***As of June 5, 2011, Euphoria is closed as a restaurant and is only open for private events. The chef has also left the restaurant.****
Wow. Seriously, this was a great meal. One of those kinds of meals that make you know that you are getting to experience food from a chef who really gets it. We hadn’t been back to Euphoria since the last visit which was marred by really off service. And frankly, when I suggested it for this last Saturday of Devour Downtown, hubby said, “fine, but if the service is as bad as it was last time, I am never going back.” But both the Devour menu and the regular menu looked so good, I was willing to take the chance because in the past I have always had very good food from Chef Denman.
Wow. Seriously, this was a great meal. One of those kinds of meals that make you know that you are getting to experience food from a chef who really gets it. We hadn’t been back to Euphoria since the last visit which was marred by really off service. And frankly, when I suggested it for this last Saturday of Devour Downtown, hubby said, “fine, but if the service is as bad as it was last time, I am never going back.” But both the Devour menu and the regular menu looked so good, I was willing to take the chance because in the past I have always had very good food from Chef Denman.
Let me start by saying just for full disclosure, I am not anonymous in the restaurant—the Chef knows who I am and always comes over to chat with us while we are there. Our server was new to us though, and right away impressed us with his professionalism. He was attentive and knowledgeable but left us alone when we wanted to be left alone. Our service all night was great. So already, we were starting off better.
Anyway, we decided hubby would get the Devour menu and I would order off the regular menu (there was skate!). So I ordered the phyllo wrapped goat cheese appetizer ($10). It came with a salad of green apples, fennel, red onion and in a citrusy vinaigrette. This was amazing. Seriously. First, it was beautiful—the phyllo wrapped the creamy goat cheese in a dramatic way and the salad was a bit tart but with a bit of bite from the onions—it went perfectly with the goat cheese and the crispy bits of phyllo. I would get this again in a heartbeat.
Hubby had the smoked salmon cannoli with fennel and grapefruit. This was a very inventive dish—the dish was served cold, and the crispy cannoli were stuffed with smoked salmon and fennel with crushed pistachios on the end—they were served with a little salad of arugula with a creamy dressing. Hubby can’t eat grapefruit, so he had them leave it off. However, it was all really nice together and one of the more unique takes on smoked salmon. The grapefruit probably would have been a great addition though, adding a bit of acidity. At this point we were fighting over whose app was better (it was mine by the way).
We were also served a little middle course of the sweetbreads that are on the menu. They are crispy fried with creamed sauerkraut, smoked grapes, arugula and hazelnuts. Wow, these were outstanding as well. The creamed sauerkraut’s accent was on the creamy, with just a teeny hint of the sauerkraut flavor. The grapes were really good with a bit of the sauerkraut and the sweetbread, and the nuts adding just a little texture. It was a perfect combination.
I had the skate wing with angel hair pasta, preserved lemon pesto, fried cauliflower and watercress ($22). The skate was well seasoned and cooked just right (it was seared). I liked a bite of it, and its mild flavor, with a bit of the lemony pasta and a little bit of the crunchy fried cauliflower. The cauliflower tasted like it was crusted with a panko-type crust. It was a very large portion for me and I couldn’t finish it, but we both really enjoyed it. I love seeing skate on a menu, which is a member of the ray family, and is a very tender white fish (or ray). If you haven’t had it, and like thinner flaky fish, and you see skate on a menu, give it a try. I have rarely had it dried out, and it seems to remain juicy when other fish often seem overcooked.
Hubby had the flatiron steak from the devour menu, which was sliced, served on top of whipped cauliflower and with pickled turnips. The meat was really smoky flavored and perfectly medium rare. The smooth cauliflower (that looked basically like mashed potatoes and worked as a starch in the same way) and vinegary turnips were also a unique and well planned variation in texture and taste. And for a devour menu, the portion was just as large as my non-devour entrée. When you consider the same steak (albeit with different sides) is $28, Devour is a great deal here.
We shared hubby’s Devour dessert—the hazelnut mousse cake with caramelized hazelnuts—it was just the right amount of choclately flavor, without being too much. The mousse was light, and the caramelized hazelnuts were like a bit of hazelnut brittle on top.
So when we got there at 6:30, the place was nearly empty which surprised me for a Saturday Devour evening. By the time we left, it was much busier, but probably not more than 75% full. So it made me wonder, those of you who have been and not been back, why? And those who haven’t gone? Why not? This is certainly one of the steals for Devour Downtown, and with some great, unusual things on the Devour menu (unlike a lot of places). Since our service was spot on, I am back to thinking this is one of the best restaurants we have in Indy. I sat there and felt like I could be in any city in the country and would have thought this was a damn good meal. Better than any I have had in quite awhile. Chef Denman has a tremendous amount of finesse in her cooking, and her skills and talent are shining through.
Euphoria
337 West 11th Street
Indy 46202
317/966-2389
www.creationcafeandeuphoria.com (and they have even been working on the website!)
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