Henry's On East St.

A little while ago, I met a friend from college at Henry's on East St. for brunch/lunch. As a special they had a crabcake salad. It looks great, huh.

It was actually a little disappointing. The crab cake was a little mushy and there was too much dressing. Everything just seemed so wet. But with that said, what I really liked about this place is that they asked me what I liked and didn't like about the salad because they wanted to always improve. So even though I didn't love the food this time, I think this place has lots of potential. Definitely worth another visit when I'm in the Mass Ave. area. They also serve different options like quiche, breakfast burrito, breakfast sandwiches, paninis, and a variety of salads. And if nothing else, you can enjoy coffee (or tea in my case) outside with their free Wi-Fi. 

The Rating

The Info

Henry's Coffee Bistro

627 N. East St.

Indianapolis, IN 46202

(317) 951-0335

www.henryscoffeebistro.com

Las Vegas!!!

So it's about time that I updated this blog...especially since I went to Vegas back in May! And even though I've eaten many, many meals since then, my stomach still remembers some of the highlights from my Vegas trip.

One of the best burgers that I've eaten in a long time was at Holsteins at The Cosmopolitan. Well, it was called Gold Standard, so I had pretty high expectations. The menu describes it as "Dry aged beef sirloin burger with smoked bacon, aged goat cheddar cheese, tomato confit, baby arugula and garlic chive aioli." Mmm... I still remember this burger being juicy, had great beef flavor, and was seasoned with enough salt. (Per Serious Eats is very important!) The aged goat cheddar was great. Not too strong. Everything just worked together so well. I'm starving right now and would really like a burger. I have to also mention the potato wedges. They were perfectly fried and had just the right amount of seasoning. Def better than the fries.

Of course, you can't go to Vegas without visiting a buffet! We went to the Bellagio for brunch and it was amazing. There was so much meat I thought I was going to get gout, but I made sure to get a few asparagus spears and bok choy! A few of my favorite things that I tried were the lamb, pesto mashed potatoes, creamy polenta, and roast beef. The following pictures aren't what all of us ate...it's just what I ate...don't judge. :-)

Another dinner we had before going to Tryst (the club has a waterfall!), was at Red 8 in the Wynn. I think we came here the first time I was in Vegas. Unfortunately, I didn't really think it was special. My dish wasn't very good, but everyone else's was all right. I got the salted fish with tofu. Don't get that. Jamie got the mapo tofu. Get that....and lots of sake!

For our final meal, the black jack dealer told us to eat at the Terrace Cafe at the Wynn, which is another place I went to the first time in Vegas. I ordered the fish tacos and tried their chicken and waffles that Adaku ordered. Even though they tried to win me over with the over easy egg on top, I stayed true to Maxine's. Maxine's will always be my choice for chicken and waffles.

The Rating

- It's Vegas!

The Info

Holsteins Shakes and Buns

Cosmopolitan

http://www.holsteinslv.com/

Red 8 & The Terrace Cafe

The Wynn, Las Vegas

www.wynnlasvegas.com

The Loft at Traders Point Creamery

Hands down. The Loft at Traders Point Creamery has the best Sunday brunch in the Indianapolis area. It's technically in Zionsville, but it is so worth the drive. They have a seasonal menu using ingredients from their farm and other local farms. You can definitely tell the difference.

Their seasonal Sunday brunch menu has everything from yogurt (which I buy from the store all the time), grits, waffles, omelettes, quiche of the day, and crepes. Jamie, P, and I ordered the Belgian Waffle, the chicken and potato fritters (the favorite!), and the Vegetarian option Eggs Benedict.

Jamie's Belgian Waffle was good, but paled in comparison to the other two. It's a belgian waffle. It can only be so special. The highlight was the side of maple chicken sausage. Delicious.

Everyone knows what eggs benedict is. I ordered the vegetarian option because instead of canadian bacon, they used thick slices of eggplant. Instead of hollandaise sauce, they drizzled a really light tomato sauce. In case you were thinking, "What?! You didn't want meat?" I got a side of bacon. The bacon came from Gunthorpe farm, and it was the best bacon I've ever eaten. I ended up buying some of it to take home. It made some pretty good carbonara the other day.

The favorite went to P's chicken and potato fritters. The menu describes it as:

Potato mash, Fleur de la Terre, TPC chicken, onions and

spices, encrusted in Panko bread crumbs, pan fried then

topped with bacon bits.

It was definitely memorable and satisfying. P was only able to finish one fritter. She really wanted to save it for later, but then we got distracted by their store and free samples...and I think you know where this is going...she left her food and it got thrown away. This was her face when we tried to go get it.

The Rating

- Best Sunday Brunch

Info

The Loft Restaurant at Traders Point Creamery

9101 Moore Rd.

Zionsville, IN 46077

317-733-1700

www.traderspointcreamery.com

Binford Cafe

Mike won a gift card for the Binford Cafe, so it was an obvious choice for breakfast over the weekend.

Binford Cafe is a small place with some tables, a diner counter, and a window into the kitchen. We felt like we were eating in someone's kitchen. There were family pictures and utility bills out. I'm just imagining this in my head, but it seemed like there were 3 generations working there. Parents in the kitchen; daughter is the waitress; and the grandson helps out where he can. Regulars went right up to the kitchen window and said hi to the cooks. That's nice to see.

The menu is standard breakfast food and sandwiches and some wraps. Nothing fancy. We didn't order from the regular menu, but the list of specials they had that day. Mike got the club omelet and I got the Hungry Hoosier (eggs, bacon, hashbrown casserole, baked apples, and biscuit and gravy) and a side of grits. Before you judge, I shared! Mike's omelet was pretty good. They didn't skimp on the fillings of tomatos, turkey, ham and bacon. And the potatoes were mixed with peppers and onions..yum. For me, the baked apples were the best part. They were warm and perfectly sweet. Everything else was just eh. I ordered my eggs over-easy, they came out over-medium. Bacon was extra crispy. The gravy had chunks of sausage, but was dry and needed a lot of salt. The grits were also very dry, but they made them with water instead of milk, which is what I prefer. When we were waiting for our check, the waitress took out some eggs benedict (also part of the specials menu), and it looked tasty. I should have ordered that.

I don't know if people are actually going for the food, but I imagine it's for the atmosphere.

The Rating

-Up for the atmosphere, down for the food

Info

Binford Cafe

6406 Rucker Rd.

Indianapolis, IN 46220

317-466-9631

No coupons, but they do offer a drawing for a free lunch every week.