Suddenly Shuttered: Bistro de Paris

From what I hear, employees of Carmel's Bistro de Paris arrived for work last week to find the place closed and empty. No notice. The food at this little French bistro was always passable, but the dining room was usually only half full. I'm sure they found it hard to complete with the burgers, pub grub, and 'zza just down the street, especially in these economic times. If you have favorite independents that you want to see make it, go. Go and eat. Don't wait. They need your business now.

Bits and Pieces -- Freezing Wednesday

Just a few interesting items to keep an eye on:

** Carmel's Vine and Table starts a four class-series of classes on wine basics and food pairings this Thursday. She also reviews classes at Kiss Z Cook (with a compare/contrast to Frasier's). [That'll Teach Me]

** A new Indiana winery is open in the Lafayette area, Wildcat Creek. With easy-to-get juice, sounds like several more in the state are slated to open in 2009. No word on which ones, if any, will actually grow their own. [Indiana Wine Blog]

** Don't forget Slow Food Indy's annual meeting on Jan. 25. [Slow Food Indy]

** Slow-cooked ribs and marrow. I want this. [Wine Canine]

Save Your Leftovers for Slow Food Indy

Save the Sunday after Thanksgiving for the Slow Food Indy Thanksgiving Leftovers Party. The group will gather at King of Glory Lutheran Church in Carmel at 2:00 p.m. Could be a good way to share a turkey sandwich (with cranberry and cream cheese, natch) or get your green bean casserole on. More info at Slow Food Indy's blog.

Hot Shotz Burns Saturday

Hot Shotz, the popular pub at 96th and Grey, suffered major damage from a kitchen fire on Saturday morning. The owner reports fire, smoke, and water damage throughout the building. Even so, everyone was able to regroup and Hoosier Beer Geek's Hops for Pops event looks like it went off without a hitch. Great job, guys! (More on Hot Shotz and pics at Indianabeer News via Hoosier Beer Geek)

Glass Chimney/Deeter's Opens Again

The Wine Canine has more details on today's reopening at the Glass Chimney in Carmel. Looks like most of the kitchen staff is coming back so things should be back to normal in no time. (He also has the location and deets on the new Cork and Cracker location!) [Wine Canine]

Shut Out at Fogo de Chao

Want a Caipirinha? Forget Fogo de Chao unless you're staying for dinner. This new Brazilian steakhouse doesn't allow casual cocktailers in the bar. (The person on the phone says they can only transfer bar bills over to dinner tickets.)

The Dish confirms what we'd heard: Chef Kathy Jones is already leaving Bistro de Paris in Carmel. The food at this little place is surprisingly good but they were nearly empty on a recent Sunday for brunch while Muldoon's and Bazbeaux just down the block were packed.

Dunkin Donuts Downtown: Cory at IBJ's Property Lines reports on the new look for the old Rosslyn, now a Dunkin Donuts. They are scheduled to open on June 25.

Update: The folks at Fogo corporate say you *can* have cocktails only in the bar.

Glass Chimney Update

The Star is reporting the Glass Chimney deal has hit a "snag" but they won't say it's off. ("Kitchen staff" issues could mean any sort of thing.) Star story. IBJ says the deal is "wobbly". From the IBJ:

Unspecified issues with the kitchen staff has delayed the change in ownership of The Glass Chimney and Deeter’s, said James Roudebush, one of the three buyers in talks with restaurant owner Dieter Puska.“I’d say the deal is a little wobbly,” Roudebush said, but declined to explain the issues with the workers in the kitchen.

Quick Newsy Bits -- Rathskellar and The Front Page

Rathskellar Bier Garten Opens: Whee! The Biergaten opens April 25 -- this Friday! With the Polka Boys! Of course, along with everything else happening this Friday, it's a tough decision.

Front Page Expands: Cory reports that everyone's favorite dive on Mass Ave (OK, *second* favorite dive), the Front Page, is adding another 2000 square feet and expanding out on the Delaware St. side. Yea! Lemondrops for everyone!

Arby's Buys Wendys: Kent-Taco, Pizza Bell, Taco Hut, whatever you call these fast food brand mashups get ready for what's likely to be one more: Arby's/Wendy's. Actually, not a bad combo. A beef and cheddar and baked potato. Or Classic single with those funny onion petal things. Arby's takes Wendy's in a stock-only deal.

