Marsh fried chicken

Another quick one (sorry life is pretty busy these days!). So you know I have this thing for fried chicken right? Well recently I heard from a couple different sources that Marsh Supermarkets had changed their fried chicken recipe and that it was good. Of course I was instantly intrigued. I’m not generally a grocery store fried chicken connoisseur, but I was certainly excited to try it.

And you know what? It was really good. Even though it had clearly been cooked earlier, it still remained amazingly crispy on the outside—that breading is big and has a great crunch factor. The meat inside (I ate all thighs, love that you can choose exactly the pieces you want) was super tender as well, which again was a little surprising since it had been sitting for a bit. If I were going to change anything about it, I might add a little more spice, but I’m kind of a spicy fried chicken girl. Other than that, the execution was pretty spot on.

My family has become a bit snobby about fried chicken, but everyone was onboard with this one. And I am going to figure out how to get it freshly cooked and I bet it will be a total knockout. I’m assuming if I am willing to wait, I can make this happen. I am going to find out.

Let me know if you have tried it (or if you do based on this). Would love to hear about it.

Marsh Supermarkets

(Various locations)

Indy, IN

1-800-382-8798

www.marsh.net 

B Spot-- Revisit

The other day the family and I headed back to B Spot. The first time we sort of hit or miss, and we attempted to make it work better this time. One of the things that bothered me the first time was that the bun got really soggy. 

So I got the “Thin Lizzy” ($8.99) again because I wanted to perfect my experience from last time and I generally like the toppings on it. I had them add lettuce to the bottom to hopefully prevent it from getting so soggy (I was thinking it would work as a barrier between the mayo and juices and the bun). It comes with griddled onions, cheddar, pickles and mayo. Sadly, it didn’t really work. It still suffered from the soggy problem. The beef and the brioche buns taste good—they are good quality-- but the burgers are a little too fat for my preference and I hate how soggy the bun gets still.

Hubby went with the bacon cheeseburger, which is pretty straightforward—it’s a beef patty with melted cheddar and bacon ($9.99). My son got the same, but off the kid’s menu.  Because their burgers had no kind of sauce on it (mayo, etc.), they held up much better. They both really enjoyed their burgers. Hubby said if I didn’t want my bun to get soggy, I need to order something like this. However, I like sauce (at least mayo although I typically prefer something more interesting) on my burger.

My daughter had a turkey burger topped with provolone cheese, cilantro and a Sunnyside egg. It was a beautiful egg, and they do manage to keep the turkey fairly moist, but honestly, I thought it had a bit of a gamey taste to it this time.

I really like the “Lola” fries they do with rosemary ($3.99)—they have a nice deep rosemary taste to them and they cook them nice and crisp. We also all enjoy their onion rings ($6.99)—they’re battered and very tasty. Honestly, the sides are my favorite part probably.

The kids loved their chocolate banana marshmallow shake ($6.99) and they do a good job with milkshakes for real. Love the crispy slightly blackened marshmallows on top.

The server was very nice, and it was very efficient--this place seems to have lost a lot of the business it had the first time I went. Honestly, I am wondering how they are really doing. People were into the celebrity chef thing at first, but I’m wondering if it has staying power based on the crowd (or lack of) that I saw. Who else has been lately? How was the crowd? And I can’t say the food wows me enough to make me even think about it when I am looking for a place to go. Anyway, look forward to your thoughts.

B Spot

2727 East 86^th Street

Indianapolis, IN 46240

317/802-7678

www.bspotburgers.com 

Meridian - Revisit

It had been ages since hubby and I had been to Meridian. It was one of those nights where we were struggling to figure out where we wanted to go. It seemed like a good time to go back.

The place is a very nice interior. I have to say, not very crowded these days—there were people there, but for a weekend, it was not that busy. Our server was very nice and they bring you warm toasty rolls pretty quick, which are soft, and maybe just a little sweet, and very delicious, especially with the totally soft butter they bring as well.

