Fletcher Boyd at Patrick's Kitchen

If you were a fan of Fletcher Boyd from the Fletcher of Atlanta days, here's your choice to enjoy his unique talents again. Oh, I didn't mention? It's a magic show -- but all in good fun with the folks from Patrick's Kitchen and Drinks in Zionsville on Weds, Dec 17. (The date was changed to 12/17 some time ago. Apparently the Star didn't check and got it wrong.)

The pairings have a little something for everyone including beer and a lot of Artesa, the Carneros house that started life as Codor Niu's American outpost. Look for a Spinach and artichoke torte with a Magic Martini or Duvel Belgian Golden Ale, prosciutto-wrapped horseradish shrimp, curried scallop cake and portabello satay with Voga Sparkling Pinot Grigio, Canadian crab soup with Wittekerke, Salmon in Mojo with Artesa Chardonnay, Ceasar salad with a Sauvignon Blanc, a lime buttermilk sorbet, then Filet ala Fletcher with Artesa Elements, and Bananas Foster and peach galette with Umberto Fiore Moscato d'Asti. $100 per person.

Patrick's is also opening for brunch beginning this Sunday, Dec 21.

Peter Rosback and a Sineann Tasting

If you missed the Sineann dinner at Tallent or the last time Peter Rosback was in town, make sure you make it to Zionsville on Saturday. If you follow Oregon wines, you'll be familar with this fantastic house. Now's your chance to tell the winemaker in person. The folks from Grapevine Cottage will have 12 Sineann wines open for tasting at the Cobblestone Grill including his new pinots. They're taking reservations in half hour blocks so everyone gets a chance to meet and talk to Rosback.

Saturday, November 15

2:30 - 5:30 p.m.

For reservations, call Grapevine Cottage, 317-733-1010

Alice Waters, Tallent, and Tea in Zionsville

**I hear Alice Waters tickets are sold out for her appearance at the IMA on December 2.

**Congratulations to Bloomington's Restaurant Tallent celebrating their 5 year anniversary today!

** We hear Serenity has opened in Zionsville, bringing you English tea from the people who have Serendipity in Carmel.

Peter Rosback and Sineann Events

I'm getting more information today, but looks like Peter Rosback, winemaker and owner of the cult favorite Oregon house Sineann, will be in town this weekend. If you're a fan of this winery known for their intense pinot noirs and zins (and some lovely whites), make sure you mark these on your schedule:

Friday, June 20, 6:00-7:30 p.m., tasting at Restaurant Tallent in Bloomington

Winemaker Peter Rosback will be on hand to pour and chat. Dave will have snacks. $25 per person. Plus, if you want to stay, there's a special 5-course tasting menu for the night paired with Sineann wines for $70 per person. Sineann is one of Krissy Tallent's favorite wines so you know Dave went all out on this tasting menu!

Chilled Sweet Pea Soup with Crab, Mint, and Preserved Lemon
Paired with Sineann Celilo Gewurztraminer

Thyme Oil Poached Gulf Oysters with Baby Fennel, Red Peppers, and Olives
Paired with Sineann Marlborough Sauvignon Blanc

Pan Seared Indiana Duck Breast with Black Truffle Grits, Collard Greens, and Morel Jus
Paired with Sineann Covey Ridge Pinot Noir

Pork Trio with Warm Fingerling Potato Salad, Sugar Snap Peas, and a Kentucky Bourbon Jus
Paired with Sineann Abondante Blend

Artisan Cheese Plate
Paired with Sineann Sweet Sydney Zinfandel Ice Wine

Saturday, June 21, 2:30-5:00 p.m., tasting at The Cobblestone Grill in Zionsville

Closer to home Rosback will be pouring 12 Sineann wines including four of his great summer whites in the garden if the weather holds. (Inside if not.) $10.00 charge for the tasting and you need reservations. From Doug at Grapevine Cottage: "To ensure that everyone gets a chance to try all the wines and meet Peter, we are taking reservations for the tasting in 1/2 hour increments. We will begin tasting at 2:30 and continue through 5:30. Just reply via email or give us a call with the number in your party and your choice of time. Reservations will be acknowledged via email." (Email thewineguy at prodigy.net with your desired time, how many in your group, and your contact information.)

All You Need to Know Involving a Pig and an Ice Sculpture

Taste of Elegance -- The Big Pig: Next time you see Chef Brandon Hamilton, make sure you congratulate him as The Big Pig! In the presence of a giant melting pig ice sculpture, his dish of Pork Trotters with Shagbark Hickory Custard topped the field of nine in last night's Taste of Elegance at the Indiana Roof Ballroom. He'll go on to compete in the national competition later in the spring. Second was Chef Jeffrey Bane from The Chef's Academy with a braised hocks dish and third was Chef Josh Horrigan cooking for Spiceland's newest steakhouse -- Macaboos. Horrigan's dish -- that he calls Pork Wings -- might have "next big thing" written all over it. (He takes the tendon part of the foot behind the piggy ankle, braises it, then slathers it with sauce like chicken wings. As bar food, there's almost nothing better. And who doesn't love the whole "flying pigs" metaphor.) The event was presented by Indiana Pork in partnership with the Indiana Farm Bureau and Indiana Soybean Alliance (with a large table of Indiana wines from the Indiana Wine Grape Council.)

