Room Four is officially Tim's and my favorite restaurant in Indianapolis. Greg Hardesty and his crew consistently serve up creative, delicious dishes at both Room Four and Recess. Don't get me wrong, Recess is at the top of our list, but it's a special occasion place. We value, well,
value, and Room Four has got it. If splurging, you can definitely rack up a bill at Room Four, but you'll still spend a lot less than you would at Recess because of RF's a la carte menu versus Recess's price fixed one.
Another thing I love about Hardesty's restaurants--he is clearly giving young chefs a hand-up. Over the past few years, Tim and I have made RF a regular stop, visiting every-other month or so (more if we can find an excuse to, and we've introduced our fair share of out-of-towners to the place). Two excellent chefs regularly man the RF kitchen, and we've had the pleasure of striking up a friendly banter with both of them. They recognize us and chat with us, and can usually guess what Tim's going to order (not that it's difficult--it's usually the burger). Through this relationship, we've discovered that they develop many of the dishes they serve, and they also seem to develop dishes for Recess, too. I love that so many chefs are getting the chance to contribute. It definitely seems like a real team atmosphere.
Tim and I went to Room Four on a Saturday night around 6pm. Though we've had to wait on a few occasions when we've come with another couple, or if we've arrived much after 7pm, we generally don't have to wait for a table. I am very happy about that on a personal level, but I do find it surprising that the place isn't packed every night--particularly weekends.
Having looked at the menu before we got there, we knew we each wanted to start with a taco. Tim ordered the steak taco to start (skirt steak, carne asada, avocado, queso fresco, chipotle salsa, cilantro $6) and I had the fish taco (fried striped bass, shredded cabbage, radishes, lime creme, jalapenos and cilantro $6). We both agreed that my fish would have benefited from some of the avocado and salsa from his (it was on the drier side), but the fish had a great crunch-fried texture and the cabbage/lime creme combo had a citrusy twinge. The jalapenos made some bites pretty spicy, but you could easily remove if so desired. His steak taco had a great marinated flavor and the salsa added a nice level of spice. Both were served on a double layer of corn tortillas.
We also both knew that we wanted the burger that night. It's Tim's standard (and the reason why the chefs know what he's going to order); I usually try to switch it up and try something new, but a burger just sounded perfect to me that night. Room Four almost always has a burger of some type--often beef, but sometimes lamb--and usually topped in just slightly different ways depending what's available and fresh. Tonight's burgers (beef from Fisher Farms) came with havarti cheese, pickles, onions, shredded romaine, and house made dijonnaise ($16). It was a classic combo, and stellar. I mean, just look at it! Burgers pretty much always come with their version of fries, which are probably closer to steak fries than anything else. They're cut thick, with a crispy outside and a soft, fluffy, potatoey inside. So good! And yes, it's pricey for a burger, but it's a ton of filling food, made with quality, local ingredients, and completely worth it.
Just a side note: The tacos, like the burgers, are available most nights. They change up the types of tacos, but there are usually 2-3 options to choose from. The rest of the dishes DO usually completely change--Tim and I just weren't being very daring on this particular night.
The highlight of our meal was the dessert. Now, just a disclaimer that normally Room Four pretty strictly serves ONLY what they call "Candy Bar Cookies" for dessert--a basic cookie with random types of candy bars incorporated. They are served warm with some amazing whipped cream, and they are stellar. But before we ordered those, one of the chefs that we've become chummy with came over and asked if were in the market for dessert. Are we ever not? Of course we said yes. He brought us out one of the desserts from the Recess side that he'd had a hand in creating--hazelnut ricotta cake, sugared pecans, sabayon (a light custard), and coffee ice cream. The cake and ice cream alone weren't very sweet, but the sabayon and nuts provided the perfect amount of sweetness. The whole thing together was complete and delicious. SO good.
If you haven't tried Room Four or Recess yet, do it now. You owe it to yourself to try these wonderful places. Indy has some real culinary talent--now we just have to take advantage of it!
Website:
Room Four/Recess
Tim and I were out running errands a few weekends ago, and needed lunch. Since we were on the north side and I was craving a milkshake, we decided to head to 96th Street Steakburgers.
I opted for a burger with mushrooms and what was supposed to be swiss, but was actually the 'American cheese' version of swiss (you know the stuff I'm talking about--no holes to be found, and tastes nothing like swiss cheese). It's a shame they went with this low-grade version of the swiss, because the mushrooms were outstanding. Freshly sauteed, meaty, well-seasoned, and most importantly, not from a can. I don't understand why they'd go premium on the veggie but cheap on the cheese! Lame. And doubly lame because I could barely taste the mushrooms over the fake cheese taste. The burger patty itself is thin, sort of like Steak-n-Shake, and pretty good, but if the meat seems like an after-thought in this review, it's just because its flavor was also masked by the cheese.
Maybe it's the time of year, what with the holidays making me feel all splurgy and in need of awesome food, or maybe it's just that we'll use any excuse to go there (as I mentioned in my last RF post), but Tim and I found ourselves back at Room Four again this past weekend. We knew we wanted a nice date night dinner, and when I spotted boneless pork ribs with an Asian preparation on the RF menu that afternoon we had to look no further.
Tim started with one of the tacos on offer that night: braised chicken thigh, avocado, grilled red onions,
and cilantro jalapeno salsa ($6). It was delicious. The chicken thighs were juicy and full of flavor, the avocado provided a creaminess, and the salsa added a little spice and freshness. I was sad that I only got one little bite!
