Livery--Revisit

We had a family night out the other night and one of the places the kids repeatedly ask for is Livery. Everyone really likes it and it’s one of the places when people ask me where to eat on Mass Ave, I always recommend.

Anyhow, it had been awhile since we had been and one thing we all knew was that we wanted was empanadas. It was just a matter of which flavor, how many, and at what stage of the meal. The negotiations began. So we ended up settling on getting a couple of appetizers and then including a bunch of empanadas with some main dishes and sharing it all.

To start we had the carnitas taquitos ($10) and the artichokes ($9). There were two fairly large taquitos filled with carnitas meat and topped with Amarillo gastrique. There was a little escabeche salad with it and some guacamole. Everyone gave this dish great reviews. The taquitos were nice and crunchy and I really liked eating them with the creamy salad. Hubby loved the salad on its own and ate it all even after the taquitos were gone. I agreed, it was a well composed dish.

The artichokes were also very good. They were grilled half artichokes that had a chili vinaigrette and a grilled lemon served alongside. I loved it with the squeeze of the really juicy lemon. Another great, really well composed dish—and the oil and the acid from the vinaigrette and lemon really accentuated the artichoke and that is something that is often a challenge for restaurants to pull off in my experience. Both appetizers were enjoyed and devoured.

For dinner we had chicken, lamb, and mushroom empanadas ($9 for three).  We ordered a lot of them and our server sort of gave us the side eye about it, but whatever. Our family loves the chicken empanadas and this time was no exception. They are stuffed with seasoned chicken, tomato, and beans, and served with what they call an avocado salsa but is basically like a light guacamole. They also serve a little kale salad on the side with the empanadas. Again, the chicken is one of our standard orders. We tried the lamb for the first time, which was ground lamb in a tomato-based sauce and served with a poblano crema. These were also really good and I would say table-wise, they were probably the favorite over the mushroom, although hubby and I really liked the mushrooms ones as well. They had huitlacoche and white cheddar inside with the mushrooms and were served with a jalapeno crema. We also got some of the bean puree that usually comes with the cheese empanadas at my daughter’s request.  I was really torn about which I liked best. I’d be hard pressed not to get them all. They do a great job with empanadas. 

I was also really impressed with what appeared to be a new menu item to me—the potato tart ($15). It is a crustless tart of crispy sliced potatoes that was topped with burrata cheese, mushrooms, arugula, tomatoes and tomato crema. I loved the slightly smoky flavor in the potatoes and the nice amount of acid from tomatoes. I wasn’t sure what to expect with this dish, but we were very pleased. 

We also had the skirt steak with polenta/Manchego fries, broccolini, tomato crema and jalapeno butter ($18). The steak was seasoned and cooked very well and was a generous dish that was also a crowd favorite, but a particular favorite of my steak-loving son.

All in all, while we always have enjoyed Livery, food-wise, this was top to bottom one of our best meals. The service was a little slow and absent at times, but otherwise, we had a good experience. And it is nice to see it routinely busy, as it deserves to be. I was also happy to see some variation in the menu as well, even if certain things don’t change. What are your favorite of the empanadas?

Livery

720 N. College

Indy 46202

317/383-0330

http://www.livery-restaurant.com/ 

Festiva

One of the new hip places to eat in town, brought to you by the people who brought you Tinker Street, is Festiva. It’s just down the street from Tinker, and has a distinctive hipster tacqueria vibe. No kids allowed as the bar is the center of the place, much like at Tinker. Half of the restaurant is in a plastic-covered patio, so I would dress in layers. The first time we were sat there and it was pretty darn cold (they do give you blankets to keep warm with though). The second time we were seated inside and it was very toasty. Layers people, I recommend layers.

They do a very good job with margaritas. I have tried several of them over the two visits. Probably my favorite was the top shelf option, the Margarita Mejor ($12). It is a nice classic margarita flavor, not too sweet, not too sour. I have also had the Margarita Estacional ($10), which is a blood orange version (if there’s blood orange anything, I am usually going to order it) with habanero and hibiscus. It may have been a touch sweet

for me, one goes a long way, but still tasty.