We started with a couple of appetizers—the fried oysters ($16), because, well, I guess there’s a reason they’ve been on the menu since the dawn of time (or at least the dawn of Meridian). They’re quite good. There are several small oysters fried very well and crispy. They’re still doing a play on Rockefeller with creamed spinach underneath, dots of hollandaise sauce and a large dot of Sriracha as well They then top the oysters with crumbles of bacon. These have pretty much always been good, and still are, but make me wonder if maybe a little variation would be good.

We also had the current version of the beef tartare, which they have had some version of the last few times we’ve been. This one was described as a poke, which I associate with a slightly larger dice. This one was still pretty fine I think, but it’s just semantics I guess. We were intrigued to get this one because of the flavorings with it—it was seasoned with lemongrass, ginger, mint, pickled shitakes and served with fried wontons. It was really good. I really enjoyed the pickly taste and even softer texture of the mushrooms. I liked the Asian flavors as well. This was a very well executed dish.

We then shared a Brussels salad ($10). They split it in the kitchen for us, which was nice, and it wasn’t ridiculously huge, which was also nice, but I wasn’t wowed by the salad itself. It was shaved Brussels sprouts, apple slices, radicchio, golden raisins, pine nuts, manchego and gastrique.  Many of the sprouts themselves were sliced a little too thickly, making them too tough to eat, since they were raw. The other ingredients were fine, but the salad just didn’t really come together as a cohesive whole for me.

We were more lured in by the apps on this night, so we just got two more for our dinner. We had the pork belly ($12) and the smoked trout ($16). These were both fine, but neither were as good as the first two we had. I appreciated that the pork belly was cut into nice cubes, giving you the full range of the pork without giving that overly gelatinous thing that sometimes happens with pork belly. These were more like a nice cube of bacon. The bread cubes were a little much with it though. There was remoulade all on the bottom of the plate, which was fine. The fried green tomatoes seemed to get a little lost, and that acid would have been nice. 

The fish was really pretty mediocre—the fish was dry and didn’t have a lot of flavor. Loved the little baby quail egg deviled eggs, but that was about it here. Honestly, I didn’t eat much more than a couple of bites.

Oh, but the side of mac and cheese was really delicious—totally worth ordering—super creamy and with a nice buttery crumb topping. This was worth taking the extra home. And it’s a big portion, so there will likely be some left.

Even though I know I said I liked the older dishes on the menu the best, I still feel like Meridian may be in need of a bit of some menu updates. They need to do something to distinguish themselves again if they want to stay up there with the nicer restaurants around town. There’s a reason we don’t think of it very often when we have a date night, and it’s that it just doesn’t have an interesting menu, particularly since it hardly changes… just my two cents.

Meridian

5694 N. Meridian

Indy 46208

317-466-1111

www.meridianonmeridian.com 

Road Trip: Duck Duck Goat and Au Cheval--Chicago, IL

Quick weekend to Chicago and we ate so damn well. After stopping in Lafayette and having lunch at Heirloom we got into town and had an early dinner at Stephanie Izard’s new place, Duck Duck Goat, which the menu describes as “reasonably authentic Chinese cuisine.” At least when you have to take a 5:30 reservation in Chicago, it’s actually 6:30 in Indy. Anyhow, we were with our friends who love to share and we ordered a bunch of stuff.

They just kind of bring you things as they are ready. One of the first things we got were the soup dumplings. These were super tasty and tender dumplings filled with a light pork and crab flavored broth. They also serve you a seasoned soy sauce to put with them. We were not in agreement as to which way was the best to eat them—with or without the sauce—but we all agreed they were delicious. You kind of have to take a bite out of the top of them and eat them in a couple of (messy) steps.

We also had the shrimp toast. I love to make shrimp toast, but this one was quite different from most I have had or made. It was a full piece of bread topped with the baked minced shrimp. But what made it stand out were the pickled veggies on top—I really enjoyed the briny taste on top of what is typically a pretty rich dish.

Next was crab Rangoon ($13). These were good, but maybe were my least favorite item just because they weren’t that exciting. They were done well though and I liked the sweet-ish sauce with them. Not the neon red sweet and sour sauce typically found in Chinese restaurants. It was housemade and had more texture and depth of flavor.

