Penzeys Spices - A Local Treasure

After Jason's Deli, Corrin and and I went to one of our favorite stores, Penzeys Spices on E. 82nd Street. Penzeys Spices, a chef's go-to-place, is a store specializing in over 200 spices, herbs, and spice blends. Owned by a husband and wife, it originated in Milwaukee, Minnesota in the 1950's. Bill Jr. has since taken over the operation that has over 50 stores nationwide. They also publish a monthly catalog that features their spices and recipes utilizing the spices sent in from Penzeys patrons. There is always a coupon attached for a free trial of a particular spice that you can take in to the store to redeem. Indianapolis is very lucky to have this retail store and I am always worrying about them closing due to low usage by the community. The spices can be bought in small batches and are very fresh. Penzeys has quite a few of their own tasty blends such as Mural of Flavor, a salt-free blend. If you can't find a spice or herb in your grocery store, you will likely find it here. Prices are very reasonable. The staff are extremely knowledgeable regarding the spices they sell and how to use them in recipes. I especially like the gift boxes you can purchase, including the wedding gift box. When you walk in, you see a treasure trove of little jars of exotic and more common spices on wooden shelves. In the corner of our local store is a vintage kitchen with hot chocolate mixes and and other useful kitchen staples. Another corner has a small table and chairs with a large basket of crayons and a stack of coloring pages, beneath a display of already colored and signed pages by children. We always leave with a bagful of their wonderful products with our heads brimming with recipe ideas!

Atmosphere - 9
Service - 10
Price - 9
Presentation - 9
Food quality - 9
Overall - 9


Listen Up - Love you Penzeys! You do so much right!

Jason's Deli - Healthy Choices

Corrin and I decided to go to the fast food restaurant, Jason's Deli, just recently named by Parent's magazine as its choice for Best Restaurant. Another superlative to test! It touts its organic vegetables, gluten-free menus, and other healthy choices. It uses natural grilled chicken in its wraps. When we walked in we were greeted by a crowd of people vying for tables and orders. This was a busy and popular place. We saw the enticing sign for organic vegetable soup and grabbed a menu while we were waiting in line eager to try its offerings.

Jason's features salad including an all-you-can-eat bar, sandwiches, wraps, soups, and even mufaletta's. It has a kid's menu too. Rather than potato chips for a side with a sandwich you may choose veggies or a fruit cup. We chose a Reuben with pastrami and corned beef, Irish potato soup, the organic vegetable soup, and mac and cheese for the toddler. We sat down among all the people and waited for our order which was delivered in about 5 minutes. In the meantime, we noticed that there was free soft serve ice cream and toppings for all. Wow! We also glanced over the salad bar which was extensive with a decent amount of toppings, other specialty salads, puddings, and muffins. Our order was delivered by a friendly server. We laughed at the organic veg soup which was nothing like the picture. The vegetables were lost in the dull broth. It tasted OK but we could not get over its lackluster appearance.  The potato soup with its full-bodied flavor and hearty potatoes was good. Our Reuben needed better bread and the corned beef tasted a little strong. The meat was plentiful for a change. The mac and cheese appeared to be a boxed Kraft. Of course we had some soft-serve ice cream and we agreed that the secret to Jason's is the notion you can be healthy and yet end with an ice cream cone. It was fun to watch people on their lunch break breaking out in a smile as they licked their cones after eating their veggies! In summary, we like the concept - healthier eating - but there were still plenty of unhealthy choices and the quality of food was average.

Meaty sandwich

Atmosphere 6
Service - 8
Price - 6
Presentation - 6
Food quality - 6
Overall - 6 

A Superlative Place? Best Chocolate in Town...

If you recall, Corrin and I had darted into a local chocolate shop before our dinner at R Bistro last week - and not just any shop, but a place that dared call itself Best Chocolate in Town. I felt compelled to go back and review the chocolate shop on Mass Ave. This place began in 1998 and its owner has a background in fine arts and a love of chocolate. She has been there ever since, back in the kitchen rolling out her handmade chocolates. She extols her service and the friendliness of her establishment. The shop specializes in unusual flavors and truffles, there is a Gorgonzola chocolate truffle, and chocolates with cayenne or wasabi to name a few. Corrin and I each bought one of the dark chocolate bars found in a basket right by the cash register. My flavor was dark chocolate and pistachio with a small note on its label "with dried cherries". I was eager to try it - yes, the name of the place, of course, built up huge expectations - and it was a numbered batch, 5/15. This was serious business. I gingerly tore off the cellophane and ate a small square. I bit down on a large dried cherry and, in fact, noticed the bar's surface was marred by multiple, dried cherries. I thought it was supposed to be chocolate with pistachio? And the taste? Well--good, but certainly not the best I had ever had! I quickly thought that a Cadbury bar, before the company was bought out, could rival this. My sister's dark chocolate bar with almonds and smoky paprika was inedible! How does one make a chocolate bar taste so bad?

