Tinker Street - Revisit

Recently a friend invited us to go to Tinker Street. I haven’t been there for several years—which is true of a lot of places lately--whole pandemic and all. We’re back to going out a little bit more widely now. 

Anyhow, we started with the Brussels sprouts ($17), the chicken and caviar ($27) and the cured tuna ($18) (there were 5 of us). All of these dishes were very good. The Brussels sprouts were honestly some of the best I have ever had I think. There were the sprouts, caramelized onions, hazelnuts, Point Reyes blue cheese, preserved lemon-thyme vinaigrette and then served with multigrain toasts. I really liked the blue cheese with it and the tangy vinaigrette. Actually, we ended up having a second order with dinner. 

The fried chicken thigh was also so good I ended up ordering another one to have on my own for dinner (with some more of those Brussels sprouts). It was fried just perfectly and served with a hoecake, caviar and pickled onions. It was drizzled with crème fraiche and some jalapeno honey. Seriously, what a great bunch of flavors. Again, I was so sad about only having a small bite of the shared one, that I went ahead and just ordered it again for my dinner. It’s an appetizer, but it is pretty filling.

I enjoyed the tuna myself, but others didn’t like it as much as the other items. It was cured with smoked soy so it had a little different texture than most tuna crudo type things that you might taste, but I enjoyed it. It was served with yuzu gel, avocado puree and a slaw made with pickled beets. I liked all of it except for the beets, which I never like. 

My husband had the pork belly ($26), which is one of the classic items they have had at Tinker Street since the beginning. He said it was good, but I think he enjoyed the apps better. To be honest, I think they sounded better overall than the entrées and I will likely always order from this part of the menu. 

We also had the doughnuts for dessert ($11). They are ricotta doughnuts with maple ice cream. They were also very good. Generally, I find you can’t go wrong with doughnuts. We also had the s’mores bar ($11) which was also really good—it had a chocolate custard and marshmallow cream that was seared on top to give it that campfire taste—and it had an ash dust alongside There was a graham cracker crust too. Also, really good. I do have a weakness for singed marshmallow.

It was a very good meal and I was glad we got to go back. We will certainly add it back into the rotation.  Just remember, it’s 21+ and they now take reservations.

Tinker Street

402 E 16^th Street

Indy 46202

317-925-5000

https://www.tinkerstreetrestaurant.com/

Tinker Street - Revisit

Hubby and finally got back to Tinker Street after the big coup a few months ago—the ownership has changed, and the menu style has been mixed up a bit too. The chef is the same, but he is now part owner, and seems to be varying a bit from the way the menu was organized in the past.

It was a nice night to sit on the patio—which is one of the best parts about Tinker in my mind. We started with an order of the tots with cheese sauce and caviar ($19). They were large homemade tater tots sitting in cheese fondue and topped with caviar. I liked this dish and was happy just with the tots and the cheese sauce. Hubby thought the amount of caviar was a little weak considering the price of the dish. Overall, I thought it was enjoyable and I appreciate a restaurant making its own tots! 

We also had the heirloom tomato salad ($15) with Moon Rabbit cheddar, fried pickles and shaved fennel. It was served on a creamy ranch type sauce. I enjoyed this dish but would change it up a little. It was hard to get the sauce on the tomatoes because they are so slippery, you can’t really get the dressing on them. To remedy this, I would drizzle the dressing on top for taste, even if it wouldn’t look as pretty. I would love a couple more of the fried pickles too—they were truly delicious. Overall it was a well-seasoned and tasty dish with nice ripe tomatoes, I just wish it had been easier to get the dressing on my bites.

We had decided to make our entire dinner out of appetizers, so for our next course, we had the foie gras special and the mushroom steamed buns ($12). The foie gras was the best thing on the table all night. It had been a long time since hubby and I had had any (goose liver is not exactly the health choice), but it was worth the splurge. There was a nice rich, buttery piece of foie with plums, and slices of brioche French toast. Wow, was this good. If they have it as a special, I highly recommend.

We also had the mushroom buns and while I liked the flavor of the ginger and bulgogi sauce, these were really big and really filling. The bun part was bigger than many I have had. The insides were tasty, but I could really only eat one of these. It would be a good thing to split between four people to get the taste, but not get overfull. The pickled kohlrabi gave a nice tanginess and crunch to the dish.

