Revisit: Road Trip: Fireside Inn - Enochsburg, IN

A couple weeks ago we met our Cincinnati friends back at Fireside Inn. I know I have written about this place before, but my love of fried chicken makes me need to remind you about it. Plus it was interesting to learn that there is a fried chicken trail in southern Indiana. Who knew? But Fireside Inn is one of our favorites in the area, and we’ve tried quite a few. 

We started with some fried pickles ($5.95) because these are some of the best I have ever had. They are thin and really vinegary pickles, just like you might get on your burger at an old-school burger place, with a really crunchy batter on the outside. They are clearly housemade—nothing overly uniform about these. They gave us some ranch dressing and we were good to go. These are the best crunchy fried items (besides the chicken of course) they have that I have tried. And I’ve had the gizzards, livers, onion rings and fries. The standard sides don’t seem to be made in house and the gizzards and livers just get a little dry. I will never go to Fireside Inn and not get the pickles.

The fried chicken is why you come though, and theirs is very good. We kept trying the other local places between Indy and Cincy, and we have all agreed this is our favorite. The chicken pieces are small, but generally I think smaller pieces stay juicier. A whole chicken here is $14.50 (hubby and I shared one and brought a couple pieces home). A half is $7.50. This chicken just ticks all the boxes. It’s juicy and tender and has a nice crispy and lightly seasoned crust. And they cook it to order so it is hot, hot, hot. I like mashed potatoes with my fried chicken the best, but they only offer them on certain days and it wasn’t the day we were there, so I just went with a baked potato ($2.45). Like I said the rest of the sides seem pretty food service, so I was happy with my choice. 

The atmosphere of this place is well, pretty bare and unchanged since maybe the late 60s. The bar has a better vibe, but only 4-5 tables, but it is where we always sit. The rest is a lot of fluorescent lighting and worn out fabrics. Our server was awesome though. She was hilarious and extremely efficient. She had the kind of personality that alone would make you come back. 

If you want a dive between here and Cincy with great fried chicken and pickles, this is your place. Preferably without the kids so you can sit in the bar. 

Fireside Inn

2174 County Line Road

Greensburg, IN 47240

812/934-4174

https://www.facebook.com/pages/Fireside-Inn-Enochsburg/237529667427

U.S. Adventures: Austin

A few weeks ago, we made a super quick trip to Austin to see some good friends and see a concert. Of course there was food mixed in, and here’s where we went (yes, that’s right, there is no barbecue in this post, get over it). 

We ate dinner at a hip place called the Odd Duck. It’s a shared plate/tapas type place with a very energetic atmosphere and a super eclectic menu. Probably my favorite dish of the night was the redfish ceviche ($14). It had a great lime flavor and had cilantro, olives (yum!) and carrot curry. Very interesting flavors—lots of acid. They recommended we just mix it all together, including the chips and we did. It was delicious. Oh, and you gotta love the Paloma drink here ($10). The drink itself was super good with tequila, aperol, grapefruit, tarragon and ginger—but the coolest thing was instead of a salt rim, they put a salt foam on top. You got a little bit with each sip, but it was a soft texture instead of the crunhy salt—it was much milder and softer taste too. It was really good. 

Next we had the seeded homemade pretzel sticks stuck into broccoli queso ($8). Also, totally delicious. Think of a really good soft pretzel in a really thick rich broccoli cheddar soup. Really a kind of genius idea if you think about it. So much better than the generic nacho cheese and more interesting than beer cheese.

We also had the antelope tataki ($12) with leek aioli, cabbage, sesame and rosemary crackers. Also really good—I am pretty sure I have never had antelope tataki before and it was tender and flavorful. The aioli added a nice brightness to the dish.  The basic bread plate ($7) here was also really tasty—local sourdough bread with cultured butter and flaky sea salt. It was simple, but really good as well. And a nice addition to dishes that weren’t particularly carb heavy.

We had some Asian style goat nuggets that were on special as well. They had a great, slightly spicy, slightly sweet flavor. The texture of the meat varied, some pieces a bit chewy—but when you got a good one, it was pretty tasty. Even if one of our friends seemed disturbed about eating goat. There was also a pasta dish ($19) that has a goat chili on it as well as goat feta, cilantro and radish. The noodles were thick and eggy and the toppings gave a unique flavor for a pasta dish. Lots of goat on this menu.

Dessert was tasty too—it was like a deconstructed chocolate cake—hunks of cake with sweet potato caramel pudding and orange marmalade. The chunks of torn cake were really good—super fudgy tasting. And I ended up liking the sweet potato with it more than I thought. Especially the crisp chips on top. Overall, I think I prefer sweet potato in a dessert it seems.

Odd Duck is a unique place—really trendy and lots of good bites and flavors. Certainly some better than others, but worth checking out. 

At my insistence, we also went back to Home Slice Pizza. Last time we waited nearly 2 hours to get seated so we went early, not knowing what to expect. It turns out on Easter (the day we were there), it is not crowded at all. We sat outside and ordered some knots ($4.50 for 4) (a lot of them actually because our friends’ kids love them). They are good, but they are not the reason I go—to me they are just pizza dough in a knot served with marinara. Not much luring me in here—give me some garlic butter any day.

The pizza though, the pizza is amazing (around $20-25 for a large depending on toppings). It’s New York style and is really, really good. Super thin but with just the right amount of toppings so it doesn’t fall apart when you are eating it. And they literally put the perfect amount of toppings on it in my opinion and sauce—not so much that it makes the crust mushy. Love this pizza and wish we had one near us. Brozinni is our closest place serving great New York style pizza for me, and it’s nearly in Greenwood, which is a pretty long trek for me.