OK, I admit I must sample more, especially the truffles, before reaching a conclusion, but I already have my doubts. I looked at the other reviews on other sites and this place is ecstatically loved, often getting 5 out of 5 stars. And there are awards, too. Reviewers often site the gelato as wonderful - but hey guys, the gelato is not even in-house. It is a product of DaVinci Bistro, another local restaurant. Of good note, is that this shop has gift packages that when bought result in a 20% donation to lupus or breast cancer research. The ambiance is plus, minus. I liked the exposed brick and cases of chocolate; however, one could peer right into the kitchen where it looked somewhat dirty and unorganized. Best Chocolate in Town, I appreciate your effort to be friendly, charity-minded, and hand-made, but the proof is in the chocolate.

Atmosphere - 6
Service - 8
Price - 6
Presentation - 9
Food quality - 5
Overall - 6

Very Local Chez Carrie

I had a baby shower to go to and it was a nicely thought-out dinner of girls with no children and no games. My friend Carrie joked that I should include a review of her dinner on this blog site and I thought, "Well, why not, since she had served much better food than most places in which I had recently dined! And it was definitely local!" To make it accessible to all, I would include the recipe of the main dish that was provided by another friend at the reinvented shower.* Here is my night Chez Carrie:

We first sat casually in the kitchen, munching on a variety of chips, including kettle, flax seed, and blue tortilla. My friend had made fresh guacamole for a healthy chip dip, but took a smart shortcut and added minced garlic and a fresh store-bought salsa to add to the chunks of avocado. In the background, several were working on the hearty soup, perfect for a January day. Chorizo was browning on the stove. Another person was preparing the topping of fresh cilantro, sour cream, and grated cheese. In the crock pot, the black bean chipoltle soup was simmering. It had been nicely smoothed by an immersion stick. Soon dinner was ready, served in the dining room with red candles aglow and fun, snowflake dishes. The soup was a delight with its smoky, earthy flavors. Each person enjoyed adding the toppings she wanted. I loaded mine up with the chorizo. The soup was served with a simple salad of tomatoes, cucumbers, red pepper, and fresh herbs with a citrus oil dressing. Bread of various kinds was piled in a lovely white bowl on a pedestal. The lovely ending was a homemade cheesecake with berry coulis and jewel-like, fresh berries. I noticed a mug piping hot by my plate and discovered it was a smooth and milky hot chocolate. What a nice companion to the cheesecake. I think the baby-to-be especially enjoyed this part. In summary, a lovely meal with lovely friends - and local.

Atmosphere - 10
Service - 10
Price - 10
Presentation - 9
Food - 9
Overall - 9.5

Listen up: Thanks!


*Black Bean Chipoltle Soup (from www.crock-pot.com)
Ingredients
1 pound dry black beans
2 stalks celery, cut into ¼-inch dice
2 carrots, peeled and cut into 1/4-inch dice
1 yellow onion, peeled and cut into 1/4-inch dice
2 chipotle peppers (canned in adobo), chopped**
1 cup tomatoes, crushed
4 ounces chopped green chilies, canned, drained (hot or mild, depending on preference)
6 cups chicken (or vegetable) stock
2 teaspoons cumin
salt and pepper, to taste
sour cream
salsa
fresh cilantro, chopped
*1 cup spicy sausage such as linguica or chorizo, diced, browned (for an even heartier soup)
**If using dried chipotles, soak in warm water to soften before chopping - about 20 minutes.
Directions
    Place beans in a medium pan, cover with cool water, bring to a boil, boil for 2 minutes, remove from heat and let stand for 1 hour and rinse. Add to stoneware and top with celery, carrots, and onions.
    In a separate bowl, combine chipotles, crushed tomatoes, green chilies, stock, cumin, and salt and pepper to taste. Mix to blend and pour into stoneware.
    Cook on High for 1 hour and then Low for 6 hours, until beans are tender to bite. Adjust seasoning to taste.
    Puree with an emersion blender (or traditional blender) to a slightly chunky consistency. If using, add additional sausage and cook for 30 minutes more.
    Serve topped with a dollop of sour cream, spoon of salsa and sprinkling of chopped cilantro.

