Sunday, January 26, 2014

It has its upsides.

Sure, sure, I had to spend fifteen or twenty minutes shoveling our walk (and the neighbor's, because that's how I roll) but life in Broad Ripple has its compensations.

For instance, after scooping the frozen stuff off the walks, you can dust off the Subie and putter down to the corner of 52nd Street and College Avenue...

...to what is, in my opinion, the best breakfast joint in the neighborhood. And given the playing field, that's going some; I mean, you've really got to work to get a bad breakfast in the Ripple.

Above is the menu at Taste. Daily specials on the whiteboard to the left. In the foreground you can see the cases that are full of various "to go" dishes, pastries, and gourmet cheeses.

I had the egg white quiche of the day, which had prosciutto, feta cheese, asparagus, and chili pepper. It came with a fruit cup and I ordered a side of bacon because they use delicious applewood-smoked bacon that... well, yum. Bobbi got the chipotle pulled pork and eggs with home fries and avocado.

The bottle of hot sauce remained untouched. The flavors in my quiche were playing so nicely together that I didn't want to upset the taste bud feng shui that was going on.

18 comments:

Joel said...

Real men don't eat quiche, Tam.

What with the moderation, I'm probably the tenth person to point this out.

Tam said...

Just you so far, actually. :D

Tom the Impaler said...

Well you're in the wrong neighborhoods Tam. Chinese New Years is this Friday and NOW is the time to see if geoduck's on the menu this week!

B said...

At least you realize that balanced flavors are (generally) not improved by drowning them in hot sauce....Or any other kind of sauce.

Likely, you made the Chef's day by not doing that.

J. Sullivan said...

Out of curiosity, you say the "to go" dishes are in the cases in the foreground.

This piqued my interest in a regional, soda vs. pop/sneakers vs. tennis shoes way.

What would you call it if you were to call the restaurant ahead of time and go get it to bring home with you?

Tam said...

I'd call it "carry out" or "to go".

J. Sullivan said...

Hmm.

We would say, "to go" here in northern NY state, too. But "Carry out"? That's new to me.

I just realized how much more sophisticated you folks are, actually having a name for the food in the case, other than food.

All kidding aside, I figured it would be something other than "to go", given your description.

By the way, your roomie's chipotle pulled pork sounds heavenly.

Sklutch said...

Way to make toaster waffles look weak, Tam. Now my taste buds are demanding restitution for my failures. Think I'll drown 'em in Tabasco Rice. The shreiks of outrage will keep me entertained while I read Dirk Pitt novels and giggle.

Anonymous said...

Holy crap, Roberta's breakfast looks amazing. Just one more reason I wish I were going to NRA annual this year.

CQD said...

I would have gone for the chipotle pulled pork, eggs and home fries with avocado in a heartbeat. And then hot sauce would definitely have been called for (Tapatío if you don't like heat, or El Yucateco if you do), and would have only enhanced the dish. Plus, hot sauce is good for you! True fact.

Your own combination is an odd one, however. Prosciutto is a mild Italian ham, and feta is a salty Greek cheese. Those do not normally go together. Offhand, I can think of at least three wars based on that proposition. Any sort of mozzarella (fresh or otherwise) would have been a better partner cheese. The asparagus and chili pepper can definitely work together, however, although again the combination of chili pepper flakes with prosciutto is an odd combination of assertive and mild.

But bacon goes with anything.

Tam said...

Trust me, it tasted fantastic.

Tam said...

(...and I'm normally one to slather hot sauce on anything.)

Drang said...

@Joel: In the immortal words of Jerry Niven (or was it Larry Pournelle?) "Real men (and women) eat whatever they damned well please."

Drang said...

@Joel: In the immortal words of Jerry Niven (or was it Larry Pournelle?) "Real men (and women) eat whatever they damned well please."

Drang said...

@Joel: In the immortal words of Jerry Niven (or was it Larry Pournelle?) "Real men (and women) eat whatever they damned well please."

CQD said...

You were right not to slather hot sauce on your delicate confection. The spices in hot sauces are not compatible with the subtle flavor combinations that you were experiencing. Prosciutto especially. I just think it would be better with mozzarella instead of feta.

For a dish intended for hot sauce slathering, however, you could hardly do better than Bobbi's choice.

What was the hot sauce you had available, by the way?

Woodman said...

I went to Taste once, I have to say that the food was preettu good, bit not as good as the price made me expect.

Maybe it was better than I remember and the $70 breakfast for four just washed my tastebuds out.

global village idiot said...

Real men don't pay attention to what others tell them to eat or not to eat.

Your description reminded me of Remy from Ratatouille and the little taste bud fireworks going off when he ate something.

gvi