Dishes worth the drive

If you were a regular at Kabul before it closed last year and suddenly became Garam Masal, you may have gone for the dumplings with leeks, the lamb stews or the kebabs. But you knew that was all inconsequential if the meal didn’t commence with one singularly beguiling and enchanting dish: the soup. Called “aush,” which translates simply as “soup,” this enigmatic culinary concoction of alchemical proportions mingled everything from kidney beans and tiny meatballs to flat noodles and chickpeas to dill and yogurt in a richly flavored broth with just a little heat that hit the back of the throat. This was the kind of dish that could coax you back to health, warm you on the most bitter of winter days and dissuade you from the worst of moods. It was one of Indianapolis’ culinary wonders.

It’s rare to find a restaurant that succeeds on all accounts, that can pay attention to appetizers, salads and soups while maintaining a consistent selection of high-quality entrées and at least a couple of competent desserts. More common, especially at smaller hole-in-the-wall eateries, is a small selection of dishes — an incredible dessert here, an appetizer you fall asleep dreaming about there, a bowl of soup you pine for — that keeps you going back time after time for that single item. Like most metropolitan areas, Indianapolis has its share of four- and five-star eateries where you’ll be hard pressed to find a bad dish. But it’s crawling with eateries where you really have to know what to order to get the best meal there.

This is what makes restaurant reviewing fun. Even at some of the most disappointing places, you can find a gem — and pass it on to the reader. So, here are some gems I’ve come across in the past few months, along with a few that readers and friends have passed along as well. Of course, no “best” list could ever be exhaustive or objective. This list isn’t intended to catalogue the dozens of expertly prepared and artfully presented dishes at Indianapolis’ top restaurants. It won’t begin to dining guide all of the seasonal items at some of the best independents. Nor will it repeat what anyone with a taste bud should already know — that St. Elmo’s shrimp cocktail writes the textbook on shrimp cocktails or that, in the deli division, Shapiro’s is just about the only game in town. Instead, here’s a little wandering tour, served up like a super-sized meal, to give you some more reasons to start up the car. Enjoy the drive.

Starters

Americans tend to eschew multicourse meals in favor of big dishes with all of the trimmings. Salads are less refreshing entr’actes between the entrée and dessert and more a way for the kitchen to stall while they take their sweet time with your main course. But sometimes the best appetizers can stand in for the meal or really allow the creativity of the kitchen to shine.

Vietnamese goi cuon rolls ($2.15/order)
Sizzling Wok
4351 Lafayette Road #1, Indianapolis (297-3441)

This was a tough one. Drive up Lafayette Road, and you can get these fresh rice paper rolls at no fewer than three excellent Vietnamese restaurants. So, you’ll want to try them yourself. But the ones at Sizzling Wok never disappoint. Chewy, translucent rolls stuffed with cold vermicelli, bits of pork, fat shrimp and crunchy fresh herbs are a health nut’s dream — and a symphony in the mouth. With a tangy, sweet sauce topped with peanuts, they’re one of the most complex appetizers you’ll find.

Guacamole ($3.95)
El Sol de Tala
39 W. Jackson Place, Ste. 120, Indianapolis (636-8252)
2444 E. Washington St., Indianapolis (635-8252)
5250 W. 10th St., Indianapolis (241-8252)

For such a simple dip, guacamole turns up in a multitude of forms, ranging from creamy smooth to watery to versions so full of tomatoes and herbs you can barely taste the avocado. At El Sol, the guacamole is a slightly chunky, rustic spread that’s always fresh, always straightforward and always gone before you’re halfway through the chips.

Yuzu sesame fries ($2.95)
Music Mill
3720 E. 82nd St., Indianapolis (841-1850)

A newcomer this past year, Music Mill puts out some really solid food, especially for a place that seems even more focused on its concert venue. But they also throw diners some really innovative curveballs, including these utterly light and crispy fries with a light dusting of sesame seeds and a gossamer drizzle of a sweet, citrus-y Asian sauce. These aren’t your average diner fries!

Soups and salads

These can be an afterthought. Or they can be hearty and delicious. They can make the meal. A restaurant that pays attention to salads — especially house salads included with the meal — is definitely a restaurant worth keeping. If they make their soups in house daily, well, then that’s a sign that they will win you over in other aspects as well.

