End of March

So, I got some business from my friends. They are telling me that, even though they aren't official followers, there are people who are reading my blog, and they were upset that I hadn't written anything this month. So! Thank you for telling me! I honestly thought that no one was reading, and that I was doing this in vain. Apparently, I was wrong. So THANK YOU FOR READING! Even if you are a lurker!

So here's a background on what I've done this month...

Marco's - very popular place! Apparently, especially popular with the gay culture (didnt know!). Pretty decent food, and lots of it! Brian thought it was a little too pricey, and we had to wait forever to be seated. Our waitress was also really nice, and really helpful. Overall it was pretty decent.

Brickhouse Burgers - this is a new restaurant where Damon's used to be off of Kentucky and 465. DO NOT WASTE YOUR TIME HERE. The service is terrible, we waited for more than a half hour to get our drink order, they poured the most nasty Guinness I've ever tasted in my life, and Erin got sick off of the food. There was pretty much no redeeming value to this place.

*Scotty's Lakehouse - this is a new location in the Scotty's local chain. Its on Brookschool and Fall Creek near Geist Reservoir. They have a condensed version of Scotty's huge menu from other locations, and they have Sunday brunch by Cafe' Patchou. I had the "Hippie with a Benz" omelette. It was very good, but very very overpriced. Lucky for us, there was a huge party going on so it took almost an hour to get our food. They felt so bad they comped our meal. It probably wouldln't happen again, and I'm not sure I'm willing to pay as much as they wanted me to in the future. But I will probably go by there this summer to try out some of their burgers!

I don't have much more to review. Unfortunately, I'm on both a diet and a budget, so I've been eating at home and taking my lunch pretty much every day. But every time I try something new and local, I will make sure to keep you updated!

Thanks again, lurkers!

March 2nd - Tegry Bistro

I decided I really wanted sushi for lunch. Unfortunately, I was sick of the sub-par sushi they serve at Marsh, and they closed a great local Japanese restaurant down the street - Daruma. So instead, I decided to try a new Asian bistro down the street called Tegry Bistro. Brian even decided to join me! We walked in, and the place is beautiful. Very fancy for a lunch spot. We were seated, and we ordered the chicken teriyaki / California roll bento box to share. It came with delicious miso soup, a salad with sweet ginger dressing, and the bento box. In the bento was the teriyaki chicken, a 4 pc California roll, a small serving of steamed rice, some mixed veggies (broccoli, carrots, squash) and some orange slices. All of that food was $10.99. It really was a delicious assortment, and I was glad Brian and I shared it.
Aside from the fancy decor, the only other complaint is that the Tegry Bistro is probably not a good place to go for lunch when you only have a half hour to eat. Go see them when you have a little bit more time to enjoy the food, instead of worrying about being late getting back to work.

February 27th - 14 West

Brian and I celebrated our "second" anniversary this weekend. I picked 14 West as our restaurant because they are local, and they also have a local only part of their menu. On the local only menu, they serve 4 items where everything on your plate came from farms in Indiana. They also talk a little about the farms, where they are located, and how the farmers raise their produce.
Anyway, this place is not only a local jewel, but the food is absolutely fantastic. It may just be the best food I have ever had in my life.
We started off with the crab cake. Although Indianapolis isn't known for its crab cakes, this one was incredibly delicious. It had tons of crab, and just a little bit of cake. But it didn't stop there. The crabcake had a poached egg on top, and sides of applewood smoked bacon, and sauteed mushrooms. But my very favorite part was the amazing hollandaise sauce that the chef put between the egg and the crabcake. I swear, its the best hollandaise I've ever had in my life!
After that, we shared a caesar salad. The dressing was perfectly blended. Not too sour, not too salty, and definitely not too anchovi-ey. Perfect. And the best part of our salad was the parmesan crustinis that they put in the middle of the salad. So when you got a bite of food, it went lettuce, cheese crustini, lettuce, crouton. Delicious! And just the way this cheese girl loves it!
For our main dish, I chose the local pork chop covered with brie and blackberry compote, served with a side of vanilla apples. The pork was cooked perfectly, and the vanilla apples were an excellent touch to bring out the flavors of the dish. It was just too big for me to finish! But I was really glad I ordered it. Brian got a USDA Prime Grade center cut filet, with a side of parmesan peppercorn frites. He let me have a couple of bites, and man - that was one good steak!

