Oakley's Bistro---Indianapolis, Indiana

apologize for the verbal splotch

Oakley's(you'd miss it if you didn't know it was there), is in a strip mall whose prior interest to me mainly meant it was near a Half Price Books
Oakley's Bistro, managed by a CIA-trained, former Trotter's chef

Best food in Indianapolis since Chef Neal Brown closed L' Explorateur? I think so.


verbal splotch:

It was our 15th anniversary yesterday, he made reservations at Oakley's Bistro, now I'm stuffed with cinghiale lasagna/ crispy oyster sliders, spicy thai aioli, fuji apples, pickled red cabbage/deviled eggs, wild ramp kim chee, house-made copa, smoked paprika/sea scallops, parmesan pudding, melted leeks, crispy prosciutto, tomato relish, brown butter/creole gnocchi, house made porchetta & crawfish étoufée, bayou spice, mozzarella tomato fondue/house-made charcuterie, foie gras honey mousse, pickled vegetables/carrot cake, coconut gelee, etc/mixologist's Manhattan over rocks. For my part I bought out the entire line of Vosges new Wild Ophelia chocolate bars(love the Peach/Hibiscus and beef jerky). Also, bought all of Chuao bars(the honeycomb, omg). Plus, sundry. It's not merely chocolate, it's love.

Oakley's Bistro

1464 West 86th street(northwest corner of 86th street and Ditch Road)
Indianapolis, Indiana 46260

He used to do a great job at Something Different long ago. When making a reservation, Something Different used to offer to print something on the menus for a special occasion. I have a couple framed menus hanging on the wall. I've always found Chef Oakley's cooking to be consistently good, but L' Explorateur was a lot more hit-or-miss. I just wish Oakley's was downtown (maybe the old Coal Pizza location?) or really anywhere other than the northwest wasteland.