De Cero Taqueria
814 West Randolph Street
Chicago, Illinois  60607
http://decerotaqueria.com/

I was in Chicago on business and I wanted to try something new.  As much as I would like to say that the expense account is a blank check for prime steakhouses, I like to fly under the radar a bit and not seem too eccentric.

Eater 38 is usually a dependable list.  Sometimes I think that it should be called, If I were a hipster, where would I like to eat.   The big names are on the other lists and I always think of it as an insiders guide.  I was in a mood where I didn’t want a ton of food (patting myself on the back for that rhyme) and Indianapolis is without a fancy taco place, so I thought that I would give it a try.

What I Ate:  Duck Confit, Chipotle Chicken and Tilapia tacos; $3.95 each.  Chips and Pico; $2.95.

The duck confit was served with corn salsa and that is it.  The duck desperately needed salt and I thought that this was a great idea, but poorly executed.   The Chipotle Chicken was grilled chicken, lettuce, crema, cilantro and pinto beans with bacon.  I liked this on a lot better, but it had a strange smell to it.  It had a smoky smell to it, like you just light a firework.  The beans were a non-factor.   The tilapia was topped with a Mexican slaw.  I love a good fish taco (no jokes please), but this was not one of them.  The tilapia was tasted more like smelt fries and it didn’t taste freshly fried.

Chips and pico were the standard adaptation.   A little spicy than normal, but again, nothing special.

Would I Buy It Again?  No, definitely not.   What a wasted dinner in one of our best culinary cities in the US of A.  Maybe the bar was set too high.  After all, did I really expected tortillas, meat and beans to taste that differently than what I can get in Indy?  My bad.

I think that I am done with fancy tacos.  I have tried a few different takes on tacos and I am always happiest with the simple ones done well.  I’d rather replace duck confit with slightly chewy, cheap carne asada and call it a day.

Long story short, it might be best to leave tacos alone – they are perfect how they are.

-wibia

Rue Dumaine
1061 Miamisburg-Centerville Road
Dayton, OH 45459
http://www.ruedumainerestaurant.com

I have to admit, I was really looking forward to getting out of the office for a few days.  However, I was going to Ohio to meet with a client and the only thing that I know about food in Ohio is that I really like Graeter’s Ice Cream.  I mean, I REALLY like it.  I would weigh twenty pounds more if I lived in Ohio.  Preparing for my trip, I asked Indianpolis Restaurant Scene if she had a pulse on Dayton and she asked one of her readers from Ohio and he said that Rue Dumaine is must have.

Rue Dumaine is where French technique meets New Orleans fare.  The chef is from New Orleans so there are a few NOLA appointments inside the building.  On a Wednesday night at 6:00, the place was pretty busy.  You would be fine wearing jeans, but better off if you stepped it up to business casual.

What I Ate: Duck and Pheasant Gumbo, $6 and Grilled Pork Tender, $24.

The gumbo was served with basmati rice and some chives to garnish.  I had my doubts when it was placed in front of me as I prefer a gumbo with a darker rue, but I really enjoyed this.  The duck and pheasant was shredded in the gumbo and was really tender.  For $6, it was an honest portion as well.

The Grilled Pork Tender is served with a sweet potato/Yukon Gold gratin, wilted spinach, relish of pancetta/shallots and a Dijon reduction.  The pork was cooked to a perfect medium temperature and was really easy to cut and not chewy at all.  What I really liked was the gratin.  The sweet potato had a pureed consistency and the Yukon Golds were sliced thin and were crispy. So you had some crunchy salty potato combined with a sweet soft potato.  I will steal this method as I enjoyed it a lot.  The sauce was really rich but blended perfectly with the pork.  The spinach and the relish were also nice touches.

Would I Buy It Again?  YES. I thought to myself, this is the Bouchon of the Midwest.  Probably the best pork dish that I have ever had and easily the bust gumbo that I have had, meaning this was the best meal I have had in long time.  Rue Dumaine would easily hold its own in any city and would be one of the finest restaurants in Indianapolis if it was here.  Service was well paced and the bartender was actually form Fishers, IN.  Representing!

-wibia

When 95 degrees was not hot enough for us, my wife and I made the decision to travel to Arizona and hang out in 117 degree heat.  However, we had a great time and had some wonderful food and some really bad food.  Our trip to Los Reyes De La Torta can be found here, otherwise I will lump the rest under this post.  When we arrived, we went straight to:

Dick’s Hideaway
6008 N 16th St
Phoenix, AZ 85016
http://www.burningembersphoenix.com

Based on the picture above, I get the “hideaway” part.   The entrance is between those two bushes, there is no signage…  The place smelled great and was really cool inside as it was someplace I could hang out here for a while.

What I Ate:  Rellenos and Eggs. I chose one duck and one pork and had it with green sauce. It was served with two eggs any style, potatoes and pinto beans, for around $11.

