La Chinita Poblana

Earlier this week, before going to a concert in Broad Ripple, Tim and I needed a quick bite to eat.  We finally hit upon 'that fusion taco place that's in the little building where Boogie Burgers used to be,' which turned out to be called La Chinita Poblana.

We were greeted by a very enthusiastic server at the counter, and ordered two tacos each plus agua frescas to drink ($2.50).  I got pineapple strawberry (the one on the left) and Tim got horchata (on the right).  Horchata is made with rice and cinnamon, and it was DELICIOUS.  Super tasty.  I enjoyed my slightly tart but sweet and very refreshing beverage, but I coveted his just a bit.  I will definitely get it next time!

All tacos are $3, and there are quite a few options plus a special of the day.  I got the tilapia taco, which was "yellow curry blackened" and served with chipotle mayo, pickled napa cabbage, and 'herb mix' (i.e. mostly cilantro).  It was super good.  It had two large pieces of fish on it and they were juicy and flavorful.  The mayo added a kick of heat, and the cabbage was good, although it didn't taste all that pickled to me.  I picked off the herbs, of course.

My other taco was the Red Braised Pork Carnitas, which was shredded pork with crispy edges (as carnitas should be).  It was served with an avocado crema that was awesome (wish there had been just a touch more!) and diced onion, and of course, herb mix.  I really enjoyed it, also, although the tilapia was my favorite.

Tim got the skirt steak, which was red curry marinated and served the same way as my carnitas, with avocado crema, onion, and herbs.  Neither of us were super impressed looking at it, but he LOVED it.  He said it had wonderful flavor, both the steak and the crema.  His other was the special of the day--it was a shredded, marinated beef with onion and herbs.  He liked that one also, although not as much as the steak.  I didn't try that one.
 

 (Clockwise from top left: tilapia, carnitas, steak, shredded beef)

Overall, we really enjoyed our experience and already have several others picked out to try next time!

Website:  La Chinita Poblana

La Hacienda

La Hacienda has a couple of locations in Indy.  I really enjoy going to the one on Binford, which is a bit bigger and has a great deck, when the weather's  nice.  Tim and his coworkers have a particular fondness for it, especially the margaritas, and I must say I've grown fond of it (them?) myself.

Closer to our home, in Ft. Harrison, is another, smaller location.  It's in an old train depot (so cute) and has its own little patio to the side.  It was there that Tim and I sat on a recent early spring evening.

To the left is one of the said margaritas.  We usually go with the Texas margaritas, traditional lime flavor over ice (not frozen).  The batch Tim and I shared that day (small pitcher $11.50) was extra tasty--not too cloyingly sweet (it tasted of oranges and limes, very fresh, not like the margaritas you sometimes get made with  neon-green bottled mix).

Nachos are one of my favorite foods--classy?  Maybe not, but delicious for sure.  This time I opted to try the pork nachos.  I had had a burrito made with their pork before, and the nachos utilized the same pork.  It's slow-cooked in beer, so it's fall-apart tender and has wonderful flavor.  My only complaint was that I prefer white cheese sauce (you know the stuff) over shredded and melted cheese, and sadly I got the latter.  The pork was pretty salty, so the heaviness of all that shredded cheese took it over the salty ledge.  Oh well.  It was still great.  Side note:  The pictured order is a half-order of their nachos ($4.35).  It was plenty for me.

Website:  La Hacienda

Chatham Tap

A few weeks ago, we met some friends at Chatham Tap on a Friday evening.  We got there pretty early--around 6pm--and subsequently didn't have to wait for a table.  If you've been to Chatham (the original one on Mass Ave., of course--the one up north is a pale imitation of the original's glory), you've probably hovered in the entrance waiting for someone to give up their table.   It's just what you do there.  It's tiny and the tables are jammed together, and it's loud and busy, but while those issues might annoy me at other bars, at Chatham it's just part of the charm.

Don't get me wrong--it's not the place for groups larger than 6, or really over 4 if you don't want to wait for ages.  But if it's you and your date and a friend or two, it's great.

We mostly went for drinks, but Chatham has a great food menu, too, so we opted to have dinner there.  I got a build-your-own pizza (small $7.49) with rasher bacon (add $1).  It's my standard, and so good.  They've got a great puffy, doughy crust, the sauce is light and fresh, and the rasher bacon (i.e. smokey ham) is meaty but feels healthier than pepperoni or sausage.  This time my pizza could have been cooked for another minute or two--the crust was right on the border of  being undercooked, and I like my cheese with a touch more color--but it was still super good and satisfying.

Tim got the St. George's Philly ($7.49)--corned beef and grilled onions (like a cheese steak) with a mozzarella-dill mayo mix that makes a sort of sauce.  The bite I had was pretty tasty, and Tim very much enjoyed it.  It came with a few side options, and he chose homemade chips.  They could have used a touch of salt, but were otherwise solid. 

If you're there late at night, you've got to get the garlic cheese chips ($6.49)--crispy, salty fries topped with a garlic ranch sort of sauce and shredded cheddar (not melted--sounds odd, but it's perfect).  The montauks ($7.49) are also a favorite of ours--slices of french bread topped with rasher bacon and Gouda, which is in turn topped with pan-seared tomatoes and basil.  Sounds odd, but it's tasty.

Website:  Chatham Tap

Bluebeard: Revisit

My first visit to Bluebeard was so good that it inspired me to start this blog.  We've been wanting to go back for some time, but other restaurants (and the hefty price tag that came with our first visit) have always deterred us.  Lucky for us, spring is a time of many celebrations for Tim and I--first his birthday, then our anniversary, and now my birthday--which means more excuses for eating at nice places, and that we've had the opportunity to go to a few of our other favorites recently.  And so, when deciding where I wanted to go for my birthday, since we'd cycled through our other favorites, Bluebeard was selected.

