Black Market

Vegetable Chap Chae

I had heard so much about this hot new Mass Ave eatery that I was thrilled when Brad Sullivan (@DalaiWino) suggested it for the a recent business lunch. A little outside the fray on the upper end of Massachusetts Avenue (East of College), it is an innocuous little brick building without much fanfare or signage (not surprising, given the name). We cozy up to the bar. I surmise the space: rustic, industrial, almost bleak with that "I'm so cool I don't have to try at all" kind of air about it. There are few individual tables in favor of a long bar and a huge community table. I've always loved that concept: sit next to strangers, become friends by the end of a shared meal. Nice.

Black Market

This place clearly says, "It's all about the food. Period." In my perpetual quest to make pink wine sexy again, I order a lovely Chateau Virgile (a dry rosé from Costières de Nîmes) and Brad opts for a bottled Harpoon Celtic Ale. We ask the server what to order and decide to go halvsies so we can each taste 2 dishes. Though I have heard a million things about their burger (lamb and beef, goat cheese spread, grilled red onion, green tomato pickles), I am assured that it will be on the menu for awhile so the pressure is off. We opt for the Pork Bolognese & Macaroni and the Vegetable Chap Chae. 


The bolognese is really good and not as heavy as I expected from the description, though still extremely satisfying in a comfort food type of way. There is just enough pasta to add a nice texture to what is really more of a thick chili type of dish. It's all about the bolognese, which is salty, slightly creamy, and slightly acidic from tomato.

Pork Bolognese & Macaroni

The Chap Chae was comprised of the clear Japanese rice noodles marinated in a soy-shitake broth with long strands of sweet potato (either raw or barely blanched, I couldn't tell)  mixed in. The sweet potato  added a great textural component with it's crunch. There were loads of other veggies involved: shitake mushrooms, bok choy, etc, and the flavors were really complex with star anise and toasted sesame rounding out the soy and mushroom flavors. I loved the dish, though it was a bit salty for my palate. It did pair beautifully with the dry rosé, by the way.


All in all I give Black Market 4/5. The prices were extremely fair (it was about $45 with tax and tip, 2 entrees, 1 beer and 2 glasses of wine), the portions were generous, and the food was great. Service was personal and the atmosphere is great. I will definitely be back for that burger and all of the other things I had my eye on.  Cheers!

Bru Burger Bar

American Snack Burger

There's a new Cunningham Restaurant Group edition on Massacheusetts Avenue in Indy. Bru Burger Bar has joined the ranks of Stone Creek Dining Company, MESH on Mass, Cafe 251, and Boulder Creek. Amazingly, I had not heard much about it these first few months. On their website, they espouse Bru as a love letter to the burger, saying, "The hamburger is over 100 years old. It’s a classic, purely American, and an icon. The hamburger is the people’s sandwich, everyman’s food. BRU is an ode to our love…the Burger." Well, those words set an expectation that I simply cannot refuse to test!

It's set across from MacNiven's a little bit further off the Avenue in the space Elements used to occupy. You might not notice it right away (we didn't). It has the warm, modern, masculine feel of a Cunningham Restaurant Group place, and I feel comfortable. We ambled in smack in the middle of a Friday afternoon (around 2:30pm) to a nice little crowd. There actually appeared to be regulars sitting at the bar bantering with the bartenders. Didn't they just open? Interesting.... We belly up and our bartender, Chris, confirms that yes, they opened about 2 months ago. 

Bru Burger Bar

Though he was busy, he thoughtfully and efficiently explained their menu and concept, steered us to drinks based on our respective tastes and seamlessly guided us to a meal that we weren't necessarily prepared to have (we had eaten lunch just an hour or so before). Before we know it I'm drinking a French Gimlet (a Bru original) with Hendrick's, St. Germain, and plenty of fresh lime, and my companion is sampling craft beer from the nice selection on tap. 

The menu has about 50 things I want to try. Since we really did already eat lunch, I decide to get as much bang out of my remaining stomach space and focus on burgers. Chris informs us that any burger (which range from $8-12 before a side) can be "snacked" (ie, made smaller), costing a reasonable $4. Score! We order the regular (the true test of burger abilities: American cheese, ketchup, lettuce, tomato, pickle, special sauce) and the Smothered Porter Onion (swiss and onions caramelized in porter). 

Smothered Porter Onion Burger

They accidentally brought out a full-sized Smothered Porter Onion, promising that I would only be charged for the snack size since it was their goof. While I certainly didn't need the extra food, I was ecstatic that I got to eat more of this delectable creation. A lot of people are terrified of onions, but this a beautifully subtle, and unctuous flavor combinations. It was absolutely delicious. The classic was great. Both burgers were a tremendous success. I loved the unique presentation of putting the pickles (home-made, by the way) on top of the bun with an oversized toothpick. The buns were perfectly toasted (lightly buttered, nothing out of control) and so soft I bet they were baked that day. The beef was very high quality. I have to say, there was more grease than I am usually comfortable with. In this setting, though, anything less greasy would have been almost disappointing. 

French Gimlet

Throughout our meal we met several regulars who couldn't resist raving about the food and the service. I could probably have been convinced they had been paid and somehow knew I would write a review (I can't imagine this was the case, they were just so enthusiastic). The bartenders (the other one was Kim) and manager were all delightful, interesting, and full of intoxicating energy. (The intoxicating cocktails don't hurt either). After chatting and eating and chatting and drinking and more chatting we finally left. By the way, I'm pretty sure we left as regulars.

