Nice pic eh? Check their website for better pictures.

Meridian Restaurant and Bar
5694 N. Meridian St.
Indianapolis, IN 46208
http://www.meridianonmeridian.com/

My return visit to Meridian and first time since I opened the blog. My first time I was with a group of friends for a birthday party and I really didn’t pay attention to the food, but I remembered it to warrant a return.

The menu was slightly different than online, but I thought that tonight’s was stronger. I ate and tasted a ton, so lets get at it.

What I ate: Apps:
Grilled Quail $10.75.
Fried Calamari (a special, I didn’t see the bill)
Beet Salad (around $9)
Salad:
Warm Spinach $7.75
<Entrée:
Veal Short Ribs (I think $28)
Lamb Loin (around $26)

Grilled quail: Jalapeno Honey Glaze, Lemon, pepper, mushroom risotto. Beautiful presentation with an herb oil. Quail was flavorful, well prepared. Risotto was a little al dente for my taste, but seasoned well. I am a big pepper fan and the risotto flirted with being too much, but overall I enjoyed this. Portion was a touch small for the price, but it was an app.  I almost wanted a little more fat/salt to the dish.

Fried Calamari: A generous portion. Lightly breaded and served with a cocktail sauce, white truffle aioli and a remulade. I enjoyed this as well. The sauces were well thought out, but most importantly they did not over power each other. Not one of them left a lasting taste and for an app, that is important.

Beet Salad: Not a big fan of beets, but I understood what was trying to be done here. Served with julienne apples, bleu cheese and there might have been a few nuts. I enjoyed it, though I thought the quality of the beet was average. The person that ordered it gave it a 7/10.

Warm Spinach Salad: Tossed in a vinaigrette and served with bacon, eggs, onion (I might be forgetting something). This was not an entrée size salad, but a nice step to the main course.

Veal Short Ribs: I usually love anything that is braised. Preparation was served with mashed potatoes, swiss chard, pearl onions, peas and carrots. The veal was well cooked, but it lacked salt. In many braised dished, the exterior of the meat holds the searing and is packed with flavor, not the case here. However, the meat was incredibly tender and the portion was very generous. 2 problems here, the swiss chard was a reckless mismatch and incredibly bitter for this dish. Pearl Onions were flavorful, but each dish only had two. I would have liked 4-5 of them. I would’ve liked a reduced sauce to be added here, gravy would’ve been too much, but the sauce could’ve been a vehicle for salt. I am being nitpicky though, this was damn good.

Lamb: I only had 2 bites. It was a little bland. Accompanied with asparagus and ratatouille, it was presented well. I enjoyed the ratatouille, but my other two guests did not.

Skipped desert, but the doughnuts with malted coffee sauce was tempting.

Would I Buy It Again? (finally):  (30 pts possible on taste, 6 dishes = 5 points each)
Quail Risotto – Yes 3/5
Calamari – Yes, easy. 5/5
Beet Salad – If you like beets 3/5
Warm Spinach Salad – No. Other great choices, go for the house salad. 2/5
Veal Short Rib – Yes, gladly and add extra onions. 4/5
Lamb Loin – No. Not bad, but not at the level of other selections.2/5

Rating:
Taste:  19/30
Service/Management: 9/10
Originality/Execution: 7/10

Total:  35/50  Recommended.

Support local restaurants!

-WIBIA

Tags: beet salad, calimari, Food, Indianapolis, lamb, Meridian Restaurant, quail, risotto, spinach, veal

This entry was posted on Saturday, April 11th, 2009 at 4:49 am and is filed under Food Reviews, Location: Indianapolis, IN, Recommended: Independent. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.