Top Five: Indy's Romantic Tables
At one end of Cerulean, an enclosed birchwood hut called “The Nest” makes for a cozy hideaway.
After arriving in Indianapolis last August, Nic Mink has already carved out quite the niche for himself as the “Salmon Guy.” He was hired by Butler University’s Center for Urban Ecology as an urban sustainable foods fellow to help develop and administrate the Indy Food Fund
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
Playful craft-cocktail concoctions like the Fire & Ice margarita will come with a mild basil-hibiscus-habanero reduction, chilled with balls of ice made with three chiles. “The more the ice melts, the hotter and hotter the drink gets,” says Harlan-Oprisu. Fans of New Latin fare can munch ceviche and warm octopus tostones to their hearts’ content. There will be salads draped with nopales (cactus), seared scallops drizzled with tequila-lime crema, and stewed pork flavored with plantains. And in the spring, she plans to offer street or takeaway fare next door at La Piccolina.
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.
Though the food still screams “bar fare,” there are a few pleasant surprises. For starters, the cleverly skewered Gunthorp Farms Bacon Picks come with custom sauces, and the boards of pickled vegetables, cheeses, and meats are locally sourced. The Apple Butta’ Backyard BBQ Burger (Sun King–battered onion rings, slaw, bacon, and Fair Oaks Farms cheddar on a pretzel roll) is the best pick among the menu’s bevy of burgers and fries.
Hailing from western Germany, husband-and-wife team Bernd and Ramona Muenzer now play host at their cozy Deutsch-focused restaurant in the heart of Paoli, minutes from the Paoli Peaks ski slopes. Almost everything there has been imported from the homeland—including the bric-a-brac adorning the walls and tables. Warming spoonfuls of rich and fragrant paprika-scented Hungarian goulash and a tall glass of dunkel (pronounced “doonk-el”) beer provide the perfect way to warm up after a day on the hills. Follow up with a Grosse Platte Fur, a family-style platter with a hand-cut schnitzel coated in homemade breadcrumbs, links of Bavarian bratwurst, parsley-specked spaetzle, and sauerkraut. Linger late into the night over a warm cup of gluhwein (hot red wine with cloves, lemon, and cinnamon) and a slice of Ramona’s Dreamcake, layered goodness made with mandarin oranges, vanilla sugar, and sour cream. Guten Appetit!
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
Hired in September to take over the kitchen at Dunaway’s Palazzo Ossigeno, returning Hoosier chef Christopher Bator has already made some impressive menu tweaks. The former Florida private chef (who counted Tiger Woods and Tim Durham among his clients) plans to supplement Dunaway’s traditional steaks and chops with local produce and in-house charcuterie. We have fallen hard for his scallops in lemon beurre blanc and a refashioned banana cream pie. What else can we expect from this new toque in town?
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?
Few things disrupt the normal order of life like a fire. For local diners, the most jarring aspect of the August 2011 blaze that destroyed the kitchen and large swaths of the roof at The Aristocrat Pub & Restaurant was not the $3 million damage assessment, nor the heroic restoration effort that would ensue. It was that their beloved haunt would be shuttered for months. Late-night quaffing expeditions had to be moved. Sunday brunch plans were wrecked. Would the pub ever regain the lovably rustic charm of dark wood and stained glass?