Gumbo ($6/bowl)
Savoy
2200 W. 86th St., Indianapolis (824-0800)

Good gumbo is a gift from the heavens. Savoy’s is a delight to anyone who’s eaten it. Made with a roux browned just this side of being burnt, it’s a dark umber soup with a rich chicken flavor, just a few shrimp and a couple spoonfuls of rice. It’s rustic and elegant all at the same time, and you didn’t have to travel to the bayou to get it.

Spinach salad ($6.37)
Bazbeaux
334 Massachusetts Ave., Indianapolis (636-7662)
811 E. Westfield Blvd., Indianapolis (255-5711)

You know the pies are good. Especially the Tchoupitoulas with shrimp and andouille sausage, the quattro formagio or the Napoli with, yes, anchovies. But Bazbeaux knows that pizza and salad are just about as inseparable as pizza and beer. Their spinach salad is one of Indianapolis’ best with a big mound of spinach, mozzarella, onions, black olives and bacon. I can’t have mine without the slightly sweet, aromatic, creamy basil dressing. But even without the dressing this salad would be good.

Tom kah soup ($8.95/pot)
Thai Taste
5353 E. 82nd St., Indianapolis (578-9722)

OK, the same soup at Sawasdee is almost as good — it could easily be a tie. But I had it here first, and I’ll always remember the first surprising bite of this intoxicating soup. At once light and rich, it has the crunch of whole pieces of lemongrass with chunks of tender chicken, mushrooms and a hint of cilantro. But it’s the creamy, coconut milk broth cut with the sharp tang of lime that makes this soup irresistible.

Entrées

If you’re not full yet, you’re ready to test the restaurant’s muscle. So important are entrées that it’s rare to find just one that shines, but here are a few that will make ordering easy the next time you dine out.

Sultan’s Delight
($11.95 for lunch, $14.95 for dinner)
The Bosphorus
935 S. East St., Indianapolis (974-1770)

Aside from the massive plates of garlicky eggplant salsa and the utterly silky sweet milk custard, the reason to go to the Bosphorus is for this regally named dish. Tender chunks of lamb cooked with tomatoes melt into a thick puree of eggplant that is just about as rich and tasty as it gets.

Chili-cheese etoufee ($5.50)
Yats
659 Massachusetts Ave., Indianapolis (686-6380)
5363 N. College Ave., Indianapolis (253-8817)

The pazole might be better. The gumbo is great. The succotash is a vegetarian’s dream. But this dish wins both for comfort and for reliability. Even when the rest of the dishes have been erased off the chalkboard at Yats, this tasty Creole favorite will always be there with plenty of crawfish in a dark, piquant gravy. Makes for some tasty leftovers as well — if you ever have any.

Basil-ginger chicken ($16)
Shanghai Lil
8505 Keystone Crossing, Indianapolis (205-9335)

I’ve had conflicting answers to my inquiries about how this almost mythically delicious dish is prepared. But it involves a clay or porcelain pot, and the main culinary method is infusion. At some point a sauce is heated to boiling and a lid is slapped on. The result is a chicken dish that isn’t just wearing the flavor like cheap makeup but a chicken that’s utterly suffused and redolent of ginger and the strongest basil flavor you’ve likely ever tasted. The chicken is perfectly tender. You’ll give up the General Tsao’s chicken at your local takeout in a heartbeat for this enchanting dish.

Bulgogee ($5.99)
Mama’s House
8867 Pendleton Pike, Indianapolis (897-0808)

Apart from kim chee, this sort of functions as a national dish in Korea. You can often see native Koreans cutting up the ultra-thin marinated beef into strips — with scissors, no less — before they grill it at their own table. Slightly sweet, it’s a Korean barbecue specialty that’s straightforward and simple but so simply flavorful you’ll hardly pick at the 15 side dishes that come with it.

Pumpkin swordfish
($26 but price varies by fish market)
The Oceanaire
30 S. Meridian St., Indianapolis (955-2277)

No, this isn’t a Thanksgiving spin on a deep-sea favorite. Instead, “pumpkin” indicates the orange color of the flesh of about one in every 500 swordfish. Myths abound about how this happens — is it the shrimp and krill that make up the fish’s diet? But the meat is more flavorful and a bit sweeter than regular swordfish, and the beauty of the dish is unsurpassed. So popular and rare is it that it typically flies (or maybe swims) off the menu as soon as it has arrived.

