One question ya’ll ask me a lot is: “Where should we eat in Indy?”. If you’re looking for a local steakhouse with an upscale atmosphere to kick off a date night- Charblue is a great spot! Aaron and I like to sit at the bar and I usually just get the beet salad (seasonal) and the French Onion Soup (extra cheese please)- also not on the menu right now, but fear not- they have got two FAB soups on the menu currently that I think you guys will love just as much!
Last week I got to enjoy a full dinner here with some foodie friends, and we had such a great experience. The dishes were planned and chosen for us, so every course was a surprise. Audrey and Bob, our servers were attentive and fabulous!
We started off with lobster pops, duck wings and a french dip egg roll.
Lobster sauce, creamy cornmeal batter, sweet corn puree and jalapeno maple syrup.
These are so fab- eat them while they’re hot though or the corn meal batter can get soggy! This sweet corn puree was good til the last drop- we scraped the b owl! This dish had the trifecta of flavors- sweet, savory and spicy!
Braised Angus beef, caramelized onions, white cheddar, wasabi aioli and soy lime jus.
I could bathe in the wasabi aioli.
I’m a huge fan of duck wings, but have a weird aversion to BBQ sauce. I did go ahead and try it with the sauce because when you’re a foodie, you have to try everything on the table, right? I usually prefer my wings sans sauce, with a dry rub. I’d say these were a little sauce heavy for me, but the same sauce was served on my favorite entree of the evening, so I think with the right flavor combination, it works beautifully! (We’ll revisit entrees later!)
Alligator Gumbo, Lobster Bisque, Caesar salad and Artisan Greens
This gumbo is made with braised alligator and saffron rice. It had just the right amount of spice! But I think the real winner here is the lobster bisque. Bisque can be hard to get just right, often times it gets a sludgy thick consistency that is just too thick. This bisque had the perfect consistency and was oh, soooo good! I’ll definitely be back for this!
We also sampled the Caesar and Artisan Greens salads. The Artisan greens was my favorite- it had a buttermilk basil vinaigrette that was just delightful!
Filet and Grand Banks Blackened Swordfish
Perfect grill marks on the filet! (I’m a filet girl myself). And on the right is the blackened Swordfish, served with roasted kale, confit fingerlings, and lemon caper butter.
Indy foodie bloggers unite! It takes a lot to get a perfect shot, but for tonight’s dinner, we were lucky enough to sit next to a window with some beautiful natural light. It’s always amusing to look around and watch people stare at us or make fun of us as we take pictures- but guess what y’all- this is where you get your recommendations from so don’t knock it!
From L to R: Dustin of @eatindywatchindie Dave Plumier of @daveplumier and Kate Ruddell of @intoindy
Next up is the bourbon glazed pork chop- seriously y’all, how gorgeous is the presentation on this dish?
Bourbon Glazed Pork chop
A sweet glaze with some tangy mustard is always a favorite pairing on pork, for me!
And on to my favorite entree of the evening: the Maple Leaf Farms’ duck ham. Duck confit, chargrilled and topped with Harissa BBQ over cauliflower couscous- seriously this cauliflower couscous and the curry creme fraiche MADE this dish. Sure the duck was great (super tender and flavorful) but the combination of all the flavors on the dish just really put it over the edge! This would be my top pick for an entree next time I go!
Maple Leaf Duck Farms Duck Ham
Crab and black truffle mac and cheese. Here our table had a differing of opinions- I couldn’t taste the truffle at all and Dustin said it was overwhelming. We agreed to disagree on this one! The breadcrumbs on top added a night element of crunch and the fontina cream was light and not too overpowering- classic cream sauce for mac and cheese! (No goopy, stringy cheese in this one!) On the right we have shared sides of crispy brussel sprouts with pickled onions and roasted mushrooms.
What’s a (romantic) foodie dinner without dessert? I’m lucky that more of a savory person that a sweet person, but if there’s dessert on the table, I always have to try it! We were able to sample three fab sweets- a cast iron cookie with ice cream, New York style cheese cake with a blueberry compote and fried cheesecake rangoons, our server Audrey’s personal favorite!
A huge shout out to Dave Plumier for teaching me a few tips and tricks when taking pics of food in lower light, and using certain features on my camera. As you can probably tell, Dave helped me work some magic on this last photo!