December’s First Bite
Discovery — The Bombay Way
India Sizzling II
4150 Lafayette Rd., 317-297-3050
Indian lunch buffets abound in all corners of the city, stocked with chicken tikka masala, lamb korma, and mounds of buttery garlic naan. All-you-can-eat South Indian spots offering mostly vegetarian fare are rarer, particularly at night. That’s all the more reason to check out India Sizzling II, which offers its steam tables of delectable chili pakoras, vegan sambar, and spicy chutneys six evenings a week. Show up to this strip-mall Lafayette Square spot on Thursday, and you’ll get rewarded with an unlimited sampling of dosas—ultra-crisp, lacquered pancakes of fermented rice and gram flour stuffed with everything from spiced potatoes to powdered curry leaves to mozzarella cheese. Try a Bombay-style chaat dosa, which is flatter, thicker, and piled with potatoes, onions, tomatoes, and an aromatic cilantro-mint sauce. Finally, end the meal with a tutti-frutti dosa dolloped with sweet fruits, nuts, and chocolate syrup. — Terry Kirts
Pinch of Wisdom
“For a gluten-free alternative, I sub out the all-purpose flour in my classic French sauces and soups with rice flour an use it to dust cutlets and meats before I pan-sauté them.” — Peter-Paul Meyer, the new German-native chef at Zionsville’s Auberge
Field Brewing
New in Town: Field of Dreams
Field Brewing
303 E. Main St., Westfield, 317-804-9780
Downtown Westfield’s unassuming Main Street got a jolt of hubba-hubba this fall with the arrival of Field Brewing, a sleek compound with glass walls, an onsite garden, and a bustling open kitchen helmed by James Beard nominee Alan Sternberg. It’s a brewery that doesn’t exactly feel like a brewery. There’s no row of flat-screen TVs on the wall (though there’s one in the corner by the expansive bar, if you can’t help yourself), and the menu has lamb ribs and housemade pasta dishes, with nary a pork tenderloin in sight. “From the very beginning, we wanted to be different,” says Jackie Dikos, a sports dietician who owns the operation with her husband, Greg, an orthopedic surgeon and longtime home brewer. Sternberg, former executive chef at the now-shuttered downtown Indy location of Cerulean, uses his fine-dining experience and instincts to inform this more casual menu. An early star: spent-grain pasta, a light, flavorful noodle produced with the leftover grains of the beer-brewing process. — Suzanne Krowiak