All in all, it was s super quick trip, but as always, we ate well (and don’t worry hubby was there longer than me and had some barbecue too).

Odd Duck

1201 S. Lamar Blvd

Austin, TX 78704

512/433-6521

www.oddduckaustin.com

Home Slice Pizza

501 E. 53^rd Street

Austin, TX 78751

512/707-7437

www.homeslicepizza.com 

Road Trip--Chicago: Roister & Pacific Standard Time

So hubby and I celebrated our anniversary in Chicago the other weekend (a little early because I am starting a new job). When we go to Chicago, we sort of just plan our meals and then fill in the time around them. Mainly we just wandered around and shopped. Anyhow, we tried two new places for dinner. 

The first night we tried Pacific Standard Time, which a pretty new place in the old Tavernita space. They lightened the space up and the chef describes the food as home cooking he might have made with his Chinese mom---all with a California bent. It’s an interesting menu—there isn’t a real theme to it, except for the fact that there is a wood-fired oven, so they do make several items in there.

We started with the shima aji crudo ($19) and the wood-fired pita with eggplant ($14). I enjoyed the crudo—it is a mild white fish and was topped with gooseberries, tiny cubes of kohlrabi, lime and poppy seed. I enjoyed the acid from the lime and the gooseberries with the fish. The kohlrabi and poppy seeds added a nice little crunch, but there was maybe just a little too much of the kohlrabi, so I took some off. A nice light starter though. Our server highly recommended the eggplant with the pita (they also have a tuna and a beef tartare version). We went with it, but this was maybe the most disappointing dish for us. The fresh poofy pita was tasty (especially the piece that was more heavily salted), but the eggplant was just ok. There was a lot of skin mixed in with the dip, which made the whole thing a little too chewy and just a touch bitter. It may be also that I am jaded after eating that eggplant dish at Beholder. I wanted it to be that, and it clearly was not. This version did have a creamy robiola cheese underneath it, which helped with the bitterness, but still, not my favorite.

The two dishes we had as our shared main dishes were much better. We both loved the shrimp and pork dumplings ($16). There were six little dumplings and they were in this delicate scallop broth. There was shredded cabbage across the top. These are the kind of things I could have a serious craving for….and the kinds of thing I also wonder why we don’t see on Indy menus. They were light but full of flavor. An excellent dish. We then had the soft-shell crab ($22), which was their take on a BLT. There was tempura fried crab sitting in a leaf of Bibb lettuce. They were topped with pieces of bacon. little tomatoes, pickled onions a creamy ranch-like sauce. This was also really good. The crab was fried just right, and overall the flavors blended really well. The bacon could be a little overwhelming sometimes if you got a big piece of it in a bite, and I wished for a couple more of these—we each only got a half a crab. But knowing we were going to be on an eating binge all weekend, we thought it prudent to take it a little easy. We also wanted to order dessert as I had read that the pastry chef was from the now-defunct Grace. And we weren’t disappointed with our chocolate tart. It was beautiful and really good—it had roasted peanuts crushed on top and this pretty swoop of creamy chocolate on top. 

But the next dinner you guys…. seriously. It was so good. We went to Roister, which is the latest Alinea Group spot—a totally casual place with an open kitchen and a Michelin star. Hubby and I got seats at the kitchen bar and watched all the action. There’s a big wood-fired pit with various meats hanging from it, and then various other stations. I loved watching all the food coming out and the fact that our server always seemed nearby to give us the run down on what everything was. Speaking of which. Our server was awesome. Super laid back and right there when you needed him, but not annoying at all. He was obviously passionate about food as well.

Based on his recommendations, we started with the cheddar rillettes with their house fry bread ($14). This dish is amazing. So much so that I felt sorry for every table that didn’t order it. Hubby and even debated a second order for dessert. So they use this truffle cheddar cheese, mascarpone and mix that up and top it with these tiny pieces of cauliflower that is in a truffle vinaigrette. Oh, and they give you this amazing crisp, salty fry bread to smear it on. SO GOOD. If you ever go, and this is on the menu, this is a MUST ORDER. Wow. I am going to try and recreate it at home. I can’t stop thinking about it. 

We also ordered the smoked oysters ($19), which were tasty, and were quite the production—they serve them in the cast iron skillet they smoke them in (wood chips right there in the pan) They are just barely cooked and topped with chipotle butter and epazote vinegar. They are extremely smoky in flavor as well. There were only four of them, so it’s a small portion, but it is loaded with smoky flavor if that’s your thing. They were fine, but my least favorite item of the evening.

For our main dish, I convinced hubby to get the chicken ($67) because it was a shared dish, and while he balked a bit, he gave in and we were both very, very happy he did because man, was this good. They do just the right thing to give you the perfect chicken. They take thighs (they give you four of them) and soak them in buttermilk and then fry them perfectly. They’re lightly dusted in salt and were so freaking good. So tender and shockingly crispy. Perfect fried chicken. Some of the best I have ever had. But for the breast meat, they marinate it in chamomile tea and then sous vide it for an hour and then sear the skin at the very end. Oh my goodness, this was definitely one of the most tender and delicious chicken breasts I have ever had. And now I want a sous vide machine for my house (so feel free and give me recommendations if you have one, because it’s going on my Christmas list). They also give you this house made hot sauce made with habanero chilis and melon. It was hot, but not taste bud numbing. It was good with the chicken, as was the sawmill gravy that they also gave you for dipping. Not that you needed wither, but they were good. The only part of the dish that I thought was not particularly mind-blowing was the part they made with the legs and wings. They did these confit style and then made a chicken salad out of it with sunchokes and sunflower seeds. It wasn’t bad, but it wasn’t worth the calories when the other parts were in front of us. And it’s a lot of food. Probably better shared with three or four people. I am already planning a return trip with more people to get this and try something else. Seriously, you should see the duck. It was also enormous though. Based on what was leaving the kitchen, I’d say the duck and chicken are the most popular. So, so good.

