Sushi Bar

I feel like I have been in a rut lately and wanted to try something new. I have heard some good things about the new Sushi Bar on Broad Ripple Avenue and wanted to check it out.  We were both impressed by how cute the interior of the place was when we walked in (ok, hubby would not use the word “cute,” but whatever).  They have done a really nice job of giving it a feel that is more than just your typical Japanese restaurant.  There’s a bay window in the front with a large sunken booth that was full with a family when we walked in—I can’t wait to take the kids back to sit there, they would love it (and the rest of the restaurant can’t hear them as well—it’s a win-win.)

see the size of the glass?

Anyway, we sat down and ordered some drinks—one of the first perks of this place is cheap alcohol.  They have $1 domestic beers and $2 imports and while the wine list is, um, well, what you expect of most Japanese places, when you order a glass, it is a serious glass. As in HUGE.  So you get your money’s worth here too (I think my glass was $6.99 which was one of the more expensive ones).

We started with an order of veggie tempura ($6.95). They also have an eggplant tempura appetizer that I was intrigued by and asked the server if eggplant was included in the mixed veggie option—she said no.  So it was a nice surprise when she brought it out and told us they had gone ahead and added a couple pieces of eggplant. I appreciate these things.  I also loved that there was a piece of broccoli in there as well (and various squash and a couple of onion rings). The tempura was only ok though—it just wasn’t quite crispy enough.  The taste was good, but it needed another minute or hotter oil.

Next they brought us our rolls—we ordered the “2010 roll” which was a special on the board and was a roll with shrimp tempura inside and avocado, spicy tuna and crispy crab flakes on the outside (around $13).  We both enjoyed the flavors of this one—there was also a light sauce beneath the crunchy crab flavored bits—my only problem with it was it was so tall, it was hard to get it in your mouth.  I also thought it was interesting that the pieces of shrimp tempura that were inside the roll were much crunchier than the ones in the veggie tempura appetizer.  I think a lot of places must fry the stuff that goes inside rolls longer to keep them crunchier once they’re in the roll. I just wish they would fry the other stuff as crunchy.  Loved the crunchy bits on top to give the roll lots of texture.

We also had the red dragon roll (I am almost sure that was its name—around $12) and it was very good. Probably more up my alley because it was a little easier to eat and the tuna on top was great.  It was eel and avocado inside and fresh tuna on top (actually rolled almost all the way around).  There was also a lightly sweet unagi sauce on top.  This one didn’t have the texture of the first one obviously, but it had a great, more simplified flavor. And the ingredients were extremely fresh and well done.

We also had an order of tuna nigiri ($4.50 for 2 pieces) because hubby really likes nigiri (which is just the rice topped with the fish).  It was also very good—a good way to really get a handle on the freshness of the fish—this was melt in  your mouth tender and the rice had that slight sweet/vinegar taste that makes nigiri shine.  I sometimes don’t like nigiri as much because there is wasabi added (often a bit is put under the fish) but this one didn’t have that problem. 

Our server was nice, but had a little bit of attitude—I think she was trying to be funny, but sometimes it came across as a little snotty.  As the restaurant got busier, she was more focused on getting food and drinks out and I enjoyed myself more (the giant glass of wine didn’t hurt either).  I was also entertained by the couple who came in toward the end of the meal and asked the server to explain everything to them—they had never had any type of sushi before (I love eavesdropping on the tables around me).  I have to hand it to them though—way to be bold and just ask for help.  The menu is quite large—I think there are probably 20-30 different rolls alone, not to mention a menu full of other good sounding things, including several noodle dishes that I would like to try.

Overall, while there are certain things that could use some improvement (the tempura for sure, as well as the fact there is no website to be found), this is a good addition to Broad Ripple village proper.  The food is good and the prices are pretty reasonable (particularly for beer-- although it is technically a “special,” the special sign looked fairly permanent).  They have a kids menu, which so few Japanese restaurants seem to have, and I know we’ll be back with the kids to give the place a try as a family.  So who has had the noodles and other dishes?  What else is good?