Mackenzie River Pizza Company. Huh?

I can never figure out the name of this restaurant, Mackenzie River Pizza Company, located on 82nd Street in the former location of Adobe Grill. It has too many nouns for one thing, but anyway I thought I would give it a try for the second time with my husband, kids, and two family friends. The first time we visited, we were less than impressed and had had lousy service. This is part of a small chain out of Montana that hoped to introduce "gourmet pizza" to its locals. Supposedly, the owner of the restaurant in Indianapolis is the son of the creator making it less of a franchise? One thing I can say about this place is it is very kid friendly providing containers of goldfish crackers to amuse them as well as a kid-friendly menu with crayons. They seated our large group in a nice and large wooden booth. The decor is very cowboyish, wooden, and oddly includes white Christmas lights here and there. Ironically, we had as our server the identical twin of the server we had last time, but this twin was the opposite of his brother having all the good attributes and providing wonderful service! We ordered a very exotic pizza from their interesting options - one side Thai with mandarin oranges and peanut sauce and another Hawaiian with its barbeque sauce on the side. We had chicken quesadillas with an avocado cream sauce for an appetizer. Other items ordered included the Thai salad, a chicken chili, and a half- rack of ribs. We finished it off with an apple cobbler, ice cream, and 6 spoons! Everything except the dessert was mammoth in size. I noted a moldy flavor on the Thai side of the pizza - perhaps the cheese that was not so fresh? Otherwise, everything else including the salad was freshly made. The exotic pizza was interesting and for the most part well liked. The chicken chili and ribs were standard fair. We did note that things in general tended to have more spicy heat than most American dishes. The apple cobbler, though good, had been sitting on its cast iron skillet for so long it was gray on the bottom and tasted metallic. The kids loved their macaroni and cheese with its scattered cheddar cheese goldfish on top. It was served with a nice side of mandarin oranges and canned pineapple. We did like the fact that the menu had items to please all and was varied. This restaurant at the end of a plaza has a great location with one of the few quiet places at Keystone at the Crossing. The outdoor seating nestled along the woods should prove to be pleasant in the summer.

Atmosphere - 7
Service - 8
Price - 6
Food presentation - 7
Food quality - 6.5
Overall - 6.5

Our Devour Downtown at R Bistro

Corrin and I looked forward this evening to our meal at R Bistro after a hit and miss lunch at Zoup and Whichwich. R Bistro, a local effort of Chef Regina, has been on the Indy scene located on trendy Mass Ave for quite a few years. It has the reputation for being one of the top restaurants in Indianapolis. We had made reservations at R Bistro as part of Indianapolis's annual Devour Downtown event. During the two-week event, restaurants provide a set meal for $30. R Bistro was featuring an arugula salad with tangerines and walnuts, beef stroganoff, and a baked apple with creme fraiche. When we arrived, we made a slight departure to the next-door chocolate shop and each bought a bar of specialty chocolate. Back at R Bistro, Corrin and I were greeted warmly by the hostess casually standing in the front of the modern, brick-exposed, perfectly lit restaurant. Our server was knowledgeable about the menu although a bit nonplussed by our myriad of questions. I wisely added a soup to the predetermined menu. It was a cream of brussel sprout soup that we aptly devoured. We quickly decided that it would become a holiday dish at our table.

Our salad was balanced with the peppery arugula, sweet tangerines and fig dressing adorned with crumbles of blue cheese. Sadly, we found a few yellowed pieces of salad. Really?? Our beef stroganoff looked quite pale with its egg noodles and creamy sauce on plain white plates. Can we once again say parsley?? The stroganoff had tender pieces of beef round and mushrooms within a lovely creamy sauce although the fresh dill was a bit overpowering. Our dessert was a huge disappointment that should be ashamed to be called a dessert. It was a baked Golden Rush apple, naked, stuffed with tart cranberries and some golden raisins a midst some creme fraiche. I need dough or at least some sweetness in my dessert of apples. We did appreciate the fact that most items features on the menu were locally sourced. The wine they paired with my meal, a Rodney Strong chardonnay, was disappointing and too dry for me. This particular wine can be bought at Trader Joe's for $12.00 a bottle. Corrin and I decided after the meal that the menu was not well thought out with too many items featuring cream. I really like R Bistro and the chef; however a restaurant of this caliber should not have so much unevenness.

