Cork and Cracker Tasting at The Upper Room

Thursday night tastings at Cork and Cracker are back starting tomorrow night, April 16 at The Upper Room. Tomorrow will feature the Spanish wines of Torres with National Wine and Spirits. Well, you certainly have been asking, and we are pleased to announce that we are starting our Thursday night wine tastings again!


Thursday, April 16th
6:30 pm to 8:30 pm
The Upper RoomBroad Ripple Steak House
929 E. Westfield Blvd
$15 for six wines and appetizers. No Reservations needed.

Next regularly scheduled tasting on May 7th.

Three Latest and Best

Bourbon Salmon Reuben at The Oceanaire: Ignore the lunch specials at your peril. The wild salmon in a sweet glaze sat happily with a mound of sauerkraut on thick, toasted pumpernickel -- a tasty new take on an old favorite.

Dinner in The Ripple: Celebrated a friend's birthday at Broad Ripple Steakhouse Saturday. If, like me, you haven't had a meal there in a while, it's still how I remember, reliable and delicious. The maple walnut salmon would have been too sweet on its own, but was perfect with salty red potatoes. And sure, it's not in season but the asparagus was cooked perfectly and hit my spring craving for veg.

Brunch at Elements: I've been meaning to try it for weeks and finally made it to Sunday brunch at Elements. The simple menu has something for everyone including salads, whole plates, a three-course prix fixe, all in the Elements style. The eggs Benedict were a treat -- rich hollandaise coated two perfectly soft-poached eggs, a tender slice of steak, and toasted brioche. Perfect from our sunny perch.

Scholar's Inn Bakehouse Shuttered

Old news, but as of last week, the Scholar's Inn Bakehouse in Broad Ripple is closed, shuttered, locked up tight with a "For Lease" sign in the window and a disconnected phone. One has to wonder if a local coffee and sandwich shop couldn't make it in that location, what will? Another bar perhaps? And with local leaders touting the strength of daytime business in Broad Ripple (and commercial rents approaching the downtown prices), one has to wonder what went wrong. The website is still up touting sandwich specials. Cory Schouten reports Kosene and Kosene raised their rent and their business had been down.

Openings, Closings, and Talking Turkey

**November 4, look for Tulip Noir to open at the Old Towne Shopping Center on west 86th. Owner Dina Romay-Sipe will specialize in breakfast, lunch and an extensive tea menu. Carlos Salazar, a former line cook at Oakely's Bistro, will run the kitchen. Get there Monday-Friday since they're not open weekends.

**Is the end near for Dunaway's? No official word yet, but I've heard the same rumors you have about the venerable south side landmark. Sounds like they've had a tough financial go in recent weeks. Sadly, they're not the only fine dining restaurant we hear is struggling with the downturn. Update: Owner Jeff Dunaway denies the rumors are true and says they are absolutely not closing.

**If you still haven't ordered your fresh, Thanksgiving turkey, the folks at Good Earth want me to remind you they are a source as well for ordering fresh, all-natural birds. More on your turkey options.

Weekend Update

First week in July is a slow restaurant week, but here are a few updates to hold you over:

Brothers Bar and Grill: Cory at IBJ's Property Lines has updated renderings of what Brothers Bar and Grill will look like when it opens in Broad Ripple later this fall.

Top Chef Steph: My pal, Joe Gray over at the Stew (from the Chicago Trib) reports that Chicago chef and recent Top Chef winner is blogging now so fans can keep up at Top Chef Steph.

What To Eat? Grub Street offers some fish alternatives in case you're giving salmon a rest during the Wild Salmon shortage. Halibut is great but will only be in season for a few more months. They suggest arctic char, as well.

Favorite Internet Meal Ever: OK, so I'm a sucker for a great fried chicken sandwich, and this on from What Geeks Eat one looks great. Not to mention the amazing slaw -- on the sandwich. Want.

Clean out the Refrigerator Friday

*On Tuesday, we saw...Speaker Pat Bauer having dinner at Mo's, A Place for Steaks.

*On Wednesday, we saw...Gov. Mitch Daniels having dinner at Meridian.

*Westfield Boulevard in Broad Ripple is open again which should make getting to and from the northside a little easier.

*Fortyfive (757 Mass Ave) opens Saturday night with sushi and dinner starting at 5:00 p.m. and champagne at midnight.

What's Up in Broad Ripple?

Lots of rumors flying around about the future of Broad Ripple Village and what things are going to look like once Brothers Bar and Grill opens in October. Restaurants along Westfield like Broad Ripple Steak House and Ambrosia are looking at options since parking rates are expected to rise drastically once the large capacity bar opens this fall on the corner of Guilford and Broad Ripple Avenue. Brugge Brasserie, on the other hand, is expanding into much needed new space upstairs. (They're taking over the Netheads space as the internet cafe moves north.) How do you think the face of Broad Ripple will change? Will you still go on a Friday or Saturday night for dinner? What does the village need most? A multi-story parking strucutre? Tighter controls on development? More bars? Fewer?

