Category Archives: Food & Travel

Wine Travel Depends on Region

16 Saturday Jul 2016

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For wine lovers nothing is more fun than a day visiting tasting rooms or maybe even wine travel.

Depending on where you go, there are some things you need to know. It can be a Saturday on the road, a trip to the coast, or a dream vacation to Europe to enjoy wine. But all wine trips take a planning.

Grape Sense LogoThe easiest way to start is using the internet to find a wine trail close to home. Indiana has several wine trails. Figure out your geography and plan on visiting no more than about three wineries. That is advice not a standard. Needless to say a designated driver is always a must. But tasting at more than three wineries can impair your judgment. I also find that when I hit a fourth winery in a day I’m suffering ‘palate fatigue.’

After you’ve hit some Hoosier wine trails and you get the tasting room fever, try neighboring states. I admit I’ve visited just a couple Ohio wineries, none in Kentucky or Illinois. But I’ve visited Michigan wine trails three times and they are delightful. You can plan an easy trip into southwestern Michigan and choose from many different wineries. A great weekend trip would be up to Traverse City, a great food town, and visit the really good wineries of Leelanau County and Old Mission Peninsula. The wines are surprisingly good.

If you wish to travel east, check out the wineries of upper New York State, the Finger Lakes Region. Virginia wines are also gathering more accolades with every vintage.

If you’re ready to head west there are more options to cover than space allows. Wine mecca for those of us in the U.S. is Napa and Sonoma Valleys. Napa, in particular, is one of the most beautiful wine regions in the world. But Napa is very commercial and very expensive. Lean on advice from friends who’s visited Napa to plan your trip. Look at every winery’s website and see what fits your tastes.

Some Napa wineries, the very best, usually accept guests by appointment only. Many welcome walk-in visitors daily as well. But also be aware that the big winery names you know don’t come cheap. All wineries in Napa charge a tasting fee. Many will have 2 or 3 tasting levels.

Be prepared if you want to taste the very best wines or at the very best wineries to shell out big bucks. The better Napa wineries charge $50-$100 for a tasting. And unlike many Midwestern states, that tasting fee will not be refunded with a purchase. But if you’re going, be sure to do at least one premium tasting to learn more about what the fuss is all about.

Oregon’s Willamette Valley is an awesome wine tourism region. It’s not as busy as Napa or Sonoma but growing fast. Tasting fees are going up but still nothing like Napa.

Finally, some advice about going to Europe – particularly France or Italy since that’s where I can share the best advice.

Wine tourism remains new for both of Europe’s Old World Wine regions. Planning is essential for winery visits in both countries. Only the biggest, most commercially-motivated, wineries have open tasting rooms as we know them. A call or email is necessary to secure an appointment.

It’s wise, and not cheap, to engage a wine tourism professional to plan your trip and accompany you – especially if you don’t speak the native language. Most wineries vigorously engaged in tourism will have English-speaking staff. But if you want to visit a smaller winery, you can’t count on English-speaking staff. Such wine guides can charge up to $500-$1000 a day but they will take care of every detail.

 

A Few Days In Paris Wraps Trip

18 Saturday Jun 2016

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PARIS, France – The wine tour/Burgundy portion of the trip I’m leading ended Thursday. The trip is wrapping up this weekend with the group having three free days in Paris.

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I hate selfies, but what the heck – it’s Paris.

This is my fifth time to visit France but just second time in Paris – unless flying through Charles DeGaulle airport counts. Check out two days of walking around Paris.

It’s a cliche of sorts but Paris really is one of the most beautiful cities in the world. The architecture is stunning, food and wine superb, and the people – at least the ones in hospitality – are generally very nice.

There is so much to see and do. We’re staying in the 16th Arrondissment (neighborhood) about half way between the Eiffel Tower and the Arc di Triumphe. As part of their registration costs for the trip, each participant was provided a museum, bus, and train pass. If you’re coming to Europe its the most affordable way to get around. A two-day pass was just over 100E per person but well worth it.

I’ve let the group go on their own during the day because that’s the way trip was billed. I’ve explored which I really enjoy.

We wrap up tonight with a group dinner cruise – one of those flat boats on the Seine down the heart of Paris. The river is not as high as some photos you’ve may seen but it remains hight and moving pretty fast. Still, I got a call from the tour company yesterday and they assured me they were sailing.

There are about a dozen photos in the album linked above. I’ll probably have a  few more to add later today. It’s back home for most everyone tomorrow.

