Some Guys Pizza Hits the Spot

Some Guys Pizza Pasta Grill, a locally owned pizza place with several locations around town, was calling me last night. Our local Some Guys manages to balance hip and family friendly with its black interior and neon signs in which families may be found coloring and chowing down on gourmet-style pizza. Its front wall is crowded with all the awards it has won in the past. Some Guys Pizza has been in town for about 20 years. On Sunday night they feature live entertainment. We ordered our favorite Primavera pizza, another with sausage and mushrooms, and a small salad with the house buttermilk dressing. Appetizers included garlic cheese bread and spinach artichoke dip. Some Guys features a good selection of pizzas and pasta as well as more sophisticated desserts including gelato and cheesecake. There is a decent selection of wines and beer although my brother-in-law lamented over the lack of any wheat beer. The pizza has the right chew with good quality toppings that are balanced. They use a blend of mozzarella and fontina cheeses. The tomato sauce is not too sweet or acidic, made from Roma tomatoes. Our Primavera pizza was bursting with perfectly "roasted" broccoli, yellow squash, and carrots. All the appetizers attested to their goodness by disappearing quickly. Some Guys is my local go-to pizza joint. Nearby Pizzology may be a food critics choice but somehow Some Guys' pizza wins me over every time. Its pizza is pricey, compared to other national chains, but you can tell the difference!

Atmosphere - 7
Service - 7
Price - 6
Presentation - 7
Food - 9
Overall - 8

Introducing Little Cricket

Little Cricket is my niece who lives in the San Francisco Bay area. She is a free-spirited journalist who also has the food obsession gene. She has offered to be a guest blogger contrasting the San Fran food scene with Indy. Recently, I asked Little Cricket to make sure to indulge in a local dessert on Valentine's Day since she is newly single, and write up her experience. Here is what she wrote....

"I popped in the office of my magazine editor and a San Francisco foodie. I asked for confectionery suggestions in the Financial District, the suit-and-tie part of the city where our office building looms. “Café Madeline.” Her confident dark eyes didn’t hesitate under a dramatic coal-black feathered-hat. With jotted directions I grabbed my bag and headed out for a lunch hour. At the small feminine boutique bakery on California and New Montgomery, I found my partner in a precisely symmetric heart-shaped chocolate cake with an unnaturally huge (GMO?) strawberry.  I  indulged myself and paid $3.00 for steamed milk over concentrated coffee, making an exception today buying a latte for the sake of palate balance. I decided to make a ritual of it and headed to a pier overlooking a sun-giddy bay. I walked past two lovers cuddled asleep by the water and found a long log with a spot free of bird droppings. The seagulls were friendly and I arranged my dessert, ignoring the plastic takeout ware. Finally. fork. and bite: Creamy cocoa pudding  frosting with a preview of moist inner-cake. The second bite—much more cake—quickly assimilated to the frosting’s silky feel as it melted on my tongue. “AUK AUK AUK!” cried the seagull, perched on the rail opposite the log. "Why don’t you share some of that?” it seemed to say.. I reached for the big strawberry perched proudly on the hardened swirl of waxy chocolate. Unnaturally large fruits seem to trade taste for size. This strawberry was no different. I ate the strawberry quickly so I could try a swig of latte. The steamed cream-thick coffee swirled with a balancing act of maple undertones and bitter beans—a hard complement to the soft dessert. Pretty decent lunch...Tick. Tick. My hour on the water was waning, my wage cage a-waiting".

Amber Restaurant on a Dreary Day

There is nothing like a little Indian food to perk up your day. Corrin and I decided to go to Amber Restaurant on N. Meridian in Carmel for their extensive lunch buffet. For about $10.00 you can get a wide variety of vegetarian and meat dishes, an appetizer or two, salad, chutneys, naan brought to your table, and dessert. This particular Indian restaurant, which has a good atmosphere, is consistent in food quality and features a nice variety of food that is fresh. Most of the dishes are Americanized Punjabi (North Indian) dishes but still tasty for those more in the know. Today the butter chicken was tender and spicy. There was also tandoori chicken, a chicken stir fry and lamb curry on the buffet. The vegetable dishes included a mixed vegetable korma, several dals and channa masala, palak paneer (spinach with Indian cheese), and a mushroom tikka. I especially liked the cabbage pakora and bread pakora, which are basically vegetables or other items fried in a chickpea flour and spices. On the salad bar were an assortment of raw veggies, a very nicely done aloo chaat, raita (yogurt), and an assortment of chutneys. The desserts, gulab jamin, mango pudding, and kheer (a type of rice pudding) were also fresh and well done. For now, this is my favorite Indian restaurant in town. At night, you can order off the menu which offers an extensive selection of standard North Indian fare. If you are new to Indian cuisine, this is a good place to start and ideally with their buffet where you can sample multiple dishes.

