Tulip Noir

Awhile back, Tim and I somehow ended up being able to go to brunch on a week day together (don't ask me how this happened--I don't even remember).  He wanted to go to Tulip Noir for a late breakfast/early brunch, as he'd gone there before and was really impressed.  I readily agreed.

 Tulip Noir is a small, locally owned breakfast and lunch place near 86th and Ditch Rd.  Their big thing is their French press coffee as well as their enormous tea list.  While several teas sounded intriguing (and they gave us a sample of a fragrant herbal tea that was on special), we both opted for the French press.  I got the House Blend which was supposed to have a lower acidity, and Tim got the French roast, which was more bold.  Each was a two cup press pot, and they were $3 each.  Fun, and a pretty good pot of coffee!  Really, we probably could have split a pot, but it's still cheaper than Starbucks.

Tim opted for Scott's Smokin' Bagel for his breakfast ($10.50).  It was four-grain honey bagel with smoked salmon, dill cream cheese, red onion marmalade, capers, and spinach.  As you can see in the picture, it was 'deconstructed'--not what Tim had expected.  While it's interesting that you can select how much of which items you want on the sandwich, sometimes I just want the chef to put it together into a tasty sandwich FOR me.  Still, Tim really enjoyed the flavors once it was all put together.   (Side note--the dish did include a whole bagel--I believe Tim was holding the top half in this picture, and that's why it's missing.)             

I had Andy's Eggs Benedict ($10.75).  They were outstanding.  Eggs Benedict isn't usually something I order, but on the limited Tulip Noir menu it stood out as sounding the best to me that day.  And hoo-boy, it was delicious.  The hollandaise sauce was buttery and tangy, the ham smokey and salty (as ham is), and the eggs added their rich yolks to the party (well, one of them did--the other was a touch overcooked.  It was the only negative).  All that was sitting on top of a wheat English muffin and a bed of greens that were DRESSED.  Yay!  Thank  you for dressing your greens, Tulip Noir, and not just putting them on there all boring and plain.  They were lightly dressed in a slightly tangy dressing that worked with the hollandaise to cut through the richness of the eggs and ham.  On top were a few little purple chive flowers that gave just enough mild onion flavor (and looked pretty!).

Our breakfast was not particularly cheap, but it was no more expensive than a place like Patachou, and it had better service than that local chain usually does.  Service was very friendly, and the meal was filled with nice touches like the cucumber water we were served when we sat down, the tea samples, etc.  It might not be an every day place for us, but every once in awhile we'll have to get over there!

Website:  Tulip Noir

Fat Dan's

It's been awhile since I've posted.  Okay, a very long while (two months).  My apologies.  Life got in the way, with a move (still in Indy!), trying to sell the old house, busyness at my job...excuses, excuses.

But we've certainly continued to eat during my time away!

We now live quite a bit closer to Broadripple and are deliriously close to all of our favorite haunts over there.  But we've also discovered a new favorite--Fat Dan's Deli.  It's located right next to Twenty Tap, yet we'd never gone in until about a month ago.

Fat Dan's has a very local-bar feel.  It's not very big, and it's the type of place where you want to sit at the bar if you can (we've managed to every time we've been).  Food is carried out to you on a gigantic piece of butcher paper and plopped down unceremoniously.  They've got some decent beers on tap--6 or 8 of those, I think--but the selection isn't nearly as prolific as their twenty-tapped neighbor.  The choices are written on a chalkboard as you enter, with just the basic info (no IBU or ABV values listed here!).

Still, it's a great experience, with tasty food.  The first time there, I got the pulled pork sandwich ($7.75).  It was piled onto a really good bun and served with a side of sauce.  My one complaint?  Not enough sauce for me.  I determined that if I ever order it again, I'd ask for two.  Otherwise, delicious.  Tim got a burger--the Wells St. Burger ($8.25), I believe, which had bacon, gorgonzola, onions, and BBQ sauce.  He really enjoyed it.