Hamilton (nee-14 West, nee Indianapolis Dine) is currently consulting with the Trader's Point Creamery Cafe on their new Friday and Saturday night dinner service. Thanks to the crack judging team -- Chef Tony Hanslits (of The Chef's Academy), Chef Dan Dunville (Meridian Restaurant and Bar), Chef Greg Schiesser (Indiana Downs), and Alan Wilhoite (Wilhoite Family Farms and National Pork Board member.

Good-bye, Oakley's, Hello InVie: The lovely Lisa Cunningham (our local Woman on Wine) has moved on to her next gig as a rep with Olinger's premium wine distribution group, InVie. You'll remember her from Oakleys Bistro where she's helmed the front of house and wine list for several years after long stints at Something Different and California Pizza Kitchen. Good luck, Lisa!

Brix Update -- Noah Grant's: They might be opening. Maybe. But under a new name. And there might be a raw bar. We don't really know for sure. Winecanine might know more. He has the goods on what might -- or might not be -- happening at Brix.

Happy Birthday to The Good Grape: Happy blog-a-versary to The Good Grape -- a national wine blog written by a local blogger. Read his wine commandments. Post them over the door to your cellar (or over your wine rack), and remember to enjoy! Jeff is a pal (and former colleague in a past life) and is a great addition to the wine blogging world -- and look for us to do another Good Grape/Feed Me Drink Me event soon. We promise! Plus, he pointed me to this which made me laugh.

Food Fight! Mark your calendars for the Food Fight Culinary Competition at The Chef's Academy benefiting PACE/OAR on Saturday, Feb 23. Looks like a good night of cooking competition, tasting, and cocktails. Snacks and wine from Mass Ave Wine Shoppe. Tickets are $50.

Wednesday Tidbits

Bravo Moves South: Bravo! Italian Kitchen is opening a Greenwood location (from Cory at Property Lines.) Word on the local scene is that few restaurants -- chains or otherwise -- are seeing the numbers they hoped from the south side. There may be some overall economic issues (many restaurants had a tough December), but Greenwood may be an exception to the "if you build it, they will come" rule, one on which many restaurant investors were relying. Recently, one local restaurateur considering an expansion spent a week sitting in seemingly popular Greenwood establishments tracking and counting customers throughout the day. He wasn't surprised by what he found: a boatload of popular chain restaurants half empty. "When you consistently walk into Chili's right in front of a mall and it's not full, there's a problem."

Additionally, look for 2008 to bring some shake-ups in the chain market in Indianapolis, especially on the northside. With a slow December, restaurant supply companies (the closest early indicators to failure) say big changes are coming. A record number of restaurants have fallen behind -- and without a December bump to pay bills, some won't make it into summer. At least one company says look for the big chains to start closing locations that aren't working -- and addressing the market saturation among diners in the Castleton area and 86th St. corridor. We'll always have new ones coming in, but look for less patience from parent companies for restaurants to prove themselves.

Cheffy Shuffle: Oh, the drama of small town restaurants. Kathy Jones, chef at Cobblestone Grill quit and has re-emerged as chef at Cafe de Paris, the new bistro on Carmel's Main Street. (The Dish reports she'll be doing African influenced food? Seems odd in a French Bistro, but whatever.) Oh, you Zionsville folks are snickering behind your glasses of merlot over all this, I know.

Fletchers of Atlanta: Life might not be over for this Indiana institution. Look for new ownership from inside the kitchen in the next few weeks. They're hoping to help Fletcher's return to the best of the past -- and they *might* even be able to pull off the relaunch by Valentine's Day. (Looks like the website URL has already been hijacked by poachers since they've been closed.)

Name This Cheese: Going Local's Victoria Wessler announces that Fons Smits at Trader's Point is just about ready to unveil his newest cheese, a *pasteurized* cow's milk cheese that he calls a cross between Gouda and Cheddar. (Fons is a man that knows his Cheddars if you've ever had Cowgirl Creamery's Red Hawk.) Fons has been calling this new cheese "Chouda" which he pronounces in his wonderful Dutch accent as "Chowda". He also says "Gow-da" where we'd say "Goo-da" so, my vote? Call it "Chowda" but spell it so everyone knows how to pronounce it! Wessler says they're looking for ideas for the new name through the end of the week. Post here and I'll send the email over to Fons. (Would rather not post his email here to avoid filling up his spam box.)

