A Return to Safe Harbor: St. Elmo’s Revisited

I guess it was only appropriate that we returned to St. Elmo's in Indianapolis for a second shot at this award winning restaurant. After all, St. Elmo himself is the patron saint of sailors, and every sailor wishes for a safe return.  

Our second trip to this James Beard award winner was nothing short of phenomenal.  On this visit our son Greg and his girlfriend Larissa  accompanied us.  Our 8:00 reservations allowed time to enjoy a pre-dinner glass of wine at the Conrad Hilton with it being just a five-minute walk away, and the relaxing stroll to the restaurant set the stage for a delightful evening to come.

Our waiter was Vladimir, a young Serbian who has worked at St Elmo's for eight years and has his level one-sommelier designation.  Vladimir will go down in history as the first waiter and/or sommelier to not only be given my new value and price wine challenge, but to have passed it with flying colors. The value price challenge is to explain to the waiter that you recognize the difference between value being what something is worth, and price being what you pay.  Furthermore, the challenge conveys that you also recognize that one need not spend a small fortune on a truly enjoyable bottle of wine.  With that said, the question becomes what is the sleeper on the wine list or hidden wine in their cellar which is a phenomenal value for the price?  I told him that he did not have to answer the question right away, but to let me know what he would recommend.  His immediate recommendation was a Frank Family Vineyards 2013 Cabernet Sauvignon.  The official tasting notes say:

Frank Family Vineyards 2013 Cabernet Sauvignon has an enticing nose of blackberries, bay leaf and graphite; on the palate the wine is full bodied, and reminisce of cocoa-dusted dark chocolate truffles, cloves and blackberries.

This wine has also earned a 91 by Robert Parker rating, and true to the question, my research indicates the mark-up was less then what I would normally expect from a restaurant - A+ to Vladimir.

Jacque, Larissa, and Greg all started off with the only appetizer on the menu, their world famous shrimp cocktails.  Kudos to Jacque and Larissa for manning up to the challenge of the nostril clearing horseradish-laced cocktail sauce.  With eyes watering and nostrils clearing, they both claimed the pain to be almost addicting.

For our soup and salad course Jacque had the new to the menu Lobster Bisque, which was a marriage of sweet creaminess with an abundance of large chunks of lobster.  Greg and Larissa shared the Chopped BLT.  I really appreciate a restaurant that splits a salad before it comes to the table when they know it is being shared, as St. Elmo’s did for us this night.  I had to have the Sliced Tomatoes and Onions in a House Vinaigrette with Gorgonzola Cheese.  The vinaigrette was awesome and they did not spare any of the Gorgonzola…this has to be one of my all-time favorite salads, and this one has to be one of the best I’ve ever had.

For our main courses, both Larissa and Greg went for the smaller of the Filets offered, while I had the 60 day Dry Aged New York, and Jacque had a half order of the Lobster Tails – two eight ounce tails is a lot of food!  The kids really enjoyed their steaks done to a perfect medium rare.  Greg had the baked potato as his side and it reminded me of the time a friend of mine sent me a 50lb box of the most perfect Idaho potatoes.  The spud on Greg’s plate was the perfect shape, perfect color brown, and was loaded with just about everything you could imagine putting on a potato.  Fantastic!

Jacque also had a baked potato as her side, and Larissa and I both went for the Green Beans Sautéed with Peppers and Onions.  I also ordered a side of Mushrooms and Spinach for the table to share.  When we return to St. Elmo’s - (which will be on May 14^th to celebrate Greg’s graduation from Wabash) - I am ordering the spinach as my side – it was awesome!

My 60-Day Dry Aged New York was great!  I have been toying with dry-aging beef at home using the Umai bags, and have fallen in love with the flavor of dry-aged meat. I personally prefer the meat to stand alone, especially when it has been dry-aged, but to St. Elmo’s credit they served me an awesome steak at a price less than you would normally pay for dry-aged steaks.  A special thanks again to Vladimir for saving me from eating the whole thing and bagging it up before I regretted it!

For dessert it was Sugar Pie and Crème Brulee with plenty of spoons for sharing.  Sugar Pie goes by several other names like Hoosier Sugar Cream Pie, Indiana Cream Pie, and Tarte au Sucre, but no matter what you call it the basic ingredients are flour, butter, vanilla, and cream…gee, where is the Lipitor?!

Dinner was great, but what made this night extra special, besides getting to share it with our son Greg and his girlfriend Larissa, was the tour Vladimir gave us after dinner.  We are reserved to have Greg’s graduation party at St. Elmo’s on Sunday May 14^th, the evening of his graduation from Wabash College.  We have the Wine Cellar reserved for our festivities, and I requested that Vladimir let us take a quick peek.  Prior to the peek in the wine cellar private dining room, Vladimir brought us into the true wine cellar where they keep the vast inventory of fine wines that St. Elmo’s offers on their wine list.  As a wine lover, it was exhilarating just to look around and be surrounded by so many great bottles of the fruit of the vine.

It was only after our wine tour, that Vladimir inquired if we knew about the lounge on the top floor.  I thought he was referring to the bar when you entered the restaurant, but it was then that he informed us that there is a lounge that has the feel of a speak-easy.  It is called the 1933 Lounge, and was the perfect cap off to a great evening.  We all enjoyed another beverage while enjoying some local music.

Thank you again St. Elmo’s, and thank you Vladimir for a great evening…looking forward to our return in May!