Indianapolis Restaurant: Reviews & Recommendations

[gfweb]

On 8/2/2016 at 3:33 PM, huiray said:

"La speranza!"

 

"Si! La speranza che delude sempre!"

 

Lunch at Shapiro's downtown in Indy.

 

Reuben. Lentil soup. Marinated mushrooms.

The Reuben was as unremarkable as before although it looked good. The sauerkraut was also as insipid as before.

The mushrooms were probably just waved over some flavored water.

The lentil soup (Tuesday special) was fine.

 

General view of the inside.

 

Location on Google maps.

 

 

 

I'm kind of a reuben snot. You need not cure the corned beef yourself (though I do), but the sauerkraut needs to be 'toasted' to dry it out and give it flavor, and the bread must be well-buttered and pan fried. Don't put on too much meat..about 3/4 inch is plenty. Apply the russian dressing on the swiss cheese...not on the bread  side.

 

The cross section of a reuben should be  Rye...swiss...russian...kraut...corned beef or pastrami...russian...swiss...rye.

[huiray]

10 hours ago, gfweb said:

 

I'm kind of a reuben snot. You need not cure the corned beef yourself (though I do), but the sauerkraut needs to be 'toasted' to dry it out and give it flavor, and the bread must be well-buttered and pan fried. Don't put on too much meat..about 3/4 inch is plenty. Apply the russian dressing on the swiss cheese...not on the bread  side.

 

The cross section of a reuben should be  Rye...swiss...russian...kraut...corned beef or pastrami...russian...swiss...rye.

 

Aha. Do you need the cheese to be melted?

[gfweb]

12 minutes ago, huiray said:

 

Aha. Do you need the cheese to be melted?

 

but of course!

[gfweb]

And the rye should be not too thick.

 

You bake your own bread? Good for you. Slice it thin please.

 

 

[huiray]

On 8/8/2016 at 11:27 PM, Thanks for the Crepes said:

@huiray,

 

It sounds like the place was mostly a waste of time and money. I have to say, from the looks of your photo of it, I could have happily eaten the veggie tempura without dipping sauce, IF the oil it was fried in was not too old.

 

The images for zaru from your link did nothing for me, as a person ignorant of what a zaru is, to explain why you were dissatisfied. After looking at this link, it became apparent that the zaru is an attractive bamboo draining basket also used to serve the soba noodles on.  Yes, they named their dish inappropriately for the way it was served to you. Pitiful that in an expensive place like that the shrimp was inedible, and that the cook was unresponsive to your comments. It sounds like the kind of place that makes one even more thankful for their own cooking skills and access to quality fresh ingredients.

 

I wouldn't say it was a waste of time and money. Rather, that it was less than what I would have liked for the money.

 

The tempura was not particularly memorable - somewhat tasteless though crunchy - but the biggest objection was that it was almost entirely just onion rings. Not what is expected in JAPANESE tempura.

 

Sorry if the zaru image set did not indicate that I expected soba on a bamboo mat, since they called it "zaru soba" - I believe the images did show that, though.

 

The shrimp wasn't BAD bad, nor exactly inedible, but it was not a nice shrimp. It wasn't spoiled, but I expected better.

 

"Expensive" depends on one's perspective and what the food/cuisine is.

In this regard, Japanese food always costs more anyway, by comparison to something like "Chinese" (in the USA) which tends to be thought of as CHEAP food. This latter point is something that has skewed USAmericans' false perceptions of what "Chinese food" is supposed to be - something that is CHEAP - and which has been largely responsible for the difficulty high-end Chinese food (and expensive food) has had in gaining an audience in the USA amongst non-Chinese folks. In contrast, people here seem to accept that good Japanese food will ALWAYS be expensive, which is true because the quality of the ingredients will need to be top-notch, but that seems to be accepted. Whereas Chinese food that costs as much as (or more) than Japanese food seems to be rejected by the masses here in the USA. Even in NYC for years and years restauranteurs who thought about opening up a high-end Chinese restaurant failed to do so because their market analyses (IIRC) indicated that people would not pay the money for such high-end food. If one had a top-notch Cantonese meal in Hong Kong or even in SE Asia with high-quality ingredients and fresh fish etc the price of it would astound folks here used to Chinese Take-Out with lo-mein at $5.99 or whatever.

 

I would also murmur that one's being able to cook and having access to good ingredients should not disbar one from dining out. ;-) 

Edited August 13, 2016 by huiray (log)

[Thanks for the Crepes]

10 minutes ago, huiray said:

The shrimp wasn't BAD bad, nor exactly inedible, but it was not a nice shrimp. It wasn't spoiled, but I expected better.

 

All points taken, huiray. Especially the one about being able to cook excellent food yourself should not keep one from dining out. I cook most nights, and I do love it, but if I knew that I wouldn't have some break from it occasionally I am pretty sure, I'd lose my love for cooking and slowly go insane(r).  My comment about cooking skills and quality ingredients was sincerely meant as a compliment to you. I am in awe of some of the stuff you can and do lay your hands on at the various markets available to you and the dishes you create and share with us here.

