Together On Tuesday-Good Eats

This weeks topic for Together On Tuesday is all about restaurants. Which are your favorites? Why do you like them? So remember to stop by and check on what   Danielle, Michelle, and Charlotte have to say about their favorite spots when you are done here. I always love to find out new and interesting spots.

So, I love food. I love good food. I love to cook, but I love to go out to eat even more I think. So no matter if it's going out with Nolan and Georgia or my best girl friends or my extended family or for date night, I love to find the perfect spot. I'm not picky and I love so many different restaurants for so many different reasons. So, here we go.....

#1 Saffron Cafe. This a Moroccan restaurant in downtown Indy.It's small and decorated with lively colors.  Personally, I love to start with the hummus, then the chicken kabbabs with a side of saffron rice. The bread is fantastic. I've heard the mascarpone cheesecake is to die for, though I've never had it. I've been with others who have tried the tajines and said they were also very good.
I've gone there on a date night and I've gone with a group of friends. It's a great place for both. Is it somewhere that I would take Georgia, probably not. I don't think that she would find the food as tasty as her father and I do. At four years old, she's not very adventurous when it comes to eating.
And I don't consider Saffron Cafe to be outrageously priced either. While it is more expensive than a lot of chain restaurants, it's also not going to break the bank to go there.

This is what the outside of the building looks like...such a fun little place. 

#2 Zest. Zest is a small restaurant in Broad Ripple. It combines a laid back atmosphere with a lot of class and style. They put a huge sheet of white paper on the tables and give you crayons to color and draw. It's fun. Oh and if you know your food network stars, Guy Fieri filmed an episode of Diners, Drives and Dives here and he loved it too. You know, Guy and I are on the same wavelength! 

This is a great place to go with a group. It's kid friendly, but I've only taken Georgia there once and since it is a little pricier than places we normally go, I probably won't take her back until she learns that good food is not chicken nuggets from McDonald's. 

The Three Napkin Burger-YUM! It's served with a side of Pomme Frites and both are delish! I love it here. The Three Napkin Burger has bacon, blue cheese and BBQ sauce on top of it. I crave it.

 I've also tried the World Famous Macaroni and Cheese. Yea, it's probably the best mac and cheese ever. Sorry mom, you know that I love your homemade mac and cheese too. It's the kind of thing that makes you want to pick up your dish and lick it when you've finished....I don't really do that, but sometimes I want too! Nolan has ordered the Baja Tacos. Baja Tacos are a fish taco topped with slaw. Now, if you've always thought that you would never like fish tacos, I hear ya. I've been there. I like fish. I like tacos. But, fish tacos? Are you kidding? Well, you have to think a little bit outside the box. It's not going to be like a taco supreme from Taco Bell, only with fish instead of ground beef. It's totally different and so good. It's always a toss up for me to order either the Three Napkin Burger or the Baja Tacos. The Three Napkin Burger wins every time, but one of these days I'm going to order the Baja Tacos and love every last bite of them!

Zest also offers brunch. I've heard that it's really great, but I've never had it. I trust my friends judgement though!

They also have a nice area for outdoor seating when the weather is nice. I've done it, it's good!

#3 Jockamo. Is a small pizza place. I always go to the Irvington (east side of Indy) location, but there is one in Greenwood too. I love the art hanging on the walls and all the fun youngsters working there. They are all so cool with their hip clothes, fun hair and crazy tattoos. And the thing is, they are cool not because they are trying to be cool, they are just cool. Another reason I like the staff is because at the Irvington location they know me. They know Nolan and Georgia too. We go there that often. 

My favorite pizza is call Cheese Louise. It's got cheddar cheese, ricotta cheese, bacon and onions on top of their basic crust and sauce. It makes my mouth water. 

We go here with my parents, who also love it. When they are with us, we get the Lazy Boy, which is a traditional supreme pizza. When we are with vegetarian lovin' friends we get the Pomodoro. It has eggplant on it. I love it. It also has big hunks of garlic and extra sauce. Mmmmm! 

I also like the house salad here. It's got lots of veggies and good cheese. They also make some delicious salad dressings. 

One of the best things about eating at Jockamo is the lunch special. For $5.00 you can get a double slice of pizza, side salad and a drink. Great deal! 

See the monkey? I love him!

