Lunch on EAting Indy: Papa Roux

The winner of the lunch was @autajay1855. We spun the Urban Spoon app and it chose Yats. We had been there so many times, we used it as a guide and stuck with the Cajun theme and went to Papa Roux. Yats is still on the top of my list for favorite Cajun in the city. This is most likely because it was the first Cajun restaurant I have had so every other restaurant gets compared to Yats. Based on other reviews, one would think that Papa Roux is the epitome of Cajun food in the city. Here is an example of one review on Google: 

"Just the best food ever. Makes you happy the rest of the day" -Ben on March 31, 2011

Well Ben, I will have to disagree with you. It is nowhere near the best food ever. It is pretty average. @autajay1855 and I both got Po Boys ($7.50). I ordered the pulled pork and he got the pulled chicken, both full size sandwiches. If you dine in, you can order unlimited sides and free iced tea. When you want more sides, you just stick this card in the holder and a waitress comes by to take your order. I'm positive we ordered all the sides. The best was the red beans and rice, corn bread, and apple sauce. They were the most flavorful. The red beans and rice were a little on the salty side, but it did not taste cheap like the other sides. The corn bread was moist and I love where there is actual corn kernels in the bread. As for the apple sauce, I haven't had an applesauce that has disappointed me. The etoufee was thick and creamy, so the texture was there.  But it tasted like a can of cream of mushroom soup with hints of garlic and cheese. The tomato creole was kind of a conundrum. It started out sweet, but then it had a lot of heat. I usually like the combo, but it was just confusing. We were split on the bread pudding. I really enjoyed it and I'm not a big bread pudding fan. @autajay1855 thought it was missing something, like it needed more sweetness. I thought it tasted better than the cherry chocolate bread pudding at St. Elmo's. I will have to admit that the full sandwich was huge. I probably should have ordered the half. It is soft French bread with your choice of protein, cole slaw, and "vouxdoux mayo". It is touted as being over one pound of total weight. It sure felt like a pound when I was 3/4 done with the meal. I have never felt so gross and unhealthy after eating a sandwich before. The vouxdoux mayo overpowered the entire sandwich. Each bite tasted like the mayo plus the sauce from the cole slaw. I had to take the sandwich apart to try to taste the pork. The pork did have good smoky flavor and was very tender, but it was lost in the toppings. It would have been a star if it was not accompanied by his friends saturated fat and calories from the slaw and mayo. The bread was pretty disappointing. It was not very crusty and it became soggy throughout the meal. Let me preface my next point by saying, "Thank you", to all of our policemen for protecting and serving our city. Now let me tell you a little story.  There were two cops at the table eating at the table before us. Our waitress said that they ordered SIDES of the vouxdoux mayo and mixed it in with their sides. She said she had never seen anyone eat that much mayo before. I almost took a trip to vomit town when I heard that. By no means am I supporting crime, but if I were some sort of hooligan, I would perform all my mischief on the Eastside. The fuzz there have belly fulls of Papa Roux and vouxdoux mayo, and I would have no problem running away from the Five-0. As noted above, our friend Ben said he felt happy the rest of the day. Well, I felt slow and fat the rest of the day. 

There are aspects of the restaurant that in theory are good, like the unlimited sides and free iced tea. The service was very good and it took them little to no time to bring out our side dishes and refills on our drinks. If you plan on going on the weekend, be prepared to wait for a seat. We had to wait about 20 minutes before we had the chance to sit down.  In the first picture, I attempted to let you gauge how small the dining area is. We were sitting in the back corner of the restaurant and there are about 10 more tables. I saw two strangers sitting together at the two-top tables just so they could eat sooner.  I will make another trip there to try their seafood Po Boys, as they bring in fresh seafood from the gulf. 

For Super Bowl XLVI, Indianapolis has came out with a list of the Super 46 sandwiches. Some restaurants are local, others are a bit of a road trip (Evansville, Fort Wayne, Bloomington, Terre Haute). Papa Roux is on this list for their Po Boy. 