I like the little spicy crunchy puffs they give you that are mixed with crunch fried chickpeas. I could live without the drizzle of sauce they put on top, which makes them soggy after a couple of minutes. Anyhow, this is the freebie they give you and I like them. Friends on one visit thought they were too tangy, but you know me, I like that. 

first time

second time

On both visits we had the sopes with squash, kale and almond mole ($8). The first time we really enjoyed them—they were super fresh and the toppings had a great fresh flavor and lots of the mole. On the second visit, they were not good. They tasted like they had sat for a bit and you can look at them side by side in the pic and just see—there is not the same amount of the mole sauce. We didn’t even eat all three of them between four of us. The first time we gobbled them up. 

Both times we had the poblano fundido ($8) with chorizo and this was a winner both times. It’s an interesting take on a cheesy starter, with a stuffed poblano and a big slab of broiled cheese across the top. I was glad to have some chips to eat with it though, which I did not the first time. You kind of want/need something to scoop it up with I think. The second time we ordered the guacamole with chips (hence the chips)($9). I enjoyed this. The guac was super fresh and nice and chunky, how I like it. It had a kick to it from some serranos and I liked the textural and flavor addition of the pepitas and pomegranate seeds. The pomegranate also gave a nice little kick of acid. It’s not a huge portion of guac for the price, but tasty. And the chips were nice and thin like I like.

Over the course of the two visits, I have tried all the tacos. That’s right, all of them. The first time we were a large group and got them all. I was surprised to find that my two favorites were the fish ($25) and the goat. Well, I should say both times I really liked the fish. They are my favorite for sure. The first time the goat was really good too—super tender. The second time it was a bit dryer and seemed less flavorful than I remembered. So the thing about the tacos is they are all build your own style (as you can see from the pics). You get the protein, the tortillas, some salsas to choose from and then some onions, cilantro and limes. I liked the fish the best because just by itself it had the most flavor—that salsa across the top is nice and tangy and oniony (made with lots of scallions). It made the dish. I guess I liked that you can just eat that on its own without having to doctor it up to enjoy it. The other meats weren’t as exciting to me and you had to use all the stuff to give them the moisture and flavor you wanted to make them get to the exceptional level. All good, but not blowing your mind on their own. And I was surprised to find my least favorite was actually the pork—it was quite dry on its own.  The fish is the one I will definitely order again. And I felt that way about the goat the first time, but after ordering again was less sure. Prepare yourself with the fish though if you order it—it’s a whole fish with a head and all, but it is so good.

The second time we also had the carne asada ($24), which was tasty nicely cooked beef. Again, it’s the theme of a giant pile of meat with various accompaniments with which to build yourself a taco of sorts. This one has housemade chorizo and a super spicy chipotle type sauce with it (be careful with that stuff, it will surprise you). The meat was tasty for sure.

The thing about this place is it’s definitely not going for a refined type of food, which I am totally down with. However, I sometimes just like getting a taco that’s put together by the kitchen with all the stuff they think it needs to make it really yummy. Maybe I am lazy, but that’s my preference. I never feel like I get it just the way it was intended on my own. I have friends who absolutely love this place, and I enjoy it for sure, but I think I prefer to get a plate of composed food when I go out to dinner. Just a personal preference. 

We had a couple of the desserts over the two visits. They pretty much all revolve around fruit, and were fine, but not anything that made me extremely excited. I would love to see just one have a spicy Mexican chocolate component, but maybe that’s too old fashioned.

It’s a fun place, the service is very good and very knowledgeable and I really enjoy the drinks. The food is hearty and like I said, very hands on. Not a bad place to go with a larger group to try more than a couple of things. It has a kind of party atmosphere and is a fun place. For me, the food doesn’t blow me away, but I have always enjoyed things there, and clearly they are not hurting for business. I know a bunch of you have probably been there and I would love to hear your thoughts.

