El Bodegon- Fishers, Indiana

Empanadas:
Arepa with cheese:

Bocata with Spanish Serrano ham:

Spanish potato omelette tapa:

Oh happy day! We were just lamenting when we got back from New York that arepas aren't as prevalent here as they are there and we found El Bodegon. They have a nice variety of Colombian style and Venezuelan style arepas. We tried the Colombian style arepa with cheese and we loved it. It is certainly bigger than we're used to getting at the New York street fairs and only $2.49. We also tried their beef and chicken empanadas and they made us so happy. These were really flaky empanadas and the meat was seasoned deliciously, especially in the beef one. We also enjoyed the Bocata de Jamon Serrano (sandwich with Spanish serrano ham). It was perfect in its simplicity; crusty bread rubbed with tomatoes and sprinkled with olive oil and tasty serrano ham. Plus, it was the perfect size to enjoy but not feel overful after eating. And just because we wanted to try as much as possible, we ordered the Spanish Potato Omelette Tapa. After all, who could resist that for only $1?

We pretty much want to try everything on the tapas menu and all of the arepas too. When we can order all that we did and still come in under $13, we should be able to justify doing that. El Bodegon is on 96th Street (the Walmart side, not the Meijer side) in the back of the building with Panera and the Beauty Brands store. We know that it is fairly new but we were the only ones in there on Saturday afternoon and we dearly want this place to stay open. It is extremely casual so don't let the term "tapas bar" make you think that you have to get gussied up for it. It is quite spacious, the service was very friendly, and the prices are budget friendly. We got our order to go which is a great option anytime but especially great for entertaining during the upcoming holiday parties and football Sundays. We also think it would be an ideal place to meet a huge group of friends so that everyone can maximize the amount of dishes that they can try.

8510 E. 96th Street; Suite D

Fishers, IN 46037

Woody's Library Restaurant- Carmel, Indiana

Veggie Omelet:
Chicken Crepes:

"Sunday brunch Indianapolis" is a common Google search that we see and, while Woody's is in nearby Carmel, it is a great choice for brunch that should satisfy those seekers.

Mrs. WYA! took a pal there and loved that it was in an old Carnegie library that was built in 1913. They kept that theme inside with bookshelves full of books surrounding the tables. The food was really good and, if subsequent visits are as satisfying, this one could end up on our W(Y)A-ll of Fame. Mrs. WYA!'s friend enjoyed her Veggie Omelet and the cute and tasty mini potato cakes that came with it. Mrs. WYA! thought that the chicken crepe was divine. It was filled with chicken, spinach, bacon, cheese, and tomatoes with an herb cream sauce and wonderful crunchy onions on top that made for a perfect textural contrast. We look forward to visiting Woody's again to try some of their other menu items (if we can restrain from ordering the crepes again).

(As if there aren't enough options on the brunch menu, you may also order from the lunch menu.)

Amalfi Ristorante Italiano- Indianapolis, Indiana

The interior was gorgeous; we liked their tile floor:

From the bread basket:

Marinated grilled eggplant:

Chicken Pesto:

Gnocchi in tomato sauce:

Even though we used to live very close to Amalfi, this was our first visit to the restaurant. It's tucked away in the shopping center at 86th & Ditch by the Cinema Grill and we greatly enjoyed our lunch there.

The atmosphere is elegant without being stuffy. We appreciated the wonderful music that played while we were there (such as classics by Tony Bennett). Service was perhaps a little on the slow side but there appeared to be only one hard-working waitress for a pretty decent sized lunch crowd.

We started with a delicious soup of the day (a vegetable based soup with beans) and the Melanzane Alla Griglia appetizer (marinated grilled eggplant with olive oil and garlic, served cold). We love eggplant and this dish was a winner with us. The chef definitely wasn't shy with the garlic but that was fine with us. There were also a few hot red pepper flakes. We found it to be a very generous starter. We were delighted to be given a basket of 3 delicious biscuit/muffin hybrids. They had a little crunch to them and really soaked up olive oil. They were a nice change from the standard loaf of crusty bread served at Italian restaurants.

For our entrees, we ordered the Mostaccioli con Pollo Pesto and the Gnocchi di Patate Sorrentina. We make pesto sauce at home frequently but we'll confess to using the Knorr packets. That makes getting pesto at a restaurant a treat because you can definitely tell the difference. The sauce covered every bite of chicken and pasta and could not have been better. Chefs who can make good gnocchi amaze us; how can they make potatoes taste so light? The gnocchi was covered in a tomato sauce that tasted decadent but not too rich.

