Louie's Wine Dive - Revisit

A friend was in town recently and we had a quick dinner at Louie’s in Broad Ripple. I have only had dinner there once and was interested to try it again. I appreciate the fact that it’s an adult-ish kind of option in Broad Ripple and has an interesting wine list. I like the interior, even though it tends to be a little cold in the winter with all those windows. Our server was very nice as well. The place wasn’t very busy, but it was a Monday, so hopefully that’s why.

I ordered the burger (they call it the “gourmet Sinatra burger) ($13) because I was just feeling that burger call. So it’s a thick burger, but they cooked it just as I ordered—nice and pink inside. They top the burger with some interesting things. There’s cheddar and bacon, but also balsamic, green goddess dressing, and heirloom tomatoes. I didn’t think I would like the tomatoes on there, but honestly, it was all really good together. And the balsamic really added a ncie touch. And so did the green goddess. They used a brioche bun, which was soft and delicisous. I have to say, it’s one of the better thick burgers I’ve had since my last Room Four burger. It’s not just a good burger, but has just the right amount of extra stuff to make it somewhat exceptional. They bacon was delicious too. Just the way I really like it-really salty and flavorful but also really crisp so it would practically shatter when you ate it.

The burger came with fries, and they are the thin, crispy type. In theory, I like this type of fry a lot, but these were strangely cold as soon as they were served. Not sure what happened here, but the timing was just a bit off. Would love to get a batch fresh out of the fry-o-later though. I did get some of the green goddess to dip in, and I recommend it. 

All in all, I would happily eat this burger again when I am in the mood for a fat burger. What’s your favorite burger these days?

Louie’s Wine Dive

701 Broad Ripple Ave

Indy  46220

317/722-0140

www.louieswinedive.com 

Louie's Wine Dive- brunch

Recently I needed to plan a meeting with some other women and my daughter for brunch. On a Saturday. I needed a place that would take a reservation because we were on a limited time frame. So we ended up at Louie’s Wine Dive in Broad Ripple—which I hadn’t even known served brunch until I was researching.

Apparently not a lot of other people know about it either, because it was not very busy at all. The menu is quite appealing and has a good variety of things on it. We started with an order of the beignets ($5) because my daughter was with me, and she can never not order beignets if they are on the menu. These were good—sort of like doughnut holes with butterscotch dipping sauce and lots of powdered sugar. Tasty little things.

I really wanted to order the honey butter fried chicken sandwich, but I was trying to be healthy, so I went with the avocado omelette ($11). It is supposed to be made with egg whites, avocado, heirloom tomato salsa and arugula, but I asked them just to make it with the whole egg, because I was trying to be healthy, but let’s not get ridiculous. I thought it was very tasty. I am not usually an omelette person, but this really hit the spot, and the ingredients inside were exactly what I was wanting. Some nice acid from the seasoned tomatoes, and the avocado was nice and ripe. I really enjoyed the greens on the side too. The crumbled goat cheese was a nice touch and it was dressed appropriately.

My daughter ordered the fried egg sandwich ($9), and thought it was good, but she didn’t really care for the sweetness of the bacon jam that was on there (nor did I). It also had fried eggs, white cheddar and mayo and was on brioche bread. If you like a touch of sweetness, you would probably enjoy this one.  She had fries as her side, and they are nice and crisp. I would have asked for something besides ketchup to dip them in, but she didn’t care. I also would have preferred my egg a little runnier, but I guess that makes for a messier sandwich. 

One friend ordered Emily’s apple harvest salad ($11). It looked like another good healthy option—it was a big salad with chicken, field greens, apples, cranberries, bacon, goat cheese and candied pecans. It had a balsamic vinaigrette. I didn’t try it, but she seemed to like it.

We also had a couple of mimosas ($7), which are really big for sure. They are generous pours into regular wine glasses. They also have some sort of “almost never ending carafes” of mimosa deals, which sounds intriguing. But they do have a full bar, so you can get whatever type of breakfast cocktail you like. All in all, it was a good choice to meet a wide variety of tastes as well as being able to have a reservation (not that you probably need one here as I mentioned, although maybe it gets busier later). The food was solid and the service good.