Noblesville, Saxony, and Broad Ripple

Matteo's Gets Robbed; Catches Burgler! Matteo's in Noblesville was one of several businesses hit in a spree of break-ins last Monday night. But with the crafty surveillance video, police were able to arrest a suspect who, as it turns out, had been fired from Asian Grill and hit them as well. (Via Indychannel.com)

Mo's Irish Pub at Saxony: Mo's Irish Pub at Saxony, the next venture from the folks who own Mo's, A Place for Steaks, will open on schedule May 2. (VIP soft launch starts 4/30 with a private dinner, followed on May 1 by a a pre-opening benefit for Big Brothers Big Sisters, 6-10 p.m., $20 at the door.)

Brugge Expansion "On Schedule": Brugge Brasserie owner Ted Miller says they should be opening the new upstairs space expansion in May. (via DIG-B)

Broad Ripple McDonald's Has New Drive Through

Or, maybe we should say that eating at McDonald's really can be hazardous to your health. A driver lost control of her Cadillac, it ploughed into the McDonalds. Two people were hurt. Inchannel has pictures! The most amazing thing? I *totally* understand her excuse (from the Star).

Police said Weber indicted she recently had changed the brand of tennis shoe she had been wearing and was not used to the wider fit of the new shoes. Weber told police that one of the shoes got caught under a pedal, causing her to lose control and back into the restaurant.

I *so* know what she means about wearing wider shoes and getting them caught in the break pedal!

Getting a Squeeze at Glendale

Is it possible?! Our real smoothie store in the central city? Welcome to 2004! Seriously, it's nice to already see some of the new stores opening in the shiny new Glendale mall. Look for Squeeze on the Keystone side (within full view of LA Fitness) and order a variety of fruit or yogurt smoothies (with add-in supplements like energy boosts, calcium, fiber, or whey protein). Sizes are generous (The Rookie was more than enough of a calorie hit.) And don't forget to try some of the newer-to-Indiana ingredients and flavors like acai berries and matcha.

Top Chef, Broad Ripple, and Blogs

Whither El Morrocco? I'll check it out this week, but Traci Cumbay at the Star reports El Morrocco's phones are disconnected and the restaurant has been dark. A few months ago, they announced a format change to "small plates" and we heard they did away with the floor seating. Anyone know more?

Top Chef Cheftestants Announced: For those of you who aren't Bravo TV junkies (between Project Runway and Millionaire Matchmaker, how can you not be?), Top Chef Chicago starts in just a couple of weeks! The cheftestant bios are online. Here's what we know so far: 7 are from NYC including the chef de cuisine at Mai House (a Bouchon and Le Cirque alum), the chef/owner of 24 Prince, the sous chef from Public, the Lareado native who's exec chef at Dos Caminos (also a Babbo and Le Cirque alum), and the sous chef at Buddakan (also a Vong alum). From San Francisco, there's the chef at Myth Cafe, and the exec chef at Circa (wearing muy gold chains with a dress shirt), and the exec chef at COCO500, along with a club/restaurant consultant. From LA, there's the exec chef from Foxtail. From Chicago, there's a personal chef (hey, Casey did a great job in the last Top Chef) and the chef/owner from Scylla.

Updated Blog List: Just a little light housekeeping, but I've cleaned up a the Indiana blog list and added a few new food blogs. Seems like lots of folks had New Year's resolutions this year to write more about what they're cooking and eating. So, check out Susan Gillie's Indieats.com and a newcomer, Middle West Meals. Welcome to the food blog world! Need help keeping up with all the new blogs on your list? Try a reader or aggregator that will pick up syndicated feeds and bring new posts to you. I use Bloglines -- web-based, simple, and free, but Yahoo, Google and many more have great readers.

Trouble Brewing in Broad Ripple? Rumbles from Broad Ripple are that there may be a fight brewing over approval of Brother's Bar and Grill, slated to begin construction in the trophy shop building across from La Jolla this spring. While the small, mid-western chain is known for expensive renovations and large restaurant spaces, opponents believe another college beer isn't the best idea for the neighborhood. Possibly most alarming is the lack of necessary parking. Some say we should be ready for $10-15 parking on evenings and weekends. Neighborhood restaurant owners are reportedly unhappy and for good reason. Look for more to come this spring as the approval process progresses.

So Long, Sunflower

And the sign comes down. (Photo from Neal Brown.)