#4 Cafe Patachou. Cafe Patachou is, in my humble opinion, the best breakfast/brunch spot in the city. The cinnamon toast is fan-freaking-tastic! They take thick slices of bread and then there is a rich layer of cinnamon sugar spread on each slice. Oh yum. It's so good. Also the egg sandwiches have totally changed the way I eat egg sandwiches. Its a broken yolk sandwich. So, the yolk is just slightly runny, not gross or under cooked, but it just makes the sandwich fantastic. Another thing that makes it fantastic is the bread. Again, those thick slices of bread and you get to choose either sour dough or whole wheat. I usually get my sandwich with bacon and avocado because I'm slightly obsessed with both of those foods. I like that I can get a chai tea with my brunch as well. I feel so indulgent when I'm at Cafe Patachou. 

I haven't tried any of the lunch options on the menu because the breakfast items are oh so delicious. Oh and the desserts look heavenly, but since I've usually had the cinnamon toast, I feel that is enough dessert for me and I resist anything else.

Another thing that I love about Cafe Patachou is that Georgia can come with us. There is a kids menu that she finds something to eat off of or if we are there for breakfast, she will just eat the cinnamon toast and maybe some oatmeal. 

Also, Nolan and I can split an egg sandwich (we get an extra side of fruit usually) since it is HUGE and cut some cost there. I have to be super duper hungry to finish one of those things alone. 

I believe this is the inside of the downtown location, don't hold me to that! I do love those red chairs. 

#5 Santorini. Santorini, oh how I love thee! Santorini serves up Greek cuisine on the south east side of Indy in a neighborhood called Fountain Square. Sometimes you can find belly dancers there and there are always plates of flaming cheese and loud OPA! cheers. 

I've been here several times, but my most recent visit was for my 8 year wedding anniversary. Nolan and I dropped the kid off with a sitter (probably my mom and dad) and headed for a Greek feast! Not only did we order a regular meal, but before that we ordered three appetizers. Yes THREE appetizers. We feasted. 

For our first appetizer, we ordered the Sagnaki. This is goat cheese that the waiter lights on fire. OPA! When the flame goes out you are left with warm delicious, gooey goat cheese to eat with pita bread. Now, have an open mind if you are not a goat cheese lover. My hubby, Nolan, does not really enjoy goat cheese. I on the other hand could eat it by the spoonful. To each their own, I suppose. Anyway, my point is that Nolan loves the flaming goat cheese. He actually threw his head back and said "it's delectable." That is a direct quote from the man...just ask him. 

Our second appetizer was a traditional Spanokopita. Spanokopita is spinach and feta cheese wrapped in phyllo dough and baked. It's yummy. 

And for appetizer #3 we went for the hummus....if you don't know what hummus is, look it up. I think most people know about hummus. It was creamy and delicious and served with warm pita bread. 

For my main dish, I got the chicken gyros. Nolan got the chicken souvlaki. While both were great, I think next time I will get what Nolan ordered. It was crazy good. Grilled meat with grilled vegetables. Mmmm! 

Each entree is served with a Greek salad, green beans and potatoes. The portions are out of control. So, when I said that we feasted, I truly meant it. It was one of those times when you wanted to unbutton your pants at the dinner table because you ate so much. Don't worry, we didn't, but we probably did roll ourselves out the door and to our car. It's so hard when there is so much good food and it's a place that you don't get to very often. You just want to eat everything in site. 

Such a fun building in Fountain Square

While I kept this list of my favorites to 5, I could have kept going. There are so many great places to eat in Indianapolis. And I do try and look for non-chain restaurants, that doesn't mean that we don't go to chain restaurants. In fact, we go to chain restaurants all the time. A lot of times those are the places that I know my kiddo will eat a decent meal and we don't have to pay an arm and a leg for it. We eat at Chili's, Texas Roadhouse, Noodles and Co, and McCalister's all the time.

Some honorable mentions that I would like to add to the list of my favs are.......

Papa Roux-gotta love a good Po Boy (two locations, City Market and Indy's east side)

Broad Ripple Brew Pub-the Beer Cheese Crock is supreme (obviously in Broad Ripple)

Dufour's-outstanding grilled cheese (in Irvington, east side Indy)
Barcelona Tapas-more goat cheese, this time served in a spicy tomato sauce and garlic bread (downtown)
The Legend Cafe-great fried chicken and mac & cheese (Irvington)

Now you all know that I'm food obsessed, please remember to check out my fellow Together On Tuesday bloggers and see some of the places where they love to eat.