) and it was very tasty—it tasted very fresh and was a bit pulpy, which I like. So far, so good. Our server was also very attentive and answered my questions with her knowledge and opinions, which I appreciate.

I ordered the chilaquiles ($11 +$2.50 for added chicken) because I just keep hoping to find some in town that are not just nachos with an egg on top. Well, these weren’t it. It was a big plate of tortilla chips covered in cheese and sitting on top of some salsa verde, with two fried eggs and avocado. I also added chicken. I enjoyed the flavor of the verde sauce, but there wasn’t a lot of it. So, I mean, breakfast nachos aren’t bad—they just don’t give you that homey, baked, hot dish kind of flavor. You know what I mean. I like the versions that come out looking like a kind of casserole—the tortillas are sort of chewy and crunchy at the same time because they’ve been baked. The egg is mixed in with the chips and sauce. Anyway, like I said, there was no ingredient here that was bad, they just didn’t come together in the way I had hoped.

I was intrigued with my son’s fried chicken and waffles ($12.50). He really liked the waffle with the bits of bacon cooked into it—with a little syrup it gave you that sweet and savory mix. The chicken was ok—it was a massive breast (it was bigger than the waffle) that had a nice crispy crunch, but the chicken was so dense, it wasn’t that appealing. He had the sausage gravy on the side (typically it comes on top). Again, there was nothing terrible about this, but the chicken was just too big and dense—it wasn’t very tender. They need to use a boneless thigh and this dish would be greatly improved.

Hubby had the corned beef hash with eggs ($13.50). This is hubby’s quest dish. He loves corned beef hash but is also particular about it in the way I am about my chilaquiles (what can I say, we have issues). He thought it was also fine, but wasn’t wowed. They make their own corned beef, but overall he thought the dish lacked seasoning and was just a little bland.

I wanted it to be Biscuit Love in Nashville, but that it was not. And I am still on the quest for great chilaquiles in Indy. So tell me whatcha’ got.

Yolk

2727 East 86^th Street

Indy  46240

317/451-9655

www.eatyolk.com