Farewell L'explorateur

It is with a heavy heart that I must report that one of my all time favorite restaurants in Indy, and one of the places that gave me hope when I moved here almost 3 years ago, is closing. After just about 3 years, L'explorateur will be closing as of January 31st. Thanks FeedMe/DrinkMe for the heads up. And you can read Chef Neal Brown’s farewell message on his blog Babelfish Tartare. You will be sorely missed.

I want to say that I agree with the FeedMe/DrinkMe sentiment about what this says about us as Indy diners. We need to support our independent restaurants and chefs or else we are relegated to crappy (and mainly chain) food. It is January which is a rough time for restaurants anyway, and in this economy, it is even harder for places to survive. Now I realize the restaurant-goers are probably being hit as well, but if you can, go out and support our local independent restaurants and chefs. SOON. Check out my list of favorites for some ideas—and right now, Devour Downtown is still going on right?, so you should be able to get some deals even if you are on a budget. Keep our chefs in our City—I started this blog to try and get people excited about what is going on in our dining scene—and to raise our standards. Don’t let me down!

On the bright side, after reading Chef Brown’s own blog, I am hopeful that L’explorateur will rise again (maybe downtown this time?) and I for one can’t wait! (Hey, Spring is my favorite food season, hint, hint!) And in the meantime, I will say it again, go out and support local chefs and restaurants, many of whom are doing great things. If you want suggestions, I am happy to give them!

To Chef Brown, goodbye, good luck, and we will see you soon!

L'explorateur (again)

****This restaurant is closed as of January 2009****

I can't help it. I know I have blogged quite a bit about L'explorateur, but we had a perfect meal there this week. The day was lovely, the service was great and the food was outstanding!

Were were served an amuse bouche of a slice of fried zucchini with a remoulade sauce. It was good, but could've used a sprinkle of salt on top. As for the things we actually ordered, we started with some of the L'ex classics, the scallop ceviche, which I am completely addicted to, and the yellowfin tuna "pizza" which is a small flatbread with anchovy aioli, the tuna, thinly sliced, and some olives and microgreens. They were both amazing! The ceviche contained scallops, avocado, cilantro, habanero, and cucumber with house made chips. Oh, and lots of lime juice. Cucumbers aren't my favorite thing, but I ate around them (interestingly, they don't always put the cukes in, it does make for nice variety that it isn't always exactly the same).

We both had the skate for our main. I have mentioned before how much I love skate (as does hubby) so when it is on a menu (which isn't that often around here), we almost always both order it. I loved that it wasn't the classic preparation that we have had many times. It was lightly floured (and I think had some egg in the crust too), pan fried and served over a mix of chopped asparagus and morels all in a brown butter sauce and over a swash of miso paste. May sound a little strange, but it was richly delicious.

We had a bottle of the Principessa Gavi with the meal which was also perfect (for some reason with this wine, it is either really good, or somewhat skunky). Since we were on such a roll, we decided to go for dessert. We went with another L'ex classic, the banana pot de creme with dark chocolate genache. We have had this before and weren't as impressed as we were this time. I don't know if it was slightly different or if it was just the high of the rest of the meal that made it seem so good, but it was very good. We also asked if they had glasses of moscato d'asti for dessert and were told they only had it by the bottle. We ordered a glass of Riesling to split instead. When the waiter brought the wine, it was actually moscato d'asti. It was funny because he didn't mention it, but obviously, they had decided to open a bottle for us. So we ordered another glass (lower alcohol content you know!).

This is a restaurant that we really need in Indy and I hope it continues to do well! It is the most edgy restaurant I think we have and the food is fresh and outstanding. Rumor has it the chef is looking to move the restaurant downtown. I would still go just as much and hopefully maybe even more people will discover it and enjoy it as I do.


L'exlorateur
6523 Ferguson Street
Indy 46220
317-726-6906
www.dinelex.com

L'Explorateur

***This restaurant is closed as of January 2009****

Has always been one of my favorite restaurants in this city simply because it is always different. And they really try to mix it up, not just with the menus, but with each item as well. They have those "layered" flavors that my hubby claims I am partial to. On a recent visit, we decided we would try several of the smaller courses and it was quite enjoyable. I had the scallop ceviche, which was DELICIOUS. It is a traditional ceviche preparation (with Mexican flavors and authentic Mexican tortilla chips, clearly handmade) with avocado, cilantro and lots of lime. I will definitely get this again next time I go if it is still on the menu.

I also had the salad with mushrooms and chopped egg, which I ordered because I love wild mushrooms and truffles (which are in the vinaigrette that comes on it) and was a little disappointed. I was actually a little freaked out by the wild mushrooms which did not appear to be cooked, and I have always thought that they must be cooked if they are foraged. Anyway, I ate it and enjoyed it (and nothing terrible happened) but I probably won't get it again... I had the goat cheese and onion tart this time (which I have had before). It was really good (and better than the first time) and all in all was a very enjoyable meal. I look forward to my next meal which I hope has a slightly larger nod toward Spring which is my favorite food season of them all...

The wine choices are always good here and even though it was a Wednesday, not a historically busy night for restaurants as we can see, they had a fair crowd. The ambiance is still a bit stark, but with each visit, there seems to be a bit more art, and feels a little warmer.

Also, if you do upromise, (and if you have kids, you should be) they give 8% back on your bill which is awesome!

If you like to see something a little unique on the menu, go here, and go now. I love this place.