Sushi Bar

911 Broad Ripple Avenue

Indy  46220

317/257-7289

There is no website (there is a facebook page with nothing really on it).  It is hard to believe in this day and age that a new restaurant doesn’t have a website, but maybe that’s just me.
***Update 11/2/12: they have a website! 
www.sushibarindy.com 

Pei Wei

So, even though this place opened awhile ago right near my house, it has taken me awhile to try it—I guess partly because it is a chain, and partly because I imagined it as a fast food type of option, which is not something I do a lot.  But I was in a hurry and needed to stop for something quick to go one day and decided, why not?

Well, first of all, it really isn’t fast food—in that it wasn’t really very fast.  The carry out takes a good 10 minutes or so, which is fine, but just be prepared if you are in a real hurry.  But it was made hot and fresh and took a bit.  The interior isn’t really fast food-ish either, although it does feel very corporate (it is owned by PF Chang’s) (They also have one of those soda machines that you can mix a million different flavors of things if you are so inclined).

One of the things that had intrigued me about the place was the fact that a friend had told me he loved their hot and sour soup.  So I got a cup of that ($2) as well as a couple of small portion items so that I could try several things.  The flavor of the soup wasn’t bad, it had a good amount of the “sour” flavor that I like from the vinegar, but it suffered from the overstarchy consistency that really bugs me in hot and sour soup if it is overdone.  You feel almost like you are eating warm savory jello or something.

black bean chicken in the box

I also tried the chicken and black bean sauce ($3.95).  This was definitely my favorite of the dishes that I tried.  Honestly, even though they sell these more as tapas types of dishes, one of these portions is a very healthy lunch in my opinion.  There was rice on the bottom (your choice of white or brown, I got white) and the dish consisted of minced chicken, red onions, carrots, green onion and peppers with a “tangy black pepper sauce.”  In theory there were Chinese black beans, but I didn’t see any.  I liked this dish—it had more flavor and less sweetness than a lot of quick serve Chinese food, and I would consider getting this one again.  It was a bit tangy and you could taste the garlic and soy; and the onions, while still crunchy, were sautéed enough that you didn’t feel like they were just raw.  One benefit of mincing the chicken so finely, if it was a little dry (which often seems to happen with Chinese food), you didn’t really notice because it was little teeny pieces covered in the sauce.

about 1/2 of each dish on a dinner plate

The Singapore noodle dish ($3.95) wasn’t as good for me.  It was sautéed egg noodles with bean sprouts, red pepper, carrots, chicken, sesame seeds and cilantro.  This one had too much of that sweet and sour flavor for me (it was described as a sweet chili soy sauce) I liked the freshness from the cilantro and the crunchy veggies on top to break up all the noodles, but I couldn’t get past the overly sweet flavor.  The chicken was dry as well.  Although hubby came in while I was eating it and shared them both with me (all the food together was definitely enough for two people to share for lunch in my opinion), and he seemed to enjoy the noodles.

It’s an option, and it is better than actual fast food which is very prevalent around my house (as are chains sadly).  It may work its way into my lunch every once in awhile, but I can’t say it will probably be a regular thing for me.  But there really isn’t a lot of good Chinese around me that is relatively cheap and so I can see this being a possible option on occasion.

Pei Wei

6159 N Keystone Ave

Indy, 46220

317/205-9380

www.peiwei.com

Road Trip Cincinnati - Part 2

 On our second day in Cincinnati we had a busy day—food wise and otherwise.  We started in the morning at the Findlay Market which was a place I had always wanted to go and hadn’t.  I loved the energy of it—it was jam packed with people. The neighborhood around seems a little deserted, but I really enjoyed the market itself. We had a nice breakfast at one of the vendors—A Taste of Belgium.  Egg, gruyere and thin ham wrapped in a crepe.  It was a perfect thing to grab for breakfast.

