Cerulean

We'd heard a lot about Cerulean before finally going there with friends last weekend, and were really looking forward to trying it.  Much has been said about the dining room--that it's modern and sleek--and I'd have to agree.  It also felt like a bit of a maze of booths, and as we were led to our seats I lamented my lack of breadcrumbs to find my way back.  We were in a side dining area, by the windows, which was really nice but also a bit isolated from the main dining area.  There's also a space under the wooden 'bird's nest' that would be pretty fun to eat in--not sure if you can reserve a spot there, or if it's luck of the draw.


Our waitress, who was pretty knowledgeable (or so she certainly wanted us to think), came over to explain the menu and to get our drink orders.  She was very friendly and open to questions, but I'll admit we made fun of the number of times she told us that something had been called or rated "the best (fill in the blank) in Indianapolis."  Really?  Okay.  Anyway.  Drinks came pretty promptly.  I had  J’s Caipirinha:  Boca Loca Cachaca, Lime, Fresh Ginger Root, Ginger Beer, and House Mint Syrup ($9).  It was delicious--or at least the first one was.  The Ginger Beer was house-made and the fresh ginger made it nice and peppery.  The second one I got, however, was too sweet--I think a heavy hand was used on the mint syrup that time, and there were less limes to cut the sweetness.  Oh well.

Next we received some yummy bread and some awesome "goat cheese butter" that was sitting in a chive oil.  The goat cheese lent an earthiness to the butter that was nice (if you love goat cheese, and I do), but the star of the show here was the chive oil.  It tasted just like, well, chives, and was great mixed with the butter.  We were off to a great start.

Cerulean's menu is separated into plate size, sort of like Bluebeard.  The small plates, we were told, are more like a large amuse bouche.  The medium plates are supposed to be the size of a standard appetizer.  The large plates are true entrees.  Tim and I decided to try two of the small plates--the corn macaroon ($4) and the gougeres ($4).  The corn macaroon was a true french-style macaroon, although less sweet.  Rather than buttercream in the middle, however, they used pork belly.  Can't go wrong with pork belly! It sat on a "smoked cheddar" sauce that was also pretty tasty.  Tim and I really enjoyed it, although I think we were both disappointed by how small it was--just enough for one bite, each.

They were much more generous with the gougeres--they gave us about 8 of them.  Gougeres are basically cheese puffs, and these were stuffed with basil mascarpone and thyme-chive gel.  They had good flavor, but were room temperature/bordering on cold, and the pastry tasted like it had been sitting around for a few hours.  They just didn't feel hot and fresh.  Granted, they probably aren't supposed to be hot-hot, but  fresh tasting isn't too much to ask.  Tim said they tasted like Combos (yes, those Combos), and I could see what he meant.  Not a compliment.

Our middle-sized plate was probably the best dish of the night for us.  We got the "hay-smoked quail" with "wood stock" (not sure where that was on the dish), cherry butter, and potato-kale purée ($14).  First of all, I discovered about 2 years ago that I LOVE quail.  It is one flavorful little bird.  Not too gamey, just full of intense flavor.  So good.  Anyway, the puree was very creamy, and the cherry butter lent a touch of sweetness to offset the salty bird.  There were two boneless quail breasts on there, along with some cubed potatoes.  I also really enjoyed the "kale chips" they used as garnish--I've seen a lot of people making them on Pinterest, but doubted they could actually be good.  I'm here to tell you that they are. 

For my main, I got the beef short ribs with crispy spätzle, pine nut mascarpone, swiss chard, and jus ($28).  This was also really, really well done.  The beef itself was pot-roast-fall-apart-tender, and the marscapone sauce on top added a nice herby creaminess.  The pine nuts gave the dish some texture, and the "jus" (which is, I believe, that blob of brown sitting next to the beef which looks like apple butter) was salty, meaty divinity.  The dish had two small downfalls--one was the "swiss chard," which I can only assume is that dried out green "decorative" paint swipe on the side of the plate.  It added absolutely nothing to the dish besides a conversation piece:  "What's that green stuff?"  "I don't know, it's dried on there.  Kinda gross. Looks like they didn't get the plate clean after the last meal."  The other negative was the crispy spätzle.  I had imagined traditional spätzle that was maybe crisped up in a pan so that it had nice crispy-crunchy edges and extra flavor.  Instead, they seemed almost deep-fried because they were SO crunchy, and they were over-salted.  The first few were good, but they lost their excitement soon thereafter.  I left most of them on my plate.

Tim didn't want dessert, but one of my friends was kind enough to share hers with me.  She got the "Pistachio Tart" with rosewater meringue, cranberry, and lychee ($7).  As you can see from the picture, it looks nothing like a tart.  Still, it was pretty yummy.  There was a long lady-finger shaped something on the bottom--it had the taste and texture of an almond macaroon, in my opinion, although macaroon was no where in the description--topped with a delicious almond-flavored pistachio pastry custard.  There were actual pistachios on top as well as what I'm guessing were the rosewater meringues (those small white 'chips' in the picture).  There were two foamy white blobs to either side--I'm assuming those were the lychee portion of the dish because neither my friend nor I could place the flavor.  And the cranberry was the red swipe under everything.  I loved the custard-macaroon combo, along with the crunchy pistachios and meringues.  The cranberry added a nice tartness to what was a fairly sweet dessert.  Could have done with out the lychee foam blobs, though.  Overall, it was a nice, light dessert.

Tim got the duck breast with lemon fettuccine, carbonara, crackling, pancetta, and marjoram ($28).  Our server said the duck was cooked using the suvee cooking method (sealed in a bag and cooked in water kept at a constant temp).  Tim said it was very tender and the best part of the dish.  He was less happy with the fettuccine, which he thought was over-cooked and kind of mushy.

Two of our friends got the pork porterhouse, so I was able to take a picture--I don't know much about it, but they really enjoyed them, and it was certainly a massive portion!

We enjoyed our dinner, but aren't dying to go back (at least, not Tim nor I).  The quail and short ribs were really excellent, but his main let him down, and were weren't impressed by the gougeres.  We want to be wowed by almost everything we try if we're going a place like this, and I guess we just weren't.

Website:  Cerulean