We had to try a dessert after all this amazing food. They just had a few choices and when went with the cookies and milk ($11), which was milk ice cream. It was really light, almost like sorbet made with milk. And then it was topped with chunks of cookie dough and pieces of sugar cookies. It was the kind of thing I would make at home, as a person who has an obsession with chocolate chip cookie dough. It wasn’t fancy, but it was delicious.

Roister was the clear winner of this trip and a place I will certainly return to when in Chicago. And that says something because there are so many places to try, I rarely repeat. I need those rillettes again though. I just hope they stay on the menu. Pretty sure I would have a hard time not getting the chicken again too. I just need to bring more people with me so I can try other things as well.

Pacific Standard Time

141 W. Erie Street

Chicago, IL

312/736-1778

www.pstchicago.com 

Roister

952 West Fulton Market

Chicago, IL 60607

www.roisterrestaurant.com

Road Trip: Corto y Lima--Lexington, KY

Recently I posted about going to Blackberry Farm in Tennessee. You know I would never leave on a 6-hour road trip without picking a place to stop for lunch on the way. So, thanks to Twitter, I chose Corto y Lima in Lexington, Kentucky, conveniently almost exactly half way there. I could have gone with a more traditional choice but knowing the kind of food we would likely be eating all weekend, some Latin-themed food seemed like a good plan.

We started with the guacamole and chips ($10) at the recommendation of the server. Now, I make a pretty darn good guac myself, so I am sort of particular about it, but this is probably one of the best ones I have had in a restaurant. It had roasted garlic in it and was really nice and acidic. It also had plenty of salt. Salt and acid are the things that make or break good guac in my book. It had some diced tomatoes and red onions on top and freshly made chips alongside that were also nicely salted. They gave extra limes on the side, and you really didn’t need them. It was a miracle. The only bad thing I can say about this is that I wish there was more of it. The serving bowls makes for a deceptively small portion. It looks like more than it actually is. We licked it clean. I also had a margarita because it just sounded good and I wasn’t driving, and it was delicious. Nice and fresh and limey as well.

We just got a bunch of stuff for the rest of the meal. I really liked the elote ($5), which was an ear of corn cut into smaller pieces and seasoned with lime aioli, queso fresco and Tajin (which is like a Latin seasoning salt). It had all the good stuff too—lots of salt, lots of seasoning and lots of acid. It was pretty decadent too with all that mayo and cheese. Again, gave us limes and we didn’t need them. Also, the blue corn empanadas ($9) were great. They were little fried pockets of masa filled with rock crab, green chilies, and cream cheese. They were topped with little pieces of fresh diced pineapple. Again, loved the use of acid in the pineapple to balance the rich crab and cheese. There was also a hot sauce on the side that was studded with some hunks of cheese and also had a bit of pineapple flavor to it. It had a thick, almost buttery texture. It was great for dipping the empanadas. I would love to eat these again.

The other items we had were not quite as good as the first items, but still had redeeming qualities. The crispy shrimp tacos ($8) weren’t bad, although they were smothered in peppers that gave a lot of heat! We both pulled a lot of them off in order to be able to eat them. There was also jalapeno aioli on there, which was nice because while it had a little kick, the creaminess of the aioli balanced it. There was also some shredded romaine on there for texture. The least successful dish, and my biggest disappointment, was the chicken chicharron ($8), which is described as fried chicken thighs, crispy chicken skins, chili escabeche, cilantro and lime. Sadly, there was nothing crispy about this dish—almost like it had sat too long somewhere. I couldn’t even differentiate the chicken skin part of the dish. We barely touched this one, which was fine because we had a lot of food really.

All in all, it’s a place I would go regularly I think if I lived in the area…I would like to try all the various dips they offer and there are several menu items that are very tempting. But I would always get the guacamole too. 

Corto y Lima

101 West Short Street

Lexington, KY 40507

859-317-8796

https://www.cortolima.com/ 

Noise rating: 3 bells (out of five)

Road Trip: Blackberry Farm--Walland, TN

Wow, I recently had the opportunity to go to Blackberry Farm with a bunch of girl friends. It is one of those bucket list foodie type places. It’s located near Knoxville, Tennessee just adjacent to the Great Smoky Mountains National Park. If you have some extra cash burning a hole in your pocket, and you love food and the outdoors, you should add it to your bucket list.

I’m not going to go course by course through every meal, as it will only remind me how decadent I was for the three days we were there, but suffice it to say, you really need to bring your stretchy pants. And while the accommodations are expensive, the food is all included (not alcohol) and they are very generous. For instance, at one breakfast, I had decided to go with a slightly healthy option, but when I just casually mentioned to a friend that I would love to try the biscuits and gravy, there was a plate in front of us to share as well in minutes as our ordered breakfast.

Anyway, speaking of breakfast, they do it right. The menu changes slightly every day so you don’t get bored with the same stuff (you can always get the B&G though if you ask). Everything I had was very good, with the strange exception that the kitchen did not seem to be able to poach an egg with a runny middle. But if you got an over easy or sunny egg, you were fine. A star is the grits with pimento cheese and bacon on top (and this was just a side dish). I would say the other favorite was the simple, but comforting B&G. But you can see, we tried several items and they were happy to bring you as many things on the side as you wanted as well. The lemon scones were amazing.