After some wondering around, we met up with hubby’s good fried at Nicholson’s.  It’s a gastropub, and has a very pubby looking exterior—although I was surprised at how new it looked both inside and out.  Our friends were running a little late, so we went ahead and ordered the Scotch egg appetizer ($8).  They were good, although not the best I have had—I liked that they served them with some dressed greens on the side and I liked the drizzle of mustard sauce, although I would have liked a little more for dipping. I do think mustard and eggs is a good combo.

Hubby and I decided to split the mussels for our main dish ($12).  They were really, really good—the broth was described as white wine, garlic and herbed butter—and those ingredients were definitely there. Pretty sure based on the creamy color that there was cream in there as well.  But the mussels were some of the best I have had in awhile. Super tender and the broth had a ton of flavor. Oh yeah, and they came with duck fat frites.  Those frites dipped in the broth were amazing.  I have had duck fat frites before and have enjoyed them, but these had a lot more flavor than any of the others.  The only downside with the mussels is it really was a portion for one.  Normally with mussels you get so many that we always share, but this was a very reasonable portion. In other words, I was annoyed I had to share. So we added an order of the poutine ($7.50) on and I was really glad we did.  Man, this was really good too (and apparently completely distracting because somehow I took no pictures after the Scotch eggs).  The poutine was more of those duck fat frites topped with truffled mushroom ragu and fresh cheese.  I loved this—I loved that they used mushrooms instead of the rich meaty gravy I usually see (and often pork, etc).  It made it feel not so heavy and greasy.  The fries in general stayed pretty crispy too which was nice (maybe it was just because we ate them so fast).  I would so order this again.

All in all, a great lunch and base for preparing for the Reds’ game we then went to after lunch (the Reds won) which was good because hubby and his friend, shall we say, enjoyed their beers.  After the game was over, we just sort of started walking toward downtown with the intention of a few more drinks and more food.  We didn’t have any plans, and weren’t dressed particularly well but ended up randomly walking into Jeff Ruby’s Steakhouse and scoring a table in the bar.  Even though we looked like we had spent the afternoon at the game, I appreciated the professionalism of the staff—they were really nice (and we weren’t the only ones for sure).  Turned out to be a good choice too because after an hour or so all the baseball players from both teams started filtering in which was kind of fun to watch.

We just got a bunch of appetizers from the menu to share—and I have to be honest, I wasn’t wowed by any of them.  Probably my favorite thing was the barbecued shrimp and grits ($21).  The shrimp were New Orleans style “BBQ” which is more of a butter and Worcestershire type of sauce.  The grits were nice and creamy and buttery and the shrimp wasn’t overcooked.  We also had a chophouse salad ($8) which had all my favorite ingredients—blue cheese, egg, bacon, and red onion, but something about it seemed flat to me—it had a Parmesan dressing but it just didn’t have a zip that I wanted. Hubby liked it quite a bit better than me though.

Sadly, the beef tartare ($13) was a letdown as well.  The beef was clearly good quality and fresh, but there just wasn’t much seasoning at all—a cute little poached quail egg that gave it a teeny bit of extra richness, but it was really calling out for some mustard or something salty.  The crab cake ($15) didn’t fare much better. It was a little dry, even with the dollop of crème fraiche on top.  The pommes Anna ($8) were beautiful, and were a nice side to have with everything and had a nice buttery and crunchy exterior.  Not sure I would order them again, but I enjoyed them at the time.

Honestly, we were having more fun hanging out with our friends, drinking some nice wine and enjoying the Reds’ win, so we didn’t mind, but this meal was in retrospect very disappointing, particularly compared with all the other wonderful food we ate in Cincinnati.  But I would highly recommend Orchids at Palm Court (see my last Cincinnati post) and Nicholson’s. 

Nicholson’s

625 Washington Street

Cincinnati, OH  45202

513/564-9111

www.nicholsonspub.com

Jeff Ruby’s Steakhouse

700 Walnut Street

Cincinnati, OH 45202

513/ 784-1200

www.jeffruby.com

Oh Yumm Bistro - Revisit

I had a bunch of errands to run in the area the other day, so I stopped into Oh Yumm Bistro for a quick lunch.  It used to be a regular place for hubby and me for dinner, but I haven’t been in ages.  I found it interesting that the clientele was entirely female—and they were pretty busy.

