Seasons 52 - Revisit

My in-laws were in town, and we had this gift certificate we had received at the holidays for Seasons 52, so we figured it would be a good time to use it. I have been a couple of times and have had mixed experiences, so after a couple of years, it was probably a good time to go back. Also, being the beginning of the year, with all those resolutions, I figured something on the healthy side might also be a good idea. Everything on the menu is less than 475 calories.

We all got different things, and honestly, I was more impressed with the food this time than I have been in the past. My daughter, who loves black beans, started with a cup of the black bean chili ($6.25) and it was pretty tasty. It had some bits of beef in it and had a smoky flavor and was rich with beans. There was also a little dollop of cilantro sour cream on top.

Hubby and I got two different things and shared them. We had the mahi mahi fish tacos ($9.50) and the tuna tartare ($12.75). They were both quite good, although both benefited from more acid. I collected the grilled lemons from around the table and used those. The tacos had nice large pieces of the seasoned fish on top of shredded cabbage as well as chunky pico de gallo salsa on top and a drizzle of cilantro sour cream. The fish was pretty tender and with a squeeze of lime (and then some lemon), it added the little extra that it needed. There was also some salsa verde on the side as well as a smooth, smoky red salsa. You kind of needed all of it (and secretly kind of wished for more of the sour cream) but once you got it all on there, they were tasty. I was impressed that you got three of them for the calorie count.

The tuna was very good quality, even if there wasn’t a ton of it. There was a layer right below the tuna made up of a tropical salsa—mango and some red pepper—and it added a bit of sweetness that was nice with the tuna. There was also a layer that was described as wasabi avocado mousse, but it was actually pretty chunky—more like a chunky guacamole, which I prefer to a “mousse” anyway. A generous squeeze of the lemon, and this was really good. My only complaint is that the proportion of tuna to everything else was a little uneven. The Hawaiian sea salt crisps they served with it were damn tasty too. Very thin and light and super crisp. I’d eat either of these two items again.

My daughter ordered the cedar plank-roasted salmon ($19.95) and was also very pleased with it. She got the dill-mustard sauce on the side, but I enjoyed it with my bite of the salmon. I appreciated that they didn’t cook the salmon to within an inch of its life too. Maybe a touch more done than I would cook it myself, but still tender. The cedar plank did impart a slightly woody, smoky flavor and the fish itself was nicely seasoned. It was served with simple (read not really seasoned) potatoes and veggies (mostly carrots and asparagus). I would eat this dish with that sauce again as well—it was right up my alley, although I might ask them to cook it to medium rare. You can order a lobster tail for $9.95 to be added to a meal, so we added it to my daughter’s dish and that’s what my son ate. It was roasted as well and had a nice woodsy flavor like the fish. And a pretty good deal at less than ten bucks.

My mother-in-law ordered the blackened steak and blue

cheese flatbread as her main ($9.75) and it was pretty good too. I think they have improved the crust a bit since my first visit and it stayed crisp and help up to the steak, mushrooms, spinach, blue cheese and caramelized onions. I just had one small piece, but I enjoyed it. My kids had a couple of those little dessert shots (“mini indulgences”) and they loved them. They now love this place just because of those little desserts.

Like I said, I don’t know if we just ordered better and got lucky, or if they have done a better job with seasonings, but I enjoyed this visit much more than previous ones. Most things I had before just seemed very under-seasoned and forgettable. I also think that knowing the basic calorie count is reasonable when you are trying to watch what you’re eating is a nice benefit as well.

Seasons 52

8650 Keystone Crossing

Indianapolis 46240

317/846-5252

www.Seasons52.com 

Seasons 52 - Revisit

My friend, the Pilates instructor, wanted to go here. I often introduce her to new places that she ends up loving. She often makes me go to places that I generally don’t intend to go to. That’s how our friendship works. But she had been sick and I told her she could choose (she, being a fitness fanatic, also likes the whole under 475 calorie thing).

We split a small salad to start—we chose the arugula salad with roasted Portobello mushrooms, truffle dressing, and parmesan cheese. Since we split it, and she is weird about actually having her salad dressed and always gets the dressing on the side, we got it on the side (pretty much never my preference). But it was good—it was interesting to see the two different little dressings on the plate—there was a creamier part and then an oil and vinegar part, which was where the truffle flavor came in. I actually quite liked the flavor of this salad. The arugula is a little peppery and the mix of the dressings together was nice. I liked the mushrooms when I could find one (there were like maybe 3 little pieces of mushroom).

I ended up getting one of the autumn specials—the flatbread with wild mushrooms. This one certainly had some mushrooms on it, as well as caramelized onions, goat cheese, spinach and green onions. The crust was actually a lot better this time than I remembered from my last experience—it was nice and crispy—but the whole thing—even with all the ingredients on it—just didn’t have a lot of flavor. It seemed bland. I was foraging off the last couple pieces that I didn’t eat for extra goat cheese to put on the ones I was eating. It was the most flavor forward part of the flatbread and it could have used more. Of course, that probably would add to the calorie thing, but there you go.

