Being that we like lists, we thought we would recap our favorite dishes and drinks of 2013. Although we just moved to Indianapolis a few months ago, we’ve already tried some of the area’s best restaurants. In no particular order, here is our first annual best of Indy:
Appetizers/Sides:
Fried Red Chili Calamari ($12.95)
Steamed Mussels ($16.95)
While Oceanaire brought us some pretty terrible service and an unexpected wire in one of our dishes, it did bring us two great appetizers. The butter, garlic and wine broth of the (1) Steamed Mussels ($16.95) was delicious enough to sip straight from the bowl. This year we saw many twists on classics, and while most of them fell flat, the (2) Calamari ($12.95) was a twist we greatly appreciated. The spice from the red pepper in the flour and the tang from the teriyaki sauce made this dish better than your average calamari with marinara sauce.
Mozzarella Cheese Sticks ($10)
While we’re on the topic of dishes without marinara sauce, the (3) Mozzarella Sticks ($10) from Black Market were the only thing to get excited about at this establishment. Black Market also reinvented a traditional dish by using a curry dipping sauce—an unexpected yet wonderful combination.
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General Tso’ Pork Belly ($10)
Hand Cut Kennebec Fries ($8)
(4) General Tso’s Pork Belly ($10) from Late Harvest Kitchen definitely deserves a spot on the list. The tender pork belly and General Tso’s sauce were a match made in heaven. To add to this dish, the vegetables were cooked and seasoned to perfection. Also from Late Harvest Kitchen, are the (5) Hand Cut Kennebec Fries ($8). Some might question this upon first read, but once you see that the fries were coated in bone marrow butter and topped with thinly sliced jalapeños, naysayers should be silenced. The fries also remained perfectly crispy, despite being coated in the delicious bone marrow butter.
Bonito Belly Confit ($16)
Oysters ($3 each)
Rounding out our appetizer dishes are the (6) Oysters ($3 each) and (7) Bonito Belly Confit ($16), both from Bluebeard. The oysters came with a MAGNIFICENT mignonette sauce that gave the oysters a divinely unique flavor. We can die happy after having eaten these. We can only hope that these will remain a staple on their ever-changing menu. The Bonito dish had so many different flavors (hot peppers, watermelon radishes and capers), but all were very well balanced and helped compliment the other flavors. It also didn’t hurt that this dish was colorful and aesthetically pleasing.
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Entrées
Bier battered Walleye ($11 for 2 pieces/$16 for 4)
Our list would not be complete without the (8) Bier battered Walleye ($11 for 2 pieces/$16 for 4) from Shoefly Public House. This was the best fried fish we have ever had—crispy, tasty, and yet very light.This dish alone is worth the trip.
The (9) BLT pizza ($13) from Napolese was our favorite pizza by far. The bacon (from Smoking Goose) was melt-in-your-mouth tender and went perfectly with the talaggio cheese and leeks. The crust was thin, yet doughy with some charring that added great flavor.
Pork Belly ($26)
Our third and final entrée is the (10) Pork Belly ($26) from Bluebeard. Everything about this dish was perfection. The belly had a thin crust from being seared, yet remained tender and flavorful. The cheddar grits were also delicious and the pickled onions added some sweetness and acidity. We would pay good money for this dish.
Desserts
Bread Pudding ($9)
This year seemed to be the year of the bread pudding. All of the desserts on our list are bread pudding, but each offered something different. Describing the (11) Bread Pudding ($9) from Bluebeard as phenomenal is an understatement. Although we are not ranking this list, this might be our favorite dessert we had this year. Or ever.
Sticky Toffee Pudding ($8)
The next bread pudding to make our list is the (12) Sticky Toffee Pudding ($8) from Late Harvest Kitchen. We must admit that the bread pudding itself wasn’t the greatest, but the toffee sauce was out of this world.
Peach White Chocolate Bread Pudding ($5)
Our last bread pudding is the (13) Peach White Chocolate Bread Pudding ($5) from Bru Burger. Although their burgers were not worthy of our list, their dessert certainly was. At only five dollars, it’s hard to go wrong with this dessert. Although we both dislike white chocolate, we loved this dessert. Do yourself a favor: go elsewhere for dinner and come here for dessert (like we did last night).
Drinks
Sanctuary ($11)
Jail Bird ($11)
There are some restaurants running great cocktail programs. Bluebeard and Late Harvest Kitchen are at the top of that list. At Bluebeard, we really enjoyed the (14) Sanctuary ($11) and the (15) Jail Bird ($11) was one of the best drinks we’ve ever had.
Lastly, the (16) Passport ($10) from Late Harvest Kitchen was like a mojito on steroids without the mess from the mint.
We hope you find time to enjoy some of these amazing creations. After all, we did extensive (delicious) research to bring you the best of the best.
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