9th Street Bistro

Some good friends have been inviting us to go to 9^th Street Bistro in Noblesville—we have been there twice with them in the last couple of months and I have been meaning to write it up, but I am lazy and busy and well, I am sitting in the airport waiting on a flight delay, and here it is! Honestly, this is one of the better new (ish?) places in the Indy area and is a labor of love between a husband-and-wife team who came back to Indiana in 2020 to open this place (and we all know how that went….)

But this place is a little northern gem in the Indy area. Both times we have been here, they have highlighted seasonal items and have cooked them just right. I love that they change the menu fairly frequently, and seasonally, but also offer a daily?/weekly? specials menu with such things as the “fried thing of the day." The first time they were empanadas. The second time…soft shell crab. You wanna win my heart? That’s the way. Why it is hard to find, I don’t know. I mean, I get that there aren’t crabs in local waters…but you can get fresh seafood any which way these days. I don’t know why I don’t see them on all menus. 

Anyway, both fried bits were delicious. And I (of course), loved the soft-shell crab. The crab was perfect. The sauce alongside (a tartar-ish aioli) was tasty. I could have lived without the bread underneath honestly—I felt like it just soaked up all the tasty sauce. The crabs were great though—and so were the empanadas—which now appear to be on the regular menu with a seasonally changing theme.

The first time we also had the bread plate with pimento cheese and the whipped butter because my daughter was home on spring break and if she could live on bread, she would. The focaccia was great—the whipped butter was also so tasty that we bought some to take home—the pimento cheese was good, but nothing mind blowing. Tasty, but not the best I have had. 

This last visit we also had the burrata starter and the asparagus starter. Both were very good and had lots of interesting flavor profiles—the burrata had a sweet edge, as it was served with apricots and orange honey and topped with crumbled pistachios. The asparagus had an Asian bent to it, and was topped with fried egg aioli, sweet soy and fish flakes—love the way the blow in the breeze. While I liked this dish—and the asparagus was just perfectly cooked—it was a little on the sweet side—I would have loved a little acid from somewhere.

The chicken at this place is amazingly good. I don’t typically order chicken, but I split it with my daughter the first time and had a bite of our friend’s version on this night. It was just a simple roasted chicken half (de boned) but man, it was so tender and had so much flavor, I would definitely order this again. It was served with a simple salad with locally grown veggies.

Hub and I split the pasta dish (there is always a pasta dish, but they change it up frequently). This one was house made spaghetti with a lemon cream sauce and sauteed shrimp and had fried capers on top. So good—so good. Would definitely get this again as well. One friend had beef wellington—which I didn’t try but looked delicious.

All in all, this is probably one of the best new (to me) restaurants I have tried in Indy in a while. Will definitely go on our rotation list. They also do a weekly special carry out dinner deal on Sundays (I believe) that look tasty, although I haven’t tried one. I signed up for the emails and always think they sound good. Now that I have tasted how good the food is, I would imagine these would be really good. 

9^th Street Bistro

56 S. 9^th Street

Noblesville, IN 46060

317-774-5065

www.9thstreetbistro.com 

Juniper on Main

Recently I had an opportunity to try this new place in Carmel with some friends. It has been on my list but if I am honest, I sort of forgot about it so when my friend mentioned it, I was looking forward to it. They have a nice patio and we chose to sit outside (which turned a little wet when a sudden downpour came through but luckily, we had an umbrella which mostly shielded us). 

We started with the deviled egg flight ($10) and the hot pimento cheese ($12). The better of the two was the pimento cheese which was served more like a queso type dip rather than your typical spread. It was served with naan bread that was toasty and hot and some grapes. The naan was very good with it and the cheese was good although not super spicy. I loved deviled eggs and I was excited by the various flavors that rotates. However, I found them to be a little bland—the actual egg part needed salt for sure and acid wouldn’t hurt. They were topped with various things—one with blue cheese, one with pickled red onions, one with what I think was sausage, one with bacon, and one with corn. Of the bites I had the blue cheese was best for the little kick of salty cheese, but like I said overall, these were under-seasoned. I would skip them next time.