Glass Chimney Deal Off? A reader reports that they stopped in to Glass Chimney last night and were told the sale is off. Anyone have any updates?

Glass Chimney Sale -- Updated

Anyone know what's up with The Glass Chimney and Deeter's? Servers told intrepid readers over the weekend that a sale is in the works and employees only expect the venerable restaurant to be closed for only a few days between owners. Dieter is retiring and the restaurants were originally scheduled to close at the end of this month.

Updated: Dieter has agreed to stay on through May and will consult for six months after that (says the Star.) New owners say expect no changes for the first six months. Indy Star and IBJ have reports.

Three Latest and Best: Tour of the North

Lunch at Bistro de Paris: Had a lovely lunch last week with fellow blogger, parent of Winecanine.com. We popped over to the new Bistro de Paris on Carmel's Main Street in the former Pizza King location. Once inside, the restaurant is a pleasant space -- if a bit noisy. We enjoyed a rich French onion soup with blue cheese and crepes. Mine was chicken and mushroom with a vevelty cream sauce all perched on a bed of shoestring sweet potatoes. Good enough to get me back for dinner.

Chicken Salad from Joe's Meat Market: I couldn't hit Carmel's Main Street without popping in to say "Hello!" to Joe Lazzara at Joe's Butcher Shop. This bustling meat market and gourmet shop is stocked with more goodies every time I stop in -- complete with a good selection of moderately priced wines. But meat here is still the star of the show here. (I even met some of the team from Morristown's Viking Lamb.) Look for his summer schedule of local chef cook-outs and his newly sourced closer-to-the-real-deal Kobe. (And of course, I've already devoured the chicken salad -- it's my favorite!)

Margaritas and Guac at Adobo Grill: Sure, their avocados come from points far south by the traincar-load, but where else can you get pretty damn good fresh gaucamole year round? After some not-so-great tableside guac at other places, I'm even more in awe of how the gauc makers at Adobo get it right pretty much all the time. Summer's coming although they've just posted new hours with no lunches except Friday, Saturday, and Sunday.

Two-Minute Warning: Ladies and Gentleman, as an example of the gross mediocrity of the upscale chains populating the 86th Street corridor, I present to you El Torito Grill. Once, the elegant Keystone Grill, the interior now looks pretty much the same, only a little shabbier. Think Don Pablo's minus the fake town decor complete with waiters singing happy birthday songs and a birthday candle stuck in flan. While it's packing 'em in on the northside, like every other place at Keystone these days, there were a few strange things. It's nice that they have an extra person to open the door for customers when they come in. So, how can I say this delicately. Maybe it's not such a great idea to have your most dermatalogically-challenged teenager doing it. Not a great *face* to put on your establishment. Bar service seemed to have a blind spot on my side of the bar. I did order a drink, but could never catch the chips and salsa guy's eye although everyone else was immediately served. I did, however, get openly leered at by a server as he waited for his drink order, so there was that. Our tableside guac was way oversalted but our meals were generally fine although not like the cool presentations on their website. To his credit, our waiter was a trooper dealing with a large group, people switching seats, splitting the check in a complex number of ways. But *what* is the deal with the flour tortillas with *honey* butter? That's just plain weird.

Food Fight Winners!

Great work to all the cheftestants in last night's PACE/OAR Food Fight fundraiser. Hosted at The Chef's Academy, three chefs participated in the inaugural event using individual kitchens and cooking from a mystery basket. Ingredients included a chicken, purple potatoes, risotto, peppers, red pearl onions, asparagus, bell peppers and shitake mushrooms. Each chef had two hours and two student assistants to complete their dishes.

First prize went to Chef Sean Bartosiak, the executive chef at Kiss Z Cook in Carmel. A Cooking and Hospitality Institute grad from Chicago, he's a Something Different alum with Steve Oakley, pre-Oakley's Bistro days. Second place was Chef Daniel Carter who after stints as executive stints at the Downtown Marriott and Convention Center is co-owner of Delectable Comfort Cuisine Catering. And third place was Steve Ongley, currently a student at The Chef's Academy and working with Chef Kathy Jones at the new Bistro de Paris in Carmel. (Many will recognize Steve from Goose, the Market where he's often behind the counter!)

