Revolucion

1132 Prospect Street

Indianapolis, IN 46203

(317) 423-9490

Revolucion

 

If you haven't been to Fountain Square recently, I suggest you make the trip. Once you get past all the construction going on, there are some great places to dine and hang out. Growing up the only thing to do there was go to duckpin bowling. Now the area is on the up and up. Just last night I had a delicious beer from Fountain Square Brewery. Other restaurants I recommend are Siam Square and South of Chicago Pizza and Beef. For now lets focus on Revolucion. First and foremost, its a tequila bar that serves food. I say this because you need to be 21 to enter. Sorry parents, leave the kids at home. They have a wide array of tequila. I try to stay away from the stuff because when I drink tequila, it stirs up foggy memories of college, specifically a prairie fire shot on my 21st birthday. When we dined there, there were 2 large parties seated. It seemed like it was a very relaxed restaurant as patrons were moving tables to accommodate their own parties. Also, you have to order the food at the bar. There isn't a waitress walking around taking orders. We did have a bartender check on us in the middle of dinner, but that was it. Our food came out quickly, but I must say, having never been there before, the order process was somewhat confusing.

We had our hesitations with the food, only because the last time my brother recommended a Mexican restaurant, it was the worst food I have ever had (El Sol de Tala). That place was also one of the inspirations for me starting this blog. Needless to say, my brother redeemed himself with this suggestion. We started off with chips and guacamole. The chips were made in house and made from corn tortillas instead of flour. The guacamole was great. It was cool and creamy, with small diced tomato, onion, cilantro, with a hint of lime. It tasted very fresh.

The other side I ordered was Patatas Bravas. The last time I had this was at BBI and I loved it. This version was not as good. They are deep fried potato wedges with a chipotle sauce drizzle. The potatoes were good, but the sauce did not do a whole lot for me. It lacked the smokey flavor of a chipotle pepper. It was more like a spicy tomato paste with vinegar to thin out the sauce. I wish it had more of a creamy texture and flavor.

We ordered two different kinds of tacos (you get two tacos per order): carne asada and tacos de papas. The carne asada tacos just came out with a side of pico, a deep fried tomatillo, and a lime wedge. For those of you used to the Doritos Locos Tacos, you will be disappointed. This is a bare bones, typical street taco. The corn tortillas are double layered, due to the fragile corn tortilla. The beef was tender and finely chopped. It had nice seasoning, a good balance of salty and spicy.

The taco de papas tacos were a little more traditional, in that there were some toppings. The tacos consisted of roasted potatoes, corn, poblanos, queso fresco, and crema. This taco was my favorite of the two. It also came with a side of pico, lime wedge, and deep fried tomatillo. All the ingredients just worked well together. The poblano is a milder pepper, with a little heat. Queso fresco is a white cheese with a mild, creamy flavor. The corn added a sweetness, and the potatoes added some body to the taco. I generally prefer protein in my tacos, but these veggie tacos were delightful.

The pico added a freshness, but if you wanted to add any sort of heat, there are squeeze bottles of hot sauce. I know I got negative feedback when I talked about the squeeze bottle salsa from Acapulco Joe's, my readers were weary of anything that came from a bottle. I must persuade you to give these sauces a try. Each sauce was unique, and I could not recall which one was my favorite. The sauce that did stick out was orange based, as it reminded me of an orange creamsicle. It was hot and sweet and added an fresh citrus flavor to the taco.

I am looking forward to my return trip to Revolucion. I have been searching the city for good tacos since I had the best tacos of my life in Austin, TX this past winter. Although these tacos were not on par with Torchy's Tacos, they were very delicious. Next time you have a craving for a taco, don't "Live Mas". Live Local. Seek out a Taco Food truck or head out to Fountain Square. You will not be disappointed.

 

"The chief pleasure in eating does not consist in costly seasoning, or exquisite flavor, but in yourself." - Horace

 

Acapulco Joe's

365 N Illinois St
Indianapolis, IN 46204

We were rushing downtown to grab a bite to eat before your Indiana Pacers took on the Minnesota Timberwolves. We narrowed our options down to Acapulco Joe's and Dick's Bodacious BBQ. Joe's won. Partly because it was stuck on my mind. This is one of my oldest friend's (who will so forth be referred to as, ABW) favorite restaurants. I personally, have only eaten there on two previous occasions. IMHO, it is the best  Mexican restaurant downtown, for the price you pay.  You can have a better Mexican meal at Adobo Grill, but you will pay for it. Also note, it is not your "authentic Mexican" food. It is very Americanized.

As you can see, the chips and salsa are not served in your typical fashion. Yes, those are squeeze bottles. Some people may view this as low class, but I like the change. You are have the control of how much salsa is going on your chips. The dreaded "double dip" is also removed from the dining experience. There are three types of salsa. Two red and one green. The green is more of a vinegar base, and is very runny. It does not come out of the squeeze bottle clean. The red salsas are both on the sweet end of the taste spectrum. One is has a more smoky flavor than the other which had a little more heat. They aren't labeled, so you are on your own to try them all. Also, they aren't very fresh tasting. You'll have that when the salsa comes in a squeeze bottle. PJB decided to order queso. They offered us regular queso and chili con queso (queso, red sauce, jalapenos) . We went with the latter. Let's just say it was the most difficult queso I've ever had to work with. GBG described it as, "if you were to just put the cheese from a mozzarella stick into a bowl." It wasn't actually mozzarella, but he meant, it was very thick and difficult to get onto a chip. The chips themselves were corn tortillas cut in half and fried, so they were on the large side. 

Entree time. Out of respect to ABW, I ordered the 6 nachos. As you can see, they are six chips, loaded with beans, beef, and cheese. ABW described them as, "open faced nachos". Well, he wasn't lying. Were these the best nachos I have ever eaten? No, but I was a fan of the ingenuity of the dish. What is the biggest issue with nachos? Each bite does not incorporate all the toppings. The nachos at Joe's are layered perfectly. Each bite contains meat, cheese, and the musical fruit. What the nachos lack is color. You can add salsa, but maybe next time I will ask for a side of guacamole. GBG ordered the chicken quesadilla, MWF had the chicken burrito, and PJB had the Monterey Special (one hard taco, one soft taco, Mexican beans). All enjoyed the meal, but I don't think one of us joined the clean plate club. The servings are very generous. After the Pacer game, we all were still pretty stuffed. 

As for the service, it was very average. I wasn't disappointed, but then again I have had better service. I enjoyed eating on the patio when it was nice out. Inside wasn't anything special. It seems like they haven't changed the decor in years. At the end of the day, I can see myself returning to the Acapulco Joe's. I couldn't find any major knocks on the place.

Make my words today sweet and tender, for tomorrow I may have to EAt them.