For mains, hubby and I decided to get the fried green tomato appetizer ($11) and the blackened catfish dinner ($20) and split them for our meal. The catfish was probably the best thing on the table all night. The seasoning was just right with lots of flavor and a bit of heat (thanks to our server for the suggestion-she was spot on). The grits served alongside were dryer than I typically would prefer but a little with a bite of the fish and some of the quite flavorful remoulade sauce was tasty. The okra tasted like it had no seasoning at all and was just barely cooked. It was described as “garlic sauteed,” but I didn’t really get any garlic flavor. I didn’t eat a lot of it. The fish was very good though and worth ordering again. The fried green tomatoes were also very good—they did a great job with the crispy breading and I was pleased to see that it actually stayed adhered to the tomato—something that seems to be a challenge for many kitchens. They were super crunchy and good with the lemon aioli and maybe even better with some of the remoulade from the fish. These are a good choice too. 

All in all, there were certainly hits and misses, and overall, a lot of things could have used a little more refinement with seasoning (not the fish though, it was great), but it was an enjoyable meal. Our server was very nice and so is the patio (I didn’t even see the inside actually). They don’t take reservations except for parties over 6, but we didn’t have to wait right at 6:00 on a Friday (although we got one of the last tables). I would love to hear everyone’s thoughts as I don’t feel like I hear a lot about this place.

Juniper on Main

110 E. Main Street

Carmel, IN 46032

317/591-9254

www.juniperonmain.com 

One Trick Pony - Fishers Test Kitchen

Well…several of you guys had been mentioning how good One Trick Pony burgers were and I was intrigued. You know I love a good smash burger and I figured Neal Brown could do a good job with that right?

So Friday night, I got online, planned ahead and ordered online for a 6:00 curbside pick-up to be in home in time for a hungry son who would have just been home from tennis. Well, that planning was for not. I mean, I can understand a few minutes delay….but long story (and it seemed really long), they totally lost my order, but never realized it til I sat waiting for another 15 minutes, called again and eventually just had to go in and order everything again—told that my order would be rushed and well, it wasn’t—I stood and watched as they made every order that came in in the order they ordered, even though I had ordered my food at 4:50 to be picked up at 6:00. Anyhow, I finally got my food and was out the door just before 7:00. By this point, I had some hangry people on my hands and I was just hoping the food was good.

Luckily, the food was very good. I thought the burgers were great actually—and I was pretty cranky at that point. They are grinding fresh meat behind the counter (I could see it there as I waited….) and cooking them on a flat top—smashed flat and a little crisp on the edges. I had the “dandy” burger, a single ($5), and it came topped with American cheese, pickles, onions, shredded lettuce, and dandy sauce (also tomato but I went without). The buns are soft and white and just enough to hold up to the meat but not overwhelm the flavors. I love shredded lettuce on a burger, and I liked the dandy sauce, which seemed like a mayo/ketchup blend with some pickle chunks mixed in. Or something along those lines. I had a flashback to the Barking Dog burger, which was always one of my favorite burgers in town before it closed. It had a similar flavor and thickness.

Hubby and my son had the “build your own” burgers (for my son a double with extra cheese -$9.50). My son has always gets a double with extra cheese and nothing else. Hubby got onions and bacon and the dandy sauce. Both were really good as well although I think the dandy sauce makes it. But the beef makes it too, which is obviously important. Speaking of beef though, my daughter had the impossible burger ($6), which is the only non-beef entrée offered. I was impressed with how it looked—the appearance was tasty. She was happy with it, although my son tried it as wasn’t as impressed as he was with the real beef burger, but what can you expect? But if you are vegetarian or not a beef eater, it looked like a solid option.