White Wine Diversity in Chablis

15 Wednesday Jun 2016

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CHABLIS, France – Who makes the world’s greatest white wine? Is it California’s buttery Chards, the complex white Burgundys, or perhaps the mineral-driven Chardonnay from Chablis?

Chablisiens are rather unabashed saying they make the greatest white wine in the world. While that’s debatable, most would argue they deserve to be in the discussion after tasting the delightful Premier and Grand Cru wines.

Our tour group took a two-hour ride from Beaune north to Chablis Tuesday to learn more about the iconic wine. Our trip has had a great mixture of terroir, large and small producers, and a few in between. In Chablis, we saw one of the biggest in Domaine William Fevre and one of the best known, Billaud-Simon.

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Didier Seguier, Fevre winemaker.

Our visit to Fevre included a winery and cellar tour, tasting, and delightful lunch at the winery’s on-site restaurant. One of the nice surprises was during our tasting with intern Adrian, I spotted winemaker Didier Seguier and asked him if he’d speak briefly to the group.

Seguier was more than gracious and talked about the importance of terroir, not the winemaker. He said his primary goal, as often stated in Chablis and other regions, was to reflect the terroir.

After our lunch, where I had a great hamburger, we were off to Billaud-Simon where I had tasted on a 2012 press tour. I thought those wines were the best I tasted during that visit and they were excellent again yesterday.

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Faviely, the new owner of Billaud-Simon, will renovate the old Chateaux to accommodate guests.

Catherine Leseur led us through a tasting of 4 Grand Cru, 3 Premier Cru, and the lesser Chablis wines.  The Billaud-Simon were again my favorite of the day but much of the group made split evaluations of the two winery stops.

The story about these two wineries isn’t complete without noting they’ve been sold by their namesakes to bigger wineries or corporations in recent years. Selling the family business in France is difficult but happening more and more. Often times there is no next generation interested in the difficult work of farminga nd ups and down of the wine business. Additionally, there is the lure of a huge financial windfall in selling these iconic properties.

Here is a photo album from Tuesday’s Chablis visit.

Today is really filled up. We being our day by touring and tasting at the iconic Maison Joseph Drouhin cellars in the heart of Beaune. Then it’s off to the countryside this afternoon to taste at two small, quirky, and interesting wineries.

I’m hoping to have a more detailed post for tomorrow.

Domaine Leclerc the Day’s Highlight

14 Tuesday Jun 2016

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My travel group, and I hiding in the back, at the vineyards of Romanee Conti.

Côte de Nuits, Burgundy, France – For any real oenophile is there anything better than starting your day in one of the premier wine regions in the world? Or starting your day in a wine cellar built in 1692 sipping Burgundy?

Debate among yourselves but that’s how my eight Burgundy tour participants and I started our week Monday morning at the north end of Burgundy just south of Dijon. Monday’s story is probably best told in my photos from the day.

The group got its first lesson in Burgundy appellations and more Sunday afternoon with Pierre. (see previous post.) But Monday we all got a first-hand education in the Côte de Nuits region.

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Chateaux Clos Vougeot

We started our day at one of the icons of Burgundy Clos Vougeot. The historic Chateau and property showcases the history of Burgundy wine. Whether one cares to think of the Romans or the Cistercian the monument is a living history lesson.

After alter an hour at Clos Vougoet learning the history and seeing the huge old wine presses, it was off to our first morning tasting at Marchand Tawse.

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Guillame led us through the Marchand Twase wines.

The wine caves and tasting room in Nuits Saint George is how we kick-started our wine tasting in the caves of the old property. Current ownership is two Canadian business men but the cellars date back to the 15th and 16th century.

They make a wide range of Pinot and Chard from many different appellations. I think it’s fair to say our group found the wines solid and an interesting start to our day.

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Lunch at Petite Auberge

At mid-day we had another highlight meal, this time at La Toute Petite Auberge in Vosne-Romanee. It might be called a wine-tasting lunch. We were served up a plate of Burgundian specials like snails, Oeufs en meurette (an egg poached in a red wine sauce), pressed ham, and some small sausages in a pastry wrap. One white and three red wines were poured with lunch.

The highlight for many of us the past two days has been discovering another regional product, cassis. The dark, rich berry is delicious on its own. Our lunch concluded with a Cassis Tiramasu. There were gasps at the table!

