Indie Cafe: A delicious taste of the far East
Fans of Asian food know that the difference between good and great dishes can be pretty big, and no place demonstrates that better than Indie Café. This small sushi bar and Thai eatery delivers delicate edibles with huge flavor, and shows locals just how delicious a culinary visit to the far East can be.
Located along a busy stretch in Edgewater, Indie Café is a stylish and trendy spot, complete with modern décor, bright art work and dramatic lighting. Lunch crowds pack the more relaxed side of the restaurant, while the dinner crowd is served in the cozy, red-walled adjacent dining room. Friendly wait staff are prompt and efficient, and guests can’t help but feel a little pampered in this pretty place.
If the ambiance is the reason to stop in, then the food at Indie Café will keep visitors coming back again and again. Gorgeous sushi rolls are served on wooden planks for a dramatic presentation. There are dozens of different types, from Maki (tuna, salmon, crab, eel, shrimp) to creatively designed “city maki” rolls. The Philadelphia includes smoked salmon and cream cheese, the Cape Cod crab meat and avocado, and the Mexico City has jalapeno and spicy miso sauce.
Indie Café sushi specials also include the Sunny Crunchy (spicy tuna, asparagus tempura with BBQ sauce), the White Scorpion (soft shell crab, tuna and avocado) and the Godzilla BA BA (shrimp tempura and spicy mayo).
The Thai side of the menu definitely doesn’t disappoint. The crab Rangoon appetizer is a mouth-watering collection of crispy wontons filled with crab meat, cream cheese and water chestnut. Golden Triangles (fried tofu with sweet and sour sauce), shrimp shumai (crispy shrimp dumplings) and calamari tempura (served with smoked chili sauce) are also terrific meal starters.
Noodle options like pad Thai and drunken noodle (flat rice noodles in brown sauce), and the many rice dishes like garlic chicken, smoked chili and basil fried rice are authentically tangy. But the curries (red, green, yellow and panang) are the real stand-out here, with fresh meats and vegetables and delicately fragrant broths. Large portions make them ideal for sharing, or for yummy next-day leftovers.
Overall, Indie Café’s modern interior and old-world with a new spin menu make it a terrific spot for locals and visitors alike. It’s a little taste of foreign lands, done to delicious perfection.
Posted by D.J. Siegel