Atmosphere 8
Service 7
Price 7
Presentation 7
Food 8
Overall 8

A Detour

It was a girl friends night out and someone suggested Detour An American Grill in Carmel. It is located right by Bubs on West Main Street. It touts its food, beers, and live entertainment as a "detour" or "a trip". As we entered I must say I was concerned as I conjured up some of my road trips. The five of us were seated at a table across from the busy bar and I took in the atmosphere – a rough edge with lots of gray and black, too many large screen TVs (37), a sizable bar with outdoor seating area, and lots of goofy street signs.  There were not too many people in the restaurant, not counting those drinking, yet it was noisy.  The menu featured some strange items like fried pickle chips and fried avocado, the last supposedly being a crowd pleaser. There was also a long list of sandwiches, flatbreads, salads, and popular entrees to choose from. And don't forget the Triple Bypass, a 30-inch Italian beef sandwich! Based on the recommendation of the waiter, who was a little too eager, I and one of my friends ordered the grilled mahi mahi with tomato marmalade, another friend the blackened mahi mahi tacos with homemade guacamole. Also ordered was a flatbread that featured chicken. Detour outsources its fish from its neighboring sister restaurant, Taste of Sensu, and allows for them to serve a very fresh specimen. The mahi mahi was pleasantly fresh but bland and not cooked in the center. The blackened fish tacos were faintly praised and the flatbread featured dried-out chicken and a plethora of cheese. The guacamole extolled by the waiter was OK with diced tomatoes in a garlicy avocado mash. Unless the summer scene really makes up for the food, I am not sure this will be a repeat detour.

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

Cooking Greek Carry-Out

I had a sick daughter and needed a quick dinner for the evening. I was heading past a relatively new restaurant, Cooking Greek on N. Meridian, that also offers cooking classes and thought I would see what they had as take-out. It is an interesting place - sort of a cavernous store front with two or three rooms not well defined. I was glad I was not eating in. It is limited in what you can take away unless you call ahead - of course, anything on the restaurant menu is available, though, if you are willing to wait. I ordered a few of the tiropita (cheese phyllo pies) and some falafel and gyros to go. There were also an assortment of desserts - baklava and cannoli that I skipped. Once home I reheated the items for dinner which may account for the dry falafel. It is very hard to get good falafel in this town! The gyros were average; the tiropita very good - actually one of the best phyllo pies I have had. The lettuce accompanying the falafel was not very fresh iceberg. For the price, the portions were quite small. There is an Easter feast coming up in April that sounds intriguing - they are roasting a lamb outside and there will be traditional Greek sides and music, all for $30 per person. However, based on my initial visit, I am hesitant. Hmm...

Atmosphere - 5
Service - 6
Price - 5
Presentation - 6
Food Quality - 6
Overall - 6

A Sanctuary in Zionsville

The Restaurant in the Sanctuary in Zionsville, Indiana, offers an unusual dining experience. This restaurant is housed within an 1800's Victorian church that has since become Nancy Noel's art gallery, museum and luncheon cafe. The cafe serves lunch from 11-4 PM and showcases chef Gyslain's beautifully hand-painted chocolates and his breads and pastries. Corrin and I headed to Zionsville to pick out a Noel painting for ourselves. We decided to stay for lunch after settling on a typical Noel piece that features Amish themes. Unfortunately, we were visiting on a day that was also chosen by a local school, so the place was swarming with high school kids who had devoured many of the hand-crafted pastries. Even though the cafe was littered with lingering students and their used dishes and glasses, we managed to find a quiet and clean corner soaking in the art work which surrounds the large luncheon room. It is a peaceful cafe that fills the senses with wonderful architectural elements and whimsical paintings. The waitress was very attentive, rushing over to serve us. We ordered the espresso barbequed pork sandwich (pulled pork marinated in cinnamon, and other warm spices and paired with an espresso barbeque sauce), a side of beet salad, garden vegetable soup, and a side of scalloped potatoes with leeks. For dessert we picked out two of the mousse pastries from the display case. While waiting for our order I noticed that on the table they provided several exotic sea salts to try -  a very nice touch. I also caught sight of a small and magical-looking seating area above the main room where one could sit and have lunch. Our food promptly arrived, even after such a full house, and was beautifully displayed on the plates. Everything was piping hot. I liked the smooth and creamy soup that had a appealing burnt orange color. My sister liked her pork sandwich but I thought the flavors were odd. The beet salad was flavored with curry and was enjoyable. We agreed the scalloped potatoes and leeks were delicious but extremely salty to the point of being inedible! Not much of a chance of utilizing the special salts on the table. The slices of a homemade baguette with the very fresh butter served with our lunches were delicious. We were divided over the desserts. The mousse cakes were gorgeous! The taste of these art pieces, though, did not match up to their fantastic appearance. The Sacher was a raspberry chocolate creation, which we did not finish, and the other, the Bresilian, was a coffee-chocolate flavored concoction that was pretty good. The mousse inside both was grainy rather than smooth. In summary, The Restaurant was a very pleasant lunch spot but the food was inconsistently good.    