I really liked this.  Their green sauce is amongst the best that I have ever had.  My wife had the Huevos Rancheros with red sauce and neither of us liked it. If you go to Dick’s, remember…go green!!

Would I Buy It Again?  Yes, though I am not sure it is a must have. The green sauce is great and I really liked this place.  I would feel comfortable recommending this to a friend.

Hotel Valley Ho, Trader Vic’s and Café ZuZu
6850 East Main Street
Scottsdale, AZ 85251

We stayed at the Hotel Valley Ho for a night as it was soooo cheap and has a retro vibe to it that I thought was cool.  We visited happy hours at both restaurants ( Cafe ZuZu for earlier happy hour and Trader Vic’s for late night menu) that are at the hotel and both were horrible.  It is not worth even going into.

Would I Buy It Again?  No. Horrible food, bad service a train wreck.

Cafe ZuZu:

Trader Vic’s:

Because our food was so bad and the service was horrible, we went to:

Metro Brasserie & Bar
7114 E Stetson Dr #105
Scottsdale, AZ 85251
http://www.metrosouthbridge.com

Because it is 117 degrees and no one is around, there are happy hours everywhere.  At Metro, we had the poutine and a carmelized onion flatbread. The poutine was really really good and the flat bread was tasty as well.  The gravy was thinner on this version, but it was really, really, really good.  Then again, what did I expect out of putting all these awesome ingredients together?

Would I Buy It Again?  Yes, easily.  Great food, good service and I would like to go back the next time I am there.  I can’t help but think this place would do lights out in Indy.

Cowboy Ciao
7133 E Stetson Dr
Scottsdale, AZ 85251
http://www.cowboyciao.com

This place is influential in defining modern southwest food.  Their signature dish is a mushroom stir fry for $12.95. They have over six or seven different types of mushrooms in a cream sauce served with polenta.

I really liked this quite a bit.  It was really rich and I couldn’t imagine eating more than a lunch portion, but it was pretty tasty.  My wife had a roasted duck sandwich that we didn’t care for that much.

Would I Buy it Again?  No. I enjoyed the mushroom dish, but the sandwich was a mess.  I just didn’t love the place.  However, if someone really wanted to go, I would give it another try, but it is not making my “must have” list.

Meals without pictures:

Spotted Donkey – A cool little place with upscale Mexican food.  They make a mean margarita (of which I consumed many) and have a great happy hour.  Since it is so close to my in-laws house, I will definitely go again.  The food is ok, but there is something about it that I just like being there.

Would I Buy it Again? Yes, for drinks and chilling out.

A Different Pointe of View – A Four Diamond Award winner that is perched on a mountain top, this is knows to be one of Scottsdale’s best.   However, it wasn’t that night.  The five course tasting menu was a major disappointment.  With wine pairing, the bill was around $240 without the tip.  Again, a major disappointment. However, the service was great and you really can’t beat the view.

Would I Buy It Again? No.

Binkley’s - Another Four Diamond Award winner.  This meal was unlike any other I have had.  Seven amuse bouches throughout the five course tasting menu.  I enjoyed the service and it was just a constant onslaught of food.  Extremely creative food and presentations.  For two people, it was around $215 without the tip, but I thought it was well worth it.  A great meal.

Would I Buy It Again?  Yes and I would like to go there the next time I am in Arizona.

I think that is it. Some really good food and we had a great time.  If you have never been, you should go…and I hope this list helps you.

-wibia

Bonge’s Tavern
9830 West 280 North
Anderson, IN (Perkinsville…)
http://www.bongestavern.com/Home.html

Bonge’s opened in 1934, caught on fire, blah blah…you can read the history on the website.  Chef has a legit resume cooking at two of the better restaurants on the area.

What is interesting is that people tailgate here!!  Perkinsville is 35 minutes from anywhere.  They do not take reservations, so people will line up on the weekends for hours and tailgate in the parking lot.  You will see people with wine, cheese, beers and plenty of tailgating activities.  On a Saturday in June, your wait could be 2-3 hours.

The interior is mis-matched, vinyl table cloths, a few booths and maybe holds 75 people.  The menu is chalkboarded, however there are a few items that make the list each time.

What I Ate:

Three appetizers

The Smoked Salmon was great.  It could’ve used a little more smokiness, but it was perfectly prepared.  It was accompanied with horseradish, capers, onion, crackers…nothing out of the norm.  I liked this, but I have had it just as good at other restaurants.

The crab cake was out-of-sight good.  Perfect mixture of crab and topped with a sauce.  I can’t remember the base of the sauce (something is telling me red pepper), but it was rich and delicious.  Probably one of the better crab cakes that I have had…ever.