We decided to try a dessert too, since we were eating smaller plates for dinner. We had the goat cheese cake with chevre, graham cracker and apricot. This one was pretty disappointing. Our server described a tangy cheesecake type of dish, but this was more like a graham cracker crust filled with apricot jam and served with a topping of a sponge cake that apparently was made with goat cheese, but you didn’t really get the tangy flavor from it…it was kind of bland in my opinion. I have never been disappointed with the s’mores pot de crème here and next time I think I would go back to that. It was a pretty dish, but lacking in flavor. And I love apricot. They do have a lovely dessert wine list by the glass, which I am happy to see popping up more and more around town.

All in all, we had an enjoyable meal with some ups and downs, but I would say Tinker is still a nice place to remember on date night (no kids allowed) when you want something pretty and chef-crafted. Service was good, and so was the wine selection.

Tinker Street

402 East 16^th Street

Indy  46202

317/925-5000

www.tinkerstreetindy.com 

Tinker Street-Revisit

I wasn’t even going to write about this meal, but I had such a good one, I figured I would share. We were with friends who had never been to Tinker Street--we started with a couple of different appetizers to share. One was a special that was meant to split between two people—it was actually a bison tenderloin with roasted mushrooms. It was an interesting choice to serve as an appetizer—I guess because it was on the small side, they thought maybe it wasn’t quite big enough for a main dish, but it would have been just right for me. We all really enjoyed it. I particularly thought the mushrooms were really nice. Roasted just right.

We also shared the escargot vol-au-vent ($13), which was puff pastry with an herb garlic sauce and several escargot (snails). One friend had never had them before and wanted to try it. Hubby was thrilled because he loves escargot.  These were very good. My biggest problem with escargot is that sometimes they are kind of rubbery, but these were not at all. They were a good size and very tender. And who doesn’t love puff pastry right? The sauce was nice and flavorful as well (which has been a problem for me with some dishes at Tinker in the past, that they were bland). This was nicely done.

Finally we shared the fried Brussels sprouts ($11). These were rich and very tasty with just a light crisp edge. They were tossed with a Dijon vinaigrette and topped with almond dukkah, which is a mixture of herbs, spices and ground up nuts (almonds here). I really liked the extra texture from this mix and the additional flavor that it added. I love nuts mixed into a salad or with vegetables to give it a little more heartiness.

For his main, hubby had the wild coho salmon with parsnips, creamed swiss chard and a miso glaze ($22). It was a great dish as well. It’s nice seeing the shift into slightly more wintery veggies being served with salmon, but still showing creativity. Both the chard and the parsnips were very good, and the fish was perfectly cooked medium rare.

But the best thing on the table for me was the dish I ordered for my main, which was actually a starter. It was the mapo tofu dish ($12). There were large chunks of tofu, pieces of rice cakes (not the flavorless dry diet things you think of, think of like a crab cake made with rice), lion’s mane mushrooms and fermented beans. The sauce is a ginger and soy based sauce with a fair amount of chili in it, as well as those fermented black beans. It had some heat for sure, but also I just loved all the soft but varying textures from the tofu, the mushrooms and the firm, yet slightly chewy rice cakes. I really liked this dish. Hubby agreed. We licked the bowl clean.

I think our friends enjoyed their first visit—one is a vegetarian (who sometimes eats fish) and she appreciated the many offerings they had on the menu. Hubby and I were happy that everything was so good. We’ve had some ups and downs here, but this one was a definitely up meal and everything we had was very enjoyable. If they have that tofu though, get it. I am going to have to try a version of my own at home.

Tinker Street

402 East 16^th Street

Indy  46202

317/925-5000

www.tinkerstreetindy.com 

Tinker Street - Revisit

Hubby and I met up with our favorite sharing dining friends (I love people who share all the food) at Tinker Street the other day. We hadn’t been in quite awhile and the items on the spring menu intrigued me. It was also a beautiful night so we sat out on the patio. We got there on the early side because when it first opened, it was hard to get in—but while they were doing a steady business and were pretty much full the entire time we were there, we didn’t really have to wait to be seated (except that they won’t seat you until your whole party is there).

We started with the hoecakes ($8) and the crab cakes ($21 for a double order). Both of these dishes were very good—I probably liked the hoecakes a little more. We were worried they would come across too sweet, but they did not. There were two fluffy cakes with a nice corn flavor topped with preserved peaches, ramp butter and hickory syrup. There was enough acid coming through from the peaches to make it well balanced. The crab cakes were served with apple slaw and preserved yellow tomato. I liked all the ingredients together, although I expected the lump crab to be a little “lumpier.”