After lunch we really enjoyed a ride through the countryside seeing the vineyards. We made a brief stop at the vineyard of Romanee Conti. For those who may not recognize the significance of that, Romanee Conti is probably the most expensive wine in the world. Their wines are impossible to acquire and hit the market anywhere from $8,000-$13,000 a bottle. It was fun seeing this bit of Burgundy lore; we took a group shot.

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Francois Leclerc talking about his vineyards.

Our final stop of the day was nearly unanimous among the group the best wines of our trip thus far. Domaine Rene’ Leclerc in Gevrey Chambertin was a lot of fun. Rene Leclerc has retired and turned the winery over to his son Francois who gave us a tour and led the tasting.

The younger Leclerc was a fun guy leading us through the caves, dating to the 1400s, talking about his different vineyards and pouring the great Pinot Noir. The uniqueness of this tasting is that all four bottles poured were Gevrey Chambertin wines but from different parts of the region  (or AOC). The group thought Leclerc’s wines were some of the best of our trip. I agreed!

Today (Tuesday), we are off to visit two of the top Domaines in all of Chablis – William Fevre and Billaud-Simon.

Au Revoir.

Pierre Charmed Our Hearts, Palates

13 Monday Jun 2016

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BEAUNE, France – An innovative dinner, fantastic wine-education lesson, tour of the Hospice de Beaune, and lunch at Burgundy’s most-prominent frommager’s highlighted the first full day of my group tip to Burgundy.

I am leading four couples, two from Indianapolis, one from Boston, another from Illinois through five nights in Beaune and three nights in Paris June 11-19.

See an album of photos from our Sunday activities.

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Pierre sharing his Burgundy insights.

There really were so many highlights but the best might be two-and-a-half hours later Sunday afternoon with Pierre, owner of La Cave de l’Ange Gardien. Tasting with Pierre or Nicole is rated as the No.1 or 2 tourist experience in Beaune by TripAdvisor. After Sunday afternoon, I’m not sure that’s high enough rating.

We were fortunate to have the charming, humorous Pierre as our guide through a Burgundy education that helped everyone better understand the web of regions within one of the world’s most famous wine areas.

Pierre has us taste six whites and then six reds blindly, make notes on each and then rank them. Then he would reveal the producer, region, and cost per bottle. It was a wonderful experience.

We learned so much from Pierre. It started with a few statistics including that 61 percent of the wine from Bourgogne is white wine – not the red most would expect. Village wines represent 36 percent of production, premier cru is 10.5 percent, while Grand Cru is just 1.5 percent of all Burgundy land. The rest are simple Bourgogne wines.

What often confuses newcomers to Burgundy is that Grand Cru is often considered the very best wines and they often are a top choice. But the designation is for the vineyards. As Pierre explained, if a winemaker owns a Grand Cru vineyard he can still make terrible wines but it’s still a Grand Cru.

He made several fun and interesting observations comparing Bordeaux to Burgundy and his perceived Bordeaux sell-out to “Saint Parker.” That, of course, being the world’s best known wine critic Robert Parker. His biggest criticisms of Bordeaux and U.S. wines was that more than half “are not made to be good but made to be profitable”

There are pricer and nicer-looking places to taste than La Cave de l’Ange Gardien – but none better. Locals heartily recommend Pierre and Nicole for the most-authentic experience for learning about Burgundy.

We started our day with a self-guided tour of the famous Hospice de Beaune. The Hospice, or hospital, was started in the 14th century by one of the Dukes of Burgundy Nicolas Rolin. It’s easily one of the most recognizable structures in all of France outside of Paris.

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The ladies in our group tasting the cheeses of Alain Hess.

At noontime we stopped by Alain Hess Frommager – or cheesemaker. Hess is Burgundy’s best-known maker of all things cheese. We had a fantastic light lunch in the Vin Cave below the popular retail store. French cheeses are really remarkable fresh and run from the silk smooth triple cremes to all sort or stinky creations.

We capped our evening with dinner at Le Benaton, one of Beaune’s Michelin-starred restaurants. Le Benaton is known for creative and very innovative presentation in its cuisine. It did not disappoint. The photos in the accompany album illustrate the dishes better than my words can describe.

Today (Monday), our group is off to Clos Vougeot to learn more of this great wine region’s history. There, we’ll see Burgundy’s largest walled vineyard. We’ll visit two wineries and have another innovative lunch in the village of Vosne-Romanee. Tomorrow (Tuesday), we’re off to Chablis.