Festiva

1217 East 16^th Street

Indy  46202

317/635-4444

www.festivaindy.com  

Nada - Brunch

While we were in Cincinnati recently, we decided to eat brunch at Nada before heading out of town. Mostly because it was right across the street from the hotel. I have only eaten at the Nada in Indy once and had a kind of mixed experience, but was intrigued to try their brunch menu. And you can get reservations. (And the menu for brunch in Indy appears to be the same).

We started with the queso gringo ($7), which was very good. I assume this is on the regular dinner menu too, and I would get it again in a heartbeat. It had a layer of refried black beans on the bottom of the bowl ad the cheese (smoked gouda) is mixed with habanero peppers and pico di gallo. All of these things together made for a tasty, chunky, delicious take on queso dip. Much more interesting than many I have had. I also really like their freshly fried chips which are light, but flaky if you know what I mean—they sort of peel apart in layers. Really good. 

I was torn by what to order for my main dish, but was intrigued by the eggs goettadicto ($12). I thought this dish might only be available in Cincy, where goetta is from, but as it turns out, looks like it’s in Indy too. Which is good news for you guys because it was delicious. It was English muffins topped with crispy fried goetta, perfectly poached eggs, lots of avocado, and an extremely lemony Sriracha hollandaise. So goetta, if you don’t know, is a product from the Cincinnati region made up of sausage, oats, and spices and its all mixed together, sliced and cooked like a sausage patty. I really like it because while it has the flavor of sausage, it has the crunchy texture that you can imagine from the oatmeal. I absolutely loved how much acid was in the hollandaise though. A great lemon flavor to go with the eggs and goetta. And a little pico di gallo to pull it all together. A great dish. One I would (and will) happily eat again.

Hubby and one friend both got the huevos rancheros ($9) and they also did a very nice job with this dish as well. At first I was torn about which I liked better, but in the end, the goetta and that hollandaise convinced me mine was best. The huevos rancheros had a flavorful bean mix on the bottom, some crisped tortillas and two fried eggs. There was a nice diablo sauce as well. I liked the way the tortillas were crispy, making it slightly different from many versions, which use soft tortillas. By crisping them up, it made them taste a bit like chilaquiles, which are one of my favorite things.

All in all, I really enjoyed this brunch and was pleased to find such a tasty option that we also have in Indy. We also had a breakfast cocktail, and my blood orange mimosa was quite good, so if you like a cocktail with your brunch, this might be a place you should try.

Nada

11 West Maryland

Indy 46204

317/638-6232

www.eatdrinknada.com 

Livery

The other night I met my favorite sharing friend Jen at Livery before the Yelp Totally Bazaar (which by the way, until they move it to somewhere else, I am never doing that again—way too cramped and crowded) for an early dinner. This is the newest place from the Cunningham Group (Vida, Mesh, etc.) and it’s located in a really cool old brick building on College just off Mass Ave. One I have been eyeing for years. So glad to see someone took this place on.

It’s a very nice interior—highlights the brick and lots of dark wood. I didn’t really get a real Latin flair from the décor, but the menu most certainly is. Our server was very nice, if not bit harried, disappearing for significant periods of time. We ordered the two margaritas on the menu—the Livery margarita ($9) and the Carriage House margarita ($12). Both were very, very good, even though margaritas on a freezing snowy night are a little weird. The carriage house is more of a top shelf type margarita and uses orange brandy. The Livery was more your classic margarita, but was spot on. I love the little freebies they serve as you get your drinks. They called them something like chicharone wagon wheels, but they are not actually a pork product. I think they are actually called duros. Anyhow, they’re more like flour-based chip—I have had them before at other places, but I love the seasoning they put on these. Spicy chile with a huge dose of lime. They were addictive. We had a couple bowls of these (partly because our service was a little off).