Atmosphere 10
Service 10
Price 6
Presentation 10
Food quality - 6
Overall - 7

Historical Hollyhock Hill Restaurant

I spent a fine Tuesday evening with my work buddies at one of Indianapolis’s oldest restaurants, Hollyhock Hill, located on N. College. This establishment began in 1928 as a small country cottage feeding 30 diners at a time! As I pulled up to the restaurant I was surprised by the full parking lot on a weekday. I walked into the small white building decorated inside like it was still 1950 and the waitresses were dressed in outfits from a similar time. The restaurant, which now seats 150, has several rooms with tables adorned with crisp white tablecloths and large fresh flower arrangements. Colorful hollyhocks are painted on every wall.  Large family groups were seated celebrating birthdays or anniversaries. My friends and I quickly decided on the pan-fried chicken served family-style with small bowls of mashed potatoes, white gravy, buttered corn, and seasoned green beans. We had a bevy of lovely plates and silverware stacked before us promising quantities of food. Before the meal arrived, various bowls of relish, pickled beets, cottage cheese, iceberg lettuce with its famous sweet vinaigrette dressing, and apple butter were placed before us.  Our appetizer was a tomato rice and chicken soup.  Dessert was a make-your-own sundae with average quality ice cream and various toppings including an unnaturally green mint sauce.

I know people love to hate this restaurant because it is old-fashioned and not hip at all, but I have to say the fried chicken was very moist with a nice crunchy coating, the vegetables real and tasting like they came out of your own Hoosier kitchen, and there was a wonderfully savory gravy that I could eat by itself. The soup was also nice, smooth, and complemented the meal. It is hard to make a good tomato soup, one that is not too harsh. There was also a basket of homemade biscuits.  I especially enjoy family-style meals where it makes the eating much more communal. My husband would find it all too bland, the menu limited, and not worth the price of  $20 a meal, but for me it is good comfort food that my mother would feed me if she were still here.  It definitely fills a place in the sometimes pretentious Indianapolis restaurant scene. It does not pretend to cater to special dietary needs. This restaurant is true to the simple food traditions, including the strong influence of the Amish food traditions, in our state. “Keep it real- keep it simple!” you can hear past Hollyhock Hill owners saying across the years.

Atmopshere – 8 (or 0 depending on your age J)

Service – 9

Price – 6

Presentation – 7

Food quality – 7

Overall – 8

Listen Up: Don’t change too much! One slight improvement, however, would be the ice cream. Suggest upgrading to a better quality or providing home-made.

Thai Taste Crowds

Corrin and my family went to our favorite buffet night at Thai Taste on 82nd Street. Thai Taste has been a part of the Indy restaurant scene for years with the same owners. Each Thursday a dinner buffet is featured with the first Thursday of the month relegated to vegetarian dishes. Tonight was veg night and, as typical, the restaurant whose buffet officially starts at 6 PM was already packed by 5:30.  There was no table in sight as we made a mad dash from our car to the front door of the tiny establishment.  We waited about 20 minutes until the first shift started to finish and head out. The five of us squeezed into a table for four and began sampling from the buffet set up in the middle of the very full room. We talked about the pull of the restaurant which, yes, has very good Thai food but what makes it especially attractive is the notion that it is in high demand. We also suspect the cozy jostling of shoulders and convivial discussions that flow across tables add to the restaurant’s appeal. Most importantly, are the family owners and workers here who are gentle-spirited and very friendly. Typically the vegetarian buffet features a spicy clear soup full of vegetables with pepper and lemon flavors. There are always nice crunchy spring rolls and usually another deep-fried dish such as a sweet potato tempura.   Constant features are the very nicely seasoned green and yellow curry dishes as well as a decent Pad Thai and yummy fried tofu in a sweet chili sauce. There are about four other dishes that change depending on the month, plain and fried rice, and Thai noodles. For dessert is a large bowl of tapioca with coconut milk. If you do not want the buffet, items from the menu are also available.  This is one of my favorite restaurants in town with a simple formula: consistently good food, a clean simple interior, warmth, owners and servers who really seem to care, a history, and an excellent location.     

Atmosphere – 9
Service – 10
Price – 7
Presentation – 9
Food – 8
Overall – 9.5