Petite Chou by Patachou

The newest in the Cafe Patachou family, this French-inspired location in Broad Ripple still has many of the favorites from the original locations. The weather was almost nice enough to tempt the dining duo to take advantage of the outdoor seating, but recent rains had left many of the seats damp & Sheila decided to be prissy and stay inside.

As always when dining at a ‘chou, Sheila chose chicken salad. But at least she branched out slightly, selecting it atop a bed of lettuce and accompanied with fresh fruit and a piece of sourdough toast. Significantly different from the sandwich on toasted sourdough with potato chips she usually selects. As always, the chicken salad is scrumptious, even to someone who doesn’t normally like chicken salad. The fruit was all very fresh and sweet, and the sourdough toast was carb-lover heaven.

Jennifer also chose a favorite – ham & cheese, or the Gallic version anyway, a Croque Monsieur. Her choice came as no surprise to Sheila, who knows very well Jennifer’s predilection for ham & cheese. The fancy French version at Petite Chou may be the best she has ever had–and that’s saying a lot! The thick bread was oozing with cheesy perfection on the top and the creamy beschamel sauce that accented the ham was utterly scrumptious. The side of mixed greens with a light dressing made her feel much better about the artery clogging goodness of the sandwich. Sheila had never had one, and Jennifer graciously shared a bite – what great flavor! (Jennifer is quite lucky Sheila had enough self-control to refrain from appropriating one of those sandwich halves.)

The big complaint was not with the food, which was delicious as expected, but with the service. It was extremely disappointing – our order never made it to the kitchen, and the server had to retake it after we’d been waiting quite a long time. A brief comment blaming it on the computer was all that was offered – not too impressive Petite Chou. You couldn’t offer a taste of your tea of the day or something to make up for our wait? It’s not like we had enough to drink – we also had to wait and wait for our drink refills. As if that wasn’t enough of a bummer for service, not only was Jennifer’s water not refilled for a loooong time, but when the waiter finally gave a refill, um, almost half of the cold liquid splashed onto her leg. Uh, thanks? No apologies for either gaffe.

Desserts looked great (especially that enormous chocolate cake piece we saw carried by our table) but our long wait for lunch meant we had to hustle back to our car, hoping that we still had time left on the meter (or at least that no one had caught us with an expired meter).

Food: ***
Service: 1/2* (very disappointing)
Overall: **

http://www.cafepatachou.com/

The Donut Shop

Jennifer suggested The Donut Shop as the dining duo’s next lunch excursion, after reading a good review of it. The name alone convinced Sheila – mmm, donuts.

As soon as we enter, we’re facing a case of donuts on display, which gave us a good chance to start to plan our dessert. Although the restaurant was very full, we managed to grab a tiny table in a corner, which was only an issue because of the way it faced the counter, which cause Sheila to regularly catch the eye of one of the other customers – and why does that always end up happening with strange looking men who seem to take it to mean there must be some interest?? Not a chance!!

Lots of breakfast items are served for lunch, but we both went for sandwiches. Jennifer chose the tuna melt on whole wheat, with a side of french fries. Sheila selected the Italian Beef on a hoagie, with onion rings. (Side bar: what exactly is the difference between a Philly Cheese Steak & an Italian Beef Sandwich, besides the Philly having mushrooms & the Italian supposedly having au jus??)

Sheila thought her sandwich was super messy and very tasty, but still thought it was awfully Philly Cheese Steak-like.  Jennifer had never ordered a tuna melt and thus, had no idea what to expect. The sandwich was actually very yummy! There was no strong tuna taste and the pickle relish gave the sandwich a nice flavor.  The fries were pretty standard–not excellent, but not bad either. Thankfully Sheila offered to share her onion rings and boy, those onions rings may just be the best either have ever tasted.  They’re just fantastic – extra crunch & thick coating, and the onions themselves were well cooked so they were easy to eat.Word of advice if going to the Donut Shop–skip the fries and get the rings!

Donut difficulties begin with the selection – it’s so extensive that it’s hard to choose. For next time, we now know that a Honeydew donut is a glazed cake donut, while a Honeydip is a glazed yeast donut. Or at least that’s how they tasted to us (of course we shared!)

Prices are amazingly cheap, and it’s a good thing since they don’t take credit cards & one $20 had to cover both of our meals. But it did so easily, even after adding some donuts to the bill. (Jennifer would like to extend her sincerest thanks to Sheila for paying for her meal as Jennifer was a slacker and didn’t have any cash. Much love to ya, She!)

Food: ***
Service: **
Overall: ***

Zest! Exciting Food Creations

A return visit for the dining duo, who had their usual difficulty finding the restaurant on its 54th street location (we seem to have a mental block about it being 54th, wanting to place it on 52nd or 56th instead). And by “we” we mean Jennifer, because Sheila can’t even get us that close to the location, only remembering that it’s sort of in the Broad Ripple area, more or less, especially when compared with downtown. Fortunately, a little trip around the block soon got us to the restaurant.

