Mean Girls Biggest Loser - Week 11

We have a new leader!

Mean Girls Biggest Loser - Week 9 & 10

I'm sorry for not posting these last week, but the week just got away from me and this week almost did, too.

Anywhoo, Maestro has been making a move in the past couple weeks, and the big question is will he blow it on corned beef and cabbage in Ireland? :)

To the rest of you (us), it's SPRING! Get a move on! We have a little over two months until Pride, three months until Vegas (or Sweden for Athena AND the end of the Biggest Loser), and four months until Market Days. So, if you're waiting for some "Fierce Urgency of Now," well, now is now....

Aer Lingus Terminal

I am by no means a world traveler. I also really don't spend much time in airport terminals I tend to get off one flight with just enough time to catch my next flight. One could call me an efficient flyer. One could also call me impatient, which would be more accurate. With this established I really don't notice much other than locations of my next gate, food, or bathroom. All in my mind very important. This time though, due to some illness and missing a first flight and having to reschedule, I have the time to do some people watching and take a bit of the airport culture at O'Hare in Chicago. I am flying to Ireland therefore I am in the International terminal which I have never been before. As I type this I look up to see the flight crew swish through. Anyway security was actually a lot quicker than I thought it would be. I had to go through more at Indy's airport. But when I got to the other side what did I behold, a bar. Yes what every one needs after they have been poked and prodded by airport security. This wasn't a sit down bar it was just a little booze cart, kind of like those Starbucks carts you see in the airport but this decidedly better. Of course once you are through security feel free to booze it up and really take it where ever you want. It's like a little bit of Vegas here in the Windy City.

This being the Aer Lingus terminal it is fun to see all the red heads with at least two beers in hand. Yes Romeo you would be in Ginger heaven. I have actually seen two guys who I could describe as Soccer Hooligans go back for their third with in the last 45 minutes I have been here. Let's reinforce cultural stereotypes shall we. They are most likely Americans on their way to Dublin to celebrate St. Patty's day the way it was meant to be. I know if it wasn't for the students that I am traveling with I could be found tomorrow night in some pub getting pissed. In this instance "pissed" meaning drunk not a golden shower.

I will keep you all updated on my travels and some good places for food and/or drink in Ireland if you find your way there. For me this is just a lot of fun I have never been out of the country so this will be fun. And I haven't even left the States.

Blu Martini

"Daddy always says, 'an ounce of pretension is worth a pound of manure.'" Shelby Eatenton Latcherie

pre·ten·sion
Pronunciation: \pri-'ten(t)-shun\
Function: noun
Date: 15th century
1: an allegation of doubtful value
2: a claim or an effort to establish a claim
3: a claim or right to attention or honor because of merit
4: an aspiration or intention that may or may not reach fulfillment

I'm not sure where to go with this. I really want to write a scathing review about Blu Martini, but what I dislike about the place has absolutely nothing to do with the staff, the decor, the food, the drinks or the location. Okay, let's try this:

This past Thursday Blanche, our buddy Ennis and I all went to Blu Martini. The bar is located on the northside of Indianapolis. It sits at the end of a strip mall, and the exterior does a fab job of hiding what's actually inside. The decor is modern minimal with white (p)leather chairs that remind me of the shape of martini and highball glasses. Given the name of the bar, it's only appropriate that the owners chose to provide back lighting in blue. The lighting lends to an overall atmosphere of flattering light for the made-up, garishly dressed, stretched, stitched, filled, plumped and botoxed.

As the picture provided would indicate, the bar is fully stocked with most top-shelf liquors. As the name also indicates, the bar does specialize in a wide variety of martinis. This visit being my first, I decided to sample the namesake offering, the Blu(e) Martini. The Blu Martini is a martini in name only. It's actually made from Jose Classico tequila, blue curacao and lemon zest. It's full-bodied, not too sweet and with three you get tingle. This is not a picture of a Blu Martini Blu Martini:
The average cost of a martini is $6, but the VIPtinis can go as high as $18.