The wood-fired char siu ribs though? Those things were off the chart good. And these aren’t typically my favorite types of items because I often find meat like this dry and flavorless. These had the right amount of fattiness and great flavor between the smokiness and the salty sauce. Everyone loved them.

We also had the mapo doufu (my choice). I really enjoyed it but I am guessing others at my table didn’t like it as much as I did. There were lots of hunks of tofu and lots of little shreds of pork coated in a spicy Sichuan sauce. It had a secret kick from the peppers that you didn’t taste at first, but slowly grew until your mouth was a little numb and tingly. It was even better once we got our pork-fried rice (in future, I would make sure to ask that the mapo doufu came out at the same time as a noodle or rice dish). The rice had different kinds of rice—white jasmine rice but also a type of red wild rice that gave it a really nice texture. With the creamy tofu, it was a great combo. Everyone loved that rice. It was inhaled. I mean there were chunks of pork belly and sausage in there so you couldn’t really go wrong.

Finally, we had their version of Peking Duck ($59)—again another thing that I probably wouldn’t have typically ordered (the beauty of having multiple people with you) but it was outstanding. Everyone was talking about it for days. The duck was taken off the bone perfectly-there wasn’t a sliver of bone left over. And the skin was super crisp. They gave you a whole platter of seasonings and sauces to use with it and little pancakes as well. It’s a big dish, and it’s expensive, but it’s worth it if you have at least 4 people. They only make a couple an hour though, so if you want it, tell them right away. The cool thing is, they are also opening a little street food window attached to the restaurant where you can walk up and get various items. That would be such a cool place to have around for lunch.

Anyway, we really liked it and I want to go again and try more things. You have to love the cheesy movie-set like quality of the decor too. Just kitschy enough.

Also, quickly—the next day we went to lunch again at Au Cheval. Our friends had never been there and we knew they needed to try that burger. They were not disappointed—I mean that might be the best burger ever (although this time we got the egg on it. I think just the straight up burger without the egg or bacon is the best way to experience it). We also had the fries with mornay sauce and aioli and an egg as well. Oh, and this time we tried the hash browns were were stupendous. They were super thin and super, super crisp. Totally worth ordering.

And then, because our server felt that our service was slow (we were fine) she brought us a free dessert. I really, really didn’t need dessert after all that food, but oh my god. Now I don’t know if I can ever not order it. At it’s core was a blueberry muffin. That doesn’t sound exciting I know, but it was the best damn blueberry muffin ever. And then they give you this super soft salty butter with it. Those two items alone were amazing. But then, somewhat incongruently, there’s chocolate ice cream and warm dark chocolate sauce in a little pitcher too. Both are good, but not so much with the muffin. The muffin needs nothing but that butter. But you can make yourself a nice little side sundae.

Au Cheval doesn’t take reservations, so get there early if you want to have lunch on the weekend. They open at 11:00 and we got there about 10:40 and got in line. We were seated in the first round as they opened the door at 11:00. The line went halfway down the block by 11:00.

Two great places—both are places I would (and will) easily return to in Chicago.

Duck Duck Goat

857 West Fulton Market

Chicago, IL 60607

312/902-3825

www.duckduckgoatchicago.com 

Au Cheval

800 West Randolph Street

Chicago, IL 60607

312/929-4580

www.auchevalchicago.com 

Bent Rail Brewery- Revisit: Brunch

I had heard some people talk about brunch at Bent Rail—and I am always on a quest to find a good brunch place. We also enjoyed a lot of what we had the first time we went, so I rounded up my family, including my parents and my sister and her husband, and we met over there one Saturday.

Ok, first a little complaint right out of the gate. I had checked their brunch menu out online, which was quite extensive and listed its availability as Saturday and Sunday. When we got to the restaurant, there were much fewer options for brunch (probably less than ½ what’s shown online) and it says it’s only available on Sundays. They did tell us we could feel free to order from it though (and it was Saturday). I was a little disappointed—I think maybe they should update the website—it’s a bit misleading.

The kids were insisting on pretzels to start, because that was their favorite thing last time we came. They have changed them from the first time to pretzel bites, but I have absolutely no problem with that as it makes them easier to share. We had two orders and they disappeared quickly between the eight of us. I like the beer cheese and grainy mustard they serve with them—I’ll admit, I’m eating a lot more of the beer cheese than I am the mustard, but a little of both is kind of nice. The pretzel bites are good. Soft and salty. The kids were happy.