We split an order of tater tots ($3.75), and they were perfectly crispy and salty--very satisfying.  On a subsequent trip, we split the Dirty Tots (not on website, I think they were around $7.75), and oh man--they were heaven.  It's a basket of tots covered in melted cheese, hot sauce, green onions, and pulled pork.  It was the perfect greasy-cheesy-smokey-spicy combo.  Someday I'm just going to get an order of those for my meal.  I have no shame.

If you haven't made it over to Fat Dan's yet, I highly recommend you give it a go.  It makes for a great laid-back meal!

Website:  Fat Dan's Deli

Adobo Grill

A few weeks ago, I met some girlfriends at Adobo Grill.  I'd been there once before and had a pretty enjoyable experience, but it's not a place I usually think of going since it's right downtown and parking can potentially be a pain.  We were meeting on a Tuesday evening, though, so parking wasn't bad.  I found a spot not far away, paid the meter, and headed in to meet the girls.

One of my friends had a Groupon, and generously offered to spring for some guacamole ($7.99) for the table.  Adobo does that fancy table-side guacamole making service, which is moderately entertaining to watch, and they customize it for you (spice level, cilantro level, etc.).  It's a solid guacamole, a bit chunky and nice and garlicky.  It's served with some nice thin flour tortilla chips.

We all also got house margaritas ($8.99), which are also pretty solid.  Good amount of lime, a taste of tequila but not overpoweringly so.  I'm not a huge fan of the way they're served in martini glasses--they do make glasses especially for this drink, and they are called margarita glasses, ahem...pretentious much?--but that is me being nit-picky.

For my main dish, I got Enchiladas Carne ($14.99), i.e. shredded beef enchiladas.  The sauce was nice (it was "creamy ancho salsa"), with good chili flavor but not much heat.  It was topped with cheese and sour cream, and served with rice and beans.  They were no duck enchiladas, but they were tasty.  (Side note--we have returned to Delicia a few times since my initial review, and I've gotten the duck enchiladas every time.  Amazing.)

Adobo is a pretty good "fancy" Mexican restaurant.  Do I like others better?  Yes.  Would I generally rather go to a run of the mill strip mall Mexican restaurant where the bill is cheaper and the white cheese sauce flows?  Yes.  But Adobo is tasty, so the occasional outing there is welcome. 

Website:  Adobo Grill

St. Elmo Steak House

A few weeks ago, Tim and I went to dinner with some friends to celebrate both Tim's and our friend Damien's birthdays.  Our goal was to go to Bluebeard, which our friends had not yet tried, but upon arrival at 6:30pm we were told there was a 2.5 hour wait.  Let me say that again--two and a half hours.  Now, was the wait really that long?  Who knows.  But we weren't ready to wait quite that long.  So we began searching for a restaurant that took reservations asap.

As luck would have it, St. Elmo's had some openings, so we headed there.  Upon arrival, we were seated right away in the basement level room.  If you haven't been there before, you should know that St. Elmo's is pretty enormous.  It's a maze of several rooms and levels, and the whole place is decked out in traditional steakhouse wood-and-leather style.

We settled in and ordered some drinks, as well as shrimp cocktail ($15.95).  I'm sure you've had many people tell you about St. Elmo's shrimp cocktail, if you haven't had it yourself, and let me just say that in my opinion, it is delicious.  The shrimp are well cooked and large, and the sauce famously full of horseradish.  Spicy!

Shortly after, we received our bread basket, which as usual contained a couple different kinds of rolls and a cheesy flatbread (my favorites are the flatbread and onion rolls).  Then our orders were taken.  I went with the 8oz filet ($37.95), as did Tim.  Our entrees came with tomato juice or navy bean soup, or we could upgrade to lobster bisque, so Tim and I both did that.  It doesn't look too impressive in the picture, but it was really delicious--creamy and flavorful and full of lots of large pieces of lobster.  Can't remember how much the upgrade fee was, but it was worth it, no matter what.  Really delicious.


