Monday, October 20, 2008

Stone Creek Dining Company

The first time we went to Stone Creek was soon after it's opening several years ago. At first, we found it a little pretentious with it's fine dining prices and oddly chosen decor(servers in Hawaiian shirts, eclectic lodge-like interior with blown glass), but after our first meal, we were pleasantly surprised. We are happy to say that the Hawaiian shirts have been retired for a more classy black on black. Not only is it family-friendly, but it has a wide variety of tasty dishes. One of Libby's favorites is the salmon salad. Pan seared salmon on a bed of mixed lettuce with boiled eggs, nuts and the appropriate amount of dressing. Our favorite architectural choice is the kitchen. It is open to the dining area and there is nothing better than watching the chaos during a dinner service.

Our most recent visit was at lunch and this time we were in the mood for sandwiches. We hadn't had the pleasure and Libby quickly eyed the Cuban. For Fred, it would be the Chicago(Italian) beef. Ozzy, you guessed it, the grilled cheese.

In a word, WOW. Libby was immediately happy. Not only were the ingredients perfect...excellent meat, thinly sliced, crispy ciabatta, and the accompanying horseradish sauce were inspired on their own, but *drum roll* the most ingenious addition---giardenera. Yes, that was the perfect accoutrement, not just the pickled deliciousness, but this one had some oily heat. And for the first time, Libby understood the point of ciabatta. It always seemed like too much for most sandwiches, but the greasiness of the giardenera coupled with the hearty pork---ciabatta was an excellent delivery device...just heaven.

Fred's Chicago beef gave Libby's Cuban a run for it's money. The same crispy ciabatta covered in massive amounts of chipped, juicy cheese covered beef goodness, spiced to the max with the same giardenera. Fred's been looking for a good Italian in Indy, and this is certainly the best he's found. It was served with crispy double-fried shoestring french fries, sopping wet in the spicy giardenera juice....ahhhhhh. For those who preferred their Italian's wet, au jou was provided on the side.

Ozzy finished his double fried fries first(they were yummy), then did decide to sample the grilled cheese. Pity, because it looked pretty good.

Wrap Up
Price-$$$-$$$$, Quite possibly one of the most expensive restaurants in Greenwood.
Atmosphere-***, Comfortable with odd taste in art and other decorations...fake, dried flowers, anyone?
Service-***, good, professional service.

Overall
Fred - A-, Is there anything better than a gentle burn on your lips after that perfect amount of spice?
Libby - B+, Although a bit pricey for a sandwich, I wasn't upset about it...damn good Cuban.
Ozzy - B, ate all the fries, tried the grilled cheese, but seemed happy overall.

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