Sweet on Spring: Oakleys Bistro

Indiana Tourism welcomes today’s guest blogger, Aimée MacArthur:

Aimée MacArthur enjoys cooking, going out to restaurants and traveling. In her spare time, she writes the weekly blog, Indianapolis Amy (indianapolisamy.typepad.com) about food, fun and life in the greater Indianapolis area. You can also find her on Twitter, @indianapolisamy

Oakleys bistro - note the patio dining out front

For me, spring is all about fresh starts and looking ahead: planning vacations, grilling out and especially dining alfresco as often as possible.  It seemed fitting Saturday to celebrate the first day of spring with lunch at an old favorite of mine.

sitting next to pansies (if you don't have a green thumb buy pansies - they're so hearty and impossible to kill - trust me!)

If the weather is nice- you must dine outside at Oakleys.  It’s a cozy environment with comfortable chairs and classical music playing on the outdoor speakers.  It’s surprisingly quiet.

The meal:

There were various dishes to tempt me, including an asparagus puree soup and a risotto dish, but I knew I wanted pasta and I remembered I really enjoyed Oakleys’ fettuccine dish.  When I read it was available with a side of veal meatballs (for a small fee)- I was sold.  In my opinion- meatballs make everything better.

fettuccine with veal meatballs (the meatballs are hidden inside)

a closer look at the veal meatball

Lovely presentation (see the first pasta pic above!) and this fettuccine dish was even better than I remembered- an extremely delightful tomato sauce, goat cheese, pine nuts, pancetta, fettuccine and bits of crispy onions on top.  And the meatballs- not bready, but tender and juicy.  I tried to grab a bit of every ingredient with each bite.  I could eat this fettuccine dish everyday.

pork tenderloin and pureed potatoes (with veggies and capers)

J. ordered the pork tenderloin entree.  Pork tenderloin pan-fried with veggies and  capers atop pureed potatoes.  J. described the dish as “carefully prepared” and the pork tenderloin was “tender with a caper mustard sauce.”  I took a bite of this and really enjoyed it– although I was still thinking about my fettuccine dish and immediately went back to it.

I was too full for dessert, but there were a lot of items to tempt me, including lemon crepes.

Final thoughts: Our dishes were expertly prepared with so much attention to using fresh ingredients.  Service was friendly and attentive.  A perfect lunch.  That may sound a little grandiose– but the lunch was really perfect.  Fantastic food, weather and company.

Check out the Oakleys Bistro website for menus, hours and events (including wine tastings and Chef For A Day program):