Sunflower Markets Closing

Friday, specialty retail publications broke the news: Parent SuperValu is closing all five of its Sunflower Markets including the one in Indianapolis'
Broad Ripple. Four other stores are located in Ohio and Illinois. The chain was designed to be a lower-priced, neighborhood alternative to more expensive organic/natural food markets such as Wild Oats and Whole Foods. Sunflower, on Broad Ripple Ave just east of the Monon Trail, will close the week of February 18.

SuperValu says they're closing the chain due to poor performance even though last year they announced plans to expand the concept nationwide. However, analysts say SuperValu has had stock problems all year after acquiring the Albertson's drugstore chain. Others speculate the Sunflower market concept, while unique, was too far away from the core business to continue sustaining lower-than-expected margins, let alone a costly expansion.

Rumors began flying late last year that the chain was in trouble when stores began scaling back inventory replacing deep selections in the natural food area with house brands. Competitor Wild Oats, on the other hand, expanded inventory and their pre-made food selection last year as a result of a corporate merger with Whole Foods. (Hat tip to reader Kevin who reminded me to check on this.)

Brothers, Bugg's and King Corn

Ahh, took a few needed days off from blogging. Ran into a pack of fellow food folks at The Oceanaire Thursday night and also at Meridian. (Here's a big shout out to our fans at Bradley and Montgomery!)

Brothers Bar and Grill Not a Done Deal? A breeze blowing in from Broad Ripple says that while midwestern chain Brothers Bar and Grill has purchased the building planned for their future location -- now housing the trophy shop and Union Jack's, the Broad Ripple Village Association has *not* granted formal approval for the chain (featuring such erudite specials as "no cover before 9 p.m." and "$1 Jaeger bombs") to open their bar on the corner. Next hurdle will be their liquor hearing -- although I can't imagine it will be much of a debate. Many of us can't imagine BRVA won't eventually stand behind the deal, but here's hoping some of groups who want to clean up Broad Ripple speak up along the way.

A New Chef at 14 West: Somewhere I missed the news that Brandon Hamilton had moved on from 14 West. No matter, they're making the rounds with the recently promoted sous chef, Layton Roberts. I haven't been in yet, but hear the sweetbreads are off the menu. Lobster-brie mac and cheese is still on.

Bugg's *Still* Working out Problems: In this week's NUVO, new food writer Jennifer Litz has a review taking Bugg's Tavern to task and rightly so. When a restaurant is out of beer and wine inventory, out of food items, and generally trimming their menu back -- with ongoing service issues -- it's usually a sign of trouble. Too bad, since all reports are Chef Brad Gates is still doing fantastic work in the kitchen. I know everyone wants to see this place succeed even despite themselves, but I sure hope someone is paying attention. And Jennifer, welcome to Indianapolis food!

King Corn Documentary: (This post should have been "What I Learned Reading NUVO Today".) The best part of The Omnivore's Dilemma was the section on how we're all becoming walking corn chips. If you're interested in more information on how corn -- and our seeming addiction to it in America -- -- is affecting our environment and health, check out Curt Ellis documentary, King Corn. Screened by NUVO as part of their Social Justice Series. 7:00 p.m., Thursday, January 17, Lockerbie Central United Methodist Church (at New York and East Streets).

R Bistro Is Hiring: Regina is looking for a new line cook for lunches at R Bistro. (Stop it! Stop kicking me under the table! Stop!)

Quiz Answer: Celeriac is a member of the celery family but is grown for it's tasty root -- so it's often called "celery root". Celery root is a popular ingredient in soups and salads. Sorry, no dice on the fennel bulb answer. Fennel bulb is another ingredient altogether. 78% got it right.

Brothers Bar and Grill in Broad Ripple

Cory is reporting from the real estate side that Brothers Bar and Grill will go into Broad Ripple in the former trophy shop space right on Broad Ripple Ave. They'll do some work to the building and space on the corner. Brothers is a small midwestern burger/bar chain and based on their website looks like they'll fit in well with the evening diners and late night Broad Ripple crowd competing most closely with restaurants like Union Jack's, Broad Ripple Steakhouse and Brugge and eateries/bars like Chumley's, Broad Ripple Tavern, and OPT. (They look a little like a Broad Ripple version of Champps and I'm sure they'll keep some locals in the neighborhood in the summer.) Cory is working on getting the renderings, but I hear they're planning on opensided window/walls and outdoor seating. It sure will be nice to have an alternative to La Jolla for sitting outside in good weather.

One thing that has me curious: I'm not familiar with the workings of Broad Ripple Village, but based on the past year's complaints about underage drinking, public intoxication, and even trash from a typical Friday and Saturday night, I'm surprised there hasn't been more discussion about adding another party bar/restaurant to that block. No word on an opening date.