Dining review: Weber Grill Restaurant

Indy.com Staff

November 13, 2007 by Indy.com Staff

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The first grill my husband and I ever bought was a mini-kettle creation by Weber -- the only true choice of manufacturers, Pete insisted even then. We positioned the shiny-black grill on a table on the small balcony of our Far-Northside apartment and used it to cook meals on many a sunny summer evening.

When we moved to our house and built a deck off the back, one of the first additions was a large stand-alone Weber kettle, followed a few years later by its flashier cousin, a Weber Silver-addition gas grill.

So it was only a matter of time until we made it Downtown to check out Weber Grill, a tribute to all things flame-cooked (and a living advertisement for the ubiquitous kettle company). Although it has been open since May, Weber shows no sign of losing the buzz surrounding it. Pete and I showed up around 6 for a weeknight dinner and found the place already packed with a mix of business types, conventioneers, girls-night-out groups and couples.

Since the dining room had a waiting list, we opted to sit at a high top for two in the adjoining spacious Smokey Joe's bar (which itself soon filled quickly as well). Walking in, we could smell the smoky aroma of barbecue wafting out from the kitchen.

The oversize menus feature meat and plenty of it: blackened steaks, bone-in and bone-out steaks, pork ribs, baby back ribs, beer-can chicken, meatloaf. Seafood lovers aren't ignored, with choices of tilapia, catfish, salmon and shrimp listed as "house favorites."

Options worth revisiting

We first studied the starter options -- a nifty little listing (grilled steak skewers, barbecue Gulf shrimp, grill-roasted pizzas) that we quickly decided would be worth revisiting on a Sunday afternoon, with football on the flat screens and a cold beer or two on draft. But this evening, we limited ourselves to an order of onion curls ($6.50), which arrived quickly from the kitchen. Large enough to serve four diners, the pile of fried onion strings arrived hot and crisp without excess grease, along with two dipping sauces (a gently spiced mayonnaise-based version and a sampling of Weber's sweet, tangy barbecue sauce).

The kitchen paced things nicely, so our entrees arrived just after the appetizer dishes (along with the now-empty basket of bicolor dinner rolls with butter and cheese spread) had been cleared away.

I dug into my eight-ounce filet mignon ($25.95), which I had ordered medium-well (a meat-eating sin, according to my husband, who never ventures above a medium) and topped with a "steak splash" of roasted garlic ($3). (Also offered are splashes of blue cheese and herbs, wood-roasted mushrooms or parmesan cheese.) To speed up cooking time, our server suggested a butterfly cut.

Even medium well, the seared-on-the-grill steak proved to be tender and tasty. Thanks to a flavorful rub and a generous amount of roasted garlic (good thing we weren't going out in public afterward), no further sauces or condiments were necessary. The garlic mashed potatoes served as a side were much milder than the heady steak splash, but I reserved most of my stomach space for the filet itself.

Hefty combo

Pete had decided to sample a variety of tastes with the "choose three" barbecue combo ($21.95) loaded with 1⁄4 rack of baby back ribs, 1⁄4 rack of spare ribs and regional pulled pork. Accompanied by Jim Beam bourbon-baked beans, coleslaw and cornbread, the combo contains a hefty amount of food.

Pete's favorite of the trio was the pulled pork, a smoky, tender offering gently coated in barbecue sauce. I snagged one of his baby-back ribs and quickly became a fan of the gently spicy (and, again, smoky) sauce seared to a crispy crust over juicy rib meat. The spare ribs, while flavorful, didn't match the baby back's appeal in either sauce appeal or smokiness.

How we decided dessert should be an option after all that food was consumed is beyond me, but somehow I found myself asking for the Big G's Dutch apple pie ($6.50). Plenty for two, the crumble-topped pie wedge was drizzled in a caramel-bourbon sauce, as was the vanilla bean ice cream scoop served next to it. Apple pie lovers will be pleased at the simple but effective combo.

If you're in the mood for a quiet dinner, you'd best opt to wait for a seat in the dining room. Weber's bar tends to be noisy, thanks to a combination of packed crowds, wooden floors and tabletops and the ramped-up sound system. However, if you live for lively, this is a fun spot to catch sports scores and people-watch.

While I'm a firm believer that nothing tastes better than one of Pete's steaks marinated in our home fridge overnight, grilled on our back deck and served outside on a balmy summer night, Weber Grill is definitely a nice option to have when the air turns cold and days grow short.

By Julie Cope Saetre / INtake correspondent

Forum: Restaurants & Dining

Tags: 

bbq, steak, grill, ribs, barbecue, pork

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