The Vanguard--Revisit

For Mother’s Day we ended up having dinner at the Vanguard. We had recently been for their Longbranch pop-up and it was so good (I really hope they bring that back every so often). I honestly thought it was better than the original Longbranch, if that is possible. Anyhow, they have moved on to a new spring menu, and since it was a new bunch of items, I thought I would do a little update.

We started with two “smalls,” the popcorn ($5) and the chicken liver toast ($9). The popcorn was cooked with pork fat and had Sriracha spices on it. It had some kick to it, but it was very good, and very addictive. And pork fat should really be a part of more popcorn. The chicken liver toast was really kind of disappointing. It was visually beautiful, but I think they must be made in advance and refrigerated because the toast was not crunchy and was bordering on soggy. On the toast was chicken liver mousse, chevre (goat cheese), and nettle mustard. There was a lot of the mustard on the bread, which dominated the whole thing and probably added to the bread sogginess issue. I would have preferred a lighter hand on this, crispier bruschetta, and more of the chevre and liver.

We were all kind of sharing everything, and the next thing that came out was the “ham and cheese” ($11). This was more of a charcuterie plate, and I enjoyed it. There was some perfectly toasted bread here (hmmmm….) along with speck (smoked prosciutto), Bellamy blue cheese, oil and vinegar on the side, and microgreens. The ingredients were very good, although we needed more bread than they offered (which we asked for, told we would be charged for, and never got). But the flavors of everything was good. For this course, we also had the warm cobb salad ($12). This was warm wilted mustard greens, boiled egg, tomato, bacon and an avocado vinaigrette. It was very good. For some reason, I feel like this place pulls off salads really well, so I am always tempted to order them. Hubby kind of balked, but he loved it too. It had a slightly spicy kick from the greens and the vinaigrette and tomatoes gave good acid. It was extremely flavorful. I will continue on my habit of ordering salads at the Vanguard.

For our mains, hubby and I split the “buttered noodles” ($18) and the special, which was pork tenderloin tacos. The buttered noodles were made with crème fraiche, greens, parmesan and pepper. This was a really good dish for such. Love the use of crème fraiche here giving the pasta more than just a rich cheesy flavor. It was a good thing to split though, because it still was rich enough. The tacos were just ok. Not much going on there—and the meat itself was a little dry. There wasn’t much to them—some cheese and garnish and a couple of limes.

My son had the special steak for the evening—it was a ribeye and it was very tasty, although because of all that fat, it probably would have been better if it were cooked slightly more medium, but he ordered it medium rare. There was some asparagus and greens here as well. It had a great flavor. My daughter got the fried butter quail with butter and cilantro ($15). She enjoyed it although they had forgot it at first, and she ate it after we were pretty much finished.

The Vanguard is a good option for a more high-end dinner in Broad Ripple. It feels like a grown-up restaurant and I like that. The food changes around a fair amount, and I like that too. There are always some really tasty things, even if not everything is always amazing. And if they bring back the Longbranch menu, I highly recommend checking it out. The service can certainly be up and down, and this was one of the down experiences, but hopefully it will be better next time.

The Vanguard

6319 Guilford Ave

Indy  46220

317/254-1147

www.vanguardindy.com 

Vanguard -- Revisit

For whatever reason, it has taken us awhile to get back into Vanguard—not sure why. I have always enjoyed it and they have a new(ish) chef (Adam Ditter) who came from the now-shuttered Longbranch (hard to believe that already two restaurants have closed in that same space). Anyway, hubby and I stopped in recently without a reservation and scored one of the last tables.

We started with the salmon pastrami dip with house kraut and house made pretzel bites ($7). This was a really tasty share plate. You have to really enjoy the seasonings in pastrami, as they are strong here, but a bite with the acidic kraut and the absolutely wonderful, soft pretzel bites was great.  It is a unique dish and quite tasty…Perhaps just a couple more of the pretzels would be great though, as the dip is quite plentiful.

Next we shared two starters—the gnocchi salad ($11) and the carnitas ($12). I loved the gnocchi salad. I wasn’t exactly sure what to expect, but it was truly most like a green salad with gnocchi mixed in. And tomatoes, peppadew, banana peppers, red onion and nice hunks of feta. There was a sherry vinaigrette on it, and it was dressed all the way through (hallelujah). I read this menu descrition and thought, it sounds like it will have nice acid, and it did. It was very good.

We also shared the carnitas, which was presented very attractively. There were two crusts that were described as cheddar piecrust, which was filled with the carnitas. There was also apple sauce and crème fraiche served with it—the apple sauce was on the dish, the crème fraiche on the side. I sort of wished it had been reversed. I didn’t care for the sweetness that the apple sauce gave the dish, but I liked the slight sour flavor of the crème friache. The meat was very tasty. It was hard to really get a full feel of the taste of the crust because of the apple sauce, which was a little bit of a bummer, because I was very intrigued by the idea of the cheddar crust.

For our dinner, we split the fried chicken ($21). We were torn between it and a tuna special that came highly recommended, but I hadn’t had this new version of the fried chicken and wanted to check it out. They brine it in adobo and it is served along with coconut cauliflower rice. The dish has a decidedly Asian flair to it, and I really enjoyed it—especially the chicken. It had a great spicy, sort of smoky flavor that went all the way through to the tender meat. The dish was served with several lime wedges, which were good both on the “rice” and the chicken itself. I love a dish with extra acid on the side.  You get four pieces of chicken, so it is certainly easy to share. I’m a little undecided about how I feel about the cauliflower rice. It is certainly different, and lent a unique flavor….but still tasted like vegetable rather than a starch.