I started with their version of a Dark & Stormy ($8--I kind of like that drink, if you hadn't noticed).  Ginger beer, rum, lime.  This one had a nice peppery ginger beer and a good dose of lime to balance it out.  Pretty top-notch.

We knew we wanted to share some things, so we started with a small Duck Confit Caesar salad:  escarole, radicchio, carrots, celery, fennel, olives, boiled egg, and croutons ($7).  The picture to the right is about half of it, since we were sharing.  It was a really good salad, but they were super heavy-handed with the anchovies in the dressing, and subsequently the whole thing tasted like them.  The duck confit's flavor was completely lost, and instead it tasted almost like tuna.  It was incredibly tender and still yummy, but it just wasn't very duckish.  Again,  I'll stress that I enjoyed the salad very much--it was just kind of strange.

We were there on a Sunday, and they have an abbreviated "bar menu" that day, so the mains were primarily sandwiches.  We each got one and shared.  I opted for the Paesano: smoked brisket, bbq sauce, cheddar, grilled onion rings, pepperoncini, and a fried egg ($14).  As you can see, it was an open faced sandwich, and thank goodness as it was nearly impossible to eat neatly with a knife and fork so there's no way I could have picked it up.  Very messy!  The brisket was super tender and the bbq sauce was great--not too sweet, not too spicy, not too smokey.  Just right.  The pepperocini gave it a nice kick.  The onions were a bit unwieldy, and the egg was pretty unnecessary, but even so this sandwich was our favorite of the night. 


We liked Tim's "Smokey Burger" less.  Our waiter really sold it, saying it was one of the best burgers he's ever had.  Granted, we have some high burger standards after Room Four and Scratch Truck and Twenty Tap, but Tim's a sucker for burgers and the description sounded great. It was a combo of beef, lamb, and pork and was topped with lettuce, provolone, and jalapeno mostarda ($18).  I think there was also some fennel on there (slices of the fennel bulb), along with pickles.  It was okay.  The meat was great, but it was a touch under seasoned (at least if held to Room Four standards of seasoning).  The cheese provided zero flavor.  The mustard wasn't very pronounced, and the fennel, while intriguing, ended up just falling off and being messy.  Tim said he was "disappointed," and I'd have to agree.  Again, not a bad burger, but it just pales in comparison to the ones I've mentioned.

 We also split an order of that night's version of poutine ($15), since we will order poutine anytime we see it on a menu.  This version was a sort of Mexican twist--the fries (their standard house fries, crispy and well-seasoned) were topped with a sort of chorizo gravy, jalapenos, queso fresco, cilantro, avocado, and an egg (yes, another fried egg).  On this occasion, the egg was helpful in giving the whole thing a bit more 'sauciness' because the chorizo gravy wasn't super saucy.  It was very rich but the spice of the jalapenos and chorizo cut through a bit.  I should have asked for no cilantro--I probably would have enjoyed it more--but it didn't distract me too much.  Not my favorite poutine ever--and arguably not poutine, really--but pretty tasty.  Tim enjoyed them even more than me, but I do enjoy a good smothered french fry and this was no exception.

 Because we were celebrating my birthday, Tim graciously said we could get dessert.  We opted for the rhubarb cake with lemon curd 'terrine' and a blueberry sauce.  It was topped with whipped cream and some micro greens.  I would never have known that the cake had rhubarb in it if not for the descriptions--it just tasted like a very firm vanilla cake with white buttercream frosting--but the lemon curd was spectacular.  It was the perfect tart compliment to the sweet cake, as was the blueberry sauce.  I don't quite get the micro greens--I mean, I'm sure they wanted to be edgy/add earthiness or something, but I think it missed the mark.  It was more of a distraction.  Still, overall, a yummy dessert.

 This visit was no where near as impressive as the first.  There was some great potential there, but we were let down by a few items.  I don't think we are likely to return on a Sunday, but definitely want to try it for a regular dinner service again.  It's a huge menu that's always changing, so we'll be back.

Website:  Bluebeard

Sakura: Photo Update

One of my first posts on this blog was for Sakura.  Last week we took the kids there again, and had another great experience.  It remains my favorite sushi place in town, for sure.

We ordered pretty much the same thing as always, and I've already given my review for those items here.  However, I didn't post pictures back then.  So I'll do that now!

These are the super awesome gyoza.  They come five to an order--we managed to devour three before I remembered to pull out the camera.  They're nicely golden on one side and so yummy, with a great green oniony-pork flavor.  But that dipping sauce is the star.  The chili oil floating on top is what makes it so addictive.

This picture is HALF of the chicken cutlet order our boys shared.  Our waitress was particularly great this time and loved the boys.  She was impressed that they like miso soup, and when we mentioned that they especially love the tofu, she made sure there was a ton of extra tofu in their bowls!  She also brought the cutlets out already divided onto two separate plates (as seen above), a really, really nice touch (they've never done that for us before).  They halved the rice and the veggies, too. 

And, of course, four of Tim's and my favorite rolls are above.  Starting at the top, Bob's roll has asparagus tempura and smoked salmon.  At 3 o'clock is my absolute favorite, Florida Mix roll (tuna, salmon, crispies, roe, etc.).  At the bottom is the New York roll--shrimp, avocado, spicy sauce.  And to the left is the Texas roll with its jalapeno masago.  Mmmmm.  So good!