We never had the totally traditional lunch, because we arrived back from a hike late one day and they just laid out a giant picnic table with a ton of different things including barbecued chicken and ribs, and a plethora of salads and sides. The favorites here were the mustard and Bourbon beans and the strawberry, rhubarb, and beet salad. There was so much food though. Wow. Oh yeah, and a whole plate of desserts as well—a favorite here were the berry hand pies. The second lunch we had was part of a cooking demonstration with their Farmstead Manager, Dustin Busby. It was awesome. He showed us how to make homemade ricotta, homemade pasta filled with cheese and herbs, smoked onion jam dressing for our salad, which contained roasted beets and cauliflower, and individual almond financiers. Every single thing was great, and it was really fun to see how easy it was to make it all. We are already planning a party to make all of the items again. Honestly, it might have been one of my favorite meals.

You can eat dinner at The Barn or The Dogwood. The Barn is the more formal restaurant, and is just stunning inside. The Dogwood is the slightly more casual restaurant that is set in the original farmhouse (they call it the main house). Originally we were going to do the Barn twice and the Dogwood once, but ended up switching it around after eating in both. To be frank, the service in the Barn was pretty off the night we were there, and the service at the Dogwood was brilliant. I also enjoyed the slightly more rustic dishes on the Dogwood menu. The flavors just spoke to me more. The highlight at the Barn for me was their beef tartare, which was so good—pretty sure there were some truffles in there as well as roasted mushrooms. It had such a good earthy and well-seasoned flavor. A table favorite was also the potato salad, which was lightly creamy and topped with trout roe and sliced fried potato chips. They also had amazing desserts—several had a key lime pie that was amazing and I ordered a rhubarb sorbet with a cake that was also delicious.

At the Dogwood, one of my favorite dishes was a clam dish that had beer, butter, garlic, fennel and mustard that was recommended by our hiking guide. I ordered this one twice (one of the few things offered both times we were there). I actually got the recipe and was surprised at how little cream and butter was in it. It felt extremely decadent and delicious when I was eating it and now I can’t wait to make it myself. Add some lightly charred grilled bread and this dish was perfect. The salads they make are wonderful—they always have a nice texture variation and plenty of acid (often with something like pickled red onion). One night I also had an egg dish as a starter that was also rich and delicious. I like that the servings aren’t ridiculous since you get four courses every time. The desserts at the Dogwood were also less fancy, but also delicious. One night I had chocolate sea salt sandies and one night a large slice of chocolate cake and vanilla icing.

All in all, it was a really fun trip with a lot of really good food. There are also a lot of fun outdoor activities as well if you like that sort of thing. If not, there’s also a spa, pool, and of course, the cooking lessons. If you have the chance, I say add it to your list. Just start saving now. 

Blackberry Farm

1471 West Millers Cove Road

Walland, TN 37886

865/984-8166

www.blackberryfarm.com 

Road Trip: Bread Basket- Danville (Revisit)

We went back out to Danville for a return visit to Bread Basket. My sister and her family really love this place and I looked forward to trying it again as well. So it is kind of a hike from Indy, but if you’re up for an adventure, or if you live on the west side, check it out.

On this visit, I tried the veggie quiche of the day with a side of bacon (+3.29). This was a very tasty quiche. It had mushrooms and spinach in it as well as Swiss cheese. The inside was light and moist and the crust was flakey and tasty. That makes sense since they are known for their pies. The bacon here is also very good. Just the right amount of crispiness and nice and salty.

Hubby went with biscuits and gravy ($4.99 for half, $7.40 for full) topped with eggs (+$2.99). He was very happy with his choice. They do a really nice job with their gravy--it is thick and well seasoned and they certainly know how to cook eggs. He kept saying he was going to stop eating it but ended up eating pretty much all of it (I had some bites obviously). They are quality B&G.

Ok, this place is known for the cinnamon rolls, and seriously, they are some of the best I have had. But, even better, they take the day old rolls and make them into French toast ($11.49). This is what my dad had, and what he usually has (my parents are big fans of this place). It is truly decadent, and even for me, who rarely eats sweets for breakfast, I just kept going in for more bites. It is crazy, the rolls are sweet, the cream cheese frosting is sweet, there’s powdered sugar and butter, and then you can drizzle it with syrup. But, wow, this is addictive. I did take just a regular cinnamon roll home that we ate for dessert for a couple nights (they are huge). These are seriously good. 

My mom just had a standard breakfast with eggs, bacon, potatoes and toast ($7.49). They do a nice job with this as well. And the toast here is really, really good. They make their own bread (you can buy loaves as well) and it makes the toast shine. It may be one of my favorite parts (it came with my quiche as well). My sister had a half a breakfast sandwich and potatoes ($7.49), which is just as delicious partly because of that same toast.

Anyhow, they do breakfast really well—the baked goods are great and any dish that includes them is going to be a winner. Let me know if you have been.

Bread Basket

46 S. Tennessee Street

Danville, IN  46122

317/718-4800

www.breadbasketcafe.com 

Road Trip: Cincinnati--Taste of Belgium

Hubby and I were in Cincinnati for a quick trip for one of his oldest friend’s milestone birthdays. We ate food that was provided at the party for dinner, but I was excited that there was a Taste of Belgium right down from our hotel and that they opened early so we could grab breakfast on our way out of town the next day. 