Au Revoir!

Dinner in a Grand Beaune Cave

11 Saturday Jun 2016

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There are two rooms in an old wine cave beneath the city streets. This one is really beautiful.

BEAUNE, France – I’ve found my way around Beaune just in time for my eight guests to arrive this afternoon for “The Charms of Burgundy.” The trip is five nights in Beaune with wine education, domaine visits, great food, and – we’ll probably taste a few.

Of course, the French are known for their cuisine as much as they are for their wine. I had my first real dinner Friday night at Caveau des Arches, very close to my hotel.

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The chilled mackerel

The restaurant was highly recommended on a number of online sites, I read the reviews, checked out the website, and made a reservation before leaving the UW. Like most French restaurants they have a standard menu and a fixed-price menu. At Caveau des Arches, the fixed-price options are a Burgundian (25E), Traditional (34E) and Gourmet (54E).

My primary waiter’s broken English was only a minor challenge. I can read parts of the menu but not all. I chose the Traditional menu with the option to have the appetizer of the night, mackerel.

The mackrel was served cold, almost as though it had been pickled, with salad. It was a bit fishy, as any raw fish can be, but quite delicious.

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I should have taken the pic when the fish was looking at me! My bad!

I decided to stay with the seafood theme and ordered the trout with mixed baby vegetables. The beautiful, and good-sized, fish arrived whole which my waiter promptly offered to de-bone. I took him up on the offer and he masterfully removed the fish head and center bones.

The fish was cooked just right. The firm white fish was delicious in a brown butter sauce with crunchy almond slices. The veggies tasted fresh as well.

When in France, you eat cheese. The ‘cheese course’ was next with a choice of traditional Burgundy or fresh cheese. I went traditional and was rewarded with a soft, mild, and creamy goat cheese that was quite good.

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The best Creme Brulee ever!

Dessert really knocked the meal out of the park. Ordering Creme Brulee is a bit like going to Italy and having the cannoli – but it sounded good. It was the best I’ve ever had. The vanilla was intense and incredibly smooth. The potato chip-thin, warm chocolate chip cookie was out of this world.

Dinner did not include wine but I had two choices by-the-glass. I didn’t see the labels and our struggle with language did not motivate me to push it. I had a 1st Cru Beaune white that was rich and wonderful. My red was a Pommard that was just ok. But at 7E a glass, the wine was a bargain. The wine list was quite extensive running from great buys to crazy prices.

The service was good. I was dining as a single  and in these places you never know what’s going to happen. For the most part, I was pleased. There were times when tables with two or four people got more attention but that was to be expected. The wait staff were all wonderfully trained young men in white shirt and tie. Two of the waiters spoke some English.

So I left after paying a bill of 50 Euro. Honestly, that was a great value for a nice French restaurant. If you’ve never traveled Europe before, 50E with today’s exchange rate is $56.50. Everything was beautifully prepared and presented. The staff struggling a bit with their English. The atmosphere is really beautiful.

For any wine fan making the Burgundy pilgrimage, Caveau des Arches is a good one to add to your restaurant list.

I should note my group will dine Sunday night at Le Benaton and Wednesday at Loiseau des Vignes – both awarded one Michelin star. I’ll try to get similar posts up. Even if you’re not likely to visit Burgundy, who doesn’t like delicious food with nice photos?

Here are my photos from walking around Beaune Friday afternoon and evening.

Gaseous Woman, Stinky French boy & Me

09 Thursday Jun 2016

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Germain Au Mont D’ OR, France – I wrote of the joys of wine travel for my latest newspaper column but I was maybe too focused on the wine part.

I am leading a small tour group in Burgundy France June 11-19. I flew in a day and a half early to get a feel for Beaume – the heart of the Burgundy wine growing region. I visited Chablis in 2012, at the north end of Burgundy, but never beyond that small commune’s boundries.

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Bedroom of my two-room apartment for two nights.

So yes, this is a bit of a travelogue – today at least. It’s been eventful getting here. And I’ll quickly add, I think I have a few helpful travel tips along the way whether you’re headed for wine country or elsewhere.

It all started in early March when I booked my flight from Chicago to Paris. Most fares were showing at $1,500-$1700, and that is economy friends. I discovered CheapOair a discount site. They have great prices with airlines you’ll seldom give second thought. The flights are cheaper but often feature grueling layovers of 10-12 hours. So I was thrilled to find a flight on Iceland Air from Chicago to Iceland to Paris, a one-hour layover, and it was mid $1,200.