We dithered for a bit over what to order – Jennifer debating the merits of the shredded beef sandwich versus the fish tacos, while Sheila was considering the same shredded beef and also the magnificant mushroom. In the end, Jennifer stepped up to the counter first and placed her order – one shredded beef please! This pleased the woman behind the counter quite a bit, as she responded with a head nod and “awww yeah!”. Sheila’s request for the mushroom sandwich elicited no such reaction.

How to explain the exquisite creation that is the shredded beef sandwich at Zest? A little background is in order. The first time Jennifer went to Zest, Sheila ordered the shredded beef and Jennifer did not. As soon as Jennifer saw Sheila’s plate filled with the crusty bread and heaping mounds of beef topped with a creamy blue cheese sauce, the thought actually crossed Jennifer’ss mind to either knock Sheila out or sneeze on the sandwich thereby ensuring that Jennifer could enjoy every last morsel. This sandwich never ceases to amaze us. The shredded beef is so tender, just like Mom’s roast beef that has been slow cooking all day long. The blue cheese sauce provides just the right amount of tang and the crusty bread is divine. When dining at Zest, you must order this sandwich!

Sheila enjoyed the mushroom sandwich with balsamic dressing, goat cheese & lettuce, although she despaired over being able to eat it without using a fistfull of napkins. The crusty roll it is served on seems to ensure that the ingredients squirt out of the end whenever you take a bite. The side of housemade macaroni & cheese had a delicious crunchy top, and it’s substance complimented the vegetarian sandwich quite nicely.

No desserts for either diner, although the brownies that were on display on the counter were quite tempting.

The atmosphere was very relaxed, and quite conducive to sitting and chatting even after completing your meal. We gave into that temptation for a bit, but eventually had to pack up and return to work. As they left, another departing patron asked if we’d had the beef sandwich, and was so delighted when Jennifer said yes that he gave her a fist bump. All hail the shredded beef!

We’re already planning our next visit – Jennifer wanting the fish tacos if she can ignore the pull of the shredded beef, & Sheila debating between the turkey sandwich & grilled caesar salad. It’s hard to resist when supposedly the salad itself is grilled. Brownies may have to be tried as well.

Food ***
Service * (only because there isn’t much service provided – you order at the counter & get your own silverware & drinks; your food will be delivered)
Atmosphere ***

Puck’s (at the IMA)

The dining duo’s second excursion to Puck’s did not fail to impress. While there was some initial concern that we would not be seated without (ahem) reservations, we were able to snatch a table for four after a mere 15 minute wait. Not bad at all, and the time was well spent browsing the gift shop. The atmosphere at Puck’s is one of casual elegance, although our appearance with half of our party wearing jeans did not keep us from being served. The later arrival of a young girl wearing Daisy Dukes assured us of not being the most casually dressed patrons.

We all wanted dessert, so none of us chose a starter salad or appetizer, although they were very hard to resist. Our dining companions/work amigas ordered the Shrimp BLT, which does look amazing. Sheila was even mildly tempted by it and she doesn’t like seafood! Thank the heavens that Jennifer and Sheila are true blue dining companions who are willing to split entrees, but even then there were tough choices. Seriously, decisions, decisions! Everything at Puck’s sounds fabulous! Jennifer chose the linguine with pancetta, mushrooms, asparagus and thyme, while Sheila ordered the burger with Vermont cheddar cheese, fries and onion strips.

The food is simply amazing. Our server did neglect to bring an extra plate for splitting the entrees as we requested, but no worries! Jennifer’s pasta bowl was placed upon a plate that was used for our feast of sharing! The pasta was fabulous with a slight butter/thyme sauce accented with crunchy asparagus and perfect slices of mushroom and cubes of braised pancetta. The burger was delectable – cooked to medium well perfection with an oozing hunk of cheddary goodness. Jennifer, while eating her half of the burger, noticed that some of the cheese fell off and sat on the plate. She asked her dining companions if they would mind if she ate it – they did not! Also perfect were the fries – golden on the outside and fluffy in the middle with great seasoning. The onion strips were also very flavorful. All of it would have been polished off if not for the promise of dessert!

Our server informed us that they were out of creme brulee (darn it!) but there were many other scrumptious options. One coworker chose the blueberry cheesecake (note: a bit on the small side), another coworker and Sheila chose the pineapple financier and Jennifer went with the chocolate truffle cake. Sheila enjoyed the warm pineapple pastry contrasting with the cool vanilla ice cream. Jennifer thought that the cake was simply divine–the melting chocolate interior just oozes out of the soft cake with every slice. The cake was accentuated with a scoop of yummy homemade milk chocolate ice cream. Overall, a wonderful dining experience!

Food ****
Service ***
Atmosphere ****

http://www.wolfgangpuck.com/restaurants/finedining/pucks/indianapolis/index.php