Papa Roux - A little bit o' Nawlins in Naptown

   We heard somewhere through the grapevine that this place was pretty awesome, I can't seem to remember for the life of me where on the vine that was...so I apologize to whoever suggested this place to us!  But, please do let me thank you!  Because of said glowing review, and in hopes of getting our serious nosh on, we made our way over to Irvington last week and hit up a taste of Nawlins at Papa Roux.

The joint


   This is not an area of town we venture to often, and there was some interstate and gps use involved in our getting there.  When we arrived, it was not near the only other restaurant I've been to in the Irvington area.  It was a little more rough looking than I expected...and I immediately was very excited.  This hole in the wall might be just the kind of thing I love to discover!

The big bold "Papa Roux" and the oh so familiar sign of NO, the fleur de lis, on the outside of the building let us know we had arrived.  We walked in and approached the counter and said "Hello, 2 please."  Clearly, we had not been here...yeah, your order at the counter.  They have kind of a cool, and different way of ordering here.  You choose what you would like off the menu and then find yourself a seat.  Once your sitting, each table has a little placard, which when you decide, you place in a car holder on the table indicating you would like to order your sides.  The service is super fast.  They see you putting that card up and they are already there!  It was crowded and everyone there looked like they were really enjoying their meals, they were stoked to be eating their po'boys in Indy.









The food

The menu speaks for itself.  You can get po'boys, sandwiches or stews, Hubs' favorite, Zapp's potato chips.  Once you decided your order is accompanied by all you can eat sides that come free with your meal and are served to you as you see fit once at your table.  The picture shows my choice, which was a roast beef po'boy sammich and a side of cornbread and Zapp's chips.  The roast beef was sooooo delicious.  It was real hearty and so tasty.  Underneath, you can't really see the cole slaw, which if you remember from some previous blog posts...is not my favorite food.  I went with the go to eating at new restaurants theory of "listen to the chef" with this one though.  I am glad I did because the cole slaw was a necessary addition to this sandwich.  The roast beef was really moist, but the cole slaw really added something to it.  It was a perfect combination, complementing each other with meaty goodness and creamy, sweet crunchiness from the slaw.  The sides were also uh-mazing.  They have a bunch of choices and many of the patrons were going crazy with them.  They ask you to order two sides per person each time you put up your placard (so as not to waste food, I guess).  Good idea.  I only ordered one...cornbread.  Hubs scored some bread pudding and excited enjoyed his Zapp's.  Also, for his entree his ordered a Muffaletta, which is one of his favorite things to eat ever.  He's always talking about this amazing Muffaletta he had in New Orleans on time and never finds anything that matches up outside of that crazy city.  So, him saying that this Muffaletta was the best darn one he's had since then is saying quite a bit.  He was pleased friends.  And, I was pleased with not just my sandwich, but those sides were supa yummy.  We both were doing some ooohhhing and ahhhhing about the bread pudding!  For me, 2 sides and the sandwich was plenty of food.  I guess you can get crazy, but to enjoy it, leaving there feeling satisfied but not on the verge of explosion, that combo did it.  I will be wanting to try the etoufee next time...and let's just go ahead and say awwwww yeah, there will definitely be a next time.  I can't wait to take some visitors to Papa Roux's.  It's the perfect kind of restaurant to show off how cool and diverse your city is :)

The wrap


   I think I said it, I want to show off how awesome Indy is based on restaurants like this.  It's fun and different and the food is really good.  There are no frills and I love that about it.  The food speaks for itself, no fanciness or gimmicks needed.

3 Sisters Cafe

I know 3 Sisters is a popular place for reviews with the local bloggers and it's been on Diners, Drive-Ins and Dives, but my Mom wanted to go there, and I hadn't been, so I'm going to go ahead and join the club.  I'm gonna review this puppy!

The other day I posted a picture of my Mom and I at a unknown restaurant, and one person guessed it...it was 3 Sisters!

The Place

In the heart of Broad Ripple, Momma J saw this place on DDD and told me she wanted to go there even before she arrived.  It's super cute, an old house and the inside made me feel just like I was having breakfast at Gramma's house.  It has all the old wood floors and big old windows and is just homey.  We got out and about early and it was a beautiful day in Broad Ripple and has been since...pretty sure this is not a secret these days.  BR has been booming!  But, 3 Sisters was not crowded which really added to that quaint atmosphere.  Just a few nice folks drinking coffee, reading their papers and enjoying some delicious food together!