Anyway, I first ordered a sandwich, was told they were out of it, and then I tried for the tuna tartare, and was told they were out of that too. My server was really embarrassed about the whole thing and tried to be very accommodating. I ended up ordering the pescado tacos ($8.99), and luckily, these were available.  I also appreciated that my server also brought me a complimentary order of French fries (which are normally $3.95) because he felt bad about not having the things I wanted to order.  I appreciate when a server takes it upon himself to do what they can to rectify a situation, even by just making a small gesture (my pet peeve is when they come and ask YOU what they can do to fix a situation, or when the server just disappears at the first sign of customer dissatisfaction).

Anyway, the fries were good—although I probably would have had them a little crunchier if it had been up to me. According to the menu, they are drizzled in rosemary oil, which may have been why they were a little soft.  But they did have a nice flavor and they are a generous portion.  (Sorry about the lack of many pictures, it was just too dark.)

The tacos were fine.  They were served in slightly toasty flour tortillas with thin strips of basa fish (which is a mild white fish similar to catfish in flavor) that were seasoned with several spices.  They weren’t particularly hot (as in spice level), but had a decent amount of seasoning.  I appreciated that the fish fairly tender. There was also cheese, guacamole, pico de gallo, and some lime sour cream.  Honestly, the fillings were all kind of soft when you smooshed them together—they tasted pretty good, but I could have done with some crunch factor—maybe a little cabbage or something along those lines?  I did take all the extra pico de gallo that they served alongside and dump it all in there for a little extra crunch from the onion and acid from the tomato.  I also asked for a bit of extra sour cream because there was only a little bit on the tacos—it added a good tang, although I didn’t get a lot of lime from it.  Actually, a lime wedge would have been a nice addition too.  They served homemade tortilla chips on the side as well and I didn’t really care for them—they were a little too thick and hard for my taste.  (A little local trivia, according to the menu, Oh Yumm was the first place to serve fish tacos in Indy.)

Overall, it was a fine lunch, although I wish I could have gotten one of my first choices—perhaps it would have been a little more satisfying.  Anyone else been there lately? And, since I have gotten myself on the subject, anyone have any restaurant pet peeves they want to share? Or servers, what are your pet peeves about customers?  I always love a good discussion!

Oh Yumm! Bistro

5615 N. Illinois

Indy, 46208

317/251-5656

www.ohyummbistro.com

Road Trip- Orchids at Palm Court - Cincinnati

Hubby and I celebrated our anniversary recently with a trip to Cincinnati—well, we were celebrating our anniversary and visiting with some friends.  The first night (on our own) we went to Orchids at Palm Court (this was the big anniversary dinner). 

First of all, wow, what a cool space—hubby and I have a soft spot for deco things-- décor, buildings, whatever-- and this place is deco to the extreme and just overall impressive.  The restaurant and bar is set in a huge two story room that just transports you.  The whole hotel is like that actually.  You can really feel what it must have felt like to stay in a place like this back in the day. And it makes you grateful for keeping historic buildings and rooms true to their original character.

They first brought us out bread service with butter and olive oil with big chunks of soft, rich roasted garlic and an amuse bouche. All were outstanding. As soon as I saw the little egg shell the amuse was served in, I was already pretty sure I was going to like whatever was in there—and I did.  It was a cauliflower and saffron custard that was baked in the egg shell with a little piece of house made bacon. That bacon was really good, and the little crunch was awesome. I would have loved more of it.

I started with the sweet corn soup ($11) with polenta angnolotti, summer truffles, and roasted corn.  It was a very nice soup, with a nice flavor of truffle (although I think it was coming from truffle oil)—the dumpling was maybe a little dense for me, but it was nice to have something in there to give some texture to the soup. The corn was also interesting—it seemed almost freeze dried and then slowly rehydrated as it sat in the soup.