Women, Tell Men How You Feel -- about Dining: Scott Hutcheson, the Hungry Hoosier asks the question of women: How to you rate men based on how they choose restaurants? Take the survey via his blog.

Quiz Answer: Huitlacoche is corn smut. (Heh, "corn smut" -- must be Michael Pollan's version of food porn.) It's actually a fungus that attacks corn in damp conditions and enlarging the kernels and turning them grey. Popular in some southwestern cuisine. In the late 89s, the James Beard Foundation even led a charge to change the name to "Mexican truffles."

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.

Chef Shuffle, Devouring Downtown, and Achatz

Some New Chefs in Town: Sometimes a new chef is a great excuse to give a restaurant you'd written off another try. Word has it that Dunaway's has a new chef (we hear the former sous chef has taken over the kitchen). Wine Canine notes that the much-loved former Pidge chef, Casey Uglow, has taken over in the kitchen at Plum's Upper Room in Zionsville. And Cory at Property Lines reports that Jake Brenchley, the chef from the Bloomington Scholar's Inn, will take over the kitchen at what they're calling S.I. (Sexy and Intimate), the new name for the remodeled Scholar's Inn on Mass Ave. opening in February. They're also starting from scratch on staff when they re-open.

Winter Devour Downtown Dates: Mark your calendars for January restaurant week which actually runs for two weeks, January 21-February 2. Check out their website for the growing list of participating restaurants as well as their $30 prix fixe menus. It's a great way to try some new places and revisit a few old favorites.

Grant Achatz Cancer Free: Good news on the Achatz front. Ruhlman reports that after chemo and radiation therapies for aggressive cancer of the tongue, the well-known Chicago chef is cancer free. The statement from Chef Achatz and follow ups from Bruni via Ruhlman's blog.

Mmmm. Smores! If you made the marshmallows a couple of weeks ago from the link at What Geeks Eat, here's your chance to finish them off. (What, you say? Leftover homemade marshmallows? How is that possible?) A perfect smore bar cookie. What's not to love about chocolate, graham cracker crust, and soft goo.

Will the Real Plum's Upper Room Stand Up?

Saturday, I picked up a copy of InTake and almost spit out my lunch when I saw the glowing review of Plum's Upper Room, the new eatery on Main Street in Zionsville. Whoa, did I ever disagree with the review!

On my visits to Plum's Upper Room, a few dishes were fine while a couple of others were nothing but ordinary. Nothing was truly outstanding. They seem to be trying to be both a coffee shop and wine bar. Presentation was hit or miss, service was amateurish and inattentive, the prices too high for the quality and portions of food, and the pastry was less than special. (Case in point, $3 for a mug of cider?) Baked goods were dry and listless (and I've tried many of them however, the shortbread is good), soups were bland, salads were tired and overdressed, and meat was cooked well in one spot and dry in another. The $9 sandwiches at lunch one day were laughable -- tiny rolls with a slice of meat and poorly seasoned sides (when they arrived at all.) (The coleslaw was at first, missing, then awful.) It was worse with bland potato soup and a mixed green salad that was swimming in dressing -- almost to the point of being inedible. Even the dish they photographed for the article was a mess!

Cumbay may feel the room is an extension of the owner's home, but when I was there last, I think I wandered *in* to the owner's home. That is, the restrooms were not clearly marked and after wandering around a bit, I drifted through an open door (that I thought led to a stairwell) and into a bathroom. There wasn't a sign on a door to be found and I think I walked into someone's office or living room or something in the process.

Sure, people get excited when a new, local independent restaurant starts up that looks good, but a reviewer would have to be pretty enamored with the place to overlook the monstrous problems. Does it have something to do with Plum's being a new, local independent restaurant? Yes, of course it does. But when the restaurant is sub-par, it does the reviewer, their publication, and customer, and the restaurant, a disservice.

Three Latest and Best

Ginger Crusted Salmon at Oakley's Bistro: Get the to Oakleys. Get thee to the ginger crusted salmon with mashed potatoes, bok choy, and shrimp dumplings (fried crispy like wontons!) topped with a spicy tomato glaze and daikon radish. That is all.

Shortbread at Plum's Upper Room: This new Zionsville eatery is a cozy, warm spot upstairs over the quaint old town main street. With a wide array of coffees and pastries, they also feature wine in a "wine bar" atmosphere later in the day. My favorite? The cranberry, macadamia nut shortbread. Not too dry and very flavorful, even though it was shaped like a big cookie instead of the traditional shortbread round.

Shoestring Potatoes at Ruth's Chris: For some odd reason, lately I've been craving french fries -- with everything. So, it was natural and good that last week, while ordering my regular bar dinner at Ruth's Chris, I decided to forgo the ahi tuna and order a huge plate of their perfect shoestring fries. Tiny, thin, just crispy and served with housemade ketchup. How can they be so wrong when taste so right?