Swoon List: 5 Things We Adore Right Now
The vegetarian BLT from The Owlery in Bloomington, thin strips of crispy fried tofu served on thick-cut farm bread with tangy house mayo, fresh avocado, and—well, you know the rest. Frozen-treat bicycle cart Nicey Treat’s Nice Dream popsicle, fresh-squeezed orange juice around a creamy vanilla
Pot stickers stuffed with sweet-potato puree, corn, and ginger, and served with a fiery kimchee and sweet miso butter sauce at Mesh (725 Massachusetts Ave., 317-955-9600). It debuted last weekend as a special, but we’re told that a similar dish should stick around for a while. The peppery wild boar with wild mushrooms from
Keystone at the Crossing continues to fill in in the gaps along its new restaurant row. You could chart a course with points of culinary interest along the way: Seasons 52, First Watch, Late Harvest Kitchen, the north-side Harry & Izzy’s outpost, and the recently opened Brewstone Beer Company, in the former Music Mill location. On June 7, diners will have one more place to refuel, post The Container Store. That’s when Ocean Prime, an Ohio-based “modern American supper club,” opens its ninth location at 8555 N. River Road, on the eastern edge of The Fashion Mall.
Truffled bologna from the deli case at Goose the Market (2503 N. Delaware St., 317-924-4944). Peppercorn-studded lunchmeat channels the nutty, musky essence of black truffles. The sweet-tart pickled red onions, sliced thin, flecked with mustard seeds, and offered as a deliciously bracing relish alongside the artichoke dip appetizer at
In honor of National Grilled Cheese Day, we are having tomato-soup dreams about three of our favorites in town: The panini-grilled three-cheese version at Pogue’s Run Grocer (2828 E. 10th St., 317-426-4963); the spectacular Scratch Truck grilled cheese adorned with red-wine–braised short rib, caramelized onions, and arugula; and our own monstrosity, Trisha Lindsley’s Mac Daddy, stuffed with pulled pork and mac ‘n’ cheese, assembled by checklist at The Night Porter (921 Broad Ripple Ave., 317-253-5252).
Newly appointed as the head chef of Meridian Restaurant & Bar (5694 N. Meridian St., 317-466-1111) Layton Roberts brings some lusty, low-country cooking to Meridian-Kessler. (SPOILER ALERT: That means the return of the fried chicken dinner.) The 30-year-old toque, who started his career in Louisville before arriving in Indianapolis five years ago, headed up the kitchen at 14 West and most recently served as chef de cuisine at Mesh on Mass—an impressive resume in its own right. Using a dog-eared Meridian menu heavily annotated with handwritten notes as his show-and-tell, Roberts gives us a preview of what he has planned for one of Indy’s longest-standing eateries.
Cinnamon oatmeal cookies from Thr3e Wise Men Brewing Company (1021 Broad Ripple Ave., 317-255-5151). The four warm cookies, made with spent grains from the brewery, are perfect for those who enjoy a less sweet treat. The Big Nasty from McAlister’s Deli. Over a third of a pound of tender, Black Angus roast beef served open-face on a toasted baguette with black peppered-gravy and cheddar-jack cheese.
317 soda, created by Neal Brown for a local upstart called uFlavor, which is trying to put the words “artisanal” and “soda pop” together (our observation, not theirs). Brown’s drink melds clementine, bitters, vanilla, and pure cane sugar for a longneck drink worthy of a spot on
Just the name “bread pudding” brings to mind homey images of gingham tablecloths and grandma’s kitchen. Or, at the very least, Paula Deen. But recently, this down-to-earth dessert (traditionally a means for repurposing stale bread) has made its way from the recipe card to the menus of some of the trendier restaurants in town.
Breaded rainbow trout at Carnegie’s Restaurant of Greenfield (100 W. North St., Greenfield, 317-462-8480), which arrives perfectly cooked over crispy potatoes. The fluffy, doughy breadsticks at Pizzology (13190 Hazel Dell Parkway, Carmel, 317-844-2550), served with
The gooey cinnamon bread (more like coffeecake) that they bring to your table at Willie & Red’s (40 E. Main St., Hagerstown, 765-489-4131). The rich, caramelized morsels will ruin you for dessert. The hulking bone-in rib-eye, doused liberally as it cooks with good old Worcestershire and steak sauce at Hal’s Fabulous Vegas Bar & Grille (1133 N. State Road 135, Greenwoo