Anyway, I did order from the brunch menu. I had “Andy’s breakfast sandwich” ($10.50)(and somehow I managed to take a picture of everything but my own sandwich). It sounded like an interesting combination. It was an English muffin topped with a patty of duck sausage, pimento cheese, a fried egg and buffalo sauce. Sounds kind of unique yes? And it was, but there were some big flaws for me. First of all the egg wasn’t really runny. Now, maybe I should have specifically asked, because in my mind the only way to eat an egg is runny, but maybe not everyone agrees. Next, while the sausage had a nice flavor and went well in that way with the egg and pimento cheese, the patty was at most, a third of the size of the muffin. It was almost more like a meatball. I ended up taking it off and chopping it into little bits to scatter across the sandwich so I could get some with each bite (what? I have a proportion problem). I liked the pimento cheese and the buffalo sauce though, it made for a little of a spicy kick, which is a nice change of pace. Not sure I would order this one again though.

Probably my favorite of the brunch dishes was my son’s biscuits and gravy ($8). You get biscuits, you get gravy with Eli Creek pork breakfast sausage mixed into it, and you get two scrambled eggs (they came about 5 minutes after the biscuits and gravy came for some reason). The biscuits were very different from most, cut into squares and very dense, but they had a great flavor—really flaky too. The eggs were also scrambled really well—not overdone or anything. A bite of everything together was great.

Cuban

Hubby refused to venture out of the thing he liked the first time he went, so he got the Cuban again ($10). This is a pretty classic Cuban—roasted pork, ham, garlic dill pickles, yellow mustard and Swiss cheese. It’s all pressed flat on a torta style bun. It’s got just the right amount of everything, including the mustard and pickles, which are key in a Cuban. A very good sandwich.

Korean BBQ

My  daughter didn’t want a sandwich and just ordered the baked goat cheese appetizer for her lunch ($10.50). I liked the way they change this up—usually baked goat cheese apps come in a big pool of marinara, which is fine, but kind of boring because it is so common. This one comes with roasted garlic olive oil and thyme. I liked the way there were big cloves of roasted garlic as well. It was a tasty bite with some of the cheese and a smear of the roasted garlic. It comes with slices of toasted bread to spread it on. It was good, but can’t say I would order it for my meal.

There were several other sandwiches floating around the table, but the only other one I tried was the Korean roasted BBQ sandwich ($12). It is barbequed pork, kimchi and a fried egg. Quite intriguing sounding, but for me, the execution was a bit lacking. The only moisture came from the egg, and again, it was not very runny and therefore, the whole sandwich was a bit dry. I also expected it to be a bit spicier. I would pass on this one in the future.

So overall, there were some ups and downs food-wise and I can’t say there was anything that really blew my mind, even though there were some tasty items. I hope they fix the brunch menu issue though. Also, the atmosphere at this place is a little stark, particularly since when I have been there, it has been pretty empty. Finally, I thought it somewhat surprising that they are still not brewing their own beer. I wonder if they have just decided not to do it.

Bent Rail Brewery

5301 Winthrop Ave

Indy  46220

317/737-2698

www.bentrailbrwery.com 

Road Trip: Heirloom Restaurant, Lafayette, IN

We were on our way up to Chicago but weren’t going to make it in time for lunch so we decided to stop in Lafayette. We decided it was time to try something other than Triple XXX (even though it is delicious) so I hit up twitter for some advice. Apparently next time we need to try South Street Smokehouse, but this time we took we tried Heirloom (thanks @thatdickscott and @demhos). We knew we were in for a decadent weekend of eating and this looked slightly lighter than some of the other choices.

It’s a cute restaurant right on the square in old downtown Lafayette. The interior is full of wood and is quite charming. It’s very large and on this particular day, not very crowded. We were given a nice table in the window. It’s not a particularly big menu for lunch but it’s quite appealing. There are a couple apps, a couple salads and several sandwiches.