We ordered several items off various parts of the menu, but I will discuss them in the order we ate/were served the items (we told them to bring them how they thought was best).  The first thing we were brought was the manchego crisp ($8) off of the ensalata portion of the menu. It sounded so intriguing when the server described it. It is basically a taco shell made of fried manchego cheese, and it stuffed with herb salad, orange, avocado, red onion, olives, fresno pepper and marcona almonds. Sounds interesting yes? But ehh, it was our least favorite thing of the evening. It’s hard to believe something that was such an acid bomb with olives and orange could be so one-dimensional. It was very heavy on mashed avocado. And as much as I love manchego, it doesn’t make a crisp in the same way that Parmesan can. Just doesn’t have as much flavor. I expected a bit more of the greens, since it was labeled a salad, but it was a bit of a mish mosh of ingredients that didn’t really coalesce.

Next we had empanadas. We ordered the barbacoa version ($9) based on a couple of recommendations, including from our server. It comes with a little salad of kale and peppers and chipotle salsa. We realized after a couple of bites that we did not in fact get those, but actually got chicken ones. The bite I had was pretty good, but probably would have been better with the right sides—green salsa and crema. Based on my limited bite, I’d like to try them though. The barbacoa version was tasty as well. A nice flakey crust and meaty, yet juicy, interior. The salsa and the greens on the side make the dish though. Without it, the empanadas wouldn’t have stood out in the way they did. The salad was dressed with some heavy citrus, but it was just what the empanadas needed to brighten it up. I also like the smoky depth of flavor from the chipotle salsa.

Next we were served the jamon Serrano ($10) from the primero portion of the menu and the pork pastor ($11) from the Segundo portion. The jamon Serrano was probably our favorite item of the evening. It was a terrine made from potato and poblano peppers with mushrooms, romesco sauce, crema and salsa verde. Oh, and of course, that Spanish ham, which is layered across the top.  This was decadent, and had a lot going on, but tasted really good. It reminded me of a classic Spanish tortilla, which is more like a potato omelet than what you might normal think of when you think of a tortilla that you wrap a taco in. The sauces and mushrooms were great, and if you haven’t tried Serrano ham, it’s a bit like prosciutto but richer in flavor. It’s a bit drier in texture as well perhaps.

The pork pastor tasted very good as well. It was little shavings of the pork mixed with a zesty (as is acidic) slaw, onions, cilantro, and pineapple and served on top of corn cakes. The cakes were a little sweet for me, but I enjoyed the flavors of everything else. I think I would have preferred it served with another vehicle to eat it, even just warm tortillas, but I was happy enough just eating it on its own. I like that so much of the food here is thoughtfully created to be balanced with enough acid, as well as with unique takes on traditional Latin cuisine.

I really want to try some other things—I can’t wait to try the ceviche, it was just too cold on this night. I love ceviche and I bet this one has good flavor. Time will tell if I am right. And pretty much everything on the menu sounds interesting. So to the rest of you who have been there, what have you had? What did you think?

P.S. They don’t take reservations. On a Thursday early, we just walked right in, but I have heard there can be significant waits on the weekends. But you know how Indy folks love a new restaurant…

Livery

720 N. College

Indy 46202

317/383-0330

http://www.livery-restaurant.com/ 

Open Society

I am always as excited as everyone else to try the next new place. I have been patiently waiting for Open Society to open up (seems like it took forever!) and recently hubby and I enjoyed our first date night alone in weeks and weeks, and checked it out. It’s diagonal across the street from Recess and is nice because there is plenty of parking around.

We were greeted warmly by the host and even though we were early for our reservation, were seated promptly. The first thing you notice about this place is the giant coffee bar that dominates the middle of the room. The second thing you notice is the roar of the crowd—even when it wasn’t totally full, it was very loud (I look for some noise-deadening retrofits in their future—at least I hope so). We were seated along the wall beside the bustling coffee bar, which was a little awkward because you’re basically face to face with people’s butts waiting to order coffee, but good for them that they are doing such a good coffee business.