We decided to get dessert because it was Texas sheet cake, which is a family favorite. What makes it “Texas” in my mind though is the addition of a fair amount of cinnamon, giving it a slightly spicy flavor. That seemed to be missing from this version. They also put nuts in the icing, which I skip when I make it, because I prefer it with a smooth texture. It was a fine dessert, but not outstanding. They served it with a scoop of ice cream.

All in all, if you haven’t been, or haven’t been in awhile, it’s worth going back to Vanguard—especially with so few grown-up restaurants in Broad Ripple. 

The Vanguard

6319 Guilford Ave

Indy  46220

317/254-1147

www.vanguardindy.com

The Vanguard

The other day some friends went with hubby and me to The Vanguard for a dinner while our sons played tennis. I have been itching to try it ever since I heard the guys from Turf Catering designed the menu.  I also received a very nice email from the owner telling me I was the one who introduced him to the Turf Catering guys through my blog, so how cool is that? It’s a small world indeed.

The Vanguard is in the old Usual Suspects space in Broad Ripple, which I had never been to. I am not sure how much redecorating/remodeling they did for the switch, but I really like the interior of the Vanguard. It’s modern and comfortable—and there is a family side with several booths where you can bring your kids (good to know, as we will likely do this soon). It’s a bigger spot than I would have guessed and feels a lot more grown up than much of Broad Ripple.

We started with several appetizers (I love friends who like to order lots of stuff). We had the pimento cheese ($10), the Cajun shrimp ($13) and the roasted vegetable gnocchi ($13). Every single one of these was a winner. Truly, I loved them all. The pimento cheese plate came with a nice portion of the cheese (if you have had it at Turf, you know how good it is—one of my favorite versions in town). It also came with some toasted bread slices, smoked ham, and half of a boiled egg topped with pickled mustard seed. You guys, I loved this dish. The cheese is so good, and the ham tender and smoky (I think they smoke all their own stuff at Turf). And the combo of the egg with the mustard seed was perfect. The only thing I would change is to ask for a few extra slices of the bread because we ran out before we ran out of the toppings. I could easily make a meal out of this plate by myself, but it's also a really nice thing to share and a great mix of different tastes.

Hubby’s favorite was probably the Cajun shrimp, which was really delicious. It was two large pieces of grilled crostini topped with the shrimp, which is cooked in a spicy, buttery, garlic sauce. And get this, the shrimp wasn’t tough and overcooked. It was just right. And there was plenty to share around the table. Such a nice rich flavor to the sauce without being too much. 

The last appetizer that we shared was the roasted vegetable gnocchi. Wow, this one was great too. The gnocchi were lightly sautéed, so they were just a little brown and crisp on the edges, which is exactly how I like them. They were topped with peas, roasted tomatoes, mushrooms and shallots. There was a great acidic kick from the tomatoes and the mushrooms were wonderful. I even liked the peas and I am sort of washy washy on peas sometimes. The dish was mixed in a brown butter sauce, which is something I wish you saw more of in Indy. Brown butter gives a nice earthy, nutty edge to a dish, while still maintaining richness from the butter, but without being over the top with cream or cheese. Brown butter is a great sauce to use when you really want the ingredients to shine.

I could have walked away at this point of the meal and been happy and fairly full, but we ordered three of the main dishes as well. Hubby and I ordered the fried chicken (of course I did) ($16) and our friends ordered the short rib ($20) and the Mediterranean chicken ($17). The winner here was definitely the fried chicken, although nothing was bad. The fried chicken had a slight smoky flavor as well as a hint of pickle—maybe it was pickle brined? It was really good and cooked just right. The meat was tender and the skin was crisp. The pieces (there was a breast, wing, leg and thigh) were served with mashed potatoes and chicken pan gravy. All of it was good—and that gravy was delicious. I am not even usually a gravy person when I eat fried chicken, but I found myself dipping the bites in it—it had a nice salty kick, which just enhanced the chicken. 

I had a bite of our friends’ dishes and they were my least favorite of the evening, but not bad. The short rib was very smoky (maybe a bit much for me) and just a touch on the dry side. My friend who ordered the chicken doesn’t like chicken on the bone, and this was a seared boneless breast topped with tomatoes, garlic, olives and herbs and for me, this tasted more like something you might make yourself at home on a good night. They also have a butter-smoked chicken (on the bone) that sounds more interesting to me if you’re not in the mood for fried and don’t mind eating off the bone.

All in all, I can safely say that this is certainly one of the best new places to open in Broad Ripple in ages, and is likely one of the best places for food in Broad Ripple right now period. I could easily and happily make a meal of appetizers (there were several more I would like to try) and would love to try that butter-smoked chicken, if I can pull myself away from the fried chicken. We will certainly be taking the kids as well, as my son loves fried chicken the way I do, and my daughter is a gnocchi fanatic. If you haven’t been here yet, you should go. And why this place isn’t getting more press, well, that’s Indy for you.

The Vanguard

6319 Guilford Ave

Indy  46220

317/254-1147

www.vanguardindy.com