We got a taste of all the sides—they have crinkle fries ($2.95/$4.95), onion rings ($3.95/$5.95) and cheesy fries ($4.25/$6.25). We had one of each. We heated them all up a couple minutes in the oven when we got home (this is my sure-fire way to re-crisp up fried items—just don’t leave them in too long or they get too hard). I think our favorites were the onion rings. I don’t usually love really fat onion rings, but these were delicious. They were an extra crispy panko-like texture—really good. I also am not a big fan of crinkle fries and these did not change my mind, but the beer cheese on them definitely did. With that cheese sauce, I happily ate my share of fries. I really enjoyed the flavor of the beer making it unique from your typical nacho cheese. So ultimately, I would get both the rings and the cheese fries again. Maybe beer cheese on the side if we get them to go so I can crisp up the fries first and then dip in the cheese. And I look forward to eating that burger again. It’s the kind of burger that makes you keep thinking about it—and everyone at my house really enjoyed it. Oh, and the one positive about my long wait was that I spent the $10 in tokens they gave me for the Test Kitchen on cookies from the booth next door— they’re called Fat Stack cookies coming out of the Korave Korean BBQ booth. One was double chocolate cookies and cream and one was funfetti. They were huge and very tasty—especially after heating them back up a little (like I said, this has become my pandemic area of expertise—reheating carry-out food to make it shine). 

Based on my experience, I would not even try to order the burgers in advance though. I would just go in and order and wait. And some day, who knows? Maybe we’ll even eat inside. 

One Trick Pony 

Fishers Test Kitchen

9713 District North Drive

Fishers, IN 46037

317/953-6400

https://fisherstestkitchen.com/

Convivio - Revisit

As you know, we are only eating in restaurants with outdoor seating right now. It’s the compromise we have made so that we can still go out to eat and feel a little bit safer with all of hubby’s health conditions. Anyhow, I was talking to a friend about being in desperate need for a date night (we suddenly realized we hadn’t been out by ourselves since this whole pandemic started—it seemed rude to leave the kids at home I guess since we were all a bit deprived for outside interactions). Anyway, this friend recommended Convivio because they have nice outdoor seating and a nice atmosphere in general. We had been before but not for several years.

She was right and we got a lovely table on the patio that had the screened in part (there are several nice tables along the bocce court too but harder to get full shade). They use a scanned menu, which I like for less spreading of germs. They have a nice wine list as well. We decided to split a couple of appetizers and share one pasta dish, which was a good choice as the pasta portions are large. They start out by bringing you focaccia and a tomato oil which was very good. They know how to do focaccia. 

I have this thing in the summer where I want good marinated tomatoes all the time—since they had a tomato bruschetta ($9.95) on the menu, we ordered that as well as the frito misto ($13). The tomatoes weren’t bad in themselves, but I want some vinegar in mine. I have a need for lots of acid with my tomatoes. They didn’t seem to have any on their tomatoes and when I asked for some balsamic they brought it eventually but said it took a while to find in the kitchen which I thought was weird for an Italian place, but whatever. Once I added the vinegar, I liked it much better. The bread was toasted perfectly. I liked the little hunks of cheese mixed in as well giving a nice texture change. 

Their fritto misto is very good and they do a great job with the light texture of the breading but also keeping the seafood (shrimp, octopus and calamari as well as some zucchini) tender and the breading light. We both enjoyed it a lot. I think we ate every single piece. Sticking with the summer theme, we went with the Caserecce all Genovese ($22.95). It was the Caserecce noodles with pesto, sundried tomatoes and shrimp. The noodle is a short noodle that sort of looks folded in on itself. The pesto tasted like summer and the shrimp were cooked just right. One portion was more than enough for 2 people.

We were totally not going to have dessert but then we did. And I do not regret it. It was a crepe filled with vanilla gelato and topped with chocolate sauce and strawberries. You could tell the crepe/gelato part was frozen in advance but it tasted so good on the hot night we were there. And because it was frozen, it held together really well and was super easy to eat. I would easily order this again. Just seeing the picture here again makes me want to eat it again.

All in all we had a lovely dinner. I feel like seasoning on some things could be amped up a little (the bruschetta and maybe a little salt and more lemon on the fritto misto) but we got what we needed and made them work and taste really well. Our server was very nice and helpful and although beastly hot out, we felt pleasant the whole time we were there. 

A good place to keep in mind in Carmel with some solid outdoor seating options.