So my adventure began Wednesday afternoon (June 8) leaving my Indiana home about 2 p.m. I separately booked a flight from Indy to Chicago instead of leaving my car at O’Hare for nearly two weeks. All went well until boarding the plane. After locking down, we spent 45 minutes setting at the gate waiting for a mechanic’s paperwork on a small repair.

But into Chicago, over to the International terminal and my first surprise. I checked in with Iceland Air only to learn my flight was re-booked on Air France direct to Paris. I sort of wanted to enjoy my hour in Reykjavik, but hey I’ll take that disappointment any time.

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Chassagne Montrachet white and charcuterie.

Oh, on the way to the airport I first learned, or paid attention, to the France rail strike. My attention was focused with an email noting my particular connection was cancelled due to the strike. But the French are delightfully civilized about such things – and they do like strikes – but only one in three trains are affected.

The Air France flight was uneventful. My seatmate was a very nice gaseous Muslim lady who ate stinky food. Not sure that I slept much at all. The meal was pretty crappy.

I was proud of my effort at Charles DeGaulle airport. If you’ve never flown through Chuck’s Paris spot, let’s just say it’s big – really big. I picked up my one checked bag, found the terminal with the train station and made my way to a ticketing office. That re-book on Air France got me in earlier and proved to be a blessing.

My original train was 4 p.m. south to Lyon then back up to Beaune with a 9 p.m. arrival. That’s sort of like leaving Crawfordsville and driving to Bloomington to get to Indianapolis. But the only direct train to Beaune was like 7 p.m.

So I booked a 2 p.m. train instead with the same crappy route. I can’t sing the praises of the French TVG hi-speed rail service enough. It runs on time, all of the time, and darn they do go fast. I sat with a French teenager who was very quiet despite my efforts. Maybe he was fully concentrated on the shower he was going to take when he got home because those close train seats know no lies.

So now I’m writing this on more of a “local” train headed back north to Beaune. In train-speak “local” means old and slow. It’s sort of like a Greyhound Bus ride – we stop at every town. Oh, we’re stopping now in some burg called Villefranche-sur-Soane and a lot of people are getting off.

We’re stopping AGAIN – Saint Georges De Reneins! And now we wait those five minutes in middle of nowhere with no one getting on or off. It doesn’t seem very efficient but hey, did I mention they run on time?  Well, five minutes after our SGDR stop above we’re stopping in Velleville Sur Saone (no hyphens on this one, hmmm). Okay, enough of that but you get the idea.

Beaume is still just under an hour up the road. It’s 5 p.m. in Burgundy, or about noon EDT. So I’m going to make it to Beaune, that’s the good news. I’m staying at a bit of an apartment/hotel for first two nights before tour begins. Don’t be afraid of the off-the-beaten-path spots. They can add character to your trip – not to mention Euro. I’m paying something like 80 Euro a night compared to more than 300E at the spot our group will stay in starting Saturday.

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A peak where our group is staying next week. Click to enlarge.

My host, Ines, could not be more gracious. She communicated every step of the way with all my changes and promised to personally pick me up at the train station.

What’s coming up? Well Friday and Saturday is exploration days. I will wander around Friday and find the restaurants, and stops we’re making in Beaume before group arrives. I’m looking forward to the farmers market Saturday morning. Then my group starts to arrive Saturday afternoon.

I’m going to try to get something up on the blog daily while in Beaume. I will have postings throughout the day on Facebook and Instagram!

Follow along – au revoir for now.

Louie’s, Pioneer Great Indy Additions

01 Friday Jan 2016

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INDIANAPOLIS, In. – It is fun to try new bars, restaurants, and Indy’s entertainment options. My usual dining companion and I keep a written list of places we’d like to visit. I visited Dec. 30 Louie’s Wine Dive on Mass Ave. and then joined my friend for dinner at Pioneer in Fountain Square. I’m happy to report both scored big!

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Louie’s Wine Dive, 345 Mass Ave.

This contemporary wine/dining spot is on the south end of Mass Ave and has only been open a few months. It certainly offers some of the best wine by the glass choices in Indy and what looked like promising food options.