I give Bru Burger 4/5. The food was outstanding (though only having the burgers limits my ability to give them a better score so soon). The service was professional and fun. It's a little pricey (especially considering no sides are included with the burgers), but the food is such high quality and very innovative (Sriracha Caesar salad was the thing I was most excited about but had not room left) that I think it is fair. Rest assured I will be back. Probably enough to achieve true regular status. Cheers!

best ever macaroons

This recipe is so easy you will make these cookies all the time. I personally only make them to take to parties because otherwise Jeff and I eat the whole batch in under an hour. This recipe about as healthy as cookies can get. The only fat is from the coconut, which has numerous health benefits.  This recipe is also about half the sugar of typical recipes, using unsweetened coconut and raw sugar. Regular sugar works fine if you don't have the minimally-processed stuff.

coconut macaroon cookies

3 cups flaked unsweetened coconut

3 large egg whites

3/4 cup turbinado sugar (Sugar In The Raw is one brand)

1 teaspoon vanilla extract (use high quality)

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/2 teaspoon almond extract (only if desired)

Preheat oven to 325F. Line 2 cookie sheets with parchment paper. Mix all ingredients in a bowl. Using your hands is the easiest way to combine them. Don't fear, mixture will be wet and slippery.  Form cookies (I use my hands) to desired size. I typically make mine about 2 inches in diameter, but it doesn't need to be exact. Try to keep the cookies as vertical as possible. Bake for 22-25 minutes, or until tops are golden. Let them rest for 5 minutes before using a thin spatula to remove them (they are rather delicate). I use a stainless steel "bash and chop" that I've had for decades. Enjoy warm, or wait for them to cool and dip in dark chocolate for extra decadence. They keep for about a week, so they are great make-ahead cookies. Cheers!

Za Pizza

Za Pizza, located right on Broad Ripple Avenue, should be a slam dunk. When it opened a few years ago, it served New York style pizza by the slice, staying open into the wee hours to accommodate the hungry late-night party crowd trying to sober up before heading home.

Eating romaine lettuce with a plastic fork is not easy!

When I tried it, I liked its industrial and modern vibe. Honestly, the pizza didn't wow me for the price, but I did not feel strongly one way or another. They pride themselves on "the biggest slice," but it just seemed average in size to me. Perhaps actual New York street pizza ruined me for life? (I hear distant applause from all of my New York friends cheering...) Anyway, I was excited to hear that they were opening upstairs shortly before the Super Bowl. Slated for the second floor was a full-service pizza-pasta-salad eatery with affordable wine and local draft beer. It sounded like a winner!

Jeff and I wandered in right after they had opened (upstairs) one night. We each had a drink and found the staff to be friendly. The atmosphere was sports-bar casual and fun.  With an abundance of dark orange paint and brown accents, Jeff commented that it resembled and A&W root beer stand (in a good way).  The prices on the beer and wine were great. The menu looked basic, but we were excited to come back and try the full experience.


As someone who has worked in the industry, I know that every restaurant has a bad night once in awhile. For some reason, however, I have a hunch that the meal I'm about to recount was more than just a bad night. 


We walked upstairs with a party of four to find a couple other tables seated. It's a small place, only 8-10 tables. On Saturday night at 7:45pm I was a little concerned for them but selfishly relieved that we would got a table so easily. Service was slow and sloppy from the get-go.

For starters, our drinks (except for my glass of wine) were served in clear plastic solo cups. Our silverware was also plastic. (Curiously enough, the dinnerware was ceramic.) This was bewildering, as they were not busy enough to have run out of the real stuff.  The conclusion I was forced to draw was that someone actually made the decision to use plastic cups and silverware in a full-service restaurant. Wow.


We wanted to try a little of everything, so we ordered a specialty pizza, a calzone, ravioli, salad, and garlic knots. I'm not going to harp on every detail, but suffice to say there were dozens of service gaps (no menus after drinks arrived, no refills, had to ask for silverware, dressing on the side ignored, garlic rolls came after entrees, etc). At one point the cook came out of the kitchen, asking each table who it was that ordered the calzone with pineapple. Apparently they were out of pineapple and needed to find out which replacement topping the patron wanted. 

Ravioli "Marinara" that was laden with meat sauce and meat balls

The salads came (not as ordered) and were fine. The rest of the food was a different story. The pizza was pretty terrible. At $18 (for their smaller, 14" pie) I was expecting the Greek Pizza, billed as a specialty, to be.... well, special. Canned black and green olives, barely any fresh spinach (maybe 6 leaves?),and a crust that seemed pre-made and on par with Chuck-E-Cheese all made this pizza a severe disappointment. The ravioli marinara (I had asked if there was any meat and told there was not) was really cheese ravioli bolognese with meatballs. This was a problem because we had a vegetarian at the table and that was one of the things he planned to eat. The ravioli itself was okay. I doubt it was truly homemade as advertised; it tasted like every other cheese ravioli dish I had eaten in a casual Italian diner.

Greek pizza

The service was unapologetic. Our server complained to us that she was the only one upstairs, but then told another server/busser who was helping that she didn't need her help (it was an awkwardly heated exchange for customers to see). At $80 with tax and tip (2 glasses of wine, 1 soda and the rest water), the whole situation seemed ludicrous. Typically I would try to give some constructive feedback for such an experience, but it was clear that they were not interested in what we had to say. Too bad, because Broad Ripple could use a funky little by-the-slice pizza place. I am sad to say, but Za Pizza gets 1/5. Dismal, but I am confident that no one who was in the dining room with us that night will be back soon, if ever. Cheers to better luck (and better pizza) next time!