 

I just like feeling I get my money's worth when I eat out, and my standards are pretty high. My budget being not as high as my standards makes it difficult, but I manage to do pretty well anyway.

 

However, you did say that after one bite, you did not consume the rest of that shrimp. That is where I got the "inedible". I suppose if it truly were inedible, you would have had to spit it out, a la Gordon Ramsey. 

[huiray]

11 hours ago, Thanks for the Crepes said:

I suppose if it truly were inedible, you would have had to spit it out, a la Gordon Ramsey. 

 

Haha! Yes, if it were spoiled, for example, it would have promptly come out of my mouth and I would have done more than just murmur to the chef that it could have been better. :-) 

 

Thank you for the compliments.

[huiray]

On 8/13/2016 at 0:01 AM, huiray said:

Even in NYC for years and years restauranteurs who thought about opening up a high-end Chinese restaurant failed to do so because their market analyses (IIRC) indicated that people would not pay the money for such high-end food.

 

I should add that excellent Chinese food of the many and varied regionalities grew and took hold on the West Coast of North America (the SGV & Vancouver in particular) or in other places such as Richmond Hill/Markham in the GTA, because of the immigration of Chinese folks with money who demanded good Chinese food and were willing to pay for it. NYC, not so much - or at least not to the same extent, even though NJ has an increasing highly-educated and well-paid Chinese presence but which is more diffuse - which is why NYC was supplanted by the SGV (within the USA), for example, decades ago, for excellent Chinese food.

[huiray]

A Blue Moon burger & regular fries at Boogie Burger.

 

Claimed to be a 1/3 lb patty. Blue cheese (--> "Blue Moon") plus fixings.

OK.

 

Decent.

With Heinz ketchup, of course. (Well, plus salt & pepper)

 

I last reported on this place about a year ago.

 

Location on Google Maps.

[huiray]

A meal at Iron Skillet. 

 

The menu. Glued onto old school slate boards That's it.

(The wine selections, also on a slate board, was below it)

 

The starters.

Iceberg lettuce wedges in a tangy-sweet-syrupy sauce dusted w/ paprika. Pickled beets. Apple butter. Full-fat cottage cheese.

Some on the smaller plate nestled on the main plate.

Quite enjoyable, really. Later on I actually asked for more lettuce.

 

"Cream of Onion Soup" w/ croutons.

 

The sides.

Green beans. Corn. Mashed potatoes.

 

Plus a couple of baking powdered biscuits. 

Eh.

 

The mains.

I had the "Skillet Fried Chicken" (white & dark meat) as the main order. Added on 7** Fried Shrimp as a la carte items.

** (what the Shrimp order would have if it were the main order)

 

Some of the chicken and the sides on my plate.

I simply ate the shrimps by hand straight from the serving plate, tail and all. Crunch crunch. I liked these.

The chicken was decent and moist, although I wouldn't say they were the best. The seasoning was a little on the salty side for me, personally.

 

Vanilla ice cream. I asked them to not bother bringing out the toppings. I was already so full I thought I would burst.

Run-of-the-mill coffee.

 

Iced tea, refilled promptly throughout.

Service was gracious and obliging.

 

View through the window from my table.

 

View of the dining room from my table.

 

View of the outside.

The canopy & entrance faces away from the main road.

 

Location on Google Maps.

 

 

 

[Smithy]

That looks like a nice venue, with a comfortable meal to match.  Thanks for sharing, @huiray.

[huiray]

You're welcome, @Smithy.

[IndyRob]

On 8/18/2016 at 1:44 PM, huiray said:

A Blue Moon burger & regular fries at Boogie Burger.

 

 

We recently had lunch at Boogie Burger and I'd put it squarely in the 'Skip' column.  Burgers were dry, fries unremarkable.

 

Also recently went to Ramen Ray for my for my first real Ramen experience.  It seemed okay and authentic based on my limited knowledge of the genre.  But I think I just don't get the appeal of Ramen.  Even if I imagined my own version with sous vide eggs and pork belly, it's just seemed a rather expensive(~$13) bowl of soup.

[huiray]

Lunch at Kountry Kitchen in Indianapolis.

 

A "half-and-half" sweet tea/lemonade. In a mason jar.

 

"Cynful" Fries.

With 'secret spice' and Ranch dressing.

ETA: Meh. I thought the secret spice seemed like gussied-up bouillon powder, although I could be wrong.

 

Fried Green Tomato w/ Remoulade sauce.

I liked this.

 

Fried chicken quarter, dark meat.

With collard greens, fried okra, and fried cornbread. The cornbread wasn't great, to me anyway, and I abandoned much of it.

The chicken was moist and tasty, coating decent & crispy.

ETA: But just one piece...as the standard serving...?

 

A view of the inside from my table.

 

View of the outside.

 

Location on Google Maps.

 

ETA: Expensive for what the food was. I doubt I will return. I believe I far prefer another place several miles north of this one, and which I have reported on before.

 

Edited September 11, 2016 by huiray (log)