Great work by the organizers, chefs, and students -- (and special thanks for the excellent goody basket for us judges.) And a shout out to Jill Ditmire of Mass Avenue Wine Shoppe for pouring such great wines and Alcatraz for the microbrew.

Monday, Monday

Being sick sucks! I coughed and hacked my way through last week, and now the inside of my tounge is coated with a gunk so evil that all food tastes flavorless and dull. Good thing it didn't start until after a fantastic bit of wine-geekery on Friday night. (Complete with a wonderful white Burgundy, a delicious Malbec, a 1997 Australis, a Melville, a Chateau Potelle VGS Zin, and a sinfully wonderful Pax -- so dark that the "legs" on the glass were black.)

Ghost Stories at Meridian: All we needed were some marshmallows and a campfire while enjoying the cozy upstairs private dining room at Meridian as Chef Dan Dunville told us ghost stories about their renovated building. Apparently, there's long been the ghost of an old woman in the historic 1870s log cabin building which has been everything from an inn to a private home to several restaurants over its life. (The dark richness of the original log cabin and stone walls bring an elegant warmth to the small, upstairs, private dining room.) But lately, it seems a few staffers have had some loud scares. Their ghost likes to bang pots in the kitchen, but otherwise, she's been deemed friendly.

Cafe de Paris: Early reports are trickling in on the new bistro on Carmel's main street featuring Chef Kathy Jones, late of Cobblestone Grill. The winecanine was at the soft launch and has an early report. No restaurant web site up yet.

Copertos in San Francisco: Currently, in San Francisco, restaurants are required by law to provide health care coverage for their servers. If you run your own business -- restaurant or not -- you know how expensive health insurance can be. So the new thing? A few upscale eateries are starting to add a "coperto" or a small fee for each diner ($1.25-$2.50 per customer), added to the check on top of tax, to cover the additional costs. The well-regarded restaurant Delfina, which started the practice, distributes a letter to customers saying the owners feel a "coperto" is a better solution than raising menu prices across the board. Oh, there's so much to say on this -- from how much I disagree with mandated health care to whether or not one should tip on the coperto. (Personally, I don't tip on tax so why would I tip on an additional fee designed to cover something the employee was -- or should have been -- paying for on their own before?) Don't expect the practice to make much headway outside SF anytime soon, but expect it grow beyond just the current few city restaurants struggling to cover extra costs. More from Michael Bauer at the SF Chron.

Biggest White Castle Ever! Friday, Louisville's mayor declared "White Castle Opening Day" as he welcomed the newest store in the burger chain, one that seats nearly 80 people, the largest in the US. With all this hoopla, it's apparent that in Louisville, they love their sliders. (They estimate their White Castle locations serve 170,000 people a week.)

Karl Benko Leaving Peterson's

For a town this small, I was surprised the rumors didn't start earlier. Yes, it's true, Chef Karl Benko is leaving Peterson's to spend a year teaching, consulting, and learning. He announced it to his staff on Friday before service. He'll tentatively leave on March 1 after which he'll serve as a consultant to the restaurant.

What's next for Chef Benko? Karl is already an active consultant, teacher, and presenter for culinary groups like Star Chefs and Food University working with well-known chefs and food personalities around the country. This year, he'll be involved full time with Food University, hitting the road for a 15-city tour this spring as well as expanding his national consulting business. He's even planning a stage or two with some well-known chefs in Chicago and NYC. He and his wife, Carrie, plan to stay in Indianapolis and hope to remain here long term.

Karl and Carrie are dear friends and the best of people. From the US Culinary Olympics team to seminars at Food University, Karl has a long history of generously sharing his knowledge and love food and wine. I can hardly wait to hear about his new adventures. (Maybe there's a guest blogger spot in his future.)

Ch-ch-ch-changes: The Glass Chimney will serve its last steak Diane at the end of April. Chef Dieter Puska is retiring and the old school Carmel eatery will close April 26. He's also closing Deeters next door. Deeters and Gabes, Puska's restaurant at 86th and Ditch, closed 5 years ago. (Oakleys Bistro is in the space.) More from the IBJ.

Quitting the Night Job: Susan Brewer, bar manager extraordinaire at the downtown Ruth's Chris, celebrated her last day (night) with the restaurant last week. In her day job, Susan is an accomplished local artist with a studio at the Stutz Building and will be pursuing her art full time. (Good for her!) She will be missed.

