Frosty, Party of One
Spotted dining al fresco at Tastings today.
Depending on which home magazines you subscribe to, the French flea market trappings of Carmel’s darling brunch spot Eggshell Bistro (51 W. City Center Dr., Carmel, 317-660-1616) will give you either a serious case of decorator’s envy … or a petit headache. Larry Hanes, owner of the eatery in its first weeks of business in the brand-new Carmel City Center, has amassed an impressive collection of vintage flair, from the ’50s-era manual Italian espresso machine with a metal grill and wooden knobs to the antique cinnamon grinder at the coffee bar. And it all comes to roost in this sunny corner spot. Diners are seated in vintage blue and yellow metal Tolix chairs, at marble tables topped with Orangina bud vases. Even the banged-up institutional trash can and paper towel dispenser in the ladies room are covetable in a shabby chic kind of way.
The Bloody Mary at The Local Eatery & Pub (14655 N. Gray Rd., Westfield, 317-218-3786). Presented in a chilled Mason jar rimmed with kosher salt, this generous pour of house-infused habanero organic vodka from American Harvest has a spicy but clean finish. Garnishes range from garlic blossoms to pickled chard. Sweet
An elaborate new setup involving plenty of red lacquer and a pervasive dusky amber glow has given sushi-and-cigar purveyor Bu Da Lounge (148 E. Market St., 317-822-8522) plenty of room to spread out and reinvent itself. The multi-level space just east of Monument Circle and west of City Market includes a main room dominated by a monster of a bar left over from the address’s past life as the upscale J. Pierpont’s Restaurant and Bar, one of downtown’s finest during the Market Square Arena days. (Scenes from the movie Eight Men Out were filmed in the vintage classical revival building.) From there, the space honeycombs into dark nooks and sexy ante bars adorned with Buddha statues, paper lanterns, and lotus motifs.
The fun-to-order Purple Raintini at Mass Ave’s new sliver of a martini bar, Tini (717 N. Massachusetts Ave., 317-384-1313). The Multivitamin juice at Natural Born Juicers (222 E. Market St., 317-797-4254), frothy and flavorful goodness loaded with vitamin C, carrot, apple, and orange–the perfect remedy for the gluttonous post-holid
The Penne Medici at downtown’s new Lorenzo’s Ristorante (15 E. Maryland St., 317-635-3096), tossed with roasted chicken, artichokes, sun dried tomatoes, and capers. The crock of bubbling-hot spinach dip served with warm, salty tortillas at Champions (350 W. Maryland St., 405-6111). The vibrantly colore
The Traitor, a deliciously updated Eggs Benedict at Ruth’s Keystone Cafe (3443 E. 86th St., 317-757-8006). It features two eggs poached (to such creamy-dense perfection that we wish this kitchen would run a workshop on the lost art), placed atop seasoned mashed-potato pancakes (instead of the traditional English muffin) and drizzled with a luscious Hollandaise that rides the rich lemony-buttery-creamy flavor wave. A
The corn “creme brulee” at Divvy (71 W. City Center Dr., Carmel, 317-706-0000), sweet but not overpowering, with firm kernels, a great creamy sauce, and the signature burnt topping. The artfully plated gorgonzola-stuffed chicken with scalloped potatoes and asparagus at
The Hyatt’s rooftop revolving restaurant, The Eagle’s Nest (1 S. Capitol Ave., 317-616-6170), quietly unveiled a tasteful facelift last week. In sedate champagne hues, with crisp white-leather seating and metallic wallpaper—it’s a P. Diddy video up there—the updated space does not compete with its own 360-degree view of a downtown Indy after dark, lit up like a Lite-Brite board. Diners sink into booths so deep (some equipped with throw pillows) that they can barely reach their Flirtinis and Lemon Drops, while Sade provides the obvious background track.
The make-your-own sundae bar at Dave’s All-American Pizza and Eatery (1247 W. Main St., Danville, 317-745-6942), with hand-dipped vanilla ice cream and a spread of toppings that includes marshmallow fluff, butterscotch, strawberries, whipped cream, sprinkles, and, of course, thick, hot fudge. The decadently rich Artichoke Cream Cheese Spread from the deli at Pogue’s Run Grocer (2828 E. 10th St., 317-426-496
Last week, Kevin “Woody” Rider opened Divvy (71 W. City Center Dr., Carmel, 317-706-0000), a sleek, small-plate restaurant in Carmel’s Arts & Design District. This isn’t Rider’s first rodeo, though. In 1998, he transformed a historic 1913 Andrew Carnegie library into Woody’s Library Restaurant (40 E. Main St., Carmel, 317-573-4444), an haute Hoosier eatery that is still going strong. Before that, he owned Parcel Pizza, and he opened the rural-gourmet outpost Bonge’s Tavern (9830 W. 280 North, Perkinsville,765-734-1625), a spot famous for its pre-meal tailgating. Divvy—for which Rider has enlisted his wife Richelle (who was chef at Scholar’s Inn for 10 years) to helm the kitchen—lists Thai chili-frizzled frogs legs with creme fraiche, pheasant sausage, and petite buffalo burgers among its small-plates offerings.
When the Super Bowl Host Committee tweeted a call for restaurant recommendations to give visiting Super Bowl fans a proper taste of their host city, we immediately thought of The Libertine’s neoclassic cocktails, Sensu’s sexy sushi, and (duh) St. Elmo’s shrimp cocktail. Harry & Izzy’s came to mind–especially those new bone-in mini chops on the starter menu, as well as The Eagle’s Nest, which debuts a new look this week. And how could we forget the housemade pickles and peanut butter (and everything that comes out after them) at Black Market? Yum.
Proving that he cannot forget where it is that he comes from, Bloomington rocker John Mellencamp treated his girlfriend, actress Meg Ryan, to a 50th birthday party at Dunaway’s Palazzo Ossigeno (351 S. East St., 317-638-7663) on Saturday. In town for a performance at Clowes Memorial Hall, Mellencamp also flew in Ryan’s pal Kathy Najimy (of Sister Act fame), who ordered an undressed salad and vegetable plate. The party of 11 sat at a long table in the fireplace room, under the chandelier. Bottles of wine were ordered for the guests, “but he had Sierra Mist, and she had water,” says the restaurant’s office and events manager, Connie McDonald.
