Sorry loyal readers, I'm busy with school. An occupational hazard. But I regularly take pictures of my culinary adventures, to the annoyment of my dining companions.
So, consider this post my "busy with school pictures." We have some too cool for school places to report.
Sushi on the Rocks:
This is (obviously) a sushi restaurant on south Meridian that is literally too cool for school. If you go upstairs to the nightclub, there are beds for lounging and you can purchase entire bottles of vodka for consuming. Needless to say, when we went up there, we felt outclassed. Regardless, we LOVE the sushi, especially the flaming Playboy roll:
We also love the many other tasty rolls. This place really does a lovely job with sushi.
Food at Home:
We also eat at home most of the time. I am blessed with chef friends and culinary curiosity, so this is a simple dish with homemade marinara and whole wheat pasta from our friends Josh and Betsy. I did a good job with the combo, I must say.
I also whipped up a batch of onion soup, DELICIOUS, for the Colts home opener. I rarely use a recipe, but consulted my Cooks Illustrated for this one. Believe it when you read how to carmelize onions to enhance the richness of this soup. AMAZING! It also includes balsamic vinegar.
Breakfast at 'Good Morning Mamas':
In my neighborhood we have a wonderful Italian restaurant called Mama Carollas. This establishment acquired the 'gas station' next door, converted it to a restaurant space, and now serves breakfast and brunch in addition to the outstanding acclaimed Italian dinner menu they've been serving for years. They've been open maybe a year, maybe less, for brunch. We've read mediocre reviews, so have delayed our foray into Mamas for breakfast. What a bad decision; this is a lovely place. Those who poo poo Mamas are clearly in the hip pocket of Patachou or Taste, both of which are good, but I LOVE the fact that my neighborhood is becoming this competitive mecca for bunch happiness. I LOVE Mama's. Ian and I each had a breakfast entree and then shared a side entree of biscuits and gravy and were not disappointed.
We each had an omelette. I had an Italian omelette, covered in pesto, appropriate for Mamas. Ian had a more traditional but still delicious omelette. We were very happy, the place was packed early (we got there by 10 am), and we LOVED the 50s soda fountain Italian cuisine decor. We will definitely be back and you should check it out.
Next, our roots. We (well, at least I) miss Bloomginton so much that I can taste it. We return once a year to the Upland Brewery Hillbilly Haiku, featuring headliner Todd Snider, in Bloomington:
How fun. We bring our chairs, sit amidst folks on hay bails, and listen to great folksy, bluesy, rock-a-billy bands play while drinking delicious Upland brew. Todd Snider, the great storyteller, is always the headliner, and time flies. When he signs off for the evening, I always think, Todd, you've only been playing for about 15 minutes, but of course it's over an hour. This is a great event, proceeds which benefit the Sycamore Land Trust. B-double-e-double-r-u-n. . .
Local cuisine at our Tuesday night haunt on campus:
Finally, we are on a first name basis with our most favorite and personal bartender Steve. It's like our own personal Cheers, called Our Den. I appreciate that the chef features weekly menus with local Indiana cuisine. This week it happened to be not quite local Indiana dogs, Chicago dogs, complete with the green relish. Can you believe it. And the dog snapped when you bit into it. Kudos to the chef of Our Den.
So that has been our culinary adventure for the last 3 weeks. It's been fun and I apologize for not devoting each adventure to its own post, but hey, gotta serve those students, eat West Coast Tacos, and write. Please come visit and I will take you around to all the culinary hot spots I know and we will have a grand time.
xoxo
The Traveling Prof...