Atmosphere - 8
Service - 8
Price - 6
Presentation - 5
Food quality - 8
Overall - 7


Average rating from other reviewer websites – 3.5-4 out of 5 stars. One patron said it perfectly “ Don't get me wrong. It's good, but I'm always left feeling like I wish the dishes were a *little bit*... different.”.

Listen Up: Work on jazzing up the looks of your dishes. After all, you are a high-end restaurant! Nicer plates please - and parsley! White linen to cover your metal and cheap wooden tables would add an elegant touch. Desserts need attention! Don't rest on your laurels.

Pair Zoup with Whichwich?

My sister, Corrin, and I were looking for a quick lunch on Indy's Northside while shopping. Near Miejer's on North Meridian we spotted an intriguing name of Whichwich. "How catchy!", we said, but we really wanted some soup since it was snowy and cold. Luckily, we spotted Zoup next door and had a plan. We would restaurant hop, sharing a sandwich and soup. We headed into Whichwich and were accosted by an overly zealous employer with a red marker and paper bag asking if we had ever been there and eager to inform. The fast food restaurant has a novel idea in that you grab a bag with various sandwich permutations and mark what you want along with your name. The bag gets handed to the friendly production line and the personally-designed sandwich is placed in your bag. You may not wish to hang around and eat, since the decor is minimalist and the seating inadequate. We choose the "Comfort" category of sandwich and picked a barbeque pork, pickles, and coleslaw sandwich on wheat, large size. There were many choices within each category of sandwich ranging from vegetarian, to Italian, to meaty. The sandwich was enjoyed with its good quality sliced pork and fresh and not too oniony cole slaw. Corrin especially liked the bread. We agreed that the barbecue sauce was too mild and sweet, and the meat spare. Next stop, next door - the soup kicthen, Zoup. Zoup has a choice of twelve soups, daily. They also feature sandwiches. I sampled the chicken pot pie soup but it was too salty. We opted for the mushroom barley soup with its fair amount of mushrooms, carrots and celery but not enough barley. I thought the broth was cloying and oily but Corrin liked it. Of note was the very small portion - especially for the price of $5.00. The piece of tasty bread that came with it was almost as large as the soup portion! We agreed that the soup was slightly better than Campbells's.  Out of the two national chains with both great concepts, Whichwich got our vote, although we would try different sandwiches next time. Zoup was a disappointment.

Whichwich
Atmosphere - 3
Service - 7
Price - 7
Presentation - 7
Food quality - 7
Overall - 7



Zoup
Atmosphere - 6
Service - 7
Price - 3
Presentation - 6
Food quality - 5
Overall - 5.5

Harry & Izzy's Date Night

My husband and I decided to try the new Harry & Izzy's on the Northside. Harry & Izzy's is a casual offshoot of St. Elmo's Steakhouse in downtown Indy, decorated in cool shades and art deco style. We went on a Sunday and tried the fixed price menu that is available for lunch or dinner for $30. It features a choice of salad, entree and dessert. We enjoyed sitting in the small mezzanine. It was cozy and romantic for two. Lighting was nice and service attentive. I started off with a glass of Chilean cabernet sauvignon that was good with mellow undertones. I had the "garbage salad" which aptly described all the things in it one could imagine - a single half of a shrimp it showcased with bits of Italian meat, over-ripened grape tomatoes, artichoke hearts, hearts of palm and cucumber on iceberg lettuce. We liked my husband's salad better with its sliced tart apples, red onions, and hunks of blue cheese, with romaine lettuce coated in a champagne rosemary viniagrette. The rolls served were oniony, buttery and crisp on the outside. We opted to have the 10 oz New York strip steak, which was a nice, juicy piece of meat, well-cooked but a little salty. The sides were somewhat gummy mashed potatoes with the skins, and green beans even my husband liked - with a hint of butter and shallots and perfectly cooked. The desserts were incredible - actually my husband's ice cream brownie (Dave's Brownie) was a 10! Rarely, do I leave creme brulee which in its own right was wonderful to go to some plebeian, ice cream thing, but WOW a 10! The brownie was rich, and oh so good with its caramel, toasted nuts and perfectly paired vanilla ice cream and whipped cream. All the food was served on cheap diner-type dishes, though. The food came a little too quickly throughout the evening but maybe it felt that way because we were dating :) All in all, I really did enjoy this restaurant.

Atmosphere- 9
Service - 9
Price - 8
Presentation - 6
Food quality - 8
Overall - 8.5

Overall score from other reviewer sites - 4/5 stars

Listen Up - Go for nicer plates!