Soon after (but not too soon after), our entrees came.  The picture is dark, but our filets had lovely char marks on them and were cooked PERFECTLY.  They were also seasoned PERFECTLY.  I generally like a good amount of salt on a steak, but I didn't have to add any at all, whereas Tim normally likes things light on salt, and he didn't think it was too salty.  PERFECT.  St. Elmo's may be pricey, but they cook a good steak.  Our sides were mashed redskin potatoes, which are garlicky and yummy and satisfyingly carby next to all that red meat.

Had to include a picture of our friend Jeff's prime rib...it was enormous!!!  He said it was cooked perfectly and very tasty.  He was also quite impressed with the service at St. Elmo's (it was his first visit).  The waiters there are professionals, for sure--they know what they're doing.  Attentive without being in your face, great with recommendations, know the menu well, the timing of the meal is good--just all-around great service.  It's a place for special occasions, and they do make the occasion special.

Side note:  If you want the experience at a discount, go on Sundays.  They have their usual Devour Downtown menu on offer year-round on Sundays:  $35 for an app (salad or the shrimp cocktail), main course (filet is an option), and dessert.  Great deal!

Website:  St. Elmo Steak House

Thunderbird

I had been wanting to try Thunderbird since it opened, so I convinced Tim and two of our friends to go there for dinner a few Saturdays ago.  I'd heard a bit about it, and knew the cocktails were the focus, but the menu sounded interesting, also.

The menu I'd seen (and linked to, below), unfortunately, wasn't priced the same as the one at the actual restaurant.  If you take a look, there are several items priced at $10, but several are also priced at $4.  So, I figured we could each get a $10 dish (which I assumed would be bigger), and a few of the $4 dishes to share, allowing us to taste several items plus a couple of drinks.  It would be pricey, but no worse than several other restaurants in town.

Therefore, we were rather displeased to see that ALL of the food items are now priced at $10 (well, except for a few 'snacks').  Some of these items include hush puppies, ham croquettes, and a mac & cheese that comes in a tiny ramekin.  Not paying $10 each for those, sorry!

So, what did we get?  I opted for the pimento grilled cheese, and it was a good-sized sandwich filled with the aforementioned pimento cheese, tomato, and pickles.  On the side were pickled peppers, which (forgive the Emerilism) really kicked the sandwich up a notch--seriously good with those added.  Was it worth $10?  Eh, I don't know about that, especially since it came with no fries or chips or anything on the side, but it was a tasty sandwich.

Tim got the duck neck biscuits and gravy, and he loved it.  It was one decently sized biscuit that was covered in gravy made with duck neck meat (I imagine the neck itself also imparted its own flavor into the whole thing).  The meat was finely shredded and tender.  It was topped with a fried egg and some micro-greens, and the whole thing was tasty enough that one of our friends ended up ordering it after tasting  Tim's (he had originally opted just the crisp hominy, $4, thinking that we weren't going to stay long.  For the record, he did enjoy that, too!).


 Our other friend got the chicken and hoecake sandwich.  This was a fried "buttermilk" chicken thigh between two cornmeal hoecakes, topped with smoked cheddar and bacon honey butter.  Sounds great, right?  Unfortunately, he reported that the whole thing suffered from a lack of flavor.  It wasn't seasoned enough, and the hoecake was somewhat flavorless, also.  Maybe more bacon honey butter would have helped?

I did force Tim into dessert, because the beignets with espresso cream cheese ($4) were calling my name.  You can barely see them in the picture (apologies for the poor quality/lighting of all the pics, but it was super dark in the back corner where we were seated), but we got four donut balls covered in a slightly sweet cream cheese icing and sprinkled with what I think may have been tarragon.  These were SUPER good.  Not exactly like the beignets I've had in New Orleans, but they did hearken back to those, texture-wise, and they tasted fantastic.