The reason I was so excited was buckwheat crepes!! There was a French place in Oakland years ago that I used to eat lunch at with my legal colleagues that had the absolute best crepes.  I have forever been on a quest for one as good. 

I ordered the “the OG” ($11), which is a buckwheat crepe with a runny egg, Gruyere, ham and mixed greens. In theory, this is exactly what I like. In execution, it was fine, but not amazing. It came across a little dry, even with that runny egg. The crepe was a little thicker than I prefer. And I think I prefer my mixed greens more on the side to eat alongside it, as I want to. Also, the egg wasn’t really seasoned, and it took forever to get salt and pepper, which was not on the table. I believe an egg should be seasoned (at least salt!) and if the kitchen isn’t going to do it, then it should be left to the patron to decide with shakers on the table. So it was a little disappointing.

Hubby had the chicken, biscuit and gravy ($12), which was better than mine I thought. It was a biscuit with a fried boneless chicken breast, pepper gravy and a sunny egg on top. There was a lot going on there for sure, but I really liked the super light and crispy panko-type breading on the chicken. And they kept it tender, even though it was white meat. Again, I am a believer that an egg should always be seasoned and this one wasn’t. It wasn’t as noticeable because the chicken and gravy had seasoning in them, but still. Am I the only one who thinks this? Anyway, he also ordered a side of goetta, because well, we were in Cincinnati. Seemed like the thing to do. If you haven’t had it before, it’s a combo of oats and sausage (sort of like poor man’s sausage), with lots of seasoning and is pan-fried crisp. It was tasty, although I think I like it as part of something else (see goetta eggs benedict at Nada) best.

All in all, I was a little let down with this meal but maybe my expectations were just too high. Lots of good looking items on their menu though, and I can’t say I wouldn’t try it again.

Taste of Belgium (several locations)

3825 Edwards Road

Cincinnati, OH 45209

513-396-5800

www.authenticwaffle.com

U.S. Adventures: Washington D.C.

Recently, we had a whirlwind trip to D.C., where my daughter was participating in National History Day. She had summer school as well, so she could only miss one day of class, and was presenting on a Monday, so we took the opportunity to fly out early Saturday morning and do some sightseeing and eating. The boys flew in on Sunday, because of baseball conflicts.

The first meal was just me and my daughter, and we headed to the Eastern Market, which is sort of like our City Market, but with more meat and seafood counters, and fewer prepared food places. The one main restaurant type place had a line out the door, and I had read favorable places about it, and since she is more patient than son and hubby, we queued up and waited the hour or so it took to get through the line. It was totally worth it. Even though they were technically serving a brunch menu, I asked if they would make me soft shell crab from the weekday lunch menu and the owner/cashier was more than happy to. In fact, he insisted I get the sandwich, because he thinks it’s one of the best things on the menu. He was right.  This was the best soft shell I have had in ages. Lightly fried, and the crab was super meaty and tender, with just the right amount of crunch from the soft shell. There was slaw on it, and I added a little hot sauce, and it was perfection. My daughter ordered their crab cake benedict and it was very good as well. The crab cake had a lot of flavor and wasn’t overly bready. Perfectly poached egg and all was well. The owner was quite upset when she ordered the fried potatoes instead of grits and insisted we try the grits as well, and sent us a side of their spicy version on the house. They were very tasty, with green chilies, and more spice than heat. He also said it was required that we order one of their buckwheat blueberry pancakes, because they are known for them (and pretty much everyone there had at least one on the side). I am not a big sweets as my meal person, but this one was very good—it wasn’t overly sweet and had nice blueberry flavor. Yes, it was way too much food, and yes we didn’t finish everything (that soft shell crab was totally gone though), but it was fun to try everything. And I’d go back in a heartbeat. On Saturdays they have a big farmer’s market outside as well as artists selling their art, and even a few booths of a flea market. It was a fun place to spend a few hours (and delicious).

For dinner that night the daughter and I hit Momofuku ccdc. She has developed a taste for ramen, and I thought it would be fun. We started with the biscuit bites ($6) because my daughter is a bread fiend, and the soft shell crab buns ($19), because, well, as you know, I am a soft shell crab fiend. They were in season and we were on the east coast and I was going to order them everywhere I saw them. The biscuit bites were actually pretty large oblong biscuits that had chives cooked into them—they were pretty standard biscuits—good but not amazing—but we really enjoyed the Szechwan honey butter. One is certainly enough for each person, even for my daughter. The soft shell crab buns were so good. We each had one, and both thought they were great. They were steamed buns, ½ a lightly fried crab, Old Bay seasoning, remoulade sauce and shaved lettuce.

We both got a bowl of ramen for dinner. I went with the classic pork ramen with pork belly, pork shoulder and a poached egg ($17) and she went with the vegetarian hozon ramen with scallions, kale and fried chickpeas ($16) and added a poached egg ($2). My pork version was very classic, and very tasty. The broth was nice and rich, and there were nice greens, scallions and bean sprouts in there as well. My daughter’s was also very good—and a bit more unique, but also lighter. I loved the addition of the crunchy fried chickpeas for texture and also for a bit of protein. The broth had an herby aromatic flavor and was a nice change of pace. We shared a couple of milkbar desserts, but I have to say, they were the most disappointing parts of the meal—the cookie we had was extremely dry and the cake pops so dense, they weren’t that appealing.