Hubby started with the sweetbreads ($12) which were some of the best I have had.  The sweetbreads (which were thymus) were lightly fried and were nice and tender, but what made them shine was the sauce and accompaniments.  They were served with chanterelle mushrooms and little fingerling potatoes and the most amazing sherry vinaigrette.  It wasn’t just a standard vinaigrette either—there was a little bit of chili in there giving it even more flavor.  I thought I really liked my soup and then I tried this dish—it had so many layers of flavor, it made my soup seem kind of boring.  This may have been the best dish of the night.

For a second course we shared the blue cheese beignets ($8) with tart greens, apple, almond tuile and spiced honey gastrique.  This was also a great combination of flavors—I love some sweetness with blue cheese and the tartness of the apples and greens made for a wonderful mix.  The little beignets were crisp and warm and very blue cheesy.  The little bits of almond tuile added a little crunch factor too.  It was a great salad course (the picture is a half order, because the kitchen split it before bringing it out).

For my main dish, I had another appetizer, the lobster salad ($13).  This one was really good as well.  There was a lightly seasoned lobster salad at the bottom topped with a fried egg, and served with crème fraiche and caviar cream.  There were also some little dots of caviar around the plate and some crispy phyllo-type “noodles” on top.  I liked it when the yolk broke into the lobster salad giving it extra richness—my only complaint here is that the egg was fried a little too hard and there wasn’t much runny yolk there.  I would have preferred a softer egg overall.  I did like the crunch from the ribbons of phyllo on top—gave it the right variation in texture.  Hubby would probably say this was his favorite.

Hubby had the lamb loin with parsnip puree, maitake mushrooms, onions and a mustard sauce ($38).  Again, very good.  The sauce had a nice mustardy flavor and the entire dish tasted like fall. The lamb was very tender.

They have an old school dessert tray that they wheel over to show you all the desserts, we went with a chocolate banana combo that was very, very good (and you always gotta love when they write things on your plate).  It had an intense dark chocolate filling that was delicious. And the caramel ice cream on top was really good too (if there is a dessert with chocolate, caramel and bananas, it is almost a sure bet with hubby and I.)

Top to bottom, it was one of the better fine dining experiences I have had in awhile.  The food, the atmosphere, the service—all of it was very, very good.  Exactly what you want in a fine dining experience, and exactly what we wanted for our anniversary.

Orchids at Palm Court

Hilton Cincinnati

35 West Fifth Street

Cincinnati, OH  45202

513/421-9100

http://www.orchidsatpalmcourt.com/restaurants.html#anchor1

Blu Moon Café

I was running errands in Carmel the other day (can someone tell me why Indy doesn’t have a party supply store?) and decided to stop into Blu Moon café.  It is one of those places that has been on my radar for awhile, but I just hadn’t managed to get in there.  It is a casual place where you order at the register and they bring you the food. The guy who was working at the register was really nice and helpful and helped me make up my mind about what to order. 

I got the blt with avocado (around $7).  Not a big surprise since this is one of my favorite sandwich combos in general.  And this one was very good. The ingredients were all really good, and there was a substantial amount of a garlic aioli that really added to the flavor of the sandwich.  The bacon was nice and crisp (and plentiful) and the tomato and avocado was ripe. The sandwich was on thin sliced bread that was pressed in a Panini press making the whole thing warm and toasty.  If I could improve it, I would probably just make the bread a little thinner.  It ended up being a fairly bready sandwich. although it was a good quality sandwich overall.

little sample of the egg salad

While I was ordering I also asked if I could try their egg salad, as I am a fan of egg salad in general, although I am kind of picky about it (tons of celery is a big turn off for me). This one looked unique though—yellower than most and I could see there was capers in it.  It was actually really nice big pieces of the boiled egg with Dijon mustard and capers as well as some finely diced red onion.  It was really quite good. I think next time I would get that in something. I liked the slight variation from the standard egg salad.

Blu Moon seems to be one of those places that is making a good effort to make interesting food with really good and fairly healthy ingredients. The people are really friendly, and the place is pretty welcoming.  I think it is the kind of place that Carmel is probably somewhat lacking in.  I would really be interested to hear what other people have eaten there and what others’ experiences have been.  So let me know will ya?