For dessert, we ordered a Viennese Apple Strudel, in honor of the trip to Germany we are taking this fall. They wrote "Happy Anniversary" in caramel around the plate, and it was really really good. It was the most authentic tasting strudel I've had here in the Midwest.

This was definitely a place I will go again. We may have to wait for another special occasion to do so, but I will definitely look forward to the day we can go again. Who would've thought that a "local" place would be better than those expensive steakhouse chains?

February 21st - Bagel Fair

I was on a NY kick this weekend, and I mentioned to Brian that I didn't think any bagel shops in this city really had a good authentic NY style bagel. The ones that are hard on the outside, and soft and chewy on the inside. Anyway, he totally disagreed with me and told me that Bagel Fair in Nora was where my dream bagel could be found. We walked into Bagel Fair, and I wasn't too impressed with what I saw. Lucky for me, my eyes were quickly overruled by my stomach. Bagel Fair's Everything Bagel was THE BEST Everything Bagel I have ever had in my life. No exaggeration. They cover every inch of the outside with all the delicious Everything Bagel ingredients that are required - poppy, onion, salt, sesame, etc. And the outside was crispy and crunchy, but the inside... Pure bagel heaven. And actually, pretty inexpensive. We got two bagels, both with cream cheese (or schmear, if you're gonna be a New Yorker about it!) for less than $5. Try to get that kind of quality goodness at one of those crappy bagel chains. And no one can hold a candle to Bagel Fair's Everything...
Makes me want another one right now!

February 20th - Shapiro's Deli

Saturday afternoon, I needed a deli. A New York deli. So, I convinced Brian that we had to go to the most New York-like deli in Indianapolis - Shapiro's. For those of you from the city, Shapiro's is an Indianapolis staple in the deli scene. Their sandwiches are huge, their bakery items fresh, and their potato salad tastes like it came straight from NYC. In fact, so is their pastrami. Literally. They bring it in from Brooklyn. Which is the only reason why I can accept the fact that they were out of pastrami on a Saturday afternoon - the truck with the delivery must be stuck in a snow drift between here and there. So we shared a corned beef sandwich instead. (I wanted a reuben, but I conceeded to corned beef alone for Brian's sake.) Remember how I said the sandwiches were huge? I wasn't kidding. The thing was gigantic, which made me really glad I split it with my hubbs. My half of the sandwich with a kosher pickle spear and some potato salad, my NY deli craving was cured.

February 14th - Valentine's Day at Pizzaology!

My husband and I, being the romantic people we are, decided to go out for pizza on Valentine's Day. We decided to try out a new pizza place at 131st Street and Hazel Dell called Pizzaology. Let me tell you, it was totally worth the drive up there. They have all kinds of great pizzas to choose from, and after they're baked to New York Style perfection in their 800 degree oven, I swear I took a bite of a slice in Little Italy. Their atmosphere is an upscale design, making you think of a restaurant in SoHo, but their wait staff wears jeans, t-shirts and sweatshirts so you know you are in fact still in a pizza place. Speaking of the wait staff - I haven't found friendlier or more helpful waiters and waitresses in a LONG time. They really know their stuff, and they want to make sure you pick the pizza (or appetizer or entree) that you're going to love. And trust me, we did. We had their formaggio un salumi platter for our appetizer (yummy cheese and salamis... how could you go wrong?), and their four cheese pizza. Absolute heaven. We will definitely drive up there for pizza again sometime. And for a huge 13 inch pizza for $13, we may come out even better off financially after the gas up there! $13 to feed two? Almost unheard of these days!

Anyway, definitely try it out. Especially if you're a NY style pizza lover like me. Sometime soon I'll have to eat at and review a good local deep dish place for you Chicago style fans. A couple come to mind, but for some reason, so does England... Hmmm... =P

Feb 13th - Broad Ripple Brew Pub

Broad Ripple Brew Pub is a classic Broad Ripple staple. If you haven't been there, you definitely need to try it out. They brew all of their own beers on draft, plus have a ton of variety in bottles and cans. I had their Oatmeal Java Stout called Replic Ale. It was so delicious, I actually sat, sipped and enjoyed by beer thoughout my meal instead of downing it like the sorority girl I am. They also have really good food. My favorite is the cheese crock and homemade soft pretzels. They also have great burgers, fancy food, and vegetarian and vegan friendly dishes. Although it has been said their servers can come across as a tad bit arrogant, I think they have ever right to be proud of their restaurant. I know I would be!