The Food

Since it was my first visit, and Momma J had seen those wonderful corn cake delights on DDD, we absolutely had to order them.  But, before that, we ordered coffee, which I totally must comment on because it was that good.  It was really nutty and noticeably good for Diner coffee...I might go back just to have a cup of coffee and sit on the porch.  Okay, so we were drinking that and deciding to order the corn cakes and split a side of bacon.

Check those out!  The corn cakes were sprinkled with powdered sugar and filled with seasonal fruit (raspberries today) and served with either lemon curd or a fruit compote (also raspberries) and fresh whipped cream.  They said they put whatever that have on had in there, raspberries or blueberries are common.  I'll take either, thank you very much.  Clearly, as you can see by the picture, we probably could've split these and been satisfied.  I always do that!!!  But, since I had them, I had to try to eat them, how sad to let them go to waste?!?  Eat them, I did, my friends.  They were really, really good.  Crispy on the outside, but creamy and fruity on the inside.  The corn cake was NOT sweet, which was perfect.  The fruit inside and the dipping sauces added the sweetness you yearn for in a brekky like this.  The sauces were almost too good to be true.  One was as delicious as the next and I got a little crazy and started dipping in the lemon curd and then in the raspberry sauce...just for fun.  Uh-mazing.  I ate bacon too...it was also yummy...when is bacon not really.  Maybe if little Wilbur, the prize pig, was looking at me through one of those big windows...maybe then, not so good.

The Verdict


Obviously, I only ate one thing here.  But, let's be honest, the first thing you try at a place can make or break it for you.  Everything came together with our little (Or not so little in this case) breakfast, from the coffee to the cakes.  The menu had some really mouth-watering options that I am definitely looking forward to tasting some of the lunch sandwich options or one of their many scrambles.  They have vegan and veggies choices abound as well as fresh and interesting ingredients, making this place a staple for my restaurant repertoire!  I think I want to become the 4th Sister and rename this place...I hope they will have me :)

Taste Cafe and Marketplace

Erin's Rating: ★★★★★

Okay, first, I have NO PICTURES!!  Second, I am aware that this makes me the worst food blogger probably ever.  Normally if I didn't get any pictures, I just wouldn't review it, but I really want to review this place!!

The Place


It was my first time at Taste in SoBro, for lunch today.  Now, this place might not be for everyone, but let me tell you, it was for me, and it would be for you too if you know what's good for you.  It had the whole package really.  A spectacular outdoor seating area with lots of stylish people lunching.  Inside, it was modern and cute and HOLY MENU!  They had a huge board of daily specials and tons and tons of other menu items ranging from salads to sandwiches and so many delicious looking desserts I almost abandoned lunch all together.  While you wait in line to order, they entice you with all these very fresh foods, roasted beets and blueberry tarts, foods in all the colors of the rainbow.  Just pretty.

The Food (minus my attempt at pretty pictures)


As I mentioned before, the menu is pretty huge!  I only wish I could've gotten a better look at it.  It was pretty busy, the line to order was quite long, but you couldn't really see the menu until you got close to ordering.  And there was too much on the menu (I always have trouble with menus posted too high and far away for me too see them anyway) to have to be so rushed!  Despite this, I did my best.  I scanned the specials, because they were closest to me (you can't find them online, I don't think).  Wowsers, I went with the sundried tomato, broccoli and cheese quiche, but it was a hard choice.  I saw someone being served a beautiful piece of salmon on my way in and there and spied some really mouth watering salad and soup of the day choices as well.  But, since Hubs hates quiche and he wasn't there, I ordered the heck out of it.  My friend who suggested this place recommended we split the frites.  Yum.  Can you say, basil aioli dip??  Yeah, I can, and I can eat it too!  So good.  These frites were cooked perfectly and seasoned with just the right amount of salt and fresh herbs.  The quiche was also super tasty (haha, tasty quiche, at Taste...weird).  It was really creamy and the crust was flaky and buttery.  A nice portion too and served with fresh fruit or a salad, I opted for fruit.  Grapes and pineapple and granny smiths, oh my!

The Verdict


If you read the rest of this post, I think the verdict is probably obvious.  If you just jumped to this point...please get over to Taste immediately.  You won't be sorry and you will have a lunch or brunch from deliciously fresh foods and maybe you can convince yourself it's okay to have one of the amazing desserts.  I might just have to go for dessert next!  This little area of SoBro is so cute and I love the feeling.  It felt a little more grown up than BR and really tickled my foodie side.