Closed for Remodeling: Reports are trickling in from Zionsville that changes are in the works at Brix. They're currently closed for remodeling and a format change while ownership changes within the family. (Their website touts a new seafood raw bar.) They're targeting February for an opening date.

Late Lunch: Z's Oyster Bar is still in "soft launch" phase but we're hearing they have some marketing plans in the works for the Spring. In the meantime, they'll be opening for lunch later this week which could be a good way to try them in the daylight.

Monday Morning Tidbits

Open for Lunch: Lunches for office staff are popular during the holiday season. Add Mo's, A Place for Steaks, to the list of restaurants open for lunch on select days in December. Mo's will be open Thursday, Dec. 20 and Friday, Dec. 21.

Fine French Dining? Early word has it that a a new French restaurant will go into the former Pizza King space on Main in Carmel's arts and design district. (A hat tip to Joe Lazzara, my Carmel informant and one of their new neighbors.) No firm info on opening date.

Care Packages: The Star has a useful article on care packages for military personnel stationed overseas, kids in the hospital, and college students. I have a family member in Iraq and many in my family have already sent packages of treats. There are some good ones on the list: sunblock, lip balm, powdered drink mixes, books, and wet wipes. Also, included is useful info on how to send it, what not to send, and deadlines. Mail by Tuesday to make Christmas in Iraq!

Tidbits

Copper River Salmon Coming to Joe's: In California, restaurants are always packed for that short few weeks in spring when Copper River Salmon arrived. Thanks for the modern day miracles of seafood wholesaling, you, too, can enjoy it right here in Indiana over the Memorial Day weekend. You'll be able to taste the difference. Copper River is one of the top wild salmons you can find -- and also pretty pricey. Joe says call ahead to for price and for how much they have.

Bub's Cafe Opens: If you frequent the Monon in Carmel, you'll be familiar with Bub's Burgers. Look for a new Bub's to open a few doors down. Looks like they'll specialize in breakfast and light lunches.

City Market Disaster: Not to second guess anyone who would possibly think it was a good idea to relocate to the City Market to begin with, but the Star today has a piece on yet another stranded tenant. Corks Market, late of 49th and Penn, planned for a relocation and has found themselves caught in yet another delay. The opening has now been pushed back to August. In the meantime, I'm wondering a) if a wine shop can really work at City Market, and b) why 49th and Penn wasn't a good spot for them. Maybe it was because they were great at first, but then severely limited their inventory of everything -- including wine -- at the 49th and Penn shop?

Joe's Butcher Shop and Fish Market

"I remember! You said 'We'll see,'" said Joe Lazzara, owner of Joe's Butcher Shop and Meat Market. He obviously reads me which is both flattering and frightening with the memory this guy's got. But now that I've seen it, I can confidently say that after 14 months in business I sure hope Joe's Butcher Shop and Fish Market in Carmel is here to stay.

Having met the team -- from his lovely wife Kathy (maker of the famous chicken salad) to his real-deal butcher Fritz -- I can say I'm impressed. Aged beef cut in house, gorgeous marbled steaks, beautiful, fresh pork, and some of the best fresh chicken I've ever seen. They even make their own beef jerky -- rich with cloves. (And *so* good.)

Located right in the middle of the newly renovated downtown Carmel (and down the street from Deb Berman's popular Bazbeaux Pizza), Joe's seems to be finding its niche. Joe and Fritz say some people come in every day while others pop in with a recipe in hand, working on a special dish or meal. They've become experts at tracking down hard to find meat cuts of fresh fish.

And speaking of fish, they've got it. Using the same suppliers that work with some of the best restaurants in town, Joe has fresh fish in every day -- and can get anything else you need if you call ahead. "None of this would be possible without the Internet," says Joe who's pretty tied to his phone and email for the owner of a butcher shop. Overnights, instant ordering, and suppliers with efficient distribution systems are why we can eat such great meat and seafood every day. On the other hand, he buys local and fresh as well. His Amish chickens come from northern Indiana.

A former telecomm executive, Lazzara spent months researching meat and the business before opening his shop -- and from what we can tell, it's paid off. He's personally visited most if not all of his suppliers and can tell you exactly where the meat came from and how it was raised. So if you're looking for fresh meat and fish options on the north side, you can't overlook Joe's.