I had the “chickawich” ($10) with a side of a soup of the day, which was a corn chowder. I thought my sandwich was delicious. It was a fried chicken breast on a brioche bun topped with provolone cheese, pink aioli and house made pickles. The chicken was super tender and the breading was super crisp and crunchy. It had a great texture. While provolone doesn’t inherently add a ton of flavor on its own, I liked the gooey factor that the cheese added. And the chicken was crisp enough it help up to this as well as the pink aioli. I really liked the pink aioli—so much so that I asked for a little extra on the side to dip hubby’s fries into (and we both added a little extra to our sandwiches as well). The housemade pickles were really good on it too. Added that little bit of acid that you know I love. And they were thick cut and tasty. I could have eaten several more of them for sure.

My soup didn’t fare as well—there was lots of corn in there but the soup was very thin and surprisingly bland. I had a couple of bites and gave up. Hubby’s Cuban was just ok. The bread was good and the choice you want to see on a Cuban, but the dominating flavor of the sandwich was the pulled pork—it really tasted more like it was meant to be a pulled pork sandwich, which isn’t inherently bad, but a let down when you’re looking for that mustardy pickle-y kick. It was supposed to have soppressata on it, but we didn’t really get much of that. There was also some provolone cheese on there, but not enough to make a real impact as far as texture or flavor. Here’s the thing about this sandwich—I think they should just embrace it as a pulled pork sandwich, rather than trying to make it an alternative Cuban sandwich that makes you miss what makes Cuban sandwich a Cuban sandwich. Or change it up a bit.

We both enjoyed the thin crispy fries though that came with hubby’s sandwich. They seemed housemade and were heavily seasoned. They were particularly tasty dipped in the pink aioli.

All in all, I enjoyed this place. I would happily eat my sandwich, with a side of those fries, again. I would be intrigued to try their pork tenderloin as well. Hubby may be slightly less enthusiastic, but it’s a nice alternative to Triple XXX for something a little different. Hey people, what else do you like in Lafayette?

Heirloom

102 North Third Street

Lafayette, IN 47901

765/807-0422

www.heirloomindiana.com 

Canal Bistro- Revisit

After traveling to Europe this summer and really enjoying our time (and food) in Greece, we were kind of itching to go back to Canal Bistro, which is one of our favorite summer haunts anyway, to see how their Mediterranean food matched up.

First off, we laughed because we always thought it was funny how they had French fries on the menu and how everyone always talked about them as a highlight. And then we went to Greece, and in fact every single Greek restaurant (just about) featured “freshly fried potatoes.” They do in fact like their fries over there. So we felt totally justified getting some. And adding garlic. And feta.

Anyhow, we started with our classic order of hummus ($7). I really like their hummus—it has a nice consistency and the addition of olive oil on top as well as the chopped up tomatoes adds even more flavor and moisture. They serve it with toasted pita bread (strangely, pita is something you rarely see in Greece, and when you do, it’s a small round piece that is much denser than what you get here. Anyway, their pita is nice and soft and warm and they have some of my favorite hummus too. We also got a side of olives because I like an olive bite with just about all my bites of hummus and now that the kids are giant olive nuts too, we need a lot to go around.

My absolute favorite thing there is the spinach pie (i.e. spanakopita)($8). It’s an appetizer, but I always get it for my main dish (and am forced to share one with hubby). They’re little triangles of phyllo dough stuffed with cheese and spinach and wrapped tightly and then I am pretty sure deep-fried. They are so crisp and crunchy they practically shatter when you bite into them. I love that they serve the pies on top of a mix of pickled onions, regular pickles, chopped herbs and a hunk of feta cheese. I like eating a little of all of this with each bite of the spinach pies and it is so good. Hubby informed me next time he is getting his own order.

The rest of the family had gyros of some sort—my son and hubby split the gyro platter ($15), which is a big plate of meat with the accompaniments on the side—as well as a little pyramid of rice. You also get tomatoes, cucumber and tzaziki sauce (a yogurt cucumber sauce)(by the way, the picture you see is a half order-they split it in the kitchen). Now, our experience with gyros in Greece was a bit different. In Greece, you don’t see them as often and the times we got them (always my son ordering them), they were usually made of thinly sliced pork. The ones at Canal Bistro (and most US restaurants I have seen) are made with lamb and beef I believe. They are a much denser consistency. Different, but both good in their own ways. Because this is a full meal, you also get a salad with it. Hubby got the Greek salad, which has a nice topping of crumbled feta and a couple more olives and a tangy balsamic vinaigrette.

