Revisit: Taste Café and Marketplace
Author: WIBIA | Filed under: Food Reviews, Location: Indianapolis, INTaste Cafe and Marketplace
5164 N. College Ave
Indianapolis, IN 46205
http://www.tastecafeandmarketplace.com
You know that I am a big fan of Taste. They have the best fries in the city and along with Goose the Market are top notch sandwiches hot spots that I would put up against the best in any city.
Primarily a breakfast and lunch destination, they have a full service dinner Wednesday and Thursday. My wife, mini wibia and I decided to knock down the doors at 6:00. By 6:30, every seat was full in the dining room. They have a pretty lengthy menu and you could easily go there for an app and tartine, an appetizer, a salad or even a salad and a main. Even if you did all apps, you would find that Taste could hold the title for the best tapas in Indy.
I started off with a Truffled Egg on Toast/Asparagus and Swiss Cheese ($9.00). I enjoyed this, but I thought that with a little saltier of a cheese or by adding some lardo/pancetta/bacon, it could’ve been helped a lot. The egg was cooked perfectly and it was so close to perfection, but it needed a little more salt. For $9.00, it was a little pricey and I would price this closer to $6.00.
My wife ordered a special that was heirloom tomatoes, fresh mozzarella, arugula and champagne vinaigrette. I really liked this and so did my wife. A perfect balance in flavors and the tomatoes were surprisingly good for this early in the summer. I didnt snap a pic.
For my main, I ordered a braised beef short rib with a red pepper relish. My wife had the miso glazed sea bass and we shared mashed sweet potatoes and spicy fries (a special with chili dusted fries with cotijia cheese and a chipotle mayo). My short rib was cooked perfectly and I mean, down to the second cooked perfectly. I didn’t think that the red pepper relish added a lot to it and I could’ve used a little more braising liquid. However, the beef was extremely good. The mashed sweet potatoes were a hit with big Stinky and I thought they were good as well. The spicy fries ($6.00) continued to impress and I found them accurately spicy, though they were a poor compliment to the sweetness of the fish. I liked them quite a bit actually though.
My wife’s miso glazed sea bass was also cooked perfectly. I cringe at most things miso glazed as they are too sweet, but that was not the case here. I was impressed by the portion size and the sliced scallions added a little texture.
Would I Buy It Again? Yes, easily. Taste is one of my favorites in the city and deserves a spot on our Hall of Fame. This is my second time at dinner and it was consistently good at both visits. Also, I thought it was a good value…for $88 (including two beers) and service was also exceptional. The meal was paced well and my one year old had his first crush on the waitress. From start to finish, it was a really solid meal.
-wibia
Mini wibia enjoying the bread
Tags: Food, fries truffled egg, mashed potatoes, sea bass, short rib, Taste
I love that truffled egg toast–you can usually get that at lunch time as well (on the specials board). After my first visit to Taste for dinner though, I have always stuck to the smaller plates only as I found them to be more flavorful than the “main” dishes. Looks like you had better luck with them.
Best fries in the city, hands down…and some variety in that respect (regular, truffle and chili). Also love the truffled egg toast you posted about – it’s more filling than one would think. Excellent post.
I’ll have to go try Taste at night… it is funny, while I really enjoy Taste and it is always enthusiastically received by newbies we take there, for some reason I have kept it at arm’s length when making it a favorite. I have sometimes thought it was a male v. female issue, or the fact that I don’t enjoy the Sex and the City show (redundant)…. but, that short rib looks great AND looks like something Fred Flintstone would select. Food with bones = manly!
$88.00 for food for two adults, a baby, and two beers. YIKES!!