Taziki's Mediterranean Cafe

This may be the closest restaurant to my house so when I saw it open, I knew I had to give it a try. I was disappointed a bit that it is a chain, but at least it has a unique cuisine for fast casual dining—Mediterranean food. It’s one of those places where you order your food at the register and they bring it out to you. They menu is pretty big and they are proud to tell where different ingredients come from and try to offer several healthy options. 

We started with the appetizer of whipped feta ($5.99) blended with spices, topped with honey and served with pita on the side. You can get soft pita or baked crunchy pita or a mix of both—which is what we got. This was delicious. I was impressed. Hubby and I had had a similar dish at a restaurant in Nashville and loved it—this was very similar and very good. The feta is creamy and tangy but flavored with some herbs and spices and the sweet honey takes the edge off the feta. I was undecided whether I preferred the soft pita or the crunchy pita—both were very good. The soft pita was basic, but good and the crunchy baked pita had more seasoning on it and was more like a cracker. I just ate some of both. If I had to choose, I would probably go crunchy, but I really liked having some of each.

My daughter ordered the grilled chicken basil-pesto chicken gyro ($9.99). This was very tasty—it was strips of very tender seasoned chicken with pesto, tomatoes and feta inside a wrap. I was impressed with all the dishes as to how tender the chicken all was. Not sure how they keep it so tender, but it was great. Kind of like a Greek burrito. Nearly all the dishes come with chips and a choice of a second side. My daughter got the rice—which looked kind of bland to me, but she said it was good (I didn’t try it). 

My mother-in-law had the weekend special that was a pasta dish—“Taziki’s signature pasta” ($8.99). So there is a bed of lettuce on the bottom and penne pasta and chicken on top that has been tossed in a balsamic vinaigrette. The pasta then has chopped tomatoes, feta and fresh basil on top. Again, I was impressed with how tender the chunks of chicken were. And I really liked the balsamic flavor for “sauce.” It was unique and I like the acid. Add tomato and feta and it was a tasty dish. Enough for two people, but good. She ordered a side of the tomato-cucumber salad which was nice too and could be a good garnish for the sandwiches—it was nicely marinated and had some onions in there too. 

I ordered the grilled chicken roll-up ($7.99) which is a flour tortilla filled with chicken, tomato and feta and then grilled so the tortilla is crisp. The little rolls are served with fresh salsa. You really need the salsa with this—otherwise the dish is a little boring. I sort of wished for a bit more of the tomato and cheese—and maybe some taziki sauce as well, although the salsa was very tasty. It just needed a little more, even though again, the chicken was nice and tender. I had the fruit as my side, and I will pass on this in the future—it was a little too melon heavy for me.

I would certainly order that feta dip again and would like to try their hummus and taziki as well. I wish they had a combo plate of the dips—they also have a pimento cheese. I would be nice to try them all. I couldn’t even get them to sell me a small side of taziki to go with my lunch. She only would sell me an entire other appetizer size, which we didn’t need. Offering small sides might be a good idea. 

My daughter also got some of the dark chocolate cake ($2.79). She always gets desserts, especially if there is chocolate cake. I have to say, we agreed this was the weakest thing we ate. It just had a weird taste that we didn’t care for. 

But overall, even though it is a chain, and given its proximity to our home, it will likely become a fairly regular stop. I like the unique flavors for a fast-casual place. And that you could get something fairly healthy but still with some flavor. They also offer full dinners for 4 to carry out which might be something we try as well. And they have beer and wine. Not a huge selection, but some local beers and a couple of wine choices. 

If you have been, what were your thoughts?

Taziki’s Mediterranean Cafe 

4025 E. 82^nd Street

Indy. 46250

317/315-1125

www.tazikiscafe.com 

Canal Bistro - Brunch

I had a brunch meeting on a weekend with a small group, and we decided to try Canal Bistro because they take reservations. On the weekends, I just don’t have the patience to wait an hour to eat. I had never been to Canal Bistro for full on brunch, so it was almost like going to a new restaurant.

They have a very large menu of choices for brunch, although there are several areas that are variations of similar items—various breakfast sandwiches/pita wraps takes up half of the back page for instance. It’s nice to see some interesting things on there though. I ordered the Mediterranean frittata ($11). It is described as a frittata with leeks, roasted tomatoes and spinach topped with feta, sundried tomatoes and basil. So I sort of pictured a frittata that had the first three ingredients mixed in and the other stuff baked on top. This was more of a (huge) piece of frittata with everything baked inside. It wasn’t bad, but I didn’t really get much of the cheese flavor. The whole thing was decently moist, but just a little on the bland side. They should throw some olives in there. It’s huge though. I also ordered a side of bacon, which was crispy and delicious.