Once hubby and my son got there, we met up with them for more sightseeing. We had an opportunity to go to the National Museum of African American History and Culture as well as the Holocaust museum. Both were great experiences. We grabbed a quick lunch at Old Ebbit’s Grill, just because we hadn’t made plans for lunch and the concierge could get us in. It was so hot the weekend we were there, the air conditioning was a welcome respite. The food here is fine, not amazing, but it’s an old historical restaurant, so it’s kind of a cool place to take the kids.  Hubby and I split a fried oysters dinner and we all shared some crab and artichoke dip ($11.59), which was quite tasty. The kids had trout parmesan ($18.99) and a burger. Both were fine. We all shared a piece of key lime pie, which was not good. It had no tartness. 

For dinner that night, after the welcoming ceremony for my daughter’s event, we went to Zaytinya, which is a hip Mediterranean tapas place. We all love small plates because we can get a million things, and we all get to choose a few. And we were excited for the cuisine after our trip to Greece last summer. I can’t even begin to tell you everything we had because there was a lot, but some of the highlights were the hommus ($7), the pita (free), the bronzino ($12), the lamb kleftico ($14), and the crispy eggplant dish ($8.50). The pita was like a balloon-filled up with air and super light. It was extremely addicting and so good with the hommus. My daughter, who often ignores hommus, gobbled this one up. The bronzino had a nice acidic kick and interesting flavors from fennel and raki (an anise-flavored alcohol). The lamb kleftico was really interesting—patties made with lamb and phyllo and sitting on top of feta, dill and oil. It was crunchy and rich and the cheese added just the right freshness. The hunks of super crispy eggplant were one of my favorites, although the rest of the family doesn’t like eggplant as much as I do. It was served with a roasted garlic yogurt sauce. Perfect combo of crispy veg and acidic sauce. There were many other courses, but these were the standouts. The olives were a nice thing to eat with everything as well. The soft shell crab was my least favorite of the trip because it was kind of over fried. Several other dishes were just ok. It was a very enjoyable meal, with several really good things, but we all agreed it wasn’t a place we would rush back to. The service was a little weird as well. The waiter sort of ignored my son, and ended up not bringing him one of the dishes he ordered. So my son’s advice was to only bring one kid here at a time. 

The last day, after my daughter did her presentation, we had just barely enough time to get lunch somewhere before heading back to the airport. A couple of different people I know and trust for food had recommended Rasika, so we got a quick reservation and headed there. It’s an upscale Indian restaurant with a couple of locations. We talked to our waiter about recommendations and were told we absolutely should order the palak chaat ($12). Boy was he right. This is one of the best dishes I’ve had in recent memory. My family and I have already started searching the Internet for copycat recipes. So it is spinach, but it’s fried so each leaf is nice and crispy. The whole thing is then topped with this yogurt sauce with tamarind and dates. Then there were diced tomatoes and cilantro on top. Oh my, this was so good. Next time, there will likely be multiple orders. I know, it doesn’t sound that interesting, but it was. As another appetizer, we also shared the tuna chutneywala ($14). This was a very interesting and tasty dish as well (and also recommended) and was seared tuna stacked with a coconut cilantro flavored sauce. It was light, and the coconut added an interesting flavor dimension. Between us we also tried the chicken tikka masala ($19), the tandoori chicken ($18), the dal dhungaree ($7 for half) and the salmon tandoori ($22). All of these were good, but none were as interesting as the appetizers. I’d be tempted to just go with a bunch of apps next time. The dal dhungaree was interesting though—smoked lentils with garlic, tomatoes and fenugreek. All in all, this was a fun place and like nothing we have in Indy, so it was a good place to try. And I’d go back just for the spinach.

All in all, a very satisfying, but quick trip to D.C. We got to try a lot of variation in food, and all of it was good.

Road Trip: Chicago

We recently spent the weekend in Chicago with the kids, enjoying a Christmas gift to see Hamilton (it’s so good). Of course, other than that, the weekend was planned around food (and conveniently the musical was a matinee so we didn’t miss any meals).

Our first stop for lunch was to Shaw’s Crab House. Hubby and I used to hit up the oyster bar nearly every visit to Chicago for years for lunch, but hadn’t been in awhile, and wanted to introduce the kids to it. If you go, eat in the oyster bar, way better atmosphere than the stuffy restaurant in my opinion. We got some king crab bites ($28) to share, because they made us love the place back in the day. They take king crab legs and just slice them into pieces and you pop them out of the shell. They serve them with cocktail sauce and a mustard mayo type sauce. I love that mustard sauce. They also had soft shell crab on the menu, so it was sort of a no brainer that I’d get that as well (they serve the crab that’s in season). 

I went with the soft shell crab appetizer ($16), because I didn’t feel up to a whole dinner. And then I got the chopped salad ($10) on the side to share with hubby. The crab itself was tasty and fresh, but it wasn’t my favorite version because it was breaded in corn meal. I like a crunchy batter best. They served it with mango, cucumber and a chili sauce. Also not my favorite combo, but I was happy to just get the crab. The salad had lots of good stuff in it (blue cheese, avocado, egg, bacon, scallion, tomato and croutons) but the dressing lacked acid. I gave it a good squeeze from a lemon that was handy, and that helped. Hubby and my daughter split the blackened snapper with toffee sauce and rice ($31) and hubby loved it. Especially that etouffee sauce (it was really good). My daughter found the sauce a bit spicy for her, but enjoyed the fish. My son had the Lake Erie perch ($24)and thought it was fine, although he didn’t eat the tartar sauce that came with it, which was amazing. All in all, we enjoyed it, but can’t say it will be the place my kids want to rush back to. It’s a bit on the pricey side too, but it will always hold a special place for hubby and me.

