It was the perfect day to get out of the office. It was busy; I was beginning to catch the afternoon sleep disease and it was the sunniest it had been all that December week. I and two of my coworkers, Ebony and Leslie, took a trip to one of the city’s newest restaurants, Spoke & Steele.
It’s planted right across the street from Circle Centre Mall in the heart of downtown on Illinois Street. The restaurant’s greeter politely opened both set of doors and welcomed us in. This small gesture set the courteous tone for this upscale eatery.
Inside we met the host, attired in slacks, dress shoes and a tailored jacket who checked our reservation in on his iPad. The inside of the restaurant, just below a full hotel set to open in the near future, mimicked my dream kitchen and dining area. The sleek furniture screamed “modern” with its combination of cherry woods and tints of silver.
As we took our table and looked over the menu, Executive Chef Tyson Peterson, Utah native, left the kitchen to personally greet our table and welcome us.
I learned the menu we were all looking at was actually the preview menu. Since my visit, the standard menu has now been released and also includes many of the dishes from the preview menu.
Both the preview and standard menus feature sharable plates, skinny plates, large plates, desserts and more including a large selection of wines and other alcoholic drinks.
I decided to try the Cobb Salad with blackened chicken, pickled egg, bacon, tomato, avocado, blue cheese and green goddess dressing. My coworkers ordered the Roast Chicken Sando with peach butter, bacon, lettuce and tomato on sourdough bread served with house made potato chips and two side plates of Brussels sprouts and Frites. I guess I completely underestimated the portion size because all of our meals were pretty large.
While I am a little puzzled by what the green goddess dressing was actually made of, it was very tasty and reminded me of an avocado puree. The lettuce was fresh and crisp and the chicken was seasoned just right.
As nice coworkers do, we shared our dishes to indulge in an assortment of flavors. Leslie’s Roast Chicken Sando sandwich with peach butter was a bite of sweet chicken deliciousness, and Ebony’s frites were fried golden to perfection.
As Ebony, Leslie and I chatted about how delicious the cuisine was and about life’s happenings, Peterson welcomed us again.
We chatted for a while about the menu, his new business and his cooking career. Peterson, who graduated culinary school from the Art Institute in Salt Lake City, UT, said he wanted to create comfort food that synced up with the Midwest vibe. He said the Mormon Funeral Potato’s with corn flakes have gotten a lot of positive feedback. He created sharable plates to promote interaction between the customers and wants his plates to become an art masterpiece.
Peterson said he wanted the drink menu to be items one won’t be able to find at a grocer. The menu includes a variety of Rums, Brandy, Barrel-Aged Cocktails, Gin, Whiskeys, and Spoke & Steele Originals.
Indy has welcomed a large array of new restaurants to the downtown and surrounding areas, but Spoke & Steele is one you’ll want to take note of. It’s the perfect atmosphere for enjoying the company of others.