Oh, and if you like a mimosa or bloody Mary with your brunch, they were $5. And you can get your mimosa made with a range of various juices. I had a mango one and it was very nice.

My daughter had “The Classic Fool” breakfast plus one egg (she got it sunny side up, but you can get it however you want). This is a bowl of slow-cooked fava beans mixed with olive oil, tomatoes, onions, parsley and fresh lemon and then topped with the egg. The egg was cooked nicely and she enjoyed the dish. It was nice that it had a touch of acid to it.

All in all, while the dishes didn’t blow me away, this is a nice spot to sit outside and have brunch. The menu is quite large, and I look forward to trying something else next time.

Canal Bistro

6349 Guilford Ave

Indy 46220

317/254-8700

www.canal-bistro.com

Canal Bistro - Revisit

The weather is warm again so it is time for Canal Bistro. But in breaking news, it looks like we will be able to go in the winter now as well, because we spied new dining room chairs inside. Hubby hated their old chairs, and thus, we only went during the warm months when we could sit outside. But now, it looks like we can just go whenever we want. I have written about this place before, and much of the things we order are the same, but I want to keep reminding you all about all the great independent restaurant options we have in Indy.

We did sit outside because it was a nice day. It looks like they have changed up the menu just a bit, although all the old favorites seem to still be there. We did notice what seemed like it might be a new appetizer, although I might just have missed it before--the fried Lebanese pickles ($7). They fry up their very pickled pickles that they often serve as a garnish and then serve them with a tahini sauce. I will say, this was our first time with these and it will certainly not be the last. They are delicious and so is the sauce. The batter is nice and crisp and those pickles have a ton of flavor. I highly recommend if you like fried pickles. But, the main reason we went is for spanakopita, which we owed my son (long story), and we had promised to make up to him. They have my favorite spanakopita because it is so, so crispy. The crunch is my favorite part. I decided to go with the mazza plate ($14), in which you get to choose four items from a list of various appetizers. I chose spanakopita (you get two), hummus, olives and feta. I think they also have very good hummus, and they give you nicely grilled pita bread. And I like to eat olives with every bite. I would probably skip the feta next time—it was fine, but just big hunks of somewhat dry cheese. There are several other choices—I might go with baba ganoush or falafel.

I have converted hubby to the spanakopita as well, so he and my son split an order ($8) and a gyro wrap ($9). My son got everything on the side except the meat (kids) so you sort of had to doctor it up to make sure it had all the right flavors and moisture, but the meat itself is pretty good here. They have tasty fries as well that we had topped with garlic and feta. And my son is now obsessed with the spanakopita as well—so I wouldn’t be surprised if you see us there at some point with just a table covered in orders of spanakopita.

If you have a favorite item though that you think we should try, let me know.

Canal Bistro

6349 Guilford Ave

Indy 46220

317/254-8700

www.canal-bistro.com

Canal Bistro- Revisit

After traveling to Europe this summer and really enjoying our time (and food) in Greece, we were kind of itching to go back to Canal Bistro, which is one of our favorite summer haunts anyway, to see how their Mediterranean food matched up.

First off, we laughed because we always thought it was funny how they had French fries on the menu and how everyone always talked about them as a highlight. And then we went to Greece, and in fact every single Greek restaurant (just about) featured “freshly fried potatoes.” They do in fact like their fries over there. So we felt totally justified getting some. And adding garlic. And feta.

Anyhow, we started with our classic order of hummus ($7). I really like their hummus—it has a nice consistency and the addition of olive oil on top as well as the chopped up tomatoes adds even more flavor and moisture. They serve it with toasted pita bread (strangely, pita is something you rarely see in Greece, and when you do, it’s a small round piece that is much denser than what you get here. Anyway, their pita is nice and soft and warm and they have some of my favorite hummus too. We also got a side of olives because I like an olive bite with just about all my bites of hummus and now that the kids are giant olive nuts too, we need a lot to go around.

My absolute favorite thing there is the spinach pie (i.e. spanakopita)($8). It’s an appetizer, but I always get it for my main dish (and am forced to share one with hubby). They’re little triangles of phyllo dough stuffed with cheese and spinach and wrapped tightly and then I am pretty sure deep-fried. They are so crisp and crunchy they practically shatter when you bite into them. I love that they serve the pies on top of a mix of pickled onions, regular pickles, chopped herbs and a hunk of feta cheese. I like eating a little of all of this with each bite of the spinach pies and it is so good. Hubby informed me next time he is getting his own order.