Blu Moon

200 S. Rangeline Road

Carmel, IN 46032

317/844-8310

(they’re on facebook)

Meridian - Revisit

Hubby and I realized we hadn’t yet been to Meridian since the chef change, and after a friend texted me about the steak tartare she was eating there, I knew it was time.  I am a sucker for steak tartare (or tuna tartare, or whatever tartare).

Hubby and I took advantage of the lovely weather we were having (hello, autumn, I have missed you) and sat out on their patio. Alone for quite awhile (the place was just not very busy), but it was still lovely.  We were mostly excited by the appetizers, which if you read a lot you know is often the case, and decided to split several.  We started with the prime beef tartare (I think it was around $12) which was very good.  The beef was, well, raw and nice and tender and flavorful, and when you added the egg yolk on top, it turned into a wonderful creamy mix.  You need something to cut the richness, and there was some capers and onion mixed with the meat.  It was served on top of a horseradish cream, which was the right amount of heat to help as well, although I wished there had been just a little more of it.  The ripe bits of tomatoes were a nice acidic complement as well, and we LOVED the crispy fried garbanzo beans.  We only regretted sort of stirring them in a little too soon, because they lost their crispness and they had been so great when you bit into a crispy one.  Next time (and I will get it again if it is on the menu) I would scoot them aside and parcel them out with each bite.  The flatbread served with it had a nice flavor too and the crispy edges were my favorite part.  I would love them to be a little crispier as I am partial to things like potato chips with my tartare, but that’s just my own preference.  You really didn’t care that much about the vehicle since the rest of it was so good.

We then got two more appetizers to share—the shrimp and grits ($13.25) and the hot/cold smoked salmon ($11.50).  The shrimp also featured an egg, a perfectly cooked sunny side up egg that was quite honestly the highlight of the dish.  Not to say the rest wasn’t good, because it was—the whole dish was great. There were two large shrimp on top of nice creamy grits with thin asparagus spears, melted leeks (one of my other favorite ingredients), that egg and little prosciutto. It was like a perfect breakfast—a little ham, a little egg, and some grits. Oh and shrimp. Honestly, I would be hard pressed to not get this again as well.

Hubby says the salmon was one of the menu items that has been on the Meridian menu for awhile, but honestly I can’t tell you if he is right or not.  I can tell you that we enjoyed it although probably not quite as much as the other two dishes.  It is ball of herby creamy cheese with the hot smoked salmon mixed in—it has that smokier flavor.  Layered around the ball was the cold smoked salmon making a lovely presentation. The salmon was on top of red onion marmalade and drizzled with herb oil. I liked the marmalade for a little bit of sweet and tartness with the smoky salmon. It was served with nicely oiled and toasted sliced of bread, which was nice and thin to maintain all the flavor of the salmon.  It is a very generous portion and probably a better portion to share with more than 2 people—it was the only thing we didn’t finish (and lick the plate).  We also had a side of the fries ($5.50), which are really quite good.  Our server told me one of their secrets is using a little sugar with the salt.  They didn't taste sweet to me at all, but they were really good--fresh and crisp and plenty salty. They didn't really need the ketchup that came with them and they were good for dipping up leftover sauce from the other plates.

We had the classic Meridian dessert-- one which I know has been on the menu for awhile because I have had it before—the fresh made doughnuts.  As always, you can’t really go wrong with freshly made hot doughnuts.  They are shaken in cinnamon sugar and served with malted coffee to dip in.  It’s a good one to share and hit the spot for a sweet ending, even if they aren’t mind blowing or anything.

We thoroughly enjoyed the meal and felt like with three appetizers between us, we had more than enough food.  I am imagining the entrées are huge.  I was a little concerned with their business though—the restaurant was pretty empty (including the patio) and a friend who went recently on a Saturday said the same thing.  Our server, while exceptionally knowledgeable about the food and the chef, was almost over the top in the amount of information he gave (it was a situation in which I am pretty sure he assumed we knew nothing about food which I find annoying).  But the food alone will make us return for sure.