Sautéed morels.  A little early for morel season (visit was 3 weeks prior to this post), so I asked where they are from and was told Seattle.  They were smaller than normal morels and they warned us that there could be a little grit.   A little was a touch of an understatement.  The flavor was perfect and I liked them smaller, however there was too much sand and grit for me to recommend them.  They had a wild mushroom listed as well and I should’ve got that.

Every meal has a salad of their “world famous tomato soup.”   Father-in-law and I both ordered the soup, especially with that setup and we are glad that we did.  Pieces of tomato and a little bacon as well.  Croutons were fresh and to be honest, this is the best tomato soup that I have ever had.

My entrée was Hager Duck for $25.  Duck was cooked medium rare, wrapped in prosciutto, stuffed with cheese and roasted jalapenos and topped with their homemade barbecue sauce.  For something with barbecue, bacon and cheese, it was very refined.  The duck was cooked perfectly and it is the right blend of heat, salt and sweetness.  Really, just an amazing.  My only complaint was that it could probably work with pork as well.   I didn’t get a lot of duck flavor, but the consistency and everything was just perfect.

It was served with wild rice, cheesy potatoes, veggies and the best cornbread that you can eat.

Hager Duck

Would I Buy It Again?  Yes, easily. One of the best restaurants in the state.  There is so much awesomeness happening here, I am not sure what else to say.

Btw, my father-in-law had the beef brisket.  It was excellent as well, though it stood no match to my duck.  Also, thanks to father-in-law for picking up the tab and the opportunity for me to have a great night out.

-wibia

Restaurant Tallent
208 North Walnut
Bloomington, IN 47404
http://www.restauranttallent.com/

Bloomington is very different now than the one that I left in 2001.   There are two restaurants that are getting some press, Farm Bloomington and Tallent.   I went to Farm on my last trip and really enjoyed it.  Casual, fun and great food.

Tallent is a touch more formal, business casual attire and a more contemporary minimalist interior.   Ambiance was not aggressively artistic, if you like Crate and Barrel, you would feel comfortable here.

What I Ate:
First:
Moules Frites – Red Wine & Tarragon Broth $14
Casserole Trio – White Truffle Mac & Cheese, Sweet Potato Duck Confit, Broccoli Casserole

Entrée:
Long Farms Elk – Newsome Ham, Chestnut Grits, Mushroom Ragout $36
Indiana Duck – Sweet Potato & Duck Confit Gratin, Broccoli Rabe, Preserved Lemon Jus.

In the beginning:
Service was attentive at the start, reviewed the specials and I ordered a glass of wine.  Bread came and we scarfed it down.  The whipped butter was amazing.  Probably the best butter that I have had in a long time.   Bread and butter is usually a good indication of how the rest of the meal is going to go.    Amuse-bouche was a bacon doughnut.  Dry and bad.

Appetizers:
Moles Frites.  The Frites were great, but the mussles were just average.  The broth was a little heavy.  The taste came from the frites, it should be the other way around.  Casserole trio was hit and miss.  Mac and Cheese should’ve never left the kitchen, the sweet potato gratin was good.  The broccoli casserole was my favorite.

Entrees:
The Elk was recommended at medium rare.  I am usually a rare guy.  The elk was on the low side of rare, but I enjoyed it.  Very lean and flavorful.  What I didn’t like was the chestnut grits, bland and lacked flavor.  I can understand why they are on the plate to add a little fat and creamy goodness, but some flavor would’ve been nice.  The odd combination was ham and Elk on the same plate.  The ham was diced and chewy.  It took away from the elk in a major way.

The duck was solid.  Cooked well and flavorful.  The problem is, the sweet potato gratin was in the casserole trio and a side here as well.  Flavors were clean.

Ratings:

Taste: 30 points/ 4 Items = 7.5 Each
Moles Frites = 5/7.5
Casserole Trio = 4.5/7.5
Elk = 5/7.5
Lamb = 6/7.5
Total Taste = 20.5/30

Service/Management: 5/10
We noticed that tables around us received more visits and were catered to more.  I didn’t like my first wine selection and I asked for something else.  This should automatically come with a recommendation.  Instead I was just passed the wine list again.  We didn’t catch the gratin in the app and with the Lamb, but I think that the server should’ve mentioned it.  Sorry.  The meal was paced nicely.  I never thought “they are on it here…” as far as service.  It was average.

Originality/Execution: 8/10
Interesting menu and wine list.  There is a bar menu for half of the restaurant.  The burger looked great.  The menu changes often and you can have a completely different meal here at least 10 times a year.  However, the menu on the website was entirely different than the one presented to us at the restaurant.  There were a few items from the web that I really wanted to try.

Overall: 33.5/50

Would I Buy It Again? Yes. Great potential and originality. I left wanting bigger and cleaner favors.  The elk by itself was great, add ham and cheesy grits and it brought it down.  There were moments of greatness, but at times those wow moments were a little sparse.  I would give it another try because I left knowing they can do better.

-WIBIA