Convivio

11529 Spring Mill Road

Carmel, IN 46032

317/564-4670

www.convivioindy.com 

Yujo Ramen and Boba Tea

I met a friend for lunch the other day at Yujo. I am always game for a new ramen place. This is more of your quick service type of place where you order up front and then pay and they bring it to you. The interior is pretty simple and straightforward.

So their main thing is ramen and boba tea but they also offer a few other things like Japanese fried chicken and gyoza. However, we just tried the ramen. They had some interesting varieties of ramen, but we both ended up going with the spicy ramen ($13.50)—it is sort of the classic ramen that you think of—a miso and pepper-based sauce with wavy noodles, a slice of pork, a marinated egg, corn, fermented bamboo shoots, sliced scallions and charred beansprouts. There was also a garnish type piece of nori but I popped it out because I don’t like it when it starts to get kind of fishy tasting, but that’s just me. They also use some spicy chili oil on top. 

This was a very solid bowl of ramen. I added an extra egg (+$1.50) because that’s just what I do. The broth was extremely flavorful and the eggs were cooked just right. I really liked the crunch from the charred bean sprouts as well. Now I know that the big slab of pork is traditional, but I had a bowl in Rhode Island that had little bits of ground pork and that was so much better to me. I hate using chopsticks to try and bite off pieces of the pork.

However, overall, a very good bowl of ramen. Plenty of noodles, plenty of flavor and some unique takes—like the bean sprouts. There are also several other options that are a little more unique—one ramen that was yuzu-infused. Another is topped with black garlic oil. There’s also a veggie ramen. All sound very worth trying.

One thing I would change/add is to offer a smaller size option for lunch and maybe make a combo like some of the other places do with a couple of gyoza or a couple of pieces of fried chicken perhaps? Because I try to eat somewhat light for lunch, and I don’t know that this place has a real going out to dinner vibe for me. Speaking of which, there’s no alcohol. Like I said, lots of boba tea if that’s your thing though.

Let me know if you’ve tried this place—especially if you have tried some of these other items. I’m intrigued!

Yujo Ramen and Boba Tea

9431 N. Meridian Street

Indy  46260

317/669-0315

https://www.facebook.com/yujoindy/

Verde

Ok, it’s a chain, but it’s in Ironworks (there are some other central Indiana locations as well), and I had to try it because that’s super close to my house. A friend and I headed over for a weeknight meal. I was surprised it wasn’t busier than it was—usually new places seemed to be packed in this town no matter what they are. But It was probably only about half full.

Anyhow, we settled in and ordered a couple of the barrel select margaritas ($16)—which is their top shelf margarita. It has fancier liquors in it and it also has a fair amount of orange in it. It was a good margarita but maybe just a little too orange for me. I think I would try the house margarita next time. They also brought the obligatory chips and salsa. The salsa was fine—had a mild, fresh taste. The chips were not good.  They were like the cheapest grocery store tortilla chips. And not warm. You can make chips so good (just look at Nada) or go with quality non-homemade chips, but these were disappointing. I guess on the bright side, I was not tempted to eat more than a couple.

It’s also a really big menu (as it seems that most Mexican places are). There is a fair amount of tasty sounding items (I would like to try the ceviches, which I love when done well, but it was just too damn cold out). We settled on sharing the empanada trio ($12). There were three—one with chicken, one with steak, and one with cheese and corn. They served them with a special salsa and pico de gallo. They were all pretty good. The cheese one was nice and rich and I really enjoyed the slightly pickly topping on the steak. I also liked adding some freshness from the pico de gallo. I sort of wished for a light crema or guac but I enjoyed them all. The crust was nice and crisp. Mind blowing? No. Quite tasty? Yes.

