Petite Chou
Its two locations draw from strikingly different Pinterest boards: The original Broad Ripple nook resembles an elegantly faded Rive Gauche cafe, while the newer, more polished Petite Chou, built along one of the tidy cul-de-sacs of Clay Terrace, spares no fandangle—from its oversized boudoir mirrors to the frosted-glass tiers of the wall sconces. As it turns out, though, bistro-style dishes like root-vegetable cassoulet baked in its own cast-iron pan, unapologetically heavy Croque Monsieur sandwiches dripping with bechamel, and crepes of both the sweet and savory variety taste delicious in either place. And if you sip enough bubbly libations from the champagne bar (lavender-infused Prosecco? Mon dieu!), you might not remember where you are anyway.
PLAN ACCORDINGLY: On Wednesdays only, the kitchen cranks out plate after plate of duck-fat fried chicken—the most decadent of the crispy-skinned fowl.
SAVE ROOM: Come dessert, the tiny profiteroles pack a lot of pastry precision into barely three bites. The choux, with its textbook brittle-yet-chewy hollowness, comes stuffed with a wee scoop of vanilla gelato and is served alongside a hot-fudge sidecar.
PREVIOUS MENTIONS: Best Restaurants 2008, 2010–2011
823 Westfield Blvd., 317-259-0765; Clay Terrace, 317-566-0765, petitechoubistro.com
See all 25 Best Restaurants here.
This article appeared in the May 2014 issue.