Meridian

5694 N. Meridian

Indy 46208

317-466-1111

www.meridianonmeridian.com

Pure Eatery

This was a place that had been on my list for quite awhile and then randomly, several different people mentioned it to me in the course of a week, so I took that as a sign (it doesn’t take much for me when it comes to trying a new restaurant).  I was a little surprised when we walked into the place—I was expecting a basic lunchy-sandwich kind of place and it is actually quite large, nicer than what I expected,  has dinner AND beer and wine.

The menu is pretty big too, and a lot of things sounded good to me, but being in an eggy mood, and always slightly intrigued by any taco I see on a menu, I tried 2 of the breakfast tacos ($3.20 each for the several varieties).  I had the # 3 and the #5 and enjoyed both quite a bit.  The #3 is egg, blue cheese, bacon and green onion mayo.  This was probably my favorite although I liked them both.  It was very creamy—between the blue cheese and the green onion mayo—and it had that salty kick from both which kept it unique and not bland at all.  Honestly, I didn’t get a lot of bacon in this looking back, but honestly, it didn’t really need it.

The #5 had bacon, egg, white cheddar, potato, and jalapeno-cilantro sour cream.  It was slightly more of the traditional taco flavors. Again, I didn’t get a ton of bacon, and the potato showed up mainly in the last two bites of the taco.  I might have enjoyed a bit more bacon in this one, as it was more of a breakfast flavor with the potatoes, egg, bacon and cheese.  The tortillas were nicely warmed and slightly crispy though, and both were worth getting.

I also had a side of the dill potato salad ($2.75) to round out the meal.  I asked the server how it was and he said good, although very “dilly.”  That part was true, and didn’t bother me, but the red potatoes in it were just a bit too firm for me.  It wasn’t bad, but I think I would get something else next time.

The BFF had the roasted veggie panini ($7.80) which was quite good as well (well, based on the couple of bites I had).  I liked the way the server told her (when she asked) to get the whole sandwich vs. the half based on the fact that because it was veggie, it wasn’t as big or filling.  We both agreed that we liked that it had a lot of different veggies in it—not just the ones you typically see in veggie sandwiches.  There were Portobello mushrooms, yellow squash, zucchini, tomato and red onion, as well as provolone and Chipotle mayo.  I also liked that there were no roasted peppers which to me, always overwhelm any other flavors in sandwiches like this.  The mayo had a kick of spice and flavor that took roasted veggies up a notch.  The locally made potato chips from the Amazing Potato Chip Company were really good as well (love that they’re the thinner variety).

A very good experience overall, and a nice place with an exceptionally down-to-earth and friendly server.  Again, I didn’t realize it was more than a lunch place, but after eating there I told hubby we should give it a go one night for dinner.

Pure Eatery

1043 Virginia Ave

Indy 46203

317/602-5724

ww.pureeatery.com

Ocean Prime

It’s new, so of course I had to try it.  I have heard a lot of mixed things—but am always excited to see for myself, particularly when it is so close to my house.  We met my parents and my sister and her husband one night for dinner. I always enjoy these meals because my family knows they have to share whatever they order.  They are down with blog participation.

Hubby and I perused the menu before we got there because we knew we would need lots of time for negotiations—the menu is pretty big.  After guessing what my family would order (with a high degree of accuracy I might add), we decided to go with a meal of lots of appetizers to share between us. 

We started with the tuna tartare ($16) and an order of the fried calamari ($14) for the table.  Hubby and I mainly ate the tartare and enjoyed it. I liked the way they had mixed the slivers of fried wontons right into it.  It had a fair amount of avocado and was topped with some crème fraiche. The whole thing sat in a ginger ponzu sauce.  I tend to like ponzu—which is soy based with some citrus mixed in as well. Sounds like it would be a great combo with the tuna and it was good—it just had a little strange twist of sweetness, almost like there was some sweet chili oil in there too.  But all in all, an enjoyable dish.  My family really likes the calamari which is fried and served with a true sweet chili oil and candied cashews.  The calamari itself was really good—very fresh and really tender.  I have pretty much come to the conclusion that I am tired of sweet chili oil though—it seems like it is on so many menus these days.  It is certainly a very generous portion and easy to share.  If you like calamari, and a slightly sweeter taste, you will probably like this.

