Soupremacy 7 East Market Street
This is a relatively new place, right off the Circle. Pat and I had planned on going there on the same day we went to the NRA convention; but wimped out due to the weather. Today was such a lovely day and it is so convenient I had to try it solo. There hasn’t been a whole lot written about the joint. Which might be because it’s downtown. It is open for the downtown working crowd. From 7:00 AM to 8:00 PM. Evidently not convenient for some food Bloggers. Regardless it is a nice looking little place with a clever name.
Frankly I don’t get the library motif or the guitars. The pot I get. The other stuff.. not so much.
I would have liked to have gotten a better shot of the menu board but I wanted to stay out-of-the-way of the customers. The first rule of Blogtography is to STAY OUT OF THE WAY. Similar to the Prime Directive in Star Trek. Is it me or does that flower arrangement resemble an angry bird?
As the name suggests they sell soup. They also have salads, but their main bag is soups. Eight different each day. All made fresh, in-house and from scratch. They have some house favorites that stay around but their forte is variety. From light and chilled to warm and belly filling they cover all the taste buds. The soups are offered as 8 ounce cups, 12 and 16 ounce bowls or, my favorite, the trio. Three 6 ounce portions of your choice for $6.25. For my “flight” I opted for Tuscan White Bean, Roasted Red Pepper with Curry and Beef & Barley. All the soups come with Amelia’s bread so that is a decided plus.
Tuscan White Bean
This is a country combination of kale, potatoes and white beans in broth. Normally I would consider this a rustic soup with assertive flavor. This version was more gentile, nearly delicate. No way would I call it bland, that implies a lack of taste. This soup had taste. First sip of the broth allowed the kale flavor to come through, followed by that of the beans. A touch of salt and pepper brought it more in line with my less delicate tastes.
Red Pepper with Curry
To me red peppers are the sweetest of all peppers. Utilizing them for a cream sauce is one of the few things I still like about cream sauces. You should be cautious about what to pair them with, otherwise you might get something more dessert than soup. In this case I think curry was a great call. Curry seems to have an affinity for sweet without going crazy. Again this was a nicely made soup and the fresh parsley and sour cream was a nice touch.
Beef with Barley.
Their beef and barley was a nicely constructed soup as well. A light hand was definitely used in all these soups. In seasoning and cutting the meat and veggies. In all cases a little salt and/or pepper was added to bring them more to my tastes. Which is how you want it when your star is the soup pot. You can add salt but you sure can’t take it out. I probably will be seeing more of this place. I like variety. I also like soup.
http://www.soupremacyindy.com/
black market
A poor shot of a cool artifact on the building across the street.
This is a joint we have been wanting to go to for quite a while. It has a reputation for very good food and a nice selection of craft beers. It’s not a very big place with the seating consisting of a few tables along the wall, a large bar and 3 very big tables in the center. Long and slender, like you would find in a banquet hall. It is an attractive place; all industrial chic with exposed duct work, dark walls, slate and black iron pipe fittings in the men’s room.
We had the bar to ourselves and had the most delightful server. Efficient, professional and attentive, and very knowledgeable of the menu. After much reassurance from the aforementioned server, that he would not get any onion Pat selected baked rigatoni. A pasta dish with butternut squash,kale and both house made mozzarella and focaccia, all for $10.
At time of service our waitress told Pat that they made a special sauce, just for him, sans onion. I went off menu and ordered their special for $11. That was fried perch with waffle. Served with baked beans, young curly kale and Sirachi butter. Odd ain’t it. This particular dish did not hit on all cylinders for me. I do admire their cojones for doing it though. I think restaurants should push the envelope; as far as they can. In this case I think it could have used a few adjustments. They used, what appeared to be black beans for the baked beans. Not the most attractive choice. That might be why it was buried under the kale. They also could have cooked the beans a mite longer and reduced the cayenne, especially with the Sirachi butter ; which was excellent,as was the perch. As for the waffle it was a wee bit dry. Actually I thought the whole dish was on the arid side. I am surprised they didn’t add some sort of syrup. Possibly a gastrique . I think a little sweet and sour would have fit in well. But; that is just my opinion. This was just one dish and a special at that. I will definitely be back first chance I get. I want to try their chicken pozole and the blue gill and grits. They both sound like a bunch of lip smackin’ fun.
http://www.blackmarketindy.net/
Three Sisters in Broad Ripple
I have wanted to try this joint for a while. I am not sure why we waited so long? Maybe we needed to wait for a Dark and Stormy Halloween afternoon. You know; to balance out the hip granola vibe of The Ripple.
The place is in an old house; so it’s not too big. The menu is interesting and it has been on Diners, Drive Ins and Dives. And that appearance has yet to go to its head. Unlike some joints in Indy.
As you can see on the menu it offers quite a bit of Vegan Fare. That is why Pat tried their breakfast service. He and Fran went here when their two vegan daughters were in town. Their pricing can be a trifle high on some items. That may be why he was a wee bit snarky at first. It was his turn to buy. Although he did suggest the spot. Ahem.
These must be the Three Sisters. The name sake of the Cafe.
Our service was a little perfunctory. Everyone was pleasant but our server just seem rather new to the work.
As for the food; I thought my sandwich was outstanding. It was slow cooked Fresh Ham with braised Kale and pepper jack cheese. In other words slow roasted pig and Country Greens. Everything worked so well together. The more you ate the more you enjoyed it. Well you can keep your Manhattans; be they beef or turkey. When the snow stars flying give me one of these. Every time.
Now every great sandwich deserves a great side. And here that would be calico potatoes. A combo of grated sweet and yellow potatoes. A huge portion fried perfectly, toasted handsomely and tasting wonderfully.
kosherhamandcheese.com/?p=2202&preview=true
