We have wanted to try Divvy again since our first experience awhile back. We went with a large group the first time and I was a little overwhelmed with all the different things we tried. This time there was just 4 of us, and while we still got to try a lot of things, I didn’t feel quite as overwhelmed. Also, our server was exceptionally friendly and helpful this time. The menu had changed a fair amount since our first visit, but there were still several of the same items as well (I assume the more popular items).
We started with a couple of the spreads/cheese starters—we had the bruschetta ($6) and the bruleed brie ($8). The better of the two was definitely the bruleed brie. It was toasted pretzel bread slices with a little fig jam, nicely melted creamy brie, and tart green apple slices. Normally I don’t get that excited about brie, but this was a great combo with the apple and the sweet jam (but there wasn’t too much of it which was nice). The bruschetta was grilled slices of focaccia with tomato, onion, roasted garlic and balsamic. There was also quite a bit of feta sprinkled on top. The whole dish was just sort of flat to me—the balsamic wasn’t tangy enough or something—it was more on the sweet side I think. I don’t remember the roasted garlic at all.
The first repeat item we ordered from last time (at my request) was the tempura tofu ($9). I really enjoyed it again. The cubes of tofu were soft inside with a nice crunch outside. They was drizzled with a teriyaki sauce and served with pomegranate-blood orange noodles and sesame seeds. The noodles were cold and had a fair amount of the fruity flavor to them—it was nice alongside the richer tofu.
We also really enjoyed the popcorn scallops ($10). It was a healthy portion of little bite-sized pieces of scallops with a salty, crispy coating. They were a little addicting—and I appreciated that they were served with a tangy, citrusy tartar-type sauce. It was a good balance. We also added a random order of the frizzled onions ($4) mid-way through the meal—they were pretty tasty too. They were basically onion straws, but they were made in house and had a nice crust and a chipotle tomato sauce with them that definitely had a distinct chipotle flavor. They were good—not amazing but good.
The lamb medallions ($14) with a pomegranate balsamic glaze were probably my least favorite item—they were ok, but the lamb was a little more cooked than I would like—and I really think lamb gets tough when it is past medium rare. These were certainly closer to medium. There were 4-5 small medallions—one of the smaller plates of the evening as well. At this point we went ahead and ordered our second repeat item of the evening—the corn crème brulee ($6). We all enjoyed it the first time and were debating it, but when our server recommended it to go along with the lamb, we were sold. It was actually better this time around. The dish is basically a rich corn pudding with jalapenos, Romano cheese and a bruleed top. The top this time was nicely crisp which gave a really nice texture contrast with the creamy interior. It has a smoky flavor, almost making you think it had meat in it (it doesn’t).
The last couple of savory things we threw on at the end were the chorizo balls ($9) and the lobster salad ($14). These were a good couple of things to get together because one was (obviously) very meaty with spicier flavors, and the other was lighter and had a tangier, citrusy flavor. You start to notice a lot of repeated ingredients throughout the dishes though, when you order several. The chorizo balls included more of the chipotle tomato sauce and the lobster salad used more of the citrusy tartar sauce that was with the scallops. Luckily, I liked both of the sauces. The meatballs were better than I expected—they stayed fairly tender (maybe because of the fat content). They had a bit of heat to them (there was also some chopped jalapenos on top) but they had a generous drizzle of crème fraiche that cooled them down a bit. They weren’t my favorite thing of the evening, but like I said, I liked them more than I expected to. The lobster salad was pretty good as well, although again, not amazing. There was a lot of chopped lobster meat with the tartar sauce with a lot of fresh fruits and veg alongside—cucumber slices, orange wedges, sweet peppers and some radish sprouts on top. I enjoyed it, mainly as something different to go along with the spicy rich chorizo—I am not sure if I would order it again though.
For dessert we got one larger, shareable thing—the chocolate fondue ($12) and one of the “mini morsels”--the chocolate mousse ($4). I wanted to try the chocolate mousse because last time everyone told me it was really good but I didn’t get to try it before it was gone. It is a little dome of frozen mousse with a peanut butter glaze and some sea salt on top. I love the whole sweet/salty thing, so I enjoyed this. It is pretty small though—even though we all had a bit of it, it is really more of a single dessert. I appreciate all the little dessert options. It is a nice way to get something sweet without getting a ridiculously large dessert, which seem to dominate most restaurants in Indy. The fondue was pretty straight forward—a warm chocolate sauce with lots of things to dip into it—homemade marshmallows, and lots of fruit—strawberries, pineapple, banana and apple. It is an easy thing to share and tasted good. There was nothing that made it stand out from any other similar dessert I have had before though.
Overall, I generally enjoy the divvy experience. The menu is really quite large (and maybe slightly overwhelming) and as I mentioned, you start to see a lot of repeated ingredients throughout it. You kind of have to pay attention if you don’t want to repeat the same flavors. I enjoyed what we had, but none of it was blowing me away--but it is solid and creative food and there are certainly things to appease pretty much every kind of taste.
divvy
71 West City Center Drive
Carmel, IN 46032
317/706-0000
