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Restaurant Reviews --> Mesh on Mass Avenue

Mesh on Mass Avenue
Great Brunch!

The Indianapolis dining scene continues to evolve and the press is filled with breathless reviews of trendy restaurants featuring $12 cocktails that sound like they should be made in a pharmaceutical lab, and dishes with names like "pig face hash." Over Christmas week we had an opportunity to have lunch at a couple of our favorite spots that may not currently be as trendy, but they sure do it right. It is a lot like visiting old friends...it may not expand your horizons, but it's comfortable.

The Sunday before Christmas we decided to have brunch at Mesh on Mass before attending the entertaining "Straight, No Chaser" performance at the Murat Theatre. And yes, it is still the Murat to us just like Circle Theater will always be the Circle, and Assembly Hall will always be Assembly Hall. We've never made it to dinner at Mesh, but the lunches have always been excellent, and the brunch was no different. Sunday had a surprise added advantage - it is half price wine day. And the bottle of Prisoner Blindfold, a robust, Rhone-style white blend from California, was a good compromise for the divergent dishes we ordered. At the half price of $33.50 a bottle, it was certainly a bargain.

It was the first day for the new brunch menu, but they kept at least one favorite item on it, which we started with - the BLT deviled eggs served on a swish of garlic, herb puree that made the dish. Think traditional deviled eggs, but with bits of bacon and finely diced avocado and tomato scattered over the tops. A really excellent starter and available at $6 for 3 halves, or $9 for 5 halves. For the main course, Linda & I went in very different directions. Linda had the more traditional Ham Eggs Benedict, accented with a surprising Tabasco zip in the Hollandaise sauce. I opted for the Steak Frites, not exactly a typical brunch dish. It was a perfectly prepared, generous piece of medium-rare Sirloin that may have been the most tender Sirloin I've ever eaten. It was served with plenty of crisp parmesan fries and a spirited garlic aioli sauce (meaning I really needed some mints afterwards). All in all, an excellent brunch for a combined entree cost of $27.

Mesh on Mass Avenue

725 Massachusetts Ave.
Indianapolis, IN 46204
(317) 955-9600

January 8, 2014