Leg of lamb
($9.50 for lunch, $13 for dinner)
Santorini Greek Kitchen
1417 Prospect, Indianapolis (917-1117)

So garlicky it almost burns, this over-the-top flavor will change the minds of lamb detractors citywide. Rich without being greasy and with whole pieces of garlic falling out of the tender meat, this comes with a tomato-based sauce and all of those generous sides of green beans, lemony potatoes — and rice!

Chicken makhani ($11.95)
India Garden
143 N. Illinois St., Indianapolis (634-6060)
830 Broad Ripple Ave., Indianapolis (253-6060)

A staple at the lunch buffet, this buttery chicken in a tomato gray is even better when freshly prepared — and spiced to your own tastes — at dinner. Few chicken sauces in town pack this much flavor. Makhani actually translates as butter, so you know that you’re in for a rich dish with this one.

Grilled quail ($23 for dinner)
Elements
415 N. Alabama St., Indianapolis (634-8888)

Catch this one if you can. It might already be off the menu at this eatery obsessed with freshness and the local provenance of pantry ingredients. A generous serving of smoky quail still on the bone, this one comes with a surprising combination of wilted spinach, salty ricotta salata cheese and capers in a buttery sauce. A great harmony of strong flavors fail to dominate the delicate quail.

Sides

Too often they get muscled out of the picture by the main dish. But sides can really make a dish come together or save a bland headliner. Sometimes they’re so good on their own, you can just satisfy yourself with a heaping helping of a tasty accompaniment.

Sour cream fries ($1.65)
The Peppy Grill
1004 Virginia Ave., Indianapolis (637-1158)

“Gourmet” or “fine dining” the Peppy Grill is not. Truth be told, it could use some sprucing up. But when you’re famished after midnight, it’s just the ticket. Nothing will satisfy your hankerings more than the sour cream fries: fat little steak fries dusted with who knows what that gives them a wonderful crunch texture and a flavor not unlike sour cream-and-onion potato chips. A side of ranch dressing gilds the lily — and sends you home to bed with a smile on your face.

Neeps and Tatties ($9.95)
MacNiven’s
339 Massachusetts Ave., Indianapolis (632-7268)

You won’t find the names of the two items in this rib-sticking side dish at MacNiven’s in a dictionary. Unless it’s a Scottish dictionary. Tatties means potatoes, and neeps means turnips. But these aren’t the bland, starchy ones you might remember from your youth. The bright, saffron-hued turnips have a sweet flavor reminiscent of cauliflower, a perfect accompaniment to “mince,” a dark and flavorful meat stew.

Pommes Anna ($2)
Hoaglin to Go
448 Massachusetts Ave. (423-0300)
115 E. 49th (920-7799; note that this location doesn’t always carry Pommes Anna)

Too often, brunch is a way for the after-church crowd or happy weekenders to pose by their Eggs Benedict in little neighborhood cafés. Only rarely does the food rise to the occasion, and it does in the form of the Pommes Anna at Hoagland to Go. A creamy potato casserole a bit like a great version of scalloped potatoes, you’ll find yourself focusing on them instead of the eggs.

Mac-n-goat cheese with pesto ($3.75 for dinner)
Oakley’s Bistro
1464 W. 86th St., Indianapolis (824-1231)

No, I’m not crazy. The trout, the duck, the pork tenderloin and the roast suckling pig on a rosemary blintz are definitely worth the drive to Oakley’s, this whimsical and fun eatery where many of the dishes are in quotation marks to indicate an ironic twist. You won’t want to miss the shrimp “corndogs.” But the surprise achievement of Steven Oakley and his staff is the way that each dish extends out into the accompaniments — whether it be a knot of dressed greens, a crispy slice of onion or some of the most delicious starchy sides in town, like the gussied up mac-n-cheese with tangy goat cheese and plenty of aromatic pesto.

Desserts

Often the flashiest part of the meal, the ones here are actually a lot more straightforward and simple. No Death by Chocolate or triple-fudge brown surprise. Just the basics, made expertly and without fanfare.

Flan ($5.99)
Pancho’s Taqueria
7023 Michigan Road, Indianapolis (202-9015)

It would be easy to overlook the little bowls of flan at the counter at Pancho’s, but you must leave room for the cool, soothing custard. Utterly creamy with a caramel sauce that’s about as dark as it can get and not runny like some, this is the kind of flan a home cook could take a lifetime to master. Make sure that the person at the counter inverts the custard onto a plate for you; this is one dish you have to appreciate upside down.