Our next course, from the “botanical” section of the menu, was the Indiana asparagus ($12) and the fresh bucatini ($16+ $10 for morels added). The asparagus was delish—it was blistered and served with quinoa, preserved lemon and crispy garlic chips. It had a great lemony flavor, and I liked the fact that the quinoa made it a touch more filling and I loved those crispy garlic chips for crunch and more flavor. They were cooked just right—sometimes they get a bitter taste if they are cooked too much. This was a nice riff on grilled asparagus. Sadly, the bucatini was probably the biggest disappointment of the evening, even with the morels added in. It sounded great—ramp pesto, pine nuts, peas, asparagus and parmesan, but it was really flat. We all agreed it needed salt and acid. We did add some salt, which helped, but compared to everything else we had all night, this was the least favorite.

For our main courses, we ordered two of the special of the night, lobster, the pork belly ($17), the tuna ($20), and we ordered a side of fries (they’re actually an appetizer) ($7) because we saw them at other tables and they just looked so, so good. That lobster dish? It was spectacular. It was an entire lobster taken out of the shell and served with tarragon gnocchi, peas, asparagus, local tomatoes and it was served on a creamy onion sauce. It was also drizzled with curry oil. Everything about it was good—the lobster was tender and cooked just right, and the gnocchi were nice and tender too. It was an artfully constructed and tasting dish.  The pork belly at Tinker Street is always good, and was one of the favorites of the table (not necessarily my favorite, but it was very good). They give you a nice hunk of pork belly that’s been seared crispy and serve it with a perfect sunny side up egg. It was served with kimchi, forbidden rice and sorghum glaze. It had a lightly sweet taste, but was balanced with the saltiness from the pork belly. Across the board, they do a great job with pork belly, and it is nearly always on the menu as far as I could tell.

I enjoyed the tuna a fair amount, although it was less popular with the table as a whole. I liked having something at the opposite end of the spectrum from the other dishes—it was much lighter, but with a kick from wasabi peas and ginger. The tuna was tender and cooked medium rare. The noodles were served cold, but again, added an nice juxtaposition to the rest of the dishes.  The fries? The fries are so, so good. I will never be able to go to Tinker Street again without ordering them. They are super skinny shoestring potatoes that are fried very crisp and were served with a ketchup dip (I didn’t eat this one) and some sort of pesto vinaigrette or something. That vinaigrette was just delicious with the super hot, super crisp fries. The late addition of them to our order was the right decision.

We also shared a couple of desserts. The stand out dessert was the banana pie. It was a creamy, very banana-y dessert. Loved the bruleed banana slices on top. The strawberry rhubarb Napoleon was just a little too sparse with basically the fruit and slices of crisp phyla. There was little else holding it together—it needed some sort of a creamy filling to pull it into a cohesive dish. There was also a little strawberry sorbet served alongside that tasted nice and fresh. I would stick with the banana dessert here, or else the s’more dessert, which is also delicious from past experience.

Overall, this was my best experience at Tinker Street to date. And honestly, one of the better meals I have had in Indy period in quite awhile. The service was very good and consistent, the food was excellent, and our wine was also exceptional. It also didn’t hurt that it was a lovely and warm spring night (those have been so few and far between this year). I look forward to going back.

Tinker Street

402 East 16^th Street

Indy  46202

317/925-5000

www.tinkerstreetindy.com 

Tinker Street

I think everyone has been very excited about Tinker Street opening, including me. I broke my own rule and went like 6 days after they opened the first time and thought it was probably best to wait a bit to write about it, especially since it’s my own rule. I will say though I was really impressed with how professional the service was right from the start. It makes sense though, knowing that Peter George and Tom Main run the place --they are experienced restaurateurs in Indy.

Food-wise, I think it’s a good solid place. I love the energy—it’s small and a little noisy when it’s full (I’m pretty sure it’s always full) but has a very well-trained and friendly staff. The whole place is focused around a bar area, so just be warned, it’s 21 and up (much to my kids’ chagrin, but probably not to most people).