By my count, the wine list had 40 wines by the glass and even more labels available by the bottle. The prices were pretty reasonable at $7-$17 a glass. The pour was generous at six ounces! Service was impressive when informed the one Pinot Noir I wanted was out of stock. It turns out the bar is about to make some changes in the by-the-glass lineup so the wonderful bartender offered up 4-5 new bottles. One of those was a Santa Barbara Byron Pinot – a great wine. I asked if there was any way to buy it by the glass and not the $59 bottle, and she said ‘sure, that’s our policy.”

The delightful young lady explained that a guarantee of buying two glasses at ¼ the full price and they’ll open anything on the wine list. And isn’t that the policy any wine bar should offer customers?

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Great bread, cheese, sausage.

We shared a wonderful charcuterie plate and scanned the menu which had a limited but nice variety of options.

For anyone who enjoys wine, I can’t recommend this place enough. The wines run the range of varietals, style, countries, and price points. The most expensive bottle on the list is Joseph Phelps’ wonderful Insignia blend. The current 2012 release has an SRP of $240 so imagine my surprise Louie’s had it on their wine list for $275! That’s a lot of money for a bottle of wine for most people. But with Louie’s by-the-glass policy you could have a glass of great, great wine for $68.75.

Now while the Phelps’ example is a bit of an extreme, the chance to drink anything on the menu makes this a must-visit stop for wine lovers.

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Pioneer’s ribeye tartar was beautifully seasoned and presented.

Pioneer, 1110 Shelby St.

If Louie’s was great, Pioneer was a few adjectives better than that.

Pioneer is, perhaps, one of the more unique restaurants in Indianapolis. In their own words: “features the food of northeastern Italy and its Alpine neighbors Austria, Germany, and Switzerland.”

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One of Pioneer’s signature dishes – sausage

My dining friend and I dubbed it fine dining comfort food. There’s no other way to put it. The menu is made for sharing. There are currently 12 choices on the “plates” portion of the menu running $8-$15.

We enjoyed the steak tartar ($15) and the wonderful German potato pancakes ($8). The tartar was seasoned perfectly with shallots, radish, Dijon, croutons, fried capers, and chives. The heat was a bit much for me but the steak was wonderful.

The potato pancakes were crispy on the outside and wonderfully smooth with rich and buttery potato flavor inside. The garlic aioli rocked!

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Delicious pasta with a little kick.

We order the Cavatelli pasta and the sausage plate for our entre. The Cavatelli ($13) with leeks, chili flakes, white wine, and butter sauce had wonderful flavor. I’m not of fan of heat with a white sauce pasta but the flavor was delicious. The only misstep of the night was the pasta arrived warm with a few bites cold. That was a big disappointment I shared privately with our wonderful waitress.

The sausage plate was killer if not a tad overpriced at $35. All sausages are made in house. Boudin Blanc (pork and chicken) and Bratwurst were serves as an ample protein entrée. Pureed potatoes, cabbage, beer-braised apples, and pork jus finished off the dish. The two sausages were a nice ying-yang for the main dish. The bratwurst was seasoned to a full flavored polka in your mouth. The Boudin Blanc was much softer in flavor but tasty.

We finished off with a good apple strudel ($9).

PioneerWineThe wine list is not extensive but features the expected Riesling and Gruner Veltliner. The surprise is the restaurant bar program seeks out small production wineries. I thought the Berger Gruner was an incredible value for $29. The wine has wonderful minerality with a light palate of citrus and stone fruit.

The restaurant is in the heart of Fountain Square occupying the old Deano’s Vino location. The ownership has essentially gutted the building exposing some great brick walls. They’ve made a significant investment to create an inviting dining space. A small stage welcomes weekend live music.

Pioneer is a must visit. It certainly is something a bit different. A night before New Year’s Eve the restaurant was very busy. Our waitress said it was actually fewer guests than the two previous nights.

Pioneer is a welcome addition to Indy’s dynamic dining scene.

Carmel Wants Share of Spotlight

29 Saturday Aug 2015

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CARMEL, IN. – This affluent Indianapolis suburb certainly raises the connotation, and rightfully so, of an affluent and growing community. Its progressive Republican mayor is constantly grabbing the headlines with big ideas.

Carmel conjures up a lot of images – but as a foodie destination? Indianapolis’ dining scene has claimed all the headlines in recent years but Carmel wants to step out of the big city’s shadow with its own eclectic dining options.