The lunch entrees were $10.50- $16.00 and they only serve lunch Monday through Friday but they serve dinner Monday through Saturday. We were very pleased with the ambiance and the food and look forward to visiting Amalfi again.

Serenity Restaurant- Zionsville, Indiana

Pumpkin Soup:

Fig and Walnut Salad:

Hobo Panini:

Even though we hadn't been there before, Mrs. WYA! felt confident choosing Serenity Restaurant as the place to treat her friend to lunch because we had enjoyed the owner's other restaurant, Serendipity, so much. There's no place like Zionsville on a brisk Autumn day and there's no place like Serenity to duck into and feel cozy. It is in a restored 1868 home so the atmosphere is historic and refined without being stuffy and we couldn't have enjoyed our lunches more. We can't speak highly enough about the pumpkin soup. It was thick and flavorful and is now on our "must have at least once in the soup season" list. We also enjoyed the Fig and Walnut Salad (which comes with one of their delicious scones) and the Hobo Panini. A lovely setting, an especially gracious hostess, and good food- we have really enjoyed both of our experiences at these Occasions Divine restaurants and are happy to see that they have 2 new locations in their plans (one in Fishers and one in Greenwood).

Sesame Restaurant- Indianapolis, Indiana

We were the only diners a little after noon.

Egg drop soup, chips, and hot and sour soup:

Vegetarian "duck":

Triple Delight:

We had a fine enough lunch at the Chinese restaurant Sesame but we just expected something a little different after reading reviews on Yelp. Specifically, we thought the menu would be a little different, particularly regarding vegetarian options that were mentioned on Yelp. The lunch options seemed to be the usual Chinese restaurant suspects. Mr. WYA! ordered the Triple Delight lunch special which was shrimp, beef, and chicken with vegetables, a choice of steamed or fried rice, an eggroll, and choice of soup for only $4.95. Mrs. WYA!, intent on ordering a "mock meat", ordered the "Vegetarian Duck" (tofu) off of the dinner menu. It also came with a choice of rice and soup and was only $7.50 for a huge portion that could easily be a meal for two.

The hot and sour soup and the egg drop soup were both very good and had unique touches that made them stand out to us. The egg drop soup had corn kernels which were a nice addition. The hot and sour soup had a bit of a creamier broth than we're used to and it was delicious. They also came with the classic Chinese restaurant crunchy chips. The Triple Delight was good. The Vegetarian Duck, tofu wrapped around mushrooms with a brown sauce and some carrots and snow peas mixed in with it, was fine but not something that we'd crave enough to make a point of driving across town to get. The soups however, might be worth the trip.

1413 W. 86th Street

Indianapolis, IN 46260

John's Famous Stew- Indianapolis, IN

We loved the horse racetrack picture that took up nearly all of one wall:

You can get your stew mild, medium, or hot- we liked the mild:

For non-stew eaters, there are lighter options such as this Chef Salad:

Be sure to go to the coupon page of John's website. You can print coupons for money off or for free cobbler with the purchase of a bowl of stew and a beverage. We chose the peach cobbler:

Amazingly, it is the middle of September already so prime stew eating season is nigh upon us. After hearing about John's Famous Stew for years, we finally got there last week. We were afraid that the stew wouldn't live up to our expectations after so many years of reading about it but, it exceeded them.

We enjoyed the mild stew. It was a combination of beef, potatoes, carrots and celery in a wonderfully rich beef base. Mrs. WYA! isn't even a beef-eater and she loved the taste of it. The chuck of beef in the center was fork tender. Despite the name "mild", the savory brown sauce had a wonderful combination of spices that had a very warming effect. If you're a newbie, mild is the way to go because it can always be made hotter but the heat can't be taken out once it is in it. This huge bowl of stew came with a couple of large slices of white bread with butter available. This was not an appetizer stew, it was a meal stew (although Mr. WYA confessed that he would gladly eat a bucket of it if buckets were available). Per the menu, the "Hot Stew" is a traditional favorite, but we think we'll stick with the mild.

John's is tucked away downtown in an industrial area; probably completely out of your way but it's completely worth the trip.

1146 Kentucky Avenue

Indianapolis, IN 46221

317.636.6212

One note, it appeared that this is an "over 21" establishment. There were signs on the doors to that effect. We thought that maybe we just entered a bar side and there was family room side too but we didn't see one. You might want to call ahead and check if you have little ones.