"My favorite animal is the mule. He has the more horse sense than a horse. He knows when to stop EAting -- and he knows when to stop working." - Harry S. Truman

Sensu Indianapolis

Sensu Indianapolis
225 S. Meridian St.
Indianpolis, IN 46225
Sensu


I had a Living Social deal to use at Sensu. Speaking of Living Social like deals, I had to explain the concept to a lady at Old Navy the other day. She was completely clueless. My sister sent me a $20 for $10 Groupon to use, and I guess they have had problems processing them in their system, so I just assumed the lady in front of me just was having the same issue, then the following conversation took place:
Nitwit Consumer (NC): "Can you help me find my Groupon?"
ME: "Sure thing, just log in on your phone."
NC: "OK, I'm there"
ME: "There isn't anything under Unused Groupons"
NC: "Well, I haven't used it yet. I just downloaded the app today."
ME: "Well it should show up here. When did you buy it?"
NC: "You have to buy them?"
ME: "Yes."
NC: "Oh, what is this Asian restaurant (Sensu) Groupon? Is it good?"
ME: "Well I ate there a couple weeks ago, and I recommend if you are going to go to purchase the Groupon, as it gets kind of expensive pretty quickly."
NC: "Well I don't want it."
ME: "So DON'T BUY IT!"

Thanks for wasting my time. Back to Sensu. Imagine a Vegas restaurant/club in downtown Indy. It has a very modern and hip decor. There are huge projection screens showing nature-scapes. Although, calming, I found it rather distracting. The ambiance was very pleasant for dinner which was nice, so I do recommend it as a place for date night, just know you will be shelling out some cash. I have never been out there late night, but I assume it starts popping off around 10. DJBG raves about the place. Clubs like this have never really been my scene. Even when I lived in Chicago, I never ventured to the clubby bars, unless it was for a special occasion. The one thing that will stick in my mind as a highlight of the meal was our waiter. It was the BEST service I have had in the city since I have moved back. Since this was our first time, he kind of explained the concept of the menu. It was more like Asian fusion tapas. They serve small plates, and based on your food preferences, they cater the menu to your liking. He asked what we liked, and gave us some suggestions. He went away for a while, giving us time to dissect the menu. Before he left, he suggested the tacos and a couple of the Kobe beef dishes. I have only had Kobe beef burgers, so it was given before we even sat down, that I was going to order the Kobe beef. Those cattle have a pretty posh life, up to the time they become food. I mean they get to eat great food, get massages, and drink Sake. I bet that fire in Chicago wouldn't have happened if someone gave that cow an Old Style and a massage. When our waiter returned, we were ready to order. I decided to go with two tacos (lobster and BBQ pork, $4.50 each) and the Kobe Beef Toban Yaki ($28). I also chose the Wasabi mashed potatoes ($5), per the suggestion of our waiter. JBH ordered Chicken Satay ($13) and Pork and Kobe Beef tacos. The only downside of the meal was the mashed potatoes. I didn't take a picture of them, because I was too focused on eating the rest of the meal. After we both had a bite, we were over them and really didn't go back for more. First the color of the mashed potatoes was pea green and not very appealing. They were very heavy in wasabi flavor. Some people love wasabi, so this dish would be great for them. I don't mind it, but it was too strong for my liking. As for the rest of the meal, it was delicious. Of the two tacos, the BBQ pork was my favorite. It had a little bit of heat, but not too overpowering. The pineapple salsa countered any heat with a sweet flavor. Lobster is one thing that I never eat often, but I really enjoy. I was torn between the tacos and the clay pot lobster. I think my ultimate decision was reached because the clay pot lobster is cooked in a red curry sauce. I can't decide if I like curry or not, and I surely was not going to pay $24 for something I wasn't positive I was going to like. So I went with a lobster taco. It was good, not great. I think I was expecting a lot of lobster, but I didn't get it. For those of you who have issues with texture, this taco is not for you. The texture is soft and chewy, with the lobster, tomato, and avocado. Now for the star of the meal, the Kobe Beef Toban Yaki. The meal is served on a sizzling hot plate with a nice mixture of mushrooms and asparagus. As you can see, the beef is served rare to medium rare. Lots of pink. The longer you leave the steak on the plate, the more it will cook. I generally order my steak medium, but I was hungry and couldn't wait to eat it. The meat was so tender. It literally melted in my mouth. The knife sliced through the beef with ease and each bite was just as good as the one before. I enjoyed the mushrooms more than the asparagus. The enoki mushrooms are the things that look like they came out of a sci-fi movie. The stems kind have the texture of an angel hair pasta. The Shitake


