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Howard W. Hewitt

~ … The "W" stands for wine!

Howard W. Hewitt

Tag Archives: Indy Restaurants

Lots of new good eats in Indy

17 Tuesday Jul 2018

Posted by Howard in Food & Travel, Indiana, Newspaper Column 2018, Uncategorized, Wine Education/News/Updates

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Beholder, Cafe Patachou, Crispy Bird, Hedge Row, Indy dining, Indy fine dining, Indy fried chicken, Indy Restaurants, Jonathan Brooks, Kimbal Musk, Mass Ave., Next Door restaurant, The Eagle Restaurant

Indianapolis continues to be a food hotbed and even if you only get into the capital city a time or two a year there is something for everyone. And lots of new places to try out.

grape-sense-logoBeholder, the brainchild of Milktooth super chef Jonathan Brooks, is now open and wowing local upscale diners. Brooks has been lauded by Food & Wine magazine, Eater magazine, and mentioned in many other national food publications. Food scene people know Brooks.

His newest venture is something of a gambler’s visit to Indy’s old eastside just beyond the entertainment and restaurant laden Mass Ave. Beholder sit on 10th St., near historic Woodruff Place’s Victorian homes. Brooks is risking name, reputation and a lot of dollars that Beholder can become a destination restaurant that will draw people to the sometimes seamy east side. The immediate neighborhood is changing in the area, and a big thanks goes to Beholder.

IMG_1510

Chef Jonathan Brooks

The restaurant has a modern ubran décor and an eclectic menu which can change day to day. Brooks takes his diners on an amazing array of tastes and textures throughout the meal. My dining partner and I enjoyed eggplant tartar, rye pasta with chicken liver pate’, pork tenderloin slices with pickled onion, BBQ octopus and more Since a year or so ago Grape Sense has occasionally delved into food and even Indy-area restaurants.. It was amazing – even some of the things we didn’t think we’d like!

Two glasses of bubbles, two appetizers, one medium plate, two glasses of wine, two entrée, and one dessert came to $185. That’s certainly a high-end price but within the range of dinner for two, with wine, at other top Indy dining spots. Beholder sets a very high bar.

There are lots of other new things to try. The big news of early summers was the arrival of Kimball Musk’s two new Indy dining spots – the more upscale Hedge Row on Mass Ave and Next door at College and 46th. Must is known not just as the brother of Tesla founder Elon Musk but as an entrepreneur and philanthropist.

His business focuses on community, local ingredients, and even bringing affordable foods to food islands like the College Avenue location.

Fried Chicken seems to be new again, often with a hint of spice, Martha Hoover’s food empire just keeps growing. The woman known for the fabulous, and nationally recognized, breakfast at her flagship Café Patachou is all in with her son on fried chicken. Crispy Bird is the small restaurant just off Pennsylvania Ave at 49th.

Another chicken-serving hot spot is The Eagle on Mass Ave. Eagle’s chicken comes out each time tasting like it’s freshly fried and with a hint of spice. Beer is a big deal at the Eagle so the combination draws mature diners and lots of young patrons. It has a youthful vibe that makes it simple fun to enjoy the dish grandma used to do so well.

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Rail Town’s Italian Spot Off Track

11 Sunday May 2014

Posted by Howard in Food & Travel

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Beech Grove, Indy Restaurants, Napoli Villa, Ruffino

UPDATE: I got a very nice and apologetic note from Napoli Villa’s manager yesterday. He acknowledged several of the problems I noted in this review. He also assured me the wine mistake was a probably ‘lack of knowledge’ which I assumed. He offered a gift card, which I politely declined. I thanked him for his prompt attention and assured him I’d return to the restaurant. It was exactly the kind of response good restaurant owners should give when something goes awry!

BEECH GROVE, Indy – There is nothing more disappointing and frustrating than an old favorite restaurant losing its way.

Great ravioli, watered-down sauce.

Great ravioli, watered-down sauce.

Napoli Villa in Beech Grove, Indianapolis’ southside, has been a bedrock of traditional Italian cooking since the 1960s. I’ve gone there for the simple, sweet red sauce, crispy calamari, savory soups, and homemade pasta for several years.

During a Friday May 9 visit, the number of errors was really hard to overlook. I can forgive an untrained waitress or undercooked/overcooked food, thin sauce, or a lack of wine knowledge. But when you put all of that together, and a few other mistakes, the dinner experience was far below this charming little spot’s normal standards.

From the top, our pleasant young waitress was slow getting our calamari to the table but then delivered the soup before we had barely touched the appetizer. Okay, no big deal. Then while tasting the admittedly delicious-as-always appetizer and soups, my dinner companion and I realized we didn’t have the bread we always enjoy and promised on the menu. We had to ask. The nice young lady delivered the yummy homemade bread and we dig in. The bread turned out to be substantially underbaked – to the point you could see doughy chuncks on a few of the pieces.

Through the first half of our meal the young lady brought dishes on three occasions without clearing the dirty dishes away.

Reliable Ruffino, but not the Classico.

Reliable Ruffino, but not the Classico.

Our entree’s had issues. My friend usually has a veal/proscuitto dish while I enjoy Napoli Villa’s ravioli. My ravioli was perfectly cooked with tasty sausage inside. But the signature red sauce was watered down – literally tasted like it was thinned with water. The veal dish was disappointing with a poor quality cut of veal while the proscuitto was incredibly tough.

The coup de grace  actually happened early on. The wine list had a limited selection of Italian wines but a couple of different Chianti wines. I selected the widely-available Ruffino Chianti Classico. The waitress delivered the wine and it appeared to be a Chianti. Not the end of the world but not what I ordered. And as any wine enthusiast knows there is a price difference. The young waitress had no idea what I was talking about so I just accepted the wine.

But to add insult to injury, an older woman – part of the family which owns the restaurant, I believe – came and explained they don’t put “Classico” on the label anymore. I challenged that based on DOC-DOCG laws just to be difficult and she flew right by the facts and assured me it was a Classico. No rooster, no Classico, but I just took the wine because it was only $4 difference. (Which we deducted from the tip.)

I blurred face - eating at bar.

I blurred face – eating at bar.

The problems were widespread. First, I didn’t blame the young waitress for her errors – though some common sense appeared missing – I blame management for poorly training the wait staff. The young lady also appeared to have tables at each end of the sizable dining room. During our dinner a kitchen worker wandered behind the busy bar in our dining area and consumed a bowl of food.

We’ve had so many positive experiences at the Beech Grove icon we will go back. The restaurant was quite busy but they won’t be if these errors continue to occur. I’ve never been this disappointed with a favorite spot. The railroad town’s Italians have gone off track.

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