Scotty’s Lakehouse
10158 Brooks School Road
Fishers, Indiana  46038
http://scottyslakehouse.com/

Everyone knows about the rapidly expanding Scotty’s Brewhouse and recently the owner of the Brewhouse, Scotty Wise, partnered up and opened a new concept restaurant in the Geist area called Scotty’s Lakehouse.  The Lakehouse features some of the old Scotty’s Brewhouse menu favorites like Dill Chips mixed with some gourmet bistro burgers and also Cafe Patachou breakfast on the weekends.  Also, they feature an extensive list of Indiana brewed beers on tap, so it’s a nice eclectic mix of something a little different from your usual bar/restaurant.

We’ve done a couple of reviews on Scotty’s Brewhouse previously and being that I love burgers, beers and Happy Hour, some friends and I decided to hit up the Scotty’s Lakehouse after work on a Friday recently and give this place a shot.

First Impression (not food related):  This place was packed and people were everywhere (beautiful people, young people, old people, etc.).  Whatever Scotty is doing, he seems to have found the right recipe for success because every time I go to one of his places, they are packed.  Also, the place is non-smoking, so all ages are welcome.

What I Got:  Elk Burger ($8.00) and 7 Tidals Dip ($8.75).

First was the Elk Burger.  Since this place attempts to have an unconventional and eclectic vibe, I decided to adopt that mentality and go for something other than a traditional ground beef burger and that led me to this.  The Elk Burger is served with lettuce, tomato, red onion, your choice of cheese, a pickle spear and is served on a toasted bun roll.  For my cheese, I chose blue cheese (shocking I know since I’ve gone on and on about my love of blue cheese here before).  Scotty’s blue cheese is salty, sharp and quite good.  The elk meat was slightly dry (I ordered it at the lowest done-ness level available), but that was to be expected since elk is a drier meat to begin with.  It was still flavorful though.  The toasted roll and very fresh vegetables added a nice crunch to the burger and honestly, this whole burger was a winner.

Spurred on by our excellent meal and the unbelievably fun environment, my friends and I decided to have one too many of these:

That’s 24 ounces and they go down really fast.  Anyway, after a couple hours and one too many of these, all of us started to get hungry again, so that’s when we decided to order the 7 Tidal Dip (a menu item also on the Brewhouse menu).

Served with blue corn tortilla chips and celery, this dip is made with a chicken strips, a blend of cheese (I believe I could taste my beloved blue cheese again, along with cream cheese), buffalo wing sauce and a touch of Scotty’s patented (okay, maybe he doesn’t have a patent, but he should) Mo Fo Hot sauce.

All I can say about the taste about this stuff is, “WOW.”  Creamy, thick, hearty and flavorful.  My friends and I were basically knocking each others hands out of the way in order to get to the dip faster.  This one is not going to help any diets, but when you are hammering back multiple 24 ounce beers, you don’t really care at that point.  My only complaints were that there weren’t enough chips and the chips that we did have seemed like they came out of the bottom of the bag.  A lot of them were the little crumbled up tiny ones that you usually find at the bottom.  I guess I could have actually been assertive and asked for more chips because I’m sure the server would have brought us some, but instead, I just finished off the dip with a spoon while I was sitting at the table by myself while my friends went outside and smoked.  Their sadness (and my devil’s grin) when they came back and realized the dip was gone was priceless.

Would I Buy It Again?  Yes to both of these food items and also yes to Scotty’s Lakehouse. I never used to get why people loved the whole Scotty’s concept, but my last several trips to Brewhouse have been wonderful and my trip to the Lakehouse was one of my most fun trips to a new bar/restaurant in quite a while, so I now get it.  I will be back to the Lakehouse as frequently as I can and I can’t wait until the patio opens up when it gets warmer so that I can sit outside and spend my Happy Hour in the sun.  If you hit up the Lakehouse on a Friday at 6:00 or so, your chances are probably pretty good that you’ll see me sitting somewhere by the bar drinking too many 24 ounce beers and eating tasty food.  That could be your celebrity sighting!  Okay, maybe I’m stroking my ego a bit too much there.  Ha!

Speaking of celebrity sightings, while I was at the Lakehouse the one and only Scotty Wise came up and sat at the table next to me with his wife and enjoyed his dinner.  Being the impartial reviewer (I say that with my tongue planted firmly in my cheek) that I am, I didn’t introduce myself, but it was nice to see that Scotty is a frequent patron of his establishments as well (as well as one of the better social marketers I’ve ever seen).  Scotty, if you read this, I will definitely say hi next time.

-IndianapolisEater

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