Hamilton County’s Tourism office sponsored a foodie tour for Midwest food writers, and one wine writer Thursday evening. The tour was hosted by Small Potatoes Catering. The company not only caters but leads private foodie tours of Carmel, Indy, Mass Ave, and soon Fountain Square.

I was joined by two area Chicago food writers, the Indy Star food writer, and Cincinnati’s Food Hussy. Heather, aka the Food Hussy, is one of Cincy’s top food writers and was lots of fun. It helps when your press contingent has an adventurous and congenial attitude.

We made four stops Thursday night – Peace Water Winery, Divvy Restaurant, Uplands Brewery, and Chocolate for the Spirit. Most of us stayed over for breakfast at Eggshell the next morning. Each of the fives stops helped the tourism pros illustrate how unique and local can make any suburb or small town a food/beverage destination.

Peace Water Owner Scott Burton

Winery Owner Scott Burton

Peace Water is certainly the most unique of Indiana’s 80 wineries. Owner Scott Burton owns a winery in California, buys his grapes from California vineyards, and employs a winemaker in California. His tasting room is in Carmel. His wines are not even sold in California.

For Burton, it’s all about giving back to community after an obviously successful career as a corporate lawyer. He has a unique approach to giving back – when you buy a bottle of wine in the downtown Carmel tasting room you are given a token. Then you decide which of seven charities shares in Burton’s philanthropy. The winery earmarks 50 percent of all profits to the seven charities.

The wines were pretty solid too! He poured four of his several wines during our brief visit. His Sauvignon Blanc was pleasant enough, crisp, but definitely on the acidic side. A Sonoma County Rose had pronounced strawberry flavors and was an easy sipper. His red blend and Cabernet were the really quality winners for my palate. While both saw substantial time in oak, the tannins on the reds were smooth. The wine is definitely in the ‘fruit-forward’ style popular with so many consumers.

His price points range $20-$40. Through his winemaker’s family winery on Howell Mountain, Burton acquires a limited amount of fruit from one of the regions considered holy grail in wine circles. His Howell Mountain cab, which we did not taste, sells for $120 for the real wine aficionado.

Owner Woody Rider

Woody Rider

Divvy restaurant was our second stop inside Carmel’s City Center Complex on Rangeline Road. The best way to explain the concept is the old adage “divvy it up.” The staff explained that we not think of their restaurant as “appetizer, entrée, and dessert” but that everything on the menu was an appetizer, entrée and dessert.

It’s a fascinating concept that is essentially small bites as a meal. I loved the beer cheese with an assortment of breads and the bacon bites which was pork belly, maple bourbon gastrique with Applewood smoked sea salt. The porterhouse steak bites were tender and juicy.

According to staff, their most popular dish is a corn crème brulee with romano, jalapenos and red sea salt. I am adverse to heat/spice and took just a small bite of the corn which was yummy. The bites range from $6 to $16. Our Small Potatoes’ staff hosts said an order for two people is usually 4-5 of the bites.

Owner Woody Rider joined us briefly to talk about the restaurant. He also owns the popular Woody’s Library in downtown Carmel on Main Street.

champagne veleveUplands Tap House Brewery, which has several Indiana locations, was our third stop for a taste of some Hoosier brewed beer.

Our hosts served up their historic Champagne Velvet and popular Dragon Fly IPA. I’m a wine guy and seldom a beer drinker but really enjoyed the Champagne Velvet.

The Uplands staff soffered some creamy Mac-n-Cheese made with wheat beer. That was accompanied by one of the best, rich-tasting pulled pork sandwiches I’ve ever had.

Julie Bolejack

Julie Bolejack

Our final stop of Thursday night was with old friend Julie Bolejack and her Carmel Chocolate for the Spirit location on Carmel Dr., just off Rangeline.

Julie educated and entertained as always. She talked about the different chocolates she uses in her creations and gave us a taste of three different chocolates. Julie has access to the world’s rarest chocolate – Pure Nacional.

We toured the kitchen where Julie makes her beautiful creations and bought some take-home chocolate as well. Julie sent each of us on our way with a box of three truffles.

Eggshell Bistro, also in City Center, was our Friday morning and final stop of the foodie tour. Chef Larry Hanes wowed us with his breakfast creations. Now I’ve read the word “wowed” in far too many food/restaurant reviews for years. I can honestly say this might be the first time I felt confident using the jargon.

Hanes is not just a chef at all. He designed the small bistro space, picked out the art, collected numerous kitchen antiques and pieces with interesting history to stock his café. Click on the restaurant link above and go to the “About” section to read more about this remarkable man.

