I Am NOT A Food Blogger, But I Like To Eat

I have a tendency to pull in good stuff on Twitter. I've won Blu Ray Discs of Battlestar Galactica and Doctor Who, I've won free food from Ruth's Keystone Cafe and New York Slice, I've won software, training lessons, and the occasional argument. A few nights ago, I won something new.

I live just east of Castleton Square Mall, and I work at the offices behind the Fashion Mall at Keystone at the Crossing. In between these areas is a building that used to hold a place called The Music Mill, then the Cadillac Ranch, which I still can not confirm ever actually opened for business. Soon, this location will be the home of the Brewstone Beer Company.

I found out about the Brewstone Beer Company through a friend on my Twitter Feed, so I started following their Twitter Feed because it looks like they have a large craft beer selection, and they were very close by. A few nights ago, the person running their feed posted up an offer that the first twenty people to tweet about their grand opening get reservations to their VIP Opening on Tuesday night. I think I was number 13. This means that I got reservations and complimentary food last night at a new restaurant here in Indy, and I would be a fool not to use this as a reason to fill a blog post.

Now, before I go any farther, I want to lay out a few things. First, everything was ON THE HOUSE. It was a soft opening, getting the staff ready for the Grand Opening later this week. This means everything was comped. I paid for nothing, although our waitress did get tipped handsomely, especially for a table of 3. This was a contest, they don't know or care that I have a blog, be it personal or whatever. I received no extra compensation for this, I just like the opportunity to write about my experiences with places.

Also, well, you know I'm not that great of a writer, let alone a food blogger. Heck, I was too busy eating and enjoying the experience to get many photos. So please keep that in mind as well. Finally, I'm only going to focus on the FOOD, since trying to judge the wait times would be grossly unfair.

Interior photo, taken for Foursquare.

Now, the restaurant is located by the Barnes & Noble on 82nd St. between Castleton Square and Keystone at the Crossing, right before the bridge. The patio seating has a couple of fire pits and a lot of tables, and the inside seating had a large bar, and plentiful booths in a very warm and inviting room filled with televisions, and rock music playing at a good volume.

Our waitress was Jesse, who was really on it and looked excited to be part of the training/soft opening festivities. After informing us that it was, in fact, a complimentary meal to help work the kinks out, we were offered drinks. Alcohol was consumed, and we went into an appetizer or two.

Appetizers. Yum!

We wanted to try both the Fried Calamari and the Spinach & Artichoke Dip, which Jesse recommended trying with the lobster. We followed the recommendation, and they showed up a short time later. The Calamari was really good, being a mix of regular calamari, calamari rings, and fried zucchini and fried onions, with a really tasty dipping sauce. The addition of the lobster to the spinach & artichoke dip was stellar, although they could have added more tortilla chips to the platter, as they were pretty sparse. Either way, nothing to complain about.

Oh yeah, pics BEFORE devouring.

Moving to the main course, I had the Ribeye with mashed potatoes and green beans. The ribeye was medium rare, and was gloriously bloody. The mashed potatoes were more like smashed potatoes, with chunks of potato and skin mixed in, and were really tasty. The green beans were also well seasoned, and I cleaned my plate of the whole nine yards. I unfortunately didn't pay too much attention to what my parents had, although I did hear my father mention that the lobster bisque was a bit too salty, so hopefully that was just one of the kinks they're working out, and it will improve.

Since this was comped, and I was looking for the full experience, we actually ordered dessert. My parents split a Brownie Sundae, which looked so rich my teeth hurt, and I had the New York Cheesecake, which was not thick and dense like many other cheesecakes, but was very light, and the berry sauce drizzled on it almost had me licking the plate. After we were done, we spent time talking with Dave, the Manager, thanking him for the meal and asking if they wanted us to fill anything out, and then we were on our way.

Now, this was all free, so the question is, would I pay for it?

Yes.

The atmosphere was good, the service, even while training, was excellent. I can easily see getting off work and hanging out with some of the co-workers on the patio, grabbing a beer and waiting for traffic to die down. Oh, the beer... even without all the options that are on tap being available yet, they still had about 40 bottled beers available, so it's going to be fun drinking my way through those and making notes in Untappd on my beer journey.

So, tl;dr: Brewstone Beer Company is opening March 29th at 6PM. Information is located on their website, so please, check them out.

See you tomorrow,
Tony