Zest! Exciting Food Creations
1134 East 54th St.
Indianapolis, IN 46220
http://www.zestexcitingfood.com
I have heard a lot of good things about Zest. I follow them on Twitter and think that I really need to stop by and see what the buzz is about. Especially after their 3 Napkin Burger was highly rated in Indianapolis Monthly. Their website uses the description “down home goes uptown” and I would agree.
As you can tell by the pic, they had a busy lunch crowd. The menu has everything from tacos to meatloaf but plenty of salads and sandwiches as well.
What I Got: Beef Sandwich; $8.95. Onion Jam, bleu cheese mousse, crusty roll. I chose the Pommes Frites with a Roasted Bell pepper Aioli.
I was sitting right by the window and saw what looked to be my sandwich. Five minutes later, it was still sitting there. My server was in the weeds and trust me, I have been there before. However, there was a server standing there the majority of the time and he should’ve run the order.
My order arrived at my table and the fries were cold, I sent them back (shocker, since I saw them sitting there for about eight minutes or so). I quickly received a new order and I thought they were very good. I liked the aioli, however it surely tasted closer to a romesco instead of an aioli. Either way, mighty tasty.
The sandwich was a little bit of a let down. It was warm, however the fold of the bun was soaked with juices from the pulled beef and quickly separated and it was pretty messy. The bleu cheese mousse tasted exactly like Boursin Cheese and the onion jam never hit my palate. The good news is that there was a good amount of beef on the sandwich, though I found it to be under seasoned. I really liked the crusty bread, very hearty.
Would I Buy It Again? Zest! – Yes, Beef Sandwich – No. I was looking over everyone else’s shoulder and there were a lot of good looking food coming out of the kitchen, including a killer looking order of biscuits and gravy. The place was packed, so I can assume that was just a one-off situation. I was stuffed as this was a sizable meal and the ingredients were really heavy.
Overall, I would not hesitate to go back to Zest! I have a good feeling they hit the target 99 out of 100 times, I just happened to be the one person.
-wibia
Tags: beef sandwich, Food, zest
Agreed – I took some clients here, and everyone was happy with what they had. I wouldn’t hesitate to go back, and in fact, one of those clients was just asking when I was going to take them there again.
I’ve only been for brunch, and like it quite a bit. I have heard good things about their burgers. Their fries look excellent.
By far Zest! Exciting Food Creations is one of my favorites. Valerie is a passionate owner/chef and it shows in her offerings. Go back for dinner and try their 5 hour braised short ribs. I call it candy on a bone – simply delish! As a matter of fact, I’ve had 90% of the menu and I’ve always been impressed. As far as service issues are concerned – never had any, but I can forgive that if what I’m getting on the plate is remarkable.
I’ve never gone for lunch, but I’ve had a few brunches and dinners that were amazing.
The Bs&Gs are a stellar hangover cure, and the creme brulee French toast is good for splitting if you’re not a big-time sweet breakfast fan, which I’m not.
I’m going to second David and say the braised short ribs are holy-crap good.
But, seriously, the whoopie pie dessert is worth the trip alone. Drooling a little bit just thinking about it.
We’ve been there a few times over the past 2-3 years. First time we went we loved it, but unfortunately the quality of the food and service level has been worse every we return. I do have a soft spot for their mac & cheese though, with a crunchy potato chip topping.
The creme brulee french toast is AMAZING (more like bread pudding) and is highly recommended in the 1/2 order as an appetizer to any meal.
Very hit or miss in terms of service and quality. I find Taste to be much more consistent.