The owners have decided to provide a food-based happy hour during the week and as a result, sushi is half-price from 5:00 p.m. - 7:00 p.m. The only downside to the offering is the fact that most people arrive early with drinking intentions and at the last minute decide to order half-priced sushi. As a result, if you wait until 6:45 to place your order, you'll need to expect to wait at least half an hour for your food to arrive. If you're enjoying a leisurely evening, you'll be fine, but if you get there hungry, you'll be disappointed; our server (who bore an unCANNY resemblance to Lucy Liu) advised us that the sushi chef was overwhelmed. Maybe they should hire some Mexicans to help him roll and kick the orders out faster. Blanche and I both selected the Blu Martini sushi appetizer. It's 8 large pieces of crabmeat, cream cheese, avacado, cucumber and spicy sauce. It was tasty and didn't require much wasabi or soy sauce. I was perfectly content with the pickled ginger, there just wasn't enough. This offering is normally $12, but we took advantage of the half-price special...for the mathematically challenged, that means it was $6. This is actually a picture of a sampler, but the rolls in the middle are the Blu Marti sushi:
The presentation was beautiful, but given how busy the sushi chef was, the preparation suffered. The rolls were not wrapped as tightly as I would have preferred and as a result, they fell apart as I tried to eat them. This won't prevent me from eating there again, just offering that as an observation.

Now on to the entertainment. When I go to a bar, I take into consideration the type of entertainment that will be available. I know that I can find karaoke most nights of the week; I know that on some nights, I'll find drag queens and on others, strippers. Sometimes, I'll even look for live bands or guest DJs. At Blu Martini, what I found most entertaining were the patrons. I think this was the first time I'd been to a bar on the far northside of Indy.

What I found were about 300 people basking in the glow of their own fabulousness. I'd say the average age was about 38. They were plucked, preened, bronzed, buffed and tucked. A few of the men wore expensive but poorly tailored suits...if you're going to invest in an Armani, at least make sure it fits properly, people! Most men seemed to be wearing jeans and I saw Lucky, True Religion, Calvin Klein, Perry Ellis and even a pair of Eddie Bauer *gasp*. I saw a lot of vintage tees, some cute sweaters and the ever-popular, jacket/dress shirt combo. Most of the guys did a pretty good job of dressing age-appropriate and really just maintained while they were there.

The women, on the other hand...oy vey! I saw every extreme imaginable in color, height and heft. And I'm just talking about hair. No offense to any of my girls reading this, but sincerely...what do str8 women think when they're getting ready for a night out? Glitter mascara? Fringed jean skirts? Leg warmers? Sequined tops and jeans? My favorite look of the night (and I SWEAR I wish I had a picture of this) was as follows: Black long sleeve t-shirt...dark wash, frayed denim mini...black tights...and a pair of furry ankle boots. Imagine taking two white Lhasa Apsos, shoving a foot up the ass of each and walking around with them on your feet and you can kinda get the image.
She thought she was the shit, but all I could do was giggle and feel bad for those poor puppies each time she walked by...she walked by a LOT!

If you ever go to Indy.com, you'll see several pictures from Blu Martini. The Party Crasher photographer was there (in all his tacky, Tommy Bahama-clad glory...Tommy Bahama, the muu-muu for men), but wanted absolutely nothing to do with us. It was entertaining to watch Blanche and Ennis sit up in their chairs and engage each other in conversation in an attempt to look interesting and approachable to "get they pitcha took," but it was to no avail. The photographer walked in front of, behind, around and over our little group to snap the photos of the entitled surrounding us.

The highlight of the evening for me was seeing a Carmel mom primping for the Party Crasher. She was holding a glass of chardonnay and dropped it while flipping her hair. When it hit the ground, she looked at us. We didn't blink or give two shits, but she felt compelled to engage us in conversation..."you didn't even LOOK when I dropped that! What's wrong with you? I did it on purpose, by the way...I'm Jewish, we smash glasses like that." Oh, the plight of the Carmel mom...so misunderstood, undersatisfied and attention starved. Again, makes me giggle.

So, I really did enjoy my time at Blu Martini. I love the decor and the atmosphere. The food is tasty and I'll definitely try other menu offerings on future visits. The martinis, while pricey, give you bang for your buck. The staff are friendly enough and as attentive as they can be given the crowd. Last but not least, I have an appreciation for a good floor show with dinner and drinks, and the patrons definitely provided that; and at no cost to the owners! Bravo!