We then ordered their street tacos—you can get them in sets of three or order three different ones, which is what we did ($15). I had the tinga chicken, fish, and shrimp (the fish was one of the signature flavors). I will say the fish was probably my favorite—I liked that the fish was in smaller hunks rather than one big piece. This made it much easier to eat. The fish had a slightly spicy chipotle flavor and was topped with red cabbage and a slice of avocado. While I love avocado, this big slice was a little hard to eat (sorta like when the fish is one big piece). Maybe chop it up or use some guac for extra flavor? Same goes for the shrimp taco which was basically the same seasonings and toppings. However, these were whole shrimp and kept spilling out when I was eating it. Again, would love it if they chopped them into smaller pieces to make it less messy. The chicken taco was a bit easier to handle—it was seasoned shredded chicken topped with queso fresco. The menu said crema too, but I wasn’t seeing any. I got some extra pico de gallo and used the lime and salsa with the tacos and they were decent. Most interesting tacos I have had? No. But not bad. I liked the empanadas better and next time I would try something other than tacos. The elote corn on the side was mushy and sort of lukewarm.

Service was decent, but maybe a little slow at the end considering it wasn’t that busy. It took a fair amount of time to get the check. I am sure we will be back at some point considering the proximity to our house…so please send me your favorite items.

Verde (multiple locations)

2727 East 86^th Street

Indy  46240

317/280-7410

www.verdeflavorsofmexico.com

Los Arroyos

One of my son’s favorite types of food is Mexican. He has his preferred places (La Hacienda, Nada and Livery), but we are always looking for new Mexican places. Recently we tried Los Arroyos which has been open a few years but is new to us. It’s a small chain out of California and Carmel is their first location outside of the west coast. It has a little different feel than other Mexican places—a little more upscale I guess. A little on the sparse side décor wise, and we got sat facing the bus station and kitchen which always makes hubby a little grumpy.

Anyhow, we got our complimentary chips and dip. I like that they give you two different salsas—one is a littler spicier than the other and has a bit of roasted flavor to it, while the other one is fresher and milder. I actually think I preferred the acidity of the fresher one but they were both fine. The chips were just meh—not warm and nothing particularly interesting about them. We started with the queso dip as well, which if I am honest was probably our favorite part. It came with chile and chorizo and once you mixed it all up was quite tasty. The homemade corn tortillas are a nice touch. Drinks-wise, hubby had a Cadillac margarita ($14) and we both thought it was good (you can also buy a margarita here that costs $350 if that’s your thing). I made the mistake of ordering a blood orange margarita ($14), which took about 3 times as long to get and which has this spicy salt mix on the rim that did not go with orange to me. It reminded me of a drink I accidentally got once that was orange juice and pepper flavor vodka. No bueno for me. I would not order this drink again just for the wait, but especially for the taste. I didn’t finish it and I switched to wine at this point.

The menu looks a little more interesting than many Mexican places—I find so many just have the same 5 ingredients recycled into different tortilla formats. This one had various seafood items. Like for instance, hubby had the langostino quesadilla ($18). It was a quesadilla stuffed with three kinds of cheese, langostino lobster, caramelized onions and avocado and topped with chipotle sour cream and guacamole. Sounds intriguing right?—and all things I like. It was good, but nothing that blew your mind or anything. I could have used a little kick or a little acid with it. But not bad. 

I had the tacos Gobernado ($15.50), which were three shrimp tacos sautéed with green chili and cheese and served with guacamole and a green salsa. Once you doctored them up with enough of the salsa and guacamole and some generous amounts of lime that I asked for, these were tasty. The really needed the lime though. The shrimp themselves were well cooked though and I liked the way the taco shells were sort of lightly fried to give them a little texture. 

The kids both had giant burritos—one had chicken and one had beef  ($13.50). They were definitely large and neither finished. I think I would have gone with the grilled chicken or steak vs. the shredded versions they got. The meat was clearly slow cooked and had that kind of stew-like flavor, which if you like, you would like. If it’s not your thing, this is probably not the burrito for you.

All in all, it was an interesting place with some nice variety on the menu. There are certainly more things I would be interested in trying, but nothing I had on this trip really wowed me. And my son doesn’t understand why we ever go anywhere but La Hacienda for a simple Mexican meal. I will agree, you certainly can’t beat their prices. This place is not cheap, but they do use a lot of fresh and unique ingredients. Will I rush back? Likely not, but I wouldn’t refuse to go either. 

Los Arroyos

11503 Springmill Road

Carmel, IN. 46032

317/810-1747

www.losarroyosindy.com