Our brunch started with Blue Bottle coffee that was one of the best cups I’ve had in years. I have to admit that I had never heard of Blue Bottle but a couple of the food writers were quite impressed.

Larry Hanes

Larry Hanes

Chef Hanes wowed us with dish after dish he served up family style so we could get a taste of many different breakfast entree’s. We had frittata’s, quiche, a Morocan inspired dish, and more.

My two favorites were a rosemary/ham frittata and fish and grits with a soft boiled egg on top.

This restaurant has received accolades but remains a bit of a hidden gem in my estimation. The small dining room was only half full on a Friday morning at about 10 a.m. It’s one of the most remarkable dining experiences you’ll find in the city.

It should also be noted that Chef Hanes cooks everything. He is the only person in the kitchen and does it all himself. The antique equipment, art, and atmosphere are worth the drive if you’re elsewhere in the city.

Don’t be in a rush at Eggshell, the service can be a bit slow based on our experience and a few Yelp reviews I read after visiting. Go anyway, Eggshell is a treasure.

NOTE: I plan on writing more on a couple of these businesses. Those posts will go up in the coming week or two. We didn’t have the time on a tour to stop and interview the owners. Our hosts did provide some notes that I will use to tell you more about a couple of these businesses. And I’ll note appropriately that the material was provided.

Michael Symon’s B-Spot Burgers Delivers

21 Friday Aug 2015

Posted by in Food & Travel, Indiana

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There are plenty of places to get a pretty good hamburger in most any town and even more choices for a gourmet burger in larger cities.

My Lola Burger with shared fries and onion rings.

My Lola Burger with shared fries and onion rings.

Celebrity chef and James Beard award-winner Michael Symon really delivers with his B-Spot Burger joints. His most recent opening at Ironworks, 86th and Keystone in Indianapolis, delivers one of the best burgers I’ve ever eaten.

Symon’s empire started with his signature fine dining restaurant in downtown Cleveland, Lola’s. Several visits there have thrilled and delivered great taste, creativity, and excitement for my palate. B-Spot burgers have expanded the Food Network and ABC The Chew co-host’s empire without the risks of high-end dinning entrepreneurship. Click here for my Nov. 2014 review.

The urban-industrial décor is perfect for a burger joint. Ample outside seating is a nice touch popular with the lunch crowd on a moderately busy Thursday. The menu offers burgers with unique topping mixtures to satisfy any palate – and if not, you can build your own.

Simon is a strict constructionist when it comes to a good burger. He preaches the use of a signature blend of Angus beef, cooked to order seasoned with salt. The toppings add the unique touch to the world-class chef’s sandwiches.

I had the “Lola” burger with melted cheddar, bacon, pickled onions, and a soft-fried egg. I cut the sandwich in two pieces for easier handling. The egg yolk dripped down over the burger for a tantalizing richness. I generally turn my nose up at anything “pickled,” but the onions had just the right amount of onion flavor and tang. It was an incredibly good burger.

3My lunch companion ordered one of Symon’s award-winning burgers, The Fat Doug. That burger comes with cole slaw, pastrami, stadium mustard, and swiss cheese. She loved every bite. We even chopped off bites to swap and offered rave reviews on both choices.

B-Spot serves the same famous “Lola Fries” available in the Cleveland home-base restaurant. The salty, rosemary-seasoned, thin cut potatos are addictive. Since it was a first visit, and wanting to be a thorough food reviewer, we also ordered the onion rings. Frankly, onion rings in too many restaurants often disappoint. But the onions were tender, the breading was lightly seasoned and very crispy. Perfect!

The restaurant offers a huge selection of beers and Symons Bad A** milkshakes. I’m anxious to delve into that portion of the visit during a future visit. The burgers are priced at $8.99 to $10.99. Everything is ala carte so a sandwich side and drink, will cost around $20.

Cleveland's Michael Symon

Cleveland’s Michael Symon

Indy has other “gourmet” burger shops I have yet to try. Symon sets the bar pretty high with his first-time venture into the expanding Indy food scene.

The location might offer a challenge for anyone not familiar with Indy’s northside. The Ironworks building sets at the busy corner of 86th and Keystone Avenue. The restaurant is actually on a back corner away from the two streets. There is a sign at the complex entrance.

I can’t wait to go back. Welcome to Indy Michael Symon!