All in all, it wasn’t bad, but it wasn’t great. My guess is, I will return when someone else requests it, but not before. I appreciate the lower calorie aspect, but I would like a higher flavor return. Have you guys eaten here? I am curious if there are certain dishes that they have managed to make more exciting.

Seasons 52

8650 Keystone Crossing

Indianapolis 46240

317/846-5252

www.Seasons52.com 

Seasons 52

It’s always fun to have a new place in town, and Seasons 52 has had a fair amount of hype behind its opening.  Pretty much everyone I knew was excited to see something new, even though it’s a chain, in that area of town (Fashion Mall).  As usual, I waited a few weeks before doing my review, and also did something I almost never do; I asked people what they thought before I went.  Boy.  I got very little positive feedback.  A few people liked the space, or the desserts, but overall, the feedback was not very good. Words like “uninspired,” “unmemorable,” and “under-seasoned” were repeated.  Honestly, I was a little surprised.

But of course, as always, I kept an open mind, and made a reservation (make sure you do that if you want to go because this place is jammed) and met my parents there for dinner.  So we were told their flatbreads are one of their specialties, and even though I keep swearing off flatbreads, I went with it and ordered one as a starter.  We went with the roasted plum tomato option with roasted garlic, basil and parmesan ($7.85).  Hmmmm… roasted garlic? I didn’t notice it.  And the whole thing just didn’t have much flavor.  With those ingredients it should, but it did not.  And the flatbread part was not very hot or crisp and just sort of reminded me of soft cardboard (hubby thinks cardboard is not the right word, he would have said “limp napkin.”)  I need to stop ordering flatbreads no matter how often they pop up on menus (seriously, anyone ever had a good one?).

We also shared another appetizer, the caramelized crab and shrimp stuffed mushrooms ($8.95).  These were better, although nothing that made me want to rush back and order them again.  They were prepared escargot style, in a dish with little compartments that contained one button mushroom top, two small shrimp, and a bit of crab and cheese.  There was something that gave it a little strange flavor—seemed almost metallic to me, although hubby was not put off by it. We thought it could have been the roasted garlic, but in general, I really like roasted garlic, so I am not sure.   The shrimp were tender though, which made me happy, and overall I think everyone at the table liked them better.

For my main, I went with the tiger shrimp penne pasta ($16.95).  I was sort of intrigued because everything on the menu is under 475 calories, so I was hoping for a lighter sauce and smaller portion than your typical pasta dishes (which I rarely order in Indy because of how ridiculously large they usually are).  So it was lighter and there was as many veggies mixed into the dish as there was pasta, but it wasn’t particularly small.  It was served with a lemon basil sauce and parmesan cheese.  The sauce had a pretty good flavor—I am always complaining about not getting a sauce that isn’t a cream or marinara, and this wasn’t…however, it had a slightly fakey taste to me that made me feel like it wasn’t fresh lemon or something.  The shrimp were butterflied, and I think because of that preparation were a little dry.  The ones on the appetizer were much juicier.  Overall, it wasn’t a horrible dish, but it wasn’t overly memorable either.

Hubby had the rainbow trout with spring new potatoes, broiled lemon and veggies ($15.95).  The fish wasn’t bad. Extremely simple—it was cut down the edge lengthwise and boned and then grilled.  The fish wasn’t overcooked and remained fairly moist.   My guess is the seasoning consisted of salt, pepper and lemon.  Is that a bad thing? No.  Is it something you could easily do at home on your grill for a lot less than $16? Yes.  And the sides were completely for show.  The potatoes, asparagus and carrots had very little flavor.

So the best thing, by far, of the meal were the desserts.  They do what they call “mini indulgences”  (all $2.50 each) which are little shot glasses of several kind of your traditional desserts.  They bring you a display with one of each, which you can take right then and there, and if you want a double of something, they will bring that out too.  Now, the idea of the lower calorie thing may get a bit blown here unless you have only one.  One of the shots has 370 calories, so a couple of those get you up there pretty quick.  And we had more than a couple (although we shared them all).  My favorite was actually the key lime pie shot, which had a pleasant sweet and sour key lime filling as well as a crumbly, graham cracker-like layer.   The chocolate peanut butter swirl was probably my next favorite (a classic combination right?) and they one that looked the most tempting to me, the rocky road shot, was actually one of my least favorites.  It was just like chocolate pudding with marshmallows on top (I am a sucker for marshmallows though; it had to be ordered once I saw it).  We also tried the Meyer Lemon (not bad) and my mom ate a pecan pie shot (she loved it).  So the desserts are fun, and like I said, if you stick to one (and they are pretty rich and decadent that you could probably do just one, although when you see them all there, it becomes a bit harder to limit yourself). 

The thing about the food, is while it is meant to be seasonal (well, they change the menu four times a year and then have weekly specials) and healthier, it still feels really corporate and not as fresh and refined as I was sort of imagining when I first heard about this spot.  Going for dessert might be something I would consider doing again at Seasons 52, but a repeat dinner is probably something that is not going to happen, at least not for awhile.  Although judging from the crowd at this place, they don’t need me there, that’s for sure.

Seasons 52

8650 Keystone Crossing

Indianapolis 46240

317/846-5252

www.Seasons52.com