Louie’s Wine Dive

701 Broad Ripple Ave

Indy  46220

317/722-0140

www.louieswinedive.com 

Louie's Wine Dive

The other night hubby, my daughter and I headed to Broad Ripple to eat at the new Louie’s Wine Dive. It’s a small chain with restaurants in other small cities such as Des Moines, and Kansas City. They use this app, Nowait, where you check in and the app will tell you how many parties are ahead of you. We arrived with an apparent three parties ahead of us but because they were larger we were immediately seated. The atmosphere in Louie’s is funky and fun, large shabby chic chandeliers with bottles on them hung from the ceiling and rows of orange back-lit bottles line the walls. Overall there was a very independent vibe about the place and hubby was surprised that it was a chain. I had enjoyed a set menu wine dinner at the Louie’s downtown a few months ago, so I was looking forward to trying the regular menu items to see if they were as good.

We were quickly served drinks. Hubby ordered an Old Fashioned ($9) and I ordered a glass of Pieropan Soave Classico ($10). They arrived promptly and although hubby disliked the small ice cubes used in his drink (they diluted it too much) I enjoyed my wine and didn’t hesitate in ordering a bottle. However, when the bottle came it tasted very different than the glass I had ordered originally, I brought it up and they checked and it was the same wine. I kept the new bottle and they took the first glass off our bill.

To start we ordered BLT Deviled Eggs ($6) and their version of Poutine ($14). The eggs were good, very creamy and salty although there seemed to be a somewhat sporadic placement of arugula on them. The poutine was seafood themed, with crab, seafood gravy, Portobello mushrooms, green onions, fries, cheese curds, harissa, and a fried egg. Like with the eggs the placement of crab and cheese curds was sporadic and many bites didn’t have either in them. Some bites of the poutine had flavor and others, well, just didn’t. This could have in part had to do with how small the fries were, personally I like bigger fries on Poutine, they hold the toppings better. The spice of the harissa was nice and added a touch of heat—the bites with the harissa were some of the best ones. Overall I’d say this dish was fine—not particularly good or bad.

For our mains, I ordered the Champagne Fish & Chips ($14). Let me just say the sauce, “Louie’s Dressing,” was amazing, one of the highlights of the meal--really all the sauces were. It was sort of a cross between a Tartar Sauce and a Shrimp Louie sauce, tangy, with a hint of chili sauce maybe? Compared to the sauce the fish itself fell a little flat. The fish was dry and the champagne batter that I was looking forward to wasn’t as poofy and light as expected. I subbed out the "chips" that came with my dish for patatas bravas, which again, had a very nice sauce, but the potatoes were a little big so you didn't get enough crispy edge with each bite. I liked the slaw served with the fish.

Hubby ordered a salad, the Blackened Atlantic Salmon Wedge ($15). Again, the dressing was the highlight. It was perfectly executed green goddess dressing. I thought the salad was fine (not a lot to it other than the lettuce, but that was okay because the dressing was so good. The salmon was tender and had pretty good blackened flavor, although if it were up to me, I would have cooked it a little more medium rare. 

Finally, my daughter decided on the 4 Pork Gnocchi ($15). The gnocchi were very tender and light, it was lightly sautéed and drenched in a lovely tomato marinara sauce. The pork on the other hand was meh. Some bites were good but most were very chewy, not a pleasure to eat. Perhaps, it cooked a little too long once it was put in the marinara sauce? It was probably the best dish though.

All in all, I would describe the place as an interesting ok chain. The menu was intriguing, the atmosphere exciting, and the staff friendly, but the food just wasn’t executed as it could have been. 

I’m glad that finally a friendly, slightly more sophisticated restaurant moved into the space instead of those dark, smoky bars the Broad Ripple seems so fond of, but I can’t see us rushing back, although I am sure we will try it again here at some point for the friendly service and atmosphere and proximity to our house, if nothing else.

Louie’s Wine Dive

701 Broad Ripple Avenue

Indy 46220

317/722-0140

http://louieswinedive.com/