January 14, 2004

Santorini

Santorini used to be a small restaurant, located off of Fountain Square. It was small, and packed . .and with a reservation you always have to wait. Then Santorini moved, and the new restaurant is much larger. . .

Santorini is as good as Greek food gets in Indianapolis. The other contender, Greek islands, just doesn't cut it.

service

Service was exceptional. We had around 18 persons and the waiter took no notes. He "remembered" everyone’s orders. When we got our dishes. . .we got the right one. We were very impressed.

With 18 people I’m a little more forgiving on water refills . . . I got refills, but not often enough and I had to ask for them

Food The appetizers were fantastic. The saganaki with the flaming cheese was the crowd favorite. The spanakopita was also popular (filo dough in triangles wrapped around spinach/feta).

The recommended entree from the waiter was the family style dinner. This sounded pretty good. ..but the group wanted to go on their own.

Most persons ended up with the chef sampler (including myself). The Chef Sampler is a mixture of Greek favorites Moussaka (layered Eggplant, meat, and a béchamel sauce on top), Pastachio (similar to moussaka, no eggplant), Dolmades (stuffed grape leaves), potatoes, fried tomatoes, the list goes on.

We got a huge amount of food. . .and most of it was pretty good. It was not the best Santorini experience. The mousaka / pasticho was a little cooler then we like. . .overall it was a great place for a group

the new place
The new place was about 4x the size of the old plays. Hopefully the bigger location pays off for this Greek restaurant. Tuesday night it wasn't that busy, and we had our own section to ourselves.


Posted by graberc at 12:53 PM

January 12, 2004

Yats

I was able to take the Belgium affiliate to YAts (downtown at mass and college).

The Belgium affiliate enjoyed it as much as the French affilitae. There was a large amount of jumbalaya to be had. . .while i sticked to the fantastic Ropa Vieja. Yats Ropa Vieja is some nice pulled pork, with capers, and stewed tomatoes. . .the ropa vieja is not to be missed.

I still recommend the 54th and college orginal, but if you can't make it try the downtown one. If you go in the evening bring a bottle of wine (no corkage fee).

As always Yats is 5.00 for a single dish. ..6.00 for 1/2 and 1/2 . . .and cokes are always a buck.

Posted by graberc at 03:44 PM

January 11, 2004

Indy - best eats

Indianapolis isn't known for it's culinary diversity. . .but there are Good Eats to be found.

  • Bonges Tavern - Bonges tavern located 30minutes north of fishers is one of the best restaurants in town (or area). The chef's prime rib is much better then the likes of Shulas, Mortons, or Ruth Chris.
  • Yats - dis is it. Good food on the cheap. Stick to the orginal at 54th and college. Bring your own bottle of wine and chow down on some of the best etoffe and gumbo this side of new orleans.
  • Sichan - located at 116th and Rangeline (carmel) this ranks as our favorite chinease restaraunt. Skip the "american" dishes in the front and go for the Traditional dishes. .such as Chon Qing Mala Beef, or a sichan fire pot.
  • El Sol - Until I find better, this restaurant at Washington and Rural near downtown is the best mexican restaurant I've been to. It has such dishes as Carne y Chille con Papas . . and yes they also have american favorites like "Burritos".
  • Santorini - Located near downtown this greek restaurant beats "Greek Islands" any day. . .

Did you know that the "Burrito" does not exist in Mexico. If you ask for Burrito the server may just look at you and wonder "why does he want a donkey?"

Posted by graberc at 11:35 AM