Shalimar Restaurant- Indianapolis, IN

Tandoori chicken, cubes of paneer (cheese), a pakora and a piece of naan are in the background:

Mushroom saag is in the foreground and the yellow sauce to the right was a delicious vegetable curry (all on top of jasmine rice).

The second plate had to include our big favorite, tikka masala (the orangish dish on the right):

We realize that when most people talk about "comfort food" they are talking about macaroni and cheese, meatloaf, mashed potatoes with gravy, and dishes like that. We are native Hoosiers who had mothers who cooked very traditionally but, somehow, Indian food has become our favorite comfort food. It's such a big favorite that we can't believe that we haven't blogged about an Indian restaurant before; we probably have the Jyoti canned Indian foods and Trader Joe's naan to blame for that because they've made it easier to have Indian food at home than it used to be.

Anyway, while we know that we should probably try some of the other Indian restaurants in town, we always seem to find ourselves at the Shalimar lunch buffet. We just know that we can count on a delicious saag (either mushroom or paneer), tikka masala, and tandoori chicken. We sop it all up with traditional or garlic naan. Those are our big favorites that we can count on but we also try bites of whatever other dishes of the day that tempt us. On our visit this past weekend, there was a delicious vegetable curry and a decadent fried bread (poori). We know that a lot of our readers are into ethnic foods but, for those of you who haven't had Indian food, give it a try. The vegetable curry was very mild and, for the dishes in this buffet, spices are expertly used for adding flavor- not heat (of course, when ordering off of the menu, you can specify mild, medium, hot, or extra hot). There are signs above the dishes on the buffet explaining what everything is so it is great for a newbie. The service for beverages and taking away plates is always very courteous and attentive. For all of these reasons, when we have a craving for the comfort food of an Indian lunch, we head to Shalimar.

(Our 2 buffet orders and 1 iced tea came in just over $19 but always check Nuvo or Coupons4Indy for $1 off coupons.)

Szechwan Garden- Lafayette Road, Indianapolis

Before:

After:

Eggplants with Basil Sauce:

Pork Intestine in Szechwan Broth:

Click images for larger views of the menu:

You might pass by this place thinking that it is just a generic Chinese restaurant but we found it to be a really special dining experience. We don't go out for Chinese food very much because we'd prefer to make it home and control the ingredients (healthier oils, not too much...). We made a point of going to Szechwan Garden because back in May, reader Tom B. told us that DW Market was a good eat in/take out place. We wanted to check it out and went there a few months ago but it was closed. One of the employees stuck his head out when we pulled at the door and said that they had some roof damage and were doing some repairs. We went back about a month after that and it was still closed. Finally, we passed by and noticed that the front had a new sign that said Szechwan Garden (even though the big sign by the road still says DW Market). We went there for lunch and we were so pleased with the experience. From the pictures that Tom sent us, it appears that they really did an upgrade to the interior. There are pretty curtains and cool lights above the lovely upholstered booths all making for a simple, elegant atmosphere. It is a big open space but it doesn't feel cavernous.

We couldn't tell from the menu whether the lunches came with anything (such as soup). It turns out that they only come with a bowl of steamed white rice but that is fine because the portions are huge. We could have very easily ordered soup or an appetizer and split an entree and have been quite satiated. Keep in mind that, if the prices seem high, you can easily get two meals from these portions.




Good news for vegetarians; there are a lot of options here. Mrs. WYA! ordered #V11- Eggplants in Basil sauce. We love eggplant so we figured that we couldn't go wrong with this dish but it was even better than it sounded. The menu is a little light on details about what all is in the sauces but whatever was in the thick sauce that enveloped the eggplant chunks was divine. The basil was not dried and from a container on a spice rack but big, fresh leaves.




Mr. WYA! decided to try one of the more exotic options by ordering the Pork Intestine in Szechwan Broth. The little chunks of intestine were fried crispy (hint for the squeamish, the larger the chunk, the more obvious it was it was intestine). The dish was tossed in a variety of peppers, ranging from the standard pepper to the peppers that you would only eat on a dare and the red pepper flakes were evident everywhere. On the menu, this dish had a star by it so we assumed that it indicated that it had some heat so, if you aren't into food with a burn, don't worry- there are still plenty of options on the menu that aren't starred.




We got that really warm, welcoming feeling that we get in the restaurants that we love the most. We were greeted by a gentleman as we walked in, he stopped by later and asked how everything was, and then he went out of his way to thank us and say goodbye when we left. We love giving our business to people who really seem to appreciate it.



Szechwan Garden (formerly DW Market)
3649 Lafayette Road
Indianapolis, IN 46222
317.328.2888