We did have several of the cocktails, but I the pictures turned out crazy dark.  I started with the Ti' Punch ($9), which is La Favorite Rhum Agricole, Lime, and Cane Sugar.  It was good, but not overly complex--it mostly just tasted of lime.  Which, again, is good in my book, because I like lime, but not overly special.  I also had the Joke About Jamaica ($9), which is Smith & Cross Rum, Gosling's Rum, Montenegro Amaro, Lime, and Pomegranate Demerara.  The pomegranate gave this one a more floral, fruity kick, and I really liked it.  Only negative I'd give about either of these, is that my glasses were only about 2/3 full.  They still packed a punch, but come on--they are $9.  Top off the glass.

The final conclusion we came to when we were done was that we'd primarily go there just for cocktails...but if we just want cocktails, Tim and I, at least, would pick Ball & Biscuit any day.  I'd be happy to go there with friends if someone wanted to, but I don't know that I'd suggest it myself--I wasn't blown away enough.  However, if they ever update their menu and reconsider their food price points, that might be a good reason to try it again!

Website:  Thunderbird  (again, warning that the prices aren't up to date)

Aristocrat Pub: Bier Brewery Beer Dinner

A week or so ago, the Aristocrat Pub held a beer dinner with Bier Brewery.  It was reasonably priced ($30) and we LOVE Bier, so we decided to give it a try.

This was different than the other two beer dinners we've been to, in that it was much less formal--there was no official menu posted beforehand and no assigned seating.  And it turns out that the Aristocrat mostly just used items off its normal menu, rather than create a whole slew of new dishes.  The surprise was that this actually worked pretty well!  Just about all of the dishes paired with their respective beer pretty beautifully.


The six-course meal started with a little crock of beer cheese, which came with crostini (they were thoroughly crusty and buttery) and granny smith apples.  This went really well with Bier's Special K Kolsch: a German-style ale very similar to a pilsner, but more aromatic and less bitter, and which is a great, clean, drinkable beer.  The beer cheese was good--would have been great with a soft pretzel (looks like it's served with pretzel bread on their regular menu)--but not warm at all, sadly.  I imagine it sat around waiting for the event to get underway.

Next they brought us Belgian Blonde (a light pale ale similar to a Belgian Triple, but slightly sweeter and with less alcohol, but still over 6%) to go with a kale and bean salad.  The salad was warm and surprising--there was a lot of acid in it, and quite a bit of heat.  I wasn't sure about it at first, because I'm not huge on beans, but I ended up eating most of the kale because it was pretty tasty.  I didn't see this one on their regular menu.  The beer was great.  I'm a huge fan of Belgian beers, and this was a solid Belgian Pale Ale.  Not bitter at all, with a smooth finish.

Our third course was a little crab cake, along with Bier's DFG IPA, an American Double IPA, which packs an alcoholic and hoppy punch!  I generally despise IPA's (I am not at all a fan of hoppy beers), but I actually, and to Tim's great delight, liked this one.  Probably couldn't drink a whole glass, but I did enjoy it, I'll admit.  And it went well with the dish.  The crab cake was really very good, which is saying a lot since I don't normally like them, either.  If you are looking for a mostly lump crab meat, hardly any filler, fresh, chunky crab cake, this one isn't for you...it was pretty creamy inside, but in a good way, and was fried crisp on the outside.  I really dug it with the chipotle mayo on top and greens with a tangy dressing on the side (and a squeeze of lemon).  Very satisfying couple of bites.  This one's on the menu.

Fourth course was portobello raviolis in a marsala cream sauce.  It doesn't look like much in the picture--it was VERY heavily sauced--but I love a lot of sauce, especially when it's as good as this one was.  The raviolis were meaty and mushroomy, and the sauce had that slightly sweet marsala wine flavor, and was well-seasoned.  It contained a few slices of button or crimini mushrooms, also.  This dish also suffered from not being very warm, but Tim and I both still loved this it--it was that good. I'm sad to say I don't see it on the regular menu!  They have other pasta dishes--maybe they'll add this one someday.  I know it seems crazy to consider going to a pub and ordering pasta, but this was really flavorful.  Yum.  The beer was their Belgian Dark Strong, a robust, malty, dark beer with a slightly sweet finish that balances out the high the high alcohol content (about 8.5%) nicely.  Again, I love Belgian beers, and this was in my wheelhouse.