My daughter had the gyro sandwich ($9), which comes in wrap form. She likes the tzaziki sauce on the sandwich, but everything else she gets on the side, which is fine with me because more pickled onions for me! This is where we got the side of fries with garlic and feta (slight upcharge) and they were hot and delicious.

All in all, we loved the food in Greece and we really enjoy Canal Bistro as well. There are certainly similarities as well and difference, but it’s all good. Also, they have a weekend brunch menu now and I am intrigued to try it. And it’s one of the best patios in the summer—lots of shade, but not crazy traffic like some outdoor patios in Broad Ripple.

Canal Bistro

6349 Guilford Ave

Indy 46220

317/254-8700

www.canal-bistro.com

Road Trip: The Restaurant at Walhill Farm, Batesville, IN

We have good friends who live in Cincinnati and because between the four of us, our kids, and our schedules, it is difficult to get together, we try to meet halfway between for dinner a few times a year. We have toured many of the Oldenburg area restaurants so far, and this time ventured into Batesville and visited The Restaurant at Walhill Farm.

It’s pretty cool how many little independent restaurants exist in this area that have clearly been around for a long time. While you see chains here, not nearly as much as you might see in other places. Anyhow, it was also cool to see how busy this place was on a random Wednesday night—we all sort of expected it to be fairly empty—and it was nearly full. We were glad we had made a reservation.

A lot of the things on the menu are produced locally and they happily note a long list of them on the menu. Hubby and I wanted to start with the roasted artichokes, but were informed they were out of them. So we ordered the blue cheese fondue instead ($8). It was a tasty dish even if the amount of cheese to other things was a little slim. The cheese was nice and melty in the middle and was served with toasted and seasoned bread, candied walnuts, grapes and strawberries. I do love to eat a bit of fruit, and even better candied nuts, with my blue cheese, so this dish was very appealing to me. I just wished there was more cheese for all those accompaniments.

Our friends got the shrimp appetizer ($12), which was supposed to be a scampi type dish. It was served with rice on the bottom, a few grilled shrimp and then a ton of this wonderful tomato topping. These little cherry tomatoes were so good—they were marinated and mixed with fresh basil and seriously, you didn’t even care about the shrimp or rice. You just wanted to gobble up the tomatoes. However, if I were to improve this dish, I would put the whole thing on warm polenta—that would be amazing. 

I ordered the Walhill burger ($11), which is made with a blend of beef and pork and a bit of bacon. It’s topped with cheese, tomatoes and lettuce. I asked for a fried egg for it as well (an extra $1). It’s served on sliced toasted bread, which was a little surprising. I was bummed they forgot my egg though. And then it took awhile to get it—but I was glad I did because it really improved the sandwich. They did a nice job cooking the hamburger patty medium rare and the egg was beautiful once I got it. The bread tasted good with it, but there was a lot going on in the sandwich and it was kind of messy because the bread had a hard time holding up.. I enjoyed it though. I also ordered the O’Brien potatoes as a side (upcharge from the usual chips). I wasn’t a big fan of these big potato wedges mixed with green and red bell peppers. They weren’t very crisp and needed salt. And I am not a big green pepper fan. I sort of wished I had stuck with the chips, which they apparently make in house.

Hubby had the salmon, trying to be healthy ($29). It was not overly healthy though considering it was covered in a creamy lemony sauce with Andouille sausage. The fish was cooked a bit further than we tend to prefer, but it wasn’t completely dried out, and all that creamy sauce helped. There were also a few more of those shrimp on top. The grits served with it were pretty dense, would have been nice if they had been a bit creamier. 