Next, hubby and I split the Shellfish “cobb” salad ($19).  I was intrigued by the salad because it was about as close to a Louis salad as I have seen around town and I desperately miss them.  There was lettuce, blue cheese, chopped egg, and shellfish—lobster, crab and shrimp.  Strangely, the dressing with it was called “gourmet” dressing—really? Is that a technical name for a dressing?  When asked the server told me it was egg and champagne vinaigrette based and described it as “dull” which I thought was a little weird.  It wasn’t bad, and the salad contained a whole bunch of my favorite things on a plate, but overall, it just didn’t seem to mesh together. I am not exactly sure why.  I appreciated that they split the salad evenly between us.  I think I enjoyed my sister’s Ocean Prime house salad better—the dressing (a Sherry vinaigrette with some Dijon) was very good.  The salad had lettuce, spinach, apples, goat cheese and walnuts. It was well done.

For my “main” dish, I had the goat cheese ravioli appetizer ($11).  Even though it wasn’t steak or seafood, I thought it was the best thing on the table all night.  The pasta was housemade (that makes me so happy) and was stuffed with goat cheese—the broth it sat in was buttery and lemony and there were also thinly sliced shitake mushrooms scattered throughout, which added a nice earthy flavor to go along with the sharpness of the goat cheese and lemon.  Even my brother in law liked it, and he claims not to like goat cheese.

Hubby had the “signature appetizer” crab cake ($16) for his entrée (you can get it as an app or entrée; he went with the smaller version).  I had heard decent things about it and it was so well featured in the menu, I had pretty high hopes, even though generally crab cakes bore the crap out of me these days.  This one was not very good—it wasn’t that crabby—more of a flatter pancake kind of version without much of the crabby lumps I like.  Hubby was really disappointed.

We had bites of pretty much everyone else’s food—steak, shrimp pasta, scallops and lobster.  It was all cooked properly (well, the shrimp was a bit tough) and was enjoyed by the people who ordered it.  It was pretty classic steakhouse type food.  We also all shared a couple of sides—one I really liked and one was a bit of a letdown.  The jalapeno au gratin potatoes ($10) were really good—the potatoes were more shredded, had just a hint of heat from the peppers and lots of Swiss cheese which was nice.  They were cheesy but not so much so that you felt like you were just eating cheese.  They were worth ordering for sure.  The black truffle mac and cheese ($12) was a letdown.  One of my big pet peeves is when something is called “truffle” and has absolutely no truffle flavor (but is still priced as if it does).  You can see the two slices of truffle in the picture, but that is the only evidence of truffles.  By looking at the picture you can taste the truffle flavor as much as I could that night.  The mac and cheese wasn’t a bad basic mac and cheese, but I was sad about the truffles.

Desserts were good as well--hubby and I shared the peanut butter pie ($9) (we have a peanut allergy in our house, so we never have peanut stuff in the house, so it always seems extra decadent).  It was really very good.  I am not sure I would call it a "pie," but regardless, I would say it was tasty.  It was basically peanut butter mousses covered in a dark chocolate ganache.  The middle was very light and soft and the chocolate super rich.  Like an amazing peanut butter cup.

Overall, it’s a nice place, very popular with some highlights on the menu for sure.  The interior is nice, although many of the tables are kind of cramped together.  They have a great looking outside bar area in which I would enjoy grabbing an appetizer and a glass of wine some time. There are definitely ups and downs food-wise, and it is pretty pricey, so some of the entrées are kind of risky endeavors if you don’t want to spend a lot.  I do like that they have a fair amount of non-steak (and mainly seafood) entrée options.  I would go back, but I would probably stick with appetizers. 

Who else has gone? What was your experience like?

Ocean Prime

8555 North River Road

Indy  46240

317/560-0975

www.oceanprimeindy.com