Tim once again went with the burger for his main, but this time it was a bit different from others we've had. The (Fisher Farms beef) burger was topped with smoked mozzarella cheese, roasted then pressed san
marzano tomatoes, pickles, onions, and dijonnaise ($16). I again only had a little bite, but man, was it good. Tim was very happy with his choice and said he liked the smokiness of the mozzarella and the roasted tomatoes.
Last week I had the pleasure of going to dinner with two of my friends from high school. We are from a small town in Indiana, but have all ended up just a few miles from one another in Indy, so we try to schedule dinners every few months.
Because it was the holidays, we decided to live on the wild side and split a dessert. We went with the Chocolate Volcano Cake (or something like that--the dessert menu isn't online and I've slept a few times since then). It was really just a brownie-ish chocolate cake topped with ice cream. Delish, but not really what we expected from the description (which made us think it might be like a molten cake, with liquid chocolate inside). 
Another thing I love about Hardesty's restaurants--he is clearly giving young chefs a hand-up. Over the past few years, Tim and I have made RF a regular stop, visiting every-other month or so (more if we can find an excuse to, and we've introduced our fair share of out-of-towners to the place). Two excellent chefs regularly man the RF kitchen, and we've had the pleasure of striking up a friendly banter with both of them. They recognize us and chat with us, and can usually guess what Tim's going to order (not that it's difficult--it's usually the burger). Through this relationship, we've discovered that they develop many of the dishes they serve, and they also seem to develop dishes for Recess, too. I love that so many chefs are getting the chance to contribute. It definitely seems like a real team atmosphere.
Having looked at the menu before we got there, we knew we each wanted to start with a taco. Tim ordered the steak taco to start (skirt steak, carne asada, avocado, queso fresco, chipotle salsa, cilantro $6) and I had the fish taco (fried striped bass, shredded cabbage, radishes, lime creme, jalapenos and cilantro $6). We both agreed that my fish would have benefited from some of the avocado and salsa from his (it was on the drier side), but the fish had a great crunch-fried texture and the cabbage/lime creme combo had a citrusy twinge. The jalapenos made some bites pretty spicy, but you could easily remove if so desired. His steak taco had a great marinated flavor and the salsa added a nice level of spice. Both were served on a double layer of corn tortillas. 
We also both knew that we wanted the burger that night. It's Tim's standard (and the reason why the chefs know what he's going to order); I usually try to switch it up and try something new, but a burger just sounded perfect to me that night. Room Four almost always has a burger of some type--often beef, but sometimes lamb--and usually topped in just slightly different ways depending what's available and fresh. Tonight's burgers (beef from Fisher Farms) came with havarti cheese, pickles, onions, shredded romaine, and house made dijonnaise ($16). It was a classic combo, and stellar. I mean, just look at it! Burgers pretty much always come with their version of fries, which are probably closer to steak fries than anything else. They're cut thick, with a crispy outside and a soft, fluffy, potatoey inside. So good! And yes, it's pricey for a burger, but it's a ton of filling food, made with quality, local ingredients, and completely worth it.
The highlight of our meal was the dessert. Now, just a disclaimer that normally Room Four pretty strictly serves ONLY what they call "Candy Bar Cookies" for dessert--a basic cookie with random types of candy bars incorporated. They are served warm with some amazing whipped cream, and they are stellar. But before we ordered those, one of the chefs that we've become chummy with came over and asked if were in the market for dessert. Are we ever not? Of course we said yes. He brought us out one of the desserts from the Recess side that he'd had a hand in creating--hazelnut ricotta cake, sugared pecans, sabayon (a light custard), and coffee ice cream. The cake and ice cream alone weren't very sweet, but the sabayon and nuts provided the perfect amount of sweetness. The whole thing together was complete and delicious. SO good. 
We placed our orders and went to sit down. After Tim looked at the list of sides for a moment, we put our card up. The waiter promptly appeared and we ordered--mushroom etouffee and cornbread for me, red beans and tomato creole for him. The etouffee was mild, creamy, and almost a bit cheesy (it reminded me a bit of the base for Yats' chili cheese etouffee)--it's on the left side of this picture--yes, the one that's pretty much completely gone (hey, I'm just glad I remembered to take ANY pictures). The cornbread (bottom of pic) was sweet and very moist with actual pieces of corn in it. I really liked it. I'm not a huge fan of beans, but Tim's red beans and rice (top of the pic) was really tasty. I was less a fan of the tomato creole (right side of pic), which was very sweet and very spicy. Everything but the cornbread was served over rice. (And, once again, sorry that the food is half-eaten in the picture.)
Our sandwiches arrived maybe ten minutes after we'd ordered them (the sides had come out very quickly and we finished them before the sandwiches). Tim got the sausage po-boy ($9.50). He shared a bite with me and the rich, smokey andouille went really well with the spicy "Vouxdoux mayo" and very creamy coleslaw that comes standard on all sandwiches. The sausage was cut up into small pieces for easier eating.
I got the catfish po-boy ($10.50), which I also had last time. It's described as being hand-breaded and pan-fried on the menu, and man--it is TASTY. The breading is still nice and crisp, despite the duo of mayos on the sandwich (the Vouxdoux and cole slaw, respectively). My one complaint about these sandwiches is that, while I do love me some mayo, Papa Roux goes kind of overboard. I know that half of the joy of eating these is the complete mess they make (in theory, anyway), but I just think I'd enjoy a bit less. I asked for my Vouxdoux mayo on the side this time and was told that they can't (ahem, won't) do that, but that you can request they go light. I made that request, but honestly didn't notice any less than the first time I had this. Next time, I'll see if requesting less coleslaw helps at all. But despite those drawbacks, this is a really tasty sandwich.