For dinner that night we went to Sumi Robata Bar. We all love the small plates options so everyone gets to choose several things and we all try everything. So this is a Japanese place, and a robata grill is a type of charcoal grill over which many things are cooked, usually on sticks. This place had a ton of robata options as well as items cooked in other ways. We got a ton of stuff and it all just kind of slowly appeared over the course of the evening. Edamame ($5) was hot and seasoned with just touch of sea salt and came with a cute little basket. We also had the special because it was soft shell crab ($22) (seriously, everyone in my family knows that if a server says they have it, that I will order it). It was nice and crunchy and served with a very light sauce to dip in. A couple of our favorite items were the marinated chicken thigh from the grill ($6), which was super tender and flavorful. And we all liked the karaage chicken, which is a Japanese version of fried chicken ($12). These were chunks of white and dark meat and served with a shishito pepper spread. It was simple, but really delicious. The kids wanted  a second order, but we held them off. The thing that was a standout favorite, and which we did end up with two orders of was the wagyu ribeye ($16). There were shoving matches going on over this one because it was two sticks each with a hunk of meat on them and a side of wasabi ponzu. Thus, why we had to order a second one. We also had the wagyu sukiyaki ($18), which was also very good—the beef was served in almost like a porridge with a soft-boiled egg. It was a nicely composed dish—all the wagyu we had was superb. We also had the Ishi Yaki ($12), which was Wagyu New York strip with a hot rock and was simply delicious. Yes, we had a lot of beef, because apparently, that’s what everyone was in the mood for. The grilled asparagus was nice too (although a touch fat for me) and the duck breast ($8) was fine, but a little more cooked than we typically like. The only real bad dish was the octopus ($8), which we each ate one piece of and that’s it because it was so tough. We went with dessert because we were really enjoying ourselves. The donatsu ($7) was so good –a doughnut filled with chocolate and served with matcha soft serve. Seriously, this was one of the best desserts I’ve had in a Japanese restaurant. We also had an orange shaved ice ($7) that was nice and refreshing.

The next day for lunch (or I should say brunch, because as hard as it is to find brunch in Indy, it’s just as hard to find not-brunch in Chicago on the weekend) was the Bristol. This is a place hubby and I have eaten several times for dinner, but never a mid day meal.  The menu is an eclectic mix of various brunchy and lunchy things and we agreed on four different things and to share (my son apparently not as good as that as the rest of us, but then again, his was the best thing). He got the burger “Royale” ($13). It had two thin patties, cheese, pickled onions, garlic aioli and came with duck fat fries. Seriously, that is one of the better burgers I have had in recent memory. Don’t want to wait in the line at Au Cheval? This is a decent substitute. Hubby ordered the “hangover breakfast,” ($13), which was sort of like a ramen dish—noodles in pork broth with pork belly, veg, and an egg. I liked it—it was nice variety with everything else, but not as good as bowl of full on ramen. I ordered the chicken ‘n a biscuit ($13), which was a biscuit cut into hunks, covered in sausage gravy and then served with some nice hunks of fried chicken. The chicken was very good—it actually reminded me of the karaage chicken from the night before in its preparation. The biscuits were very dry and there wasn’t enough gravy to fix the problem. I liked the pickles across the dish, as pickles and fried chicken are a good match to me. My daughter ordered the chilaquiles ($14), and I was of course thrilled. These were a disappointment as well. They were a bit better than some I have had lately, but it was more of a bunch of various parts (pork, egg, etc.) that didn’t really come together that well. Nothing was bad, but a lot of it was just a little disappointing compared to some of the dinners we have had there. Except that burger, it was delicious.

For dinner on the last night we went to Mon Ami Gabi, which is a French bistro with several locations around the country. My kids love a French bistro, and since we don’t really have any in Indy, we often seek them out in other cities. This place was fabulous to meet that bistro craving. We started out with salmon tartare ($15.95) and the friseé, kale and warm bacon salad with a poached egg ($9.95). That salmon tartare was great—really great. It was marinated and mixed with hunks of avocado and had olives on the side and these great potato crisps to eat it with. And they even gave you enough chips for all the tartare. Hubby and I really liked this dish. The salad was fine—and is one of our favorite salads to eat usually—but this one did not have enough acid at all. We doctored it up a bit and it was good, but not something I would order again.

For my main dish, I had the skate with cauliflower pureé and florets, raisins and crispy capers ($22.95). It was excellent. I love skate and for some reason, it is hard to find in Indy. It’s a ray wing, and is so tender. They sautéed it and it had this lovely butter sauce. So perfect. There was a ton of it though—I could have easily split it with someone. Hubby and my son both got steak frites ($23.95) and were both very happy. You can order it the classic way, which is a thin ribeye, which is what they did, or you can order from various other cuts. They hand cut their fries and they are tasty. They are cut thin, but wide—almost like a ribbon-- and almost like a cross between a fry and a chip. Really nice with the steak to soak in all the juices. You also can pick your flavor of butter to be served on top (or a sauce). Hubby went with the classique maitre d’hôtel butter, which is an herby blend. My daughter had the salmon ($22.95), which was wonderfully prepared and served with mashed peas and crème fraiche beurre blanc. They also have a lovely dessert menu. We had the most amazing profiteroles with chocolate sauce ($8.95) as well as a dish of the sorbet of the day, which was passion fruit. I also feel like for the amount of food you get and the quality, it is a good deal.