We decided to go with all tapas, as the small plates menu was larger and sounded a bit more interesting. Our server recommended four to five, so we ordered five. So, the first somewhat annoying thing was although we ordered them at the same time, I did not expect them to bring them out all at once, which is what happened, and not particularly quickly either. So I recommend if you don’t want it that way, either order them one or two at a time, or tell them to space them a bit. They could barely fit all of ours on the table.

The first item we had (and really the only offering with red meat unless you include duck) was the albondigas ($10). These were lamb and chorizo meatballs served in a rich chipotle marinara sauce with a sprinkling of queso fresco and herbs. These were the best item on the table, and I am not normally a meatball person. Hubby really enjoyed them as well. They were tender meatballs with a nice little kick and saltiness from the chorizo and I really enjoyed the smoky sauce—much more interesting than a traditional marinara. The cheese offered just a touch of creaminess.

My next favorite item was the torta ($8) although hubby was not as big a fan. It was dense corn cake (nice bits of corn in there) and was served on top of a little salad/garnish type thing with arugula and balsamic. There were asparagus spears on top. It was served with chipotle-avocado emulsion. I liked the corn cake dipped into the sauce (as unappetizing as it appears in pictures) but the greens and asparagus seemed a little disconnected to me—almost like they don’t really follow the theme of the cuisine. And this garnish type salad was repeated in another dish as well—and pretty much the same sauce was repeated as well.

The croquettas ($13) were the other dish with the same greens (although on the menu described as micro greens). These were meant to be lump crab cakes (well with the name croquettas, I assumed there was more than one). There was one crab cake and we both thought it was pretty disappointing. It was mushy in texture and hubby kept asking me if I was sure this was the one that was supposed to have crab in it. The only evidence was a slightly fishy taste. And the avocado emulsion made its second appearance. I did like the little crispy fried onions served alongside it, you really needed something to break up the mushy factor. I would take a pass on this one. (And please change the name to croquette if there’s only one).

I had high hopes for the risoles ($8), which our server described as fried dumplings. They are made with artichoke, chickpeas, scallions, queso fresco and garlic. I love artichoke and I will say, these had a nice strong artichoke flavor to them. Unfortunately they were fried so much that they were really just a crispy shell with nothing really inside them. I was hoping to bite into a light creamy interior, but it was pretty much the same throughout. They were on top of a lighter lemon-based sauce that you really needed because they were so crunchy, but there wasn’t enough of it to go around to each fritter. I’m not sure if there was an execution problem or if this was what they intended them to be, but I feel like they could have been better. Again, I did enjoy the intense artichoke flavor though.

We also had the Marioscos ($11). This was their version of fried calamari and shrimp—it was described on the menu as corn tempura battered, so I wasn’t exactly sure what to expect. It was kind of a cross between a traditional tempura and cornmeal crusting—it was interesting and the seafood itself was very tender. I liked that they served this one on top of something different—a chili-green papaya salad—and that it was served with a different sauce—a cilantro lime vinaigrette. Dressings like this get me excited. Sadly, there wasn’t enough of it here to really dress the seafood in any meaningful way, it was really more like a garnish under the calamari and shrimp—so the seafood came across as dry. 

We decided to see if we could save what was becoming a rather disappointing meal with dessert. We both had read several people discussing how good the flan was. The caramel flan is beautifully presented—much more refined looking than any of the tapas. Someone is taking care in presentation here. Too bad it was pretty bland. We ended up leaving much of it because it was just hard to get excited about eating it. I did like the slices of caramelized bananas. We did enjoy the dessert wine they had though—Ben Rye from Donnafugata.

Overall, we were pretty disappointed in our meal. The service was off to start (I really don’t think serving all the dishes at once is the best plan) and the food was lackluster. There were messy garnishes and sauces repeated on several dishes, which to me, shows a bit of lack of creativity.