Our next course was Bier's Chinookalicious with fish tacos.  I really enjoyed my taco.  The fish itself was cod, battered and fried crispy--I'm assuming it's essentially their fish and chips fish that's been re-purposed.  They break it up so you don't have one huge piece and it's easier to eat, then top it with a jalepeno slaw that was outstanding, and an avocado/cilanto/tomatilla salsa that adds nice tang.  I'd totally order these again some day.  Well balanced, good textures.  On the other hand, I am not a fan of Chinookalicious.  Many, many people LOVE it (Tim included), and they are entitled to do so, but this IPA made with Chinook hops is just too bitter for this gal.


To finish, we had a special beer--an Oak Aged Pumpkin Porter.  It deserved a great dessert, and was perfectly paired with a flourless chocolate cake.  I'm not normally a massive chocolate person, but it went so well with the beer, and there were some candied walnuts adding crunch.  It was a great way to end the night!  The beer was spicy in a fall pumpkin pie spice way, but with no cloying flavors--they were all mellowed by the oak barrel aging.  Really smooth, really delicious.  And special--this one is a rare seasonal they held back just for us!

Aristocrat is not one of our regular haunts--we've been there a few times, but never to eat.  It's got some tough competition, being just down the street from Twenty Tap and a myriad of other fantastic restaurants.  I venture to say that it will be more on our radar, now, though.  We had a lovely experience, and as at other beer dinners, we had entertaining conversation with the folks we were sitting next to.  All around, a lot of fun.  Give beer dinners a try!

(I just have to add a special thanks to my husband, Tim, for helping me with the beer descriptions!)

Websites:  The Aristocrat Pub and Bier Brewery

Szechwan Garden

A few Saturdays ago, Tim and I went to Szechwan Garden at Lafayette and 38th.  He and his co-workers had recently started going there at lunch, and he was very impressed, especially with the dumplings he had.  He had noted that they serve dim sum on the weekends, and we'd both always wanted to try dim sum, so off we went.

First, a brief explanation for the uninitiated--servers come by with carts that are filled with bamboo steamers and plates of food.  They tell you what they have; you select a few; they stamp a card on your table to show the cashier what you bought.  Most of the plates came with three pieces of whatever the item was.  Since everything was in Chinese, and we had no idea how much we were paying for each item, we decided to just go with it and eat until we were full.

I won't go into detail about everything we had, but you can see from the pictures that we were pretty dumpling-happy.  The top left was a relatively standard steamed dumpling with pork, if I recall; the one on the top right was shumai that contained some shrimp.  Bottom left contained shrimp and pea shoots (this was one of my favorites); bottom right were a pan-fried version with pork and scallions.  They did offer us a hot chili paste dipping sauce; I would have loved a soy/ponzu based dipping sauce, too.  (Tim said they serve one when you order dumplings off the menu--we probably could have asked for it.)

The highlight for me, though, was the pork buns--yeasty rolls stuffed with barbecue pork (picture to the left).  So amazing.  I wished they had come by earlier; if they had, we probably would have had two plates of them.  Yum. 

The other highlight for me was the sesame balls.  These odd, sweet little nuggets were first introduced to us by some Chicago friends, and I've wanted to try them again ever since.  Well, there they were, and they were as good as I remembered.  They're glutenous inside--I believe they're made with rice flour--and are stuffed with sweet red bean paste.  And yet, they are crispy on the outside because they've been deep fried, and with the nutty coating of sesame seeds... it's just a strange and wonderful experience to eat one.  You have to try one for yourself to understand.

As I mentioned, we have no idea how much each individual item was, but our total came to around $20 for 6 plates of food, so I'd imagine they are each in the $3-$4 range (some cost more than others, I'm certain).  Not bad, and we certainly left full.

I would love to go back for more dim sum, now that we know what to do.  And I'd also like to try their regular menu, which Tim assures me is also tasty.

No website, but here's their Urbanspoon page:  Szechwan Garden