Marrow - Revisit

A few weeks ago some friends and I decided it was time to go back to check out Marrow again. These are my friends who like to order heavy and share, so always a good couple to go out with. 

We started out with the smoked deviled eggs ($3 ea.) and the pickle plate ($6) because we just can’t say no to those deviled eggs—we’ve had them every time I think and even hubby, who isn’t a huge fan of deviled eggs like I am, really enjoys them. They had crab mixed into the filling, so how could you not like that? And they were topped with wasabi tobiko (love the pop from the fish eggs), crispy shallots (more texture) and a slice of pepper. The eggs were on top of some eel sauce so they don’t slide around too much. These are certainly some of my favorite deviled eggs in town.

The pickle plate was also one of the more interesting ones I’ve seen—and it seems like pickle plates are everywhere! This one had pickled cherries on it, which were very intriguing. Still sweet, but less so. I just kept eating them because they were so unusual. There were also onions, some curried cauliflower and some kimchi, which were tasty albeit less unusual. My other favorite was the pickled shitake mushrooms. Very cool. That earthy flavor but with a briny hit. These would be good in lots of dishes.

We had to get an order of our first favorites (and a couple of the few things that have remained on the menu since the place opened I think), the fried tandoori chicken ($24) and the paneer mac and cheese ($12). The fried chicken was just as tender and flavorful as the first time I had it. They serve it with a swath of various sauces on the bowl—a cilantro based sauce and a pepper chutney. It’s truly a delicious, and a nice Asian twist on what is one of my favorite things—fried chicken. And it’s a good one.

The shells and paneer is a take on mac and cheese made with a curried butter sauce, and chunks of paneer cheese—this is a firm cheese—it’s typically served in Indian food. The creamy sauce is accented nicely with the curry sauce as well as pieces of veggies—carrots, peas, corn and spinach. It’s a great dish because it is comforting like mac and cheese, but also interesting because of the more unique flavors. 

We also tried the fried chitlins. Rarely see these on a menu. They were pretty good, and in a nice zippy sauce. Some were a little tough maybe, but maybe that’s the nature of the beast (I have not eaten a lot of them in my life). There was a brisket dish as well that also had an Indian flair to it that was also a popular dish on the table. It was served with rice and chana dal (a type of Indian bean—sort of like a lentil or a chickpea). 

We also tried the little cornbread muffins. These were probably the most disappointing for me. The muffins were just too dry and uninspired compared to everything else we had. They did come with a side of sorghum and miso honey, but still just couldn’t really stand up to the other dishes, and just had a note of being sort of one-dimensional. 

We had this super fancy  drink for dessert that was very interesting. I think it is called the Miss T—it’s got a bunch of Irish whiskey, apple brandy, some tea and is infused through fruit and herbs to make a warm almost tea-like beverage with a serious alcohol kick. It was fun to watch it get heated and boil through the process but honestly, I’m not really a whiskey girl. But it was kind of cool. I can see how it would be a nice warming drink in the winter, if you like em strong.

Anyhow, we really enjoyed our meal overall and I love how often they mix up the menu here. What interesting dish have you eaten here and really enjoyed (I know you remember how to make comments on the blog—and they make me so happy!)?

Marrow

1106 Prospect Street

Indy 46203

317/986-6752

www.marrowindy.com 

Marrow

Hubby and I are way behind on getting to all the new places—but we had a date night the other night and are trying to make some progress. We’ve been looking forward to Marrow—we’ve always been a fan of Chef John Adams’ food—at H20, Bluebeard and Plow and Anchor.

Marrow is quite different from Adams’ past places though—they bill it as “global soul food”—there is a lot of Asian fusion influence on the menu, but without any pretension—these are comfort food dishes redefined with various Asian twists.

We started with a cocktail (him) and a glass of wine (me). The drinks were both good although it took awhile to get them—we got seated right before a large party which was sharing the same server, which turned out a bit unfortunate for us service-wise. The drink was very good, and the wine list, while small, had some nice choices to pair with spicier foods. The service issue plagued us much of the night.

Food-wise though, we liked every single thing we had. We started with some deviled eggs ($2.50 each)—Marrow’s take on this comfort classic involves pimento cheese, crab and tobiko. They were creamy and fresh and I loved the salty kick of the fish roe. Having one of these as our first bite was a great way to start. I like that you can order them individually and I would be hard-pressed not to get one again next time.

At just about the same time, we were also served the pork neck and eel shumai ($11) with scallion-ssam butter and eel sauce. There were four nice-sized dumplings and they had great flavor—I loved the slightly spicy, and extremely rich butter on top of the dumplings and the soy/vinegar/oil sauce on the bottom of the bowl. The dumplings were stuffed with the porky meatballs—this was the only part of the dish that surprised me—the meat inside was pretty firm—it tasted yummy but I was expecting more of a minced-type filling.

Next they brought out the mac and paneer dish ($10). This was Marrow’s take on a mac and cheese—Indian style. The noodles were your classic elbow macaroni, but with a sauce that was infused with curry—there was also a bunch of veggies mixed in there--spinach, peas and carrots. And of course several big hunks of paneer. Paneer is a fresh Indian cheese—it’s different from your typical cheese in a mac and cheese because it’s not a melting cheese—it stays in little cubes (we actually cut them even smaller to make them go further). The cheese stays fairly firm and had a nice slightly crisp (sautéed) edge. A bite with the paneer and all the other bits was great. The more we ate this dish, the more the flavors melded together and it became increasingly addicting. I really enjoyed the unique, but comforting, flavors.

But, man oh man; the best for last for sure. The fried tandoori chicken ($17 for half—this is what we had-- and $33 for a full order) was just fabulous. I will cry a little tear if I don’t get this on the next visit. We have already decided we need to go with other people so we can try new things but still eat this again too. The chicken had classic tandoori seasoning—cumin, paprika, coriander, garlic, cardamom and all those nice things but fried up in a crispy fried chicken crust. They also served it with a few thinly sliced veggies and three wonderful sauces. I kept trying to decide which one I liked better—they were all variations of the classic sauces that sit on the table at an Indian restaurant—there was a tamarind-based chutney which was slightly sweet and sour, a yogurt sauce that tasted of cumin and then a mint-based green sauce. I think I settled on the yogurt sauce as my favorite but that tamarind was great too. 

I really appreciated the fact that many of the dishes came in half and full sizes—it allowed hubby and I to try more things than we otherwise might have. Honestly, there was nothing that I ate that I didn’t like. The dishes are little flavor bursts—nothing bland going on here—and exactly the kind of thing that Indy needs. It’s a nice (not fancy, but nice) restaurant where you feel like you can sit and have a nice meal but eat something different from the other restaurants in this general price point. I like it, and I’m going back for sure. I need to try it all. (Wondering how often they change menu….)

Marrow

1106 Prospect Street

Indy 46203

317/986-6752

www.marrowindy.com