Our friends had a steak and a chicken dish, and while I didn’t taste them, they seemed content with them. We ended up getting three desserts, which was certainly more than enough. I really enjoyed the chocolate cheesecake ($6) the most. It was much softer and creamier than most cheesecakes. Very tasty. The bread pudding ($5) was also good—very tender as well. They certainly seemed homemade, which can be a problem with desserts sometimes—they come frozen and shipped in. We also had the crème brulee ($6), which I thought was the weakest of the desserts simply because the cream part was still pretty cold underneath the crisp brulee part. I did like the addition of cinnamon to the top though.

It’s a cute place—sort of off the beaten path with a real lodge-type feel. The food is solid, even though it’s nothing spectacular. And it’s a great in between stop. I’m always looking for more suggestions for the Oldenburg/Batesville area, so let me know your ideas. We’re supposed to meet our friends again in October.

The Restaurant at Walhill Farm

857 Six Pine Ranch Road

Batesville, IN 47006

812/934-2600

www.walhillfarm.com 

Marrow - Revisit

A few weeks ago some friends and I decided it was time to go back to check out Marrow again. These are my friends who like to order heavy and share, so always a good couple to go out with. 

We started out with the smoked deviled eggs ($3 ea.) and the pickle plate ($6) because we just can’t say no to those deviled eggs—we’ve had them every time I think and even hubby, who isn’t a huge fan of deviled eggs like I am, really enjoys them. They had crab mixed into the filling, so how could you not like that? And they were topped with wasabi tobiko (love the pop from the fish eggs), crispy shallots (more texture) and a slice of pepper. The eggs were on top of some eel sauce so they don’t slide around too much. These are certainly some of my favorite deviled eggs in town.

The pickle plate was also one of the more interesting ones I’ve seen—and it seems like pickle plates are everywhere! This one had pickled cherries on it, which were very intriguing. Still sweet, but less so. I just kept eating them because they were so unusual. There were also onions, some curried cauliflower and some kimchi, which were tasty albeit less unusual. My other favorite was the pickled shitake mushrooms. Very cool. That earthy flavor but with a briny hit. These would be good in lots of dishes.

We had to get an order of our first favorites (and a couple of the few things that have remained on the menu since the place opened I think), the fried tandoori chicken ($24) and the paneer mac and cheese ($12). The fried chicken was just as tender and flavorful as the first time I had it. They serve it with a swath of various sauces on the bowl—a cilantro based sauce and a pepper chutney. It’s truly a delicious, and a nice Asian twist on what is one of my favorite things—fried chicken. And it’s a good one.

The shells and paneer is a take on mac and cheese made with a curried butter sauce, and chunks of paneer cheese—this is a firm cheese—it’s typically served in Indian food. The creamy sauce is accented nicely with the curry sauce as well as pieces of veggies—carrots, peas, corn and spinach. It’s a great dish because it is comforting like mac and cheese, but also interesting because of the more unique flavors. 

We also tried the fried chitlins. Rarely see these on a menu. They were pretty good, and in a nice zippy sauce. Some were a little tough maybe, but maybe that’s the nature of the beast (I have not eaten a lot of them in my life). There was a brisket dish as well that also had an Indian flair to it that was also a popular dish on the table. It was served with rice and chana dal (a type of Indian bean—sort of like a lentil or a chickpea). 

We also tried the little cornbread muffins. These were probably the most disappointing for me. The muffins were just too dry and uninspired compared to everything else we had. They did come with a side of sorghum and miso honey, but still just couldn’t really stand up to the other dishes, and just had a note of being sort of one-dimensional. 

We had this super fancy  drink for dessert that was very interesting. I think it is called the Miss T—it’s got a bunch of Irish whiskey, apple brandy, some tea and is infused through fruit and herbs to make a warm almost tea-like beverage with a serious alcohol kick. It was fun to watch it get heated and boil through the process but honestly, I’m not really a whiskey girl. But it was kind of cool. I can see how it would be a nice warming drink in the winter, if you like em strong.

Anyhow, we really enjoyed our meal overall and I love how often they mix up the menu here. What interesting dish have you eaten here and really enjoyed (I know you remember how to make comments on the blog—and they make me so happy!)?

Marrow

1106 Prospect Street

Indy 46203

317/986-6752

www.marrowindy.com