Executive Chef David Priddy of Bleecker Street Eatery shows off some of the restaurant's dishes. Priddy also is a co-owner. (Kelly Wilkinson / The Indianapolis Star)

A strawberry mousse crepe is big enough to share. (Kelly Wilkinson / The Indianapolis Star)

Green beans and au gratin potatoes accompany a 10-ounce filet with red wine sauce, mushroom duxelles and boursin cheese. (Kelly Wilkinson / The Indianapolis Star)

Part New York City neighborhood hangout, part fine Hoosier steakhouse, Bleecker Street Eatery is tucked into a late-1800s building in downtown Cicero.

The restaurant, at 10 W. Jackson St., is the brainchild of co-owners John and Danielle Guion. The vibe is funky and folksy, with exposed brick walls, a green-tin ceiling, wood floors and framed photos and album covers of music icons such as Joni Mitchell and Simon and Garfunkel. (The restrooms are labeled "Bobs" and "Jonis" instead of "men" and "women.")

My husband, Pete, and I arrived early on a Saturday evening, appetites primed by a day of errand-running. In a large, comfy booth, we studied paper menus tucked into plastic-protected album covers by the aforementioned singers. In addition to the regular steaks, chicken, ribs, ginger-glazed salmon and lamb chops, there were six daily specials, including several more steaks, clearly a specialty.

Although shrimp cocktail tempted, our server, Megan, said that the accompanying sauce was only slightly spicy, so we went with the zingy-sounding Caribbean chicken lollipops ($7). This starter offered four mini drumsticks coated in a zesty/sweet barbecue glaze and served with house-made blue-cheese dressing. (All sauces and dressings here are created from scratch). We were pleased with the mix of heat and sweet, and easily could have downed more of the tasty little morsels.

Fortunately, we did get more of the thick blue-cheese dressing, thanks to the lettuce-wedge salads that came with our entrees (the salads are $4 if purchased separately). They needed only the dressing and a smattering of diced tomatoes and red-onion slivers to make a hearty, crunchy second course.

Since choice and prime steaks dominate the menu, we both decided to go the beef route. Pete chose the 10-ounce house filet mignon ($36; a six-ounce cut is $24). A towering filet in traditional steakhouse style, the meat, ordered medium, veered toward medium-rare. That was fine with Pete, who likes it that way but often orders medium, as it tends to be restaurants' default prep choice. I found a sample of it juicy and flavorful, on par with that in upscale Indy-area steakhouses. Crisply cooked green beans (the vegetable of the day) and Pete's potato of choice, au gratin, came with it.

Rather than slices of potatoes baked in a creamy cheese sauce, here the potatoes are baked and served as a small-muffin-size portion, with a slightly crisp outer "shell" and a gently cheesy, soft potato interior.

I savored a daily special, filet medallions in Madeira wine sauce ($25). Slices of peppercorn-coated filet were cooked to medium and served in a broth-like sauce, which nicely complemented the beef.

I would have liked an even spicier coating on the beef; those overtones tended to get lost in the rich sauce. But the meat was tender and tasty, served in a bowl with green beans and broth. I also enjoyed a side of the au gratin potatoes.

We both boxed up part of our meat to make way for a shared strawberry mousse crepe ($7). The lightly browned crepe wrapped a sweet filling and was topped by whipped cream and a generous drizzle of strawberry sauce. The concoction was plenty for two to share.

Yes, it's a bit of a haul to Cicero, but the Guions and their executive chef, David Priddy, have created an interesting alternative to the traditional steakhouse. It's a light-hearted approach to fine dining that won't blow your bank account.

Taste Test

Appetizer:

Caribbean chicken lollipops, $7.

Sides:

Lettuce wedge salads, included with entrees.

Entrees:

10-ounce house filet, $36.

Filet medallions with Madeira wine sauce, $25.

-- By Julie Cope Saetre / Indy.com correspondent