For those of you who don't want to want to shell out the cash. Devour Downtown starts today and runs through August 21st. For $30 you can get 4 courses at Sensu. The Toban Yaki isn't on the DD menu, but another beef dish is, as are the tacos. I plan on hitting at least 2 restaurants during DD. St. Elmo's and Fogo de Chao look like the preliminary targets. Click the picture below for a list of restaurants. Happy devouring!


"I really believe the only way to stay healthy is to eat properly, get your rest and exercise. If you don't exercise and do the other two, I still don't think it's going to help you that much. "

Crabby Bill's - St.Petersburg, FL

5100 Gulf Boulevard 
St. Pete Beach, FL
Crabby Bills


Night 2 of SB2K11 found us at Crabby Bill's. I have heard from many past vacationers that Crabby Bill's was the place to go for seafood. JBH's family specifically recommended it, funny because she doesn't eat seafood. The restaurant is huge. The downstairs dining area is full of picnic tables. You may be eating with strangers, but that is the fun of SB. There was a wait before we got to eat dinner, so we made use of our time on the upstairs deck. They had a gorgeous view of the beach and the sunset, as you can see here. The one problem I did have was our waiter was kind of an idiot. I think he messed up everybody's checks. In a way that is our problem, seeing we had 9 people dining, so a little more room to mess up, but he was double charging cards, mixing up orders, etc. Other than that it was a pretty nice dining experience. 

I tend to stay away from the fried dishes, but for this meal I decided not to. From a taste standpoint, fried anything usually tastes the same, often masking the true flavor of a dish. We decided to order a couple appetizers for the table. I chose hush puppies and fried pickles. The hush puppies were served with a side of honey. I had never seen that before, it was a nice touch. The honey provided a good mix of sweet with the salty corn based hush puppies. I think I have mentioned before that sweet and salty is one of my favorite combinations, like Smash and Bang (semi NSFW).  The good thing about the appetizers was that there was plenty to share. I'll admit I am a sucker for fried pickles. Now I'm not on the same level as Snooki when it comes to an affinity for pickles, but I do enjoy a good pickle every now and then (that's what she said). I would rate Crabby Bill's pickles as average. They were not seasoned and alone tasted pretty bland. The dipping sauce you see was ranch dressing. My favorite fried pickle dipping sauce is the one you get at Scotty's Brewhouse because it is a horseradish sauce. Don't get me wrong, I love ranch as much as the next guy, but sometimes its better to step out of the ordinary My bigger issue with the pickles was that they were very thinly slicked. It was more breading than pickle. At least at Scotty's, you get a thicker cut of pickle. Now for my entree. I have a complex, where I tend to order meals based on what the restaurant is named. A coworker who once said, "Ever been to The Beef House? They have amazing rolls." Granted they do have amazing rolls, BUT its not called the Roll House. You don't go to St. Elmo's for their onion rings. So i went with the soft shell crab. I would have ordered the crab legs, but I was to tired to work for my meal. With soft shell blue crab, you just eat the whole thing. As you can see, I did order some veggies to attempt to off set my trip to the fryer. As long as you are not freaked out by sticking an entire crab shell in your mouth, it has the same flavor as a regular crab.  I will be honest, its not for everybody. There were times when I had no idea what part of the crab I was eating, and to some that is kind of scary. I wasn't mad at the decision I made, but next time around I will opt for another menu item. The girls ordered a steamed seafood combo platter that looked delicious. For the record, I am allergic to shellfish (only mussels and clams), but I can do shrimp, lobster, and crab. Overall I was satisfied with the meal, and I would go back. It was a fun restaurant that had something for everyone on the menu, minus PJB, who got a salad. 

"It's okay to EAt fish because they don't have any feelings." - Kurt Cobain