On our most recent visit, hubby and I ordered the hummus plate ($7) based on some recommendations. We both enjoyed it—I liked the line of salty dried olive along the edge of the plate to dredge your hummus through to give it that little pop of flavor. I love to eat olives with my hummus, and appreciated it. The triangles of pita were fresh and soft (and slightly warm) and the hummus was thick with a nice garlic edge. The lemon oil in the bowl also gave it a little acidic flavor, which you know I liked as well. I mean, ultimately, it’s hummus, and there’s only so far you can go with it, but it was well done. On our first visit, we enjoyed the cheese plate ($13), which seemed to be a favorite in the dining room. We all really enjoyed the honey butter particularly. Again, it’s a cheese plate. It’s straightforward simple flavors, but you can’t really go wrong.

Hubby and I had enjoyed the housemade papardelle with tomato ragu and house made ricotta ($14) on our first visit, so we were interested in trying the housemade pea ravioli with peas and Parmesan and brown butter that had replaced it on the current menu. I really, really appreciate restaurants that make their own pasta, especially since so few do around town, although to be honest, I wasn’t totally blown away by the flavors of either. The papardelle was a little brighter with the tomato and ricotta—the ravioli just seemed dense and could have used a squeeze of lemon or something to freshen it up. But I  will certainly always be willing to try any new concoctions.

Unusually, I found the stars on both visits to be the entrées. I say unusually because I tend to think appetizers are often more interesting and more seasoned. To me, they just tend to stand out more. Not at Tinker Street. The one item hubby insisted on getting on both visits was the pork belly ($14) and I will agree it was delicious. I loved the meatier slab of the pork, with not as much of the gelatinous fat. The flavors of the kimchi, sorghum seed and the seasoned sunny side up egg on top were unusual, and really delicious. There was distinct spiciness and Asian flavor to the sauce that was on the bottom of the plate. There was nice acid from the kimchi and sorghum seed was new to me, but gave a nice texture and almost pasta-like accompaniment. It tasted like you took all the good stuff out of a bowl of really good ramen or something.

We also had the tuna entrée ($15) on this second visit, and it was also very good. I appreciated that they asked how I wanted it cooked and cooked it to my specification. It was served on top of a kale and celeriac salad. The salad was a very good accompaniment because it had some heartiness from the kale, but not too much and some almost fruity feel from the celeriac. I really, really liked the molasses pomegranate vinaigrette. I am always happiest with something with some acid in it, and this was a good one—and unique in its combination of sweet and tart. My only complaint was that I would have liked a little more on the plate between the fish and the salad. I was trying to soak up every little drop, and there just wasn’t quite enough. It was fairly delicate (especially in contrast to the sauce on the pork belly), and really delicious. I just needed more.

This tendency to be a little light handed with some of the seasonings was something I noticed more on my first visit with dishes like the ruby grapefruit and avocado salad with feta and black rice. All the ingredients were great, but it needed something more to tie it together. Same was true of the rice noodles in the red curry broth. The broth just seemed a little under-seasoned.

After several recommendations, we went with the s’more pot de crème ($6) and were very happy. It was a nice rich chocolate pot de crème topped with roasted marshmallow fluff and a little line of ash on the plate that we just dabbed each bite in. The combination of everything really gave you the sense of eating something cooked in a campfire. We also enjoyed the housemade “twinkie” from our last visit ($7) with coffee cream, pecan and toffee, although I only had a little bite. For a fruity, lighter dessert, I enjoyed the poached Asian pear  ($6) with hibiscus granita (I love granita) and a kind of granola around it. Less successful was the “Mere’s crepes” ($8), which was actually a cake made of stacked up crepes and topped with dark chocolate. Not at all what I was expecting, and it was just okay.

Like I said, I am really impressed with the professionalism of this place, particularly right after opening. This is something a lot of restaurants around town could learn from. They have clearly trained their staff well. I love the little welcome glass of sparkling wine they bring you upon being seated, and the decently priced, interesting wine list. Speaking of prices, I think this place does a good job of not breaking the bank, even with a lot of local ingredients on the menu. The portions are moderately sized—I think perfect, but some might say they’re small.

This is a great addition to Indy—it has a great vibe—and feels so friendly. The downside is no reservations (sigh) so go prepared to wait unless you show up at 5:00. The menu is very approachable but still has enough creativity to make it interesting. And I tell you what, I can’t wait to try the burger and shoestring fries. We eyed the one the table next to us had and it looked really good. And I enjoy the interesting wine list as well (yay! Not another list where they’ve only paid attention to the beer). Anyway, please share your thoughts and favorite dishes.

Tinker Street

402 East 16^th Street

Indy  46202

317/925-5000

www.tinkerstreetindy.com