After the dinner I went back to read yelp reviews (something I don’t do very often) and I realized many of the very high marks were coming from people who only went for coffee. So, it sounds like they have a strong coffee bar. And I can see how the neighborhood would appreciate having a local place to get a good cup of coffee. I just hope they improve the food. The menu has a lot of potential, but the execution was pretty lacking. I am expecting a lot of people to disagree with me, but I really want to hear from those of you who have eaten a full meal here. What were your thoughts? Who knows, maybe it was just an off night when we were there. I hope so.

Open Society

4850 North College Ave

Indy 46205

317/999-8706

http://www.opensocietyindy.com/

Delicia- Brunch

Hubby and I had a chance to go to a weekend brunch on our own the other day and decided to give Delicia a try—we weren’t sure whether the kids would be huge fans, so this was a good opportunity. A lot of you have recommended it to me when I am complaining about the lack of brunch places in Indy as well. 

First of all, on a Sunday, it wasn’t too busy, which was nice because you didn’t really need a reservation (although they do take them, which I appreciate) and they have a full bar so if you’re one who wants a Bloody Mary or some such thing, you can get it here. All of the menu sounds really good, and it was hard to choose—lots of eggs, which you know makes me happy. Less of the sweet-type options, if that is what you tend to go for though.

We decided to start with a little brunch cocktail—I was interested in trying something different, because although I love margaritas, I have actually never loved the margaritas at Delicia. I spied a drink called the Caipirinha ($9)—made with cachaca, which is like a rum that is distilled from cane sugar, muddled limes and sugar. It was very good. It was tart, but the alcohol balanced it nicely. I would easily get one of these in the future here instead of a margarita. Hubby had a lovely mimosa ($7) served in a wide, old-fashioned champagne glass. Both drinks were quite nice.

We negotiated over the menu a bit, and settled on chilaquiles rojos ($9) and the huevos benedictos ($11).  You guys, these were both really delicious. It has been awhile since I’ve been to Delicia for dinner, and honestly I have had ups and downs food-wise, but brunch was great. I was impressed.

The chilaquiles were interesting—there were lots of tortillas that were mixed in, but they weren’t particularly crunchy. This surprised me, but ultimately didn’t bother me. They still had a dense texture that gave the dish a nice variation and that corn flavor. The tortillas were topped with a mild chile sauce, mole sauce, Chihuahua cheese and queso fresco. Oh, and of course two fried eggs that had nice runny yolks. This dish was wonderful—it had such wonderfully savory flavors and the chile sauce rounded it out nicely. You could add chicken or chorizo for an additional cost, and I was going to, but forgot. I was glad I forgot though because I think it was just perfect as is.

The huevos benedictos were also really delicious. It was the Delicia version of eggs benedict, but they made this one with English muffins sliced very thin, which were topped with beautifully poached eggs, a chipotle hollandaise sauce and slices of crisp Serrano ham on top. This was very well done. First of all, I loved the crisp ham—this is something I do with Prosciutto frequently—stick it in the oven and let it get crisp. It intensifies the flavor and gives you a nice crunchy bite. The eggs were cooked just right—nice and runny inside and I liked the little extra smoke and heat that came from the sauce. I appreciated that the muffins weren’t too bready either. If you want to go with something more familiar, which is ratcheted up a notch, this is a good choice. It also came with a side of breakfast potatoes, which I didn’t try because--did you see how many tortillas were on the other plate? Plus, I rarely meet home fries that I really like.

All in all, this is a place that is definitely going into the brunch rotation for sure. They even have a small children’s menu for brunch that I

think might woo my kids.

Delicia

5215 N. College Ave

Indy  46220

317/925-0677

www.deliciaindy.com 

La Mulita

Hubby and I had not been to La Mulita together—and I had only tried it only one other time when I was in the depth of my broken wrist and just didn’t have the energy (or ability) to write about it. So we headed over there again to try it out.