On our way out of town, we stopped at the Little Goat Diner, which is one of our perpetual faves. Now that my daughter had been there once before, she agrees. It’s hard to vary from our favorite things though, so we didn’t. We had the okonomiyaki ($13), the dark chocolate chip crunch pancakes ($13), the parathas burrito ($13) and the hashbrowns stuffed with cheese ($6). I have written about all of these items before, but suffice it to say, they are all stellar. 

All in all, a great food trip and fun as well. Such a great city.

U.S. Adventures: Austin, Texas

For spring break this year, the family and I headed back to Austin to see our good friends who moved there a couple years ago. If you’re a regular reader, you will know our last trip last May didn’t go too well—hubby broke his arm and I didn’t get to go to my number one choice of restaurant because we headed home early. 

That restaurant was Uchiko, and it was fabulous. One of the best meals I have had in awhile for sure. I love the small plates concept because you can try even more things. And we certainly did. They do sushi, but a ton of other Japanese options as well. Probably one of my favorite dishes of the evening was the take nabe ($18). It was like a soft porridge with dashi and lots of different mushrooms and a runny egg. I loved the intensity of the flavor of this one. Loved the hama chili as well, which was sashimi of yellowtail with orange, thai chili and ponzu ($18.50). Hubby thought it was a bit bland, but if you ate it with the pieces of orange, it was fabulous. Delicate, but really good. The table all loved the fried caramelized Brussels sprouts with fish sauce, lemon and chili. I don’t think I have ever tasted Brussels sprouts that tasted so rich. And they remained crispy despite everything going on. And wagyu on a hot rock with ponzu ($17)? You can’t really go wrong. You barely sear it and then eat it. The special nigiri was great as well. One of the sushi rolls was tasty, while one was weird and my least favorite thing. The “shag” tempura roll ($14) with salmon, avocado, sundried tomato and sumiso was great. The ham and egg roll ($10) with pork belly and egg custard was not so good. It fell flat. The tempura grouper that was a special was fine, although just didn’t stick out. The desserts on the other hand were as tasty as they were beautiful ($8-$9 each). We really didn’t need three of them, but we ordered them anyway. Just look at them. They were great. I want to go back tomorrow.

The next meal we had was at Home Slice. Why oh why can’t we have pizza like this is Indy (outside of Brozinni, which is awesome, but so far away from me)? It was a great place to take the kids, even though we ended up eating lunch at like 3:00 p.m. because that’s how long it takes to get in EVERYWHERE in Austin. This city is clearly over-peopled. Anyhow, my daughter wanted an antipasti platter ($14.75) and the kids pretty well devoured it. Like I said, it was like 3:00, so it was a good call, because it came out fast. A nice mix of Italian meats, cheeses and my favorite, olives and artichoke hearts. Oh yeah, and those garlic knots. The platter came with a couple and then we got a bunch more (4 for $4.50). They are soft and garlicky and delicious. They come with marinara, which although I prefer Bromine’s garlic butter, was very tasty. The pizza though? The pizza was awesome. The best part was the mushroom and red onion (which was my choice). Just the right amount of each ingredient, and that crust was awesome. It might even be better than Brozinni. The kids ordered a clam pizza ($21.50), and while it was good (you gotta squeeze the lemon on top), it was very, very clammy—those are all chopped clams. I think about half as many would have made it better. It had a white olive oil type sauce instead and lots of garlic and herbs.

For lunch we ate at Top Notch. I mean look at that sign and tell me it doesn’t make you want to eat there? It was cool, a drive-in from way back. The inside was all wood paneled. Their sign advertised fried chicken, so who am I to say no? It was fine chicken, but honestly the burgers the kids ordered were better. The onion rings were quite tasty too and the milkshakes were handmade and delicious. And check out the canned wine. Fancy.

Our last meal was also really good. Still waiting on an Italian place like this in Indy. The restaurant is called Red Ash. It was one of those really hip, popular and LOUD restaurants, but the food more than made up for any noise discomfort. The bread service ($2 pp) alone is delicious. And you have to pay for it, but after that they will bring you free refills. This was garlic and cheese bread and the bread itself was delicious too. We also got an app of roasted clams ($16) and they were the smallest I have ever seen in the US. They were delicious. My family was fighting over them—they were cooked in white wine, herbs, garlic and topped with breadcrumbs. We also ordered beef carpaccio ($14), which was prepared wonderfully as far as the meat was concerned, but it was covered with a lot of horseradish, which isn’t really my thing. You couldn’t really taste the meat anymore. We also had a wonderful fresh halibut crudo ($16) that was seasoned perfectly and it was as beautiful as it was tasty. It ad avocado and lemon, radish and celery. So bright and fresh.  This place definitely excelled the most at apps though I think. Our entrées were good, but the risotto with bone marrow ($36) hubby and I split with hubby was so over the top rich, it was hard to finish. My daughter’s gnocchi ($15 for the small portion) with gorgonzola cream, speck, and fresh cream and was my favorite of the entrées. It was light and creamy and had some nice fresh herbs in it as well. The desserts we all shared (there were 9 of us) were very tasty as well. Dulce du leche ice cream, tiramisu and filled doughnuts with chocolate and blackberry jam (all $9). 

All in all, this trip went much better than the last one that’s for sure. We kayaked and the kids all rock climbed and we ate really, really well (there was some BBQ in there too, don’t worry but I wrote about the place we went (Rudy’s) last time, so I am not covering it again). Austin is a great city, but seriously, it is a bit overpopulated. The traffic was insane and the waits for restaurants were as well. But the food (and the company of course) made it worth it. And hey, if you  have recommendations for other places I am sure we will get back there one of these days.