The rest of the family had gyros of some sort—my son and hubby split the gyro platter ($15), which is a big plate of meat with the accompaniments on the side—as well as a little pyramid of rice. You also get tomatoes, cucumber and tzaziki sauce (a yogurt cucumber sauce)(by the way, the picture you see is a half order-they split it in the kitchen). Now, our experience with gyros in Greece was a bit different. In Greece, you don’t see them as often and the times we got them (always my son ordering them), they were usually made of thinly sliced pork. The ones at Canal Bistro (and most US restaurants I have seen) are made with lamb and beef I believe. They are a much denser consistency. Different, but both good in their own ways. Because this is a full meal, you also get a salad with it. Hubby got the Greek salad, which has a nice topping of crumbled feta and a couple more olives and a tangy balsamic vinaigrette.

My daughter had the gyro sandwich ($9), which comes in wrap form. She likes the tzaziki sauce on the sandwich, but everything else she gets on the side, which is fine with me because more pickled onions for me! This is where we got the side of fries with garlic and feta (slight upcharge) and they were hot and delicious.

All in all, we loved the food in Greece and we really enjoy Canal Bistro as well. There are certainly similarities as well and difference, but it’s all good. Also, they have a weekend brunch menu now and I am intrigued to try it. And it’s one of the best patios in the summer—lots of shade, but not crazy traffic like some outdoor patios in Broad Ripple.

Canal Bistro

6349 Guilford Ave

Indy 46220

317/254-8700

www.canal-bistro.com

Sahara

Hubby and I were trying to hit Taste of Havana the other day for lunch, but we walked in and it was so packed, there were people waiting everywhere, and there was no way we were going to get a seat. Have to hit it again maybe a little earlier in the lunch rush.

Anyway, a couple of you had mentioned going to Sahara, the new Middle Eastern kid on the block and enjoying it, so we ran across the street to try it instead. They have done a nice job with the interior—it’s a bit nicer inside than most Broad Ripple Avenue places. It seems to be run by a family—everyone seemed to be related to one another, and there was even what looked like a Grandma cooking in the back. Of course, I could be totally wrong and they could all just be random strangers, but it’s nicer to think it’s a family. There is a slight language barrier, but nothing major. They offer table service, even though it appears to be at first glance a place where you order at the bar.

Brides with meat, hummus and pastries

So we sat and looked and the menu and were intrigued by the appetizer portion (not surprising for me) and we decided to just go with a tapas style lunch. We ordered several of the various pastries ($1.49 each). We had the spinach, the potato and the white cheese. We also ordered hummus ($3.99 for small), falafel (small order $2.99), and the “Brides with meat” ($5.99) as well as the “Brides with cheese” ($5.99). I am not sure where this name comes from, and when I googled it to see if it is a thing that I just didn’t know about—a bunch of pictures with actual brides—white dress and all came up holding chicken legs and stuff. Made me laugh. 

These brides with meat were probably my favorite item. They are grilled pitas stuffed with a ground meat mixture made from beef and lamb. This meat had a great spicy flavor—they are not shy about the seasonings for sure. I especially liked them dipped in the tahini dip that came along with the falafel. After eating a couple bites of this, we added the cheese brides onto our order—same grilled and seasoned pita only stuffed with cheese. Sort of a Mediterranean style quesadilla. This place is open late (or I should say early, pretty sure they said they’re open to 4 am) and these items would be excellent late night/after a few drinks snacks. Not that I am ever up that late, but some of you might be. Side note: they put a few seasoned fries on the plate with the brides with meat—they were good seasoned fries although I’m pretty sure they were standard foodservice, which none of the other stuff was. And I’m not sure they always come with it—it’s not listed on the menu and didn’t come with the cheese version.

The falafel was also quite good. I am not a huge falafel person because I tend to find most too dry and lacking in flavor, but again, they are not shy with seasonings and this falafel was just perfectly crisp fried on the outside and quite tender on the inside. Again, the dipping sauce was very nice. I would get an extra order of that just for dipping everything into. The hummus was pretty straightforward in taste—I liked the little extra bits of texture that was added from the whole chickpeas on top. The pita served alongside was fine, but I would prefer if it was lightly grilled.

Brides with cheese

The weakest parts of the meal were the pastries. They were very bready, with not quite enough filling and they needed to be warmer—they were barely warmed. By far the best one of the three was the spinach—it was filled with lots of sautéed spinach and had about the right amount of filling. The potato one was just too dense and didn’t have enough flavor. Just all starch. The cheese pastry did not have enough cheese or seasoning either. I would take a pass on these next time, although they do look pretty. My only other gripe about the place was the napkins. They are cocktail napkins. And cheap ones at that. You need about 15-20 to get through the meal. Surely this is not cheaper than one decent napkin would cost.

It’s a nice addition to Broad Ripple Village though for sure—nice to see something other than the usual bars going in. And something that clearly a family is putting their heart and soul into. I look forward to trying some of the other menu items. Maybe I will even get a main dish next time. 

Sahara

832 Broad Ripple Avenue

Indy 46220

317/672-9300

http://www.sahara-restaurant.com/