La Mulita is Delicia’s more casual little sister—and they are open for lunch. There is a bar though, so you can still enjoy a cocktail or beer if you want. The menu isn’t huge, but it was still hard to choose what to get. I got excited when I saw the “Pick 2” option because it meant we could get four different items and try even more. 

We started with some guacamole and chips ($5). We both enjoyed it—it was mainly avocado with a fair lime kick, but it was tasty. There were nice big chunks of avocado in there, and even though I would have added salt if it had been on the table, we still liked it. Not a lot of heat to it, but when you added their house hot sauce (you should really add it to pretty much everything), it was super delicious. I really enjoyed the chips—they seemed to be housemade fried tortillas—there were both corn and flour tortilla versions. I really liked the way the flour ones kind of puffed up and became really light. The corn ones were your basic corn tortilla chips, and I picked through the basket for the flour ones (sadly there were fewer of them). I think we would order this again because we also liked doctoring up other stuff with the guac.

We got two “pick 2s” ($7.50 each) and got to try the shrimp taco, the carne asada taco, the pork Milanesa cemita, and the Conchinita Pibil cemita. (You’ll notice an extra cemita in the pics because they accidentally brought us one wrong thing.) Hubby and I were split on our favorites—he tended to like both of the tacos best and I sort of liked the pork Milanesa cemita and the carne asada taco best.  The taco was filled with nicely tender marinated skirt steak, onions, radish and cilantro in a corn tortilla. There was also a lime on the side, which I promptly squeezed on. It was in a soft corn tortilla. There was enough meat to it to keep the taco tasting meaty and moist. A little guac and hot sauce just made it even better.

Cemitas are little sandwiches—at La Mulita, sort of the size of sliders—that come on these wonderful eggy buns sprinkled with sesame seeds. They have just a touch of sweetness and are really soft. The pork Milanesa version had fried pork cutlet, chorizo, egg, oaxaca cheese, chipotles and cilantro mayo. I liked all the varying textures and flavors. My only complaint is that there wasn’t enough (any?) of the cilantro mayo to keep it from seeming dry. Once I ordered some on the side, it was delicious. That sauce is delicious period. I would just get a side of it to put on everything.

The Conchinita Pibil cemita was more of a pulled pork-type of feel but with a smoky flavor (and red color) from achiote. There were pickled red onions, avocado and a black bean paste as well. I liked this one too, but just wasn’t getting enough flavor variation (more pickled onions please) to make me love it.

Hubby really liked the grilled shrimp taco, but a couple of the pieces of shrimp had a texture problem for me that made me feel like they were almost undercooked (that is so unusual too). Maybe because they made it really fast because that was the part of our order that was forgotten. It was served with lightly pickled cabbage, cilantro and honey chipotle sauce. I liked the addition of the sauce here. I would try them again though.

All in all, we really enjoyed the experience. I love the opportunity to get to try lots of different things. I feel like I would happily try just about anything on the menu. So tell me, what have you had there that you really liked?

La Mulita

5215 North College Ave

Indy  46220

317/925-0677

www.lamulitaindy.com 

Delicia

I am always excited when we get some new restaurants in town—and I think so is everyone else around Indy based on the hype that nearly every new place seems to get these days online. Or maybe the PR people are just earning their money.  Anyway, I waited as long as I could (I try to wait at least a couple of weeks) and hubby and I went to check out Delicia.

The first thing you notice about Delicia (other than the slightly problematic parking shortage in that area) is that the restaurant has a really modern, and quite buzzy feel to it. So far, they don’t take reservations (hopefully that will change eventually), and even at 6:00, the place was pretty well near capacity.  This makes me happy because I think it shows how enthused Indy people are for new places—and even places with menus slightly out of the ordinary such as the “new Latin” menu served here.  Prepare yourself for a loud night, not a quiet date place, but it is certainly a very social spot.