Great Harvest Co. - Carmel, IN

I quickly stopped in at Great Harvest Bread Company, an independently owned franchise, on Old Meridian, in Carmel, to pick up some bread. I like this location. It is bright and welcoming with plenty of tables.  There is also a coffee station and lunch is available. Like the other locations I have been to, they have an employee behind the counter eager to give you samples of the bread baked fresh that day. These bakeries I notice tend to hire young and enthusiastic college kids. Each day provides a different sampling of their specialty breads, often made from whole grains, and sometimes there are cookies to try. Today, I tried the Virginia Savory bread and the oatmeal chocolate cookie. The bread reeked of garlic and other Italian herbs. Strangely, my six year old loved it. It had a nice, soft texture with flavors reminiscent of a strongly flavored focaccia bread. The oatmeal cookie was a perfect chew with large pieces of chocolate throughout.  We bought the pumpkin chocolate chip bread which was nicely balanced with pumpkin flavor and chocolate chips – and a hard feat for pumpkin bread – not too moist, sweet or overly spiced.  My favorite purchase, though, was the almond cranberry scone which was almost equivalent to a lovely dessert. It was studded with large cranberries, white chocolate and almonds, with a confectioner’s sugar glaze. It was still quite good the next day and had not dried out. So, Great Harvest Bread still gets my vote although some of the breads can be a little heavy, salty and yeasty depending on the variety. The cookies and scones are now some of my favorites. You have to love the company motto which could be one’s life motto:

Be loose and have fun.

Bake phenomenal bread.

Run fast to help customers—and give generously to others.

Atmosphere – 9

Service – 9

Price – 5

Presentation - NA

Food quality - 8

Overall - 8

(Average score from other reviewer sites – 4.5-5 stars)  

Starting off at Rosie's Place

So I was reading the magazine North and they were featuring a neat-sounding restaurant in nearby Noblesville called Rosie's Place. The owner had always wanted her own restaurant and recently took the opportunity in a spot located in the town square. It would feature made-from-scratch food including baked goods. "What is not to like?" I thought. I also liked that it is a local and family-run business. My sister Corrin and I came up with an excuse to head up to Noblesville and try it out for lunch with my toddler in tow. More importantly, we had decided on a new venture - to chronicle the restaurants we go to and officially rate them on factors we consider important.

Starting with Rosie's Place, we decided we would rank the restaurants we visit by key features using a rating scale of 1-10 with "10" representing the best. In addition, we would be on the look-out for any food item that we considered to be a "10", our description of the perfect food offering. Finally, there would be an overall rating of the restaurant considering all its features. We would also include a brief description of the restaurant and our reaction to it and its food. Photos would be added to enhance the description. After each review we would have a section called Listen Up geared for the restaurateurs. We possibly would compile other reviews from other well known sites and compare them to our ratings. Here is how our first restaurant Rosie's did using our scoring system:

Atmosphere - 8
Service - 5
Price - 6
Presentation - 4
Food quality - 6

Overall - 6

Food chosen:
Paulina - corn beef hash, eggs, biscuits, iced tea
Corrin - House special - chicken and dumplings sandwich (yes, odd-sounding)
Toddler - mac and cheese
To-go - desserts including pecan bar and coconut cake just out of the kitchen


Rosie's had a nice vibe. Exposed brick, quaint photos of grandmother Rosie, wooden booths and an open kitchen were part of the good feel. It was warm, busy, and felt like the town center of all that was going on related to food. Just for that reason alone we would go back but just for breakfast. The eggs, hash, and biscuits were good, although the hash was a tad too vinegary. The mac and cheese was below average with a sharp aftertaste suggestive of Cheez Whiz. The odd sandwich was underwhelming with its clumsy, dried out, thick rolled dumplings on standard mashed potatoes - it was a white-out! My sister did note that the bread was excellent - nicely grilled and tasty. Our waitress provided adequate service but nothing more. Lunch was served on diner-type plates with poor attention to visual appeal. Can we say fresh parsley? Note that although I felt very comfortable with my toddler, it was not necessarily kid-friendly. They did not have booster seats, kids menus, or items for entertainment for the wee folk. The desserts we took to go were rated by my husband as too sweet and not something he would seek out. Overall, Rosie's was a feel-good place with fairly average food at a slightly higher sticker price.   

Listen Up: Did we mention parsley?? Please add visual appeal to your food. Basic menu items such as mac and cheese and dumplings cannot afford to be subpar! Good work on the ambiance.

Paulina, 1/11/12