Bread pudding
Taste Café and Marketplace $2.50
5164 N. College Ave., Indianapolis (925-2233)
Mo’s: A Place for Steaks $5
47 S. Pennsylvania St., Indianapolis (624-0720)
The Rathskeller $4.50
401 E. Michigan St., Indianapolis (636-0396)

Yes, I’ll admit my bias for bread pudding. But when so many restaurants are excelling at it here in town, who could blame me? Before the jury I submit three very different puddings. At Taste, you can never tell what might go in. Some brioche? A bit of croissant? Some dark chocolate? The result is a kind of textural conglomerate you can’t resist a slice of. At Mo’s, however, a heavier treatment with cream and eggs, and presumably some soft breads, makes the bread and chocolate meld together in what is more a dense cake. With a surprisingly thick whipped cream, it’s almost lethal. The Rathskeller’s is the lightest of the trio, with a more consistent pudding — no chocolate here! — and a wonderful crème anglaise with a hint of raspberry. I’m guilty of loving all three.

Coconut cake ($3.95/slice)
Mediterrano Café
5941 E. 86th St., Indianapolis (595-0399)

It might not be on the menu. But it’s often on the buffet, and they might have a slice in the cooler at dinner. A weighty concoction that’s half pudding and half cake, dusted with pistachios, this is the perfect accompaniment for Turkish coffee or a cup of aromatic tea poured from the pot. Your fortune? Delicious.

Miscellaneous

Sometimes it’s not merely the food that diners can dish on. Sometimes it’s only a part of a dish. Sometimes it’s the colorful crowd around you — or the view. Here are a few off-the-wall entries that didn’t quite fit.

The Menu
R. Bistro
888 Massachusetts Ave., Indianapolis (423-0312)

Different every week but always riffing on some of the same basic ingredients — duck, lamb, seafood, pork — this is an ever-changing, chameleon of a menu that’s almost as delicious as the food. From expert pâtés, chutneys and bruschetta to chowders and wonderful clear-broth soups to some of the best duck in town and dressed-up comfort food inspired by Mum, this menu delivers it all. It even lists its sources — most of them local. Try finding out where your pork came from at your average corporate chain and see what response you’ll get!

The colored wall
Vizion
5252 E. 82nd St., Indianapolis (577-9570)

The food is good, and you can watch your meal being prepared behind a kitchen of laboratorial precision that’s an homage to steel and chrome. But the space is just as much a meal for the eyes as the steaks seared at a volatile 700 degrees or the tasty flatbread pizzas. Delicate green curtains tumble down the front windows, wine rises from the bar like the Eiffel Tower and a wall of translucent fiberglass panels changes colors subtly but vibrantly throughout the meal.

Pizza crust
Luca Pizza/Luca Pizza di Roma
(various locations around town)
Luca Pizza di Roma: Castleton Square Mall
6020 E. 82nd St., Indianapolis (845-0683)
Luca Pizza di Roma: Greenwood Mall
1251 U.S. 31 N., Greenwood (881-6804)
Luca Pizza di Roma: Lafayette Mall
3919 Lafayette Road, Indianapolis (297-2425)
Luca Pizza di Roma
6020 E. 82nd St., Indianapolis (845-0683)
Luca Pizza
9301 E. 59th St., Indianapolis (545-3678)
Luca Pizza
11019 Pendleton Pike, Indianapolis (826-8758)

The overall pizza experience is better at a number of gourmet, nouvelle pizzerias around town. But for crust fans out there, and you know who you are, this is the best one in town and the most like what you’d get in a real street-side Italian pizza stand. Almost audibly crisp with a chewy finish, the crust has clear signs of real yeast and good flour that went into its composition. Make sure they don’t try to stick your order into the microwave. Get yours crisped in the oven.

Breads
Scholar’s Inn Bakehouse
701 Broad Ripple Ave., Indianapolis (726-1000)

Indianapolis isn’t exactly a bread city. “Bakery” tends to indicate a place serving doughnuts or cakes. But Scholar’s Inn has put both Bloomington and Indianapolis on the map in the world of crusty baguettes, sourdough loafs and original creations like the sesame semolina bread. You can try just about any of them — or take a loaf home for dinner — at their funky café and coffeehouse in Broad Ripple.

Thankfully, Garam Masala has kept some of the dishes from Kabul on its menu, even using the same recipes as before. So, you can get at least a pretty close facsimile of Kabul’s sublime soup when you visit Garam Masala Italian Grill at 8553 Ditch Road (257-1213).