Before we had our drinks, they brought us an amuse bouche of a soup that had a nice, spicy (not chili pepper hot, but spicy) flavor. My only warning on this one--the cups they brought us were so darned hot, it burnt my tongue which was a little bit of a bummer at the start of a meal.  So be careful. Or blow on it or something.  Anyhow, we moved on to a margarita ($8) and the ceviche appetizer ($11).  The margarita was very limey, maybe a little tart for me, but actually seemed to get better as you drank it.  The ceviche was also very limey, but in this case, seemed appropriate and I really enjoyed it (it cooled off my mouth a bit too which was nice).  There was limed-marinated white fish, octopus, scallops and a large shrimp (that we cut up and mixed in) as well as hunks of avocado, tomatoes, onion and peppers.  It was good—if it needed anything, maybe just a touch more heat.  Make sure you dig down to the bottom of the bowl to get all the flavors in the marinade that sinks to the bottom. I think this dish is a good one to have alongside some of the other dishes to give that fresh citrus flavor profile with all the heartier richer, meat-based dishes.

ceviche

sopes

The next thing we had was the sopes de pato ($8).  These were really very good as well.  Totally different from the ceviche, they were little slight crisp corn cups topped with shredded duck that was slow cooked in a tomato and habanero sauce.  They were topped with a bit of a spicy crema, some sprinkles of cheese, and slices of radish and jalapeno.  The duck had rich flavor—if you didn’t know, you might even think it was pork. They had a fair amount of spice to them. These were hubby’s favorite item of the evening.

We were kind of going on a small plates theme because we were having a hard time deciding what to get, so the next thing we tried were the tostones ($13).  These were little cakes made of plantains that were served with a bowl of sausage meatballs topped with red onions and a dish of chimichurri sauce.  Basically, this was one that  you were supposed to top yourself. This was the weakest of the dishes for us, although certain parts of it were very good.  The tostones (the little cakes) were cold and tasted a little stale on their own.  The chimichurri was a little too oily and didn’t have a lot of herby flavor.  Hubby really enjoyed the meatballs on their own, and they had a spicy kick to them. I loved the pickled red onions served on top of them and used them all up on our last savory dish (and the only full entrée we ordered), the empanadas.

tostones

empanadas

The empanadas ($16) were fairly straightforward, but turned out to be another of our favorites. They are large pockets of puff pastry filled with shredded beef , Chihuahua cheese, and drizzled with habanero cream.  The pastry was cooked just right so it maintained its flaky texture but without being really dry, which I find to be the case with empanadas.  And man, when you threw some of those pickled red onions on top, it was delicious. (I will be from here on out asking for some of those on the side, particularly if I order that dish.)  I would happily order this dish again, although there are two of the empanadas and they are quite large, so it is a good dish to share.  The herb rice on the side didn’t do much for me—I didn’t find it had a lot of flavor.

We also tried the churros (which are sort of like tubular shaped crunchy doughnuts) with chocolate ($6), which I thought were just ok.  I mean, dipping something crunchy and sweet (with sugar, cinnamon and nutmeg) into dark, slightly spicy chocolate can’t be all bad, but the churros themselves were inconsistent.  One would be super crisp and one would be sort of soft. Honestly, it was hard to tell which was the one they were going for.

All in all, Delicia is a great addition to Indy’s food scene. It’s something different, and judging by the crowds, I think Indy wants that (hear that all you burger/pizza/wings places??).  It is a really nice modern interior (although the lamps in the bar area, which are cute, are hung a little low considering how many people I saw bumping into them/wearing them on their heads). The feel of it and the energy of the crowd reminds me of a restaurant you might see in Chicago. One other comment on the interior though-- I am hoping they are planning on some light dimming shades for the front windows because the sun coming through at sunset is brutal.  The service could use some polishing as well, as it was spotty throughout the night, particularly in regards to drinks.

I do look forward to going back and trying some of the other options on the menu. Several of you have mentioned this place to me already, and there are several reviews out there already.  Tell me what you’ve had and what you liked so I can plan accordingly next time.

Delicia

5215 N. College Ave

Indy  46220

317/925-0677
https://www.facebook.com/DeliciaIndy