Blu Martini
4705 East 96th Street
(96th & Gray Road)
Indianapolis, IN 46240
317.566.8650

India Garden (Downtown)

Growing up I was always told I was a picky eater. When I went to college and sampled the many foods the world offered outside of red meat and a side dish of a potato, I realized I was not a picky eater I just didn't always care for meat and potatoes. I love Indian food and when Romeo offered up the Indian Garden as a meal destination I immediately said yes.

The Indian Garden has been one of "Indy's Best" for every year it has been open, according to Nuvo. I whole heatedly agree. The moment you walk in you are greeted by friendly and attentive staff. Though I have been to the India Garden on several occasions this is my first in their new location. When it was over on Illinois and I worked downtown we would fast a day before and go to the lunch buffet and binge with very little purging. They have two locations here in Indianapolis one downtown (obviously) and one in Broad Ripple. Both with the same high quality food and service.

One of the many things I like about the India Garden is that it is always clean. The digs are very nice, larger than their previous location and I am sure it comes in handy with the lunch crowd. One of the more popular destinations of the downtown lunch crowd and a reason I miss working in that area.

Ok let's talk food. I went with Romeo, Xena, and Coltin. When we arrived we ordered a few appetizers, the Vegetable Pakora and Paneer Pakora. Vegetable Pakora is chopped veggies batter dipped and deep fried. On the menu it is described as a fritter, with the plum sauce it is very good. Paneer Pakora is in essence fried cheese sticks, the difference it that it's homemade cheese (very good) in a chic pea batter. This isn't the kind of cheese stick one would get at White Castle at 3am after a night of heavy drinking, not that I have ever done anything remotely like that. Anyway, I could have had just that for dinner and been good, but why when there is so many other things to eat. For the main course I ordered the Chicken Tikka Masala. The menu describes it as "Oven-baked diced chicken cooked in a creamy sauce with fresh tomatoes and oriental spices". If you like Tikka Masala, and who doesn't really, this is some of the best I have had. Romeo ordered Chicken Vindaloo it's chicken and potatoes in a curry sauce. I tried some it was very good. Xena had the Chicken Shahi Korma, which is chicken cooked in creamy sauce with mild spices and sprinkled with nuts. I didn't get any of hers but I have had it before and again so very good. Coltin had the Shrimp Tikka Masala, pretty much what I had but with shrimp not chicken.

When ordering Indian food you are usually asked on a scale of 1-10 how spicy you want the food. With us obviously not being from India, our food was probably prepared on the, as Xena would put it, Gringo chart. Which pretty much means a 10 for us is still just a 6 for natives.I, not having Tums at home, ordered a mild 5. I love spicy food, however my stomach does not. When I have the proper medication at home I will be adventurous and go to the 8-9 route. Oh I almost forgot one of my favorite parts the Naan. Mmmmmmm... Naan... auchgle (drooling a la Homer Simpson.) Wiping the saliva off. Naan is a flat bread and of course we got the Garlic Naan. Whatever you get there always get the Naan.

I have never had a bad experience here. The wait staff is friendly and do a great job. The food is very authentic Indian cuisine, when you know people who grew up in India and they go there to eat that is what I call a good sign.

Of course with this evenings binging under... over... stretching my belt? I will be dropping in the Biggest Loser standings. I do blame my discovery of a world of food for my expanding waistline. When I was in high school I was borderline anorexic. Damn you tasty tasty food.


Downtown Location
207 North Delaware St,
Indianapolis, IN 46204
TEL : 317-634-6060
FAX : 317-634-2160

Broad Ripple Location
830 Broad Ripple Ave,
Indianapolis, IN 46220
TEL : 317-253-6060
FAX : 317-253-2832
www.indiagardenindy.com

Mean Girls Biggest Loser - Week 8

While Romeo is still in the lead, we've had some major motion from Brooklyn and Maestro. Brooklyn had a big drop this week to move her into second place, and Maestro continues his steady pace to join the 2% club. Alas, Xena has been struck by a 103 pound goiter. Let's all pray that she recovers soon!

Mean Girls Biggest Loser - Week 7

We're starting to see some movement! With Romeo holding steady after his killer week last week, Athena and Maestro both clock in this week with personal bests. Also, Blanche, he of the biscuits and gravy, got weighed at our Oscar Party, which probably isn't too fair considering all that was eaten that night, but that's what he gets for not participating up until now. Oh, and if Xena doesn't start sending in weights, I'm bumping her up to 250 next week. :-)