Swoon List: 5 Things We Adore Right Now
Latitude 39, a rambling family-entertainment center laid out in the gutted multiplex at Clearwater Crossing, contains not only a large dining room built around an open kitchen and a ceramic-tiled pizza hearth, but also a dine-in cinema, a dinner theater, and a sports theater with full food-and-beverage service. Not that you would notice any of these. The fact that you can eat here gets lost somewhere between the row of Skee-ball ramps and the 20-lane luxury bowling alley with disco balls and white leather sofas.
A homey, stick-to-your-ribs rustic chicken pie from Duo’s Kitchen (2960 N. Meridian St., 317-508-8614), with plenty of chunky veggies and a crisp square of puff pastry on top. Hearty and completely vegan vegetable curry with coconut and just the right amount of heat at
But let’s look at the bright side. When Patrick’s reopened in October, it did so with an upgraded kitchen (a far cry from the previous four-burner setup), a tweaked menu, and a new executive chef (Roger Duran, formerly of Barcelona Tapas and Creation Cafe). “It was almost like starting over again with a brand-new restaurant,” Dickerson says. Mussels in a white-wine broth with sausage and tomatoes, butterflied Cornish hen, and grilled salmon with a warm salad of potatoes and Brussels sprouts headline the latest dishes. But the new chef was smart enough to keep the restaurant’s favorite savory pastry, the spinach-and-artichoke torta, and all of its decadent layers. Thankfully, the Brick Street Blond Chili didn’t go anywhere, either.
The stuffed pizzas—especially the one crammed full of sausage and pepperoni, oozing mozzarella from every crack in its double-crusted construction—at red-saucy So Italian (515 E. Main St., Brownsburg, 317-858-4777). The frothy, fruity Ginger Pear Martini at Tini (717 Ma
I glanced up from my butternut-and-acorn squash salad just as a group of business-dressed women in CityWay hard hats filed past Cerulean’s courtyard windows—on what looked like a guided tour of this $155 million mixed-use complex-in-the-making. When complete, the downtown site will house a boutique hotel, townhomes, shops, a park, a YMCA, and this gorgeous fishbowl of a restaurant where lunch arrives in westernized polished-walnut bento boxes. I wondered, as I plucked bites of balsamic-glazed pork loin, green beans spiked with vinaigrette, and spicy chorizo–crumbled potatoes from their individual compartments, if that tour group was as captivated by the soaring modern floorplan as I was by my lunch. It’s easy to get excited about this much new-urban design and sauce-painted dishware. But should we resist the temptation to fawn over all the pretty plates? Does the style have substance? Or have we fallen under the spell of a very impressive dog-and-pony show?
The miniature cheeseburger off the kid’s menu at Oh Yumm Bistro (5615 N. Illinois St., 317-251-5656), a juicy little slider, respectfully seasoned and chargrilled, tucked inside a soft pretzel bun.
An ice-cold shot of house-infused banana liqueur delivered by self-appointed house mixologist Jarod at
Sweet sticky rice with fresh mango, a rare treat at Siam Square (936 Virginia Ave., 317-636-8424). The nectar-ripe fruit is served with a room-temp puck of starchy rice thickened with coconut milk. New chef Christopher Bator’s whimsical take on banana cream pie with pistachio cream and a pastry tuille at
With all due respect to the breaded tenderloin, burgers are getting a lot of attention right now. And this meat-patty crush has nothing to do with size or the fripperies of melted cheese and mayo. In the land of exalted greasy spoons and seasoned backyard grills, the virtue of a burger has everything to do with the quality, the flavor, and (at a time when dishes wear their farm-raised/locally sourced origins like designer labels) the provenance of the meat itself. Hence: the love fest that occurred when downtown’s quick-casual Punch Burger opened its doors in October.
