Eddie Merlot's

1502 Illinois Road South
Fort Wayne, IN 46804-1220

Fabulous - Fantastic - Delectable

The 3 Elles have been to Eddie Merlot's twice. On both occasions, the service was beyond exceptional. Both times, our servers were charming, warm, and receptive to our humorous exchanges. We enjoyed the extras such as having our napkins folded while we were away in the restroom (side effect of drinking too many martinis), fun interactions with the expediters and water re-fillers (we called the high school boy filling our water by the name on his name tag for more than 2 hours until finally our server let us in on the "joke" - the "water boy" had been wearing another person's name tag), and being greeted by members of management. The atmosphere of EM is sophisticated without being overly pretentious. The courses are paced extremely well - no rushing to get the salad down as the entree sits there getting cold - very comfortable and relaxing.

One highlight of both visits was being seated in a perfect location within the restaurant. Our first visit included about four other co-workers and thus we were seated in a more private section away from the other restaurant goers. It made for a quiet area for us to talk, laugh, and enjoy our time out. It made it feel as if had our own private restaurant. Our second visit was just the 3 Elles and was solely for enjoying our Girls Night Out!!! We were seated in a conversation enhancing semi-circle booth overlooking the main restaurant area - great for people watching.

Shall I describe ecstasy? The Berry White martini - truly the best Fort Wayne has to offer - hands down!!!! The "Allen L" and the "Adams L" both tried it on our first trip and didn't stopping raving how fantastic it was for an entire year! "Allen L" discovered that EM had Martini Wednesdays and thus we had no choice but to make a second visit so that I could also enjoy the fantastic goodness of the smoothest most delectable drink in town (The Berry White martini). This martini has raspberries and blue berries in the bottom of the glass so it has to be good for you, right?. You absolutely HAVE to try it! Worth every penny, even if you don't go on a Wednesday.

The food is delightful! Every entree was prepared to perfection. Our extended group ate the Fillet, the duck, and honestly I can't remember what else. Everyone LOVED what they ordered and raved the whole rest of the week. Delicious! On our second trip, the 3 Elles enjoyed Fillets, crab cakes, salad and soup. The crab cakes were quite possibly the best in Fort Wayne - sure gives Club Soda (Ft. Wayne) and The Brickhouse Grill (Huntington) a run for their money. The salads were plentiful and packed with a wide variety of flavors and textures. I truly enjoyed the wedge salad - something I usually do not go for. EM is very good about making accommodations to the meal to please your dietary needs (i.e. no tomatoes, dressing on the side, etc).

On our second visit, the 3 Elles experienced an amazing dessert that was a gourmet version of a peanut butter cup. It was rich enough to be shared by all of us and worth every calorie. A member of management stopped by our table to share how EM develops new desserts - basically, they are a result of a "cook off" by all of the EM chefs within the corporation . .. . wouldn't you want to be one of their taste-testers. YUM!

We hope you enjoy your experience as much as we did! Happy Dining everyone!!!!!

Until the next bite -

Catablu Grille

6372 West Jefferson Boulevard,
Fort Wayne, IN 46804

Beyond disappointing pretty much sums up our recent experience at the new Catablu Grille. We were HUGE fans of Catablu and had such high hopes for an encore of our fabulous time (centered around a fantastic server/bartender who created amazing original 'tinis, amazingly prepared food, and tasty desserts)- dashed, dashed, dashed!!!!!

We love Martinis and began with such excitement to learn that we were there on Martini Monday - woo hoo!!! Apparently there are about 10 martinis listed on the menu that can be ordered for a discount on Mondays. I asked our young, naive server which she recommended and made a decision as did the other "L's". She returned to the table a few seconds later to inform me they didn't have the appropriate liquor to make the drink I selected. I was bummed, but was willing to look over the other options. Before I had a chance, our server blasted out, "What martini do you want instead?" I asked for a few more minutes. She rolled her eyes, told us that the bartender hated to make martinis and that he hated her so I should order a martini to upset him (yeah - that's what I like to do - upset the bartender and get in the middle of a workplace dispute). She returned to the table 30 seconds later and said, "Which one are you going to get?" I again asked for some more time which she more or less insisted I hurry up. I asked for water, closed the menu and decided that I was upset with her tone - no alcohol bill for you (to put a twist on the soup nazi's famous line). The server must have asked another 5 times what I was going to drink, despite my making it extremely clear I wasn't going to order anything. The other "L's" enjoyed their martinis very much - good for them . . . until "The Adams L" attempted to order a second drink and guess what . . they didn't have Port Wine which was needed. I quickly, and probably sarcastically asked the server, what is it that you all do have? She said, "Not much." About 30 seconds later after she consulted the bartender, she returned stating, "Oh I guess we do have Port." What the heck!

"The Allen L" obsesses about bread and she absolutely LOVES the olive spread that accompanies the cracker-like sticks and sliced french bread.

Entrees -
"The Allen L" ordered lobster mac & cheese as it had such a high recommendation from other review sites and the server. It didn't appear to be a huge serving and in fact, she was able to eat the entire meal - something she rarely does. She said it was fantastic and would order it again.

"The Adams L" ordered a crab cake sandwich which she said was very good. One part of the bun was soggy so she used a knife and fork. She said it had great flavor and would order it again.

I had a fillet which was okay. It was FAR from the fillet I had eaten at the original Catablu. I would not make a special trip to eat it again. It was pretty unremarkable.

Dessert -
"The Allen L" just had coffee which was served in a small bucket - it was a huge, but cute, coffee cup.

"The Adams L" ate some donut type dessert which came with 3 dipping sauces (fudge, raspberry, and banana foster). She hated the banana foster. She didn't enjoy it - a sentiment that was echoed by "The Allen L".

I had the creme brulee. It was okay. It was your standard CB - nothing that went "WOW! I have to come back for this!!!!" Disappointing. The CB at the old Catablu was delicious.

Atmosphere-
First, what is up with the restrooms. There is one labeled with a framed picture of a little girl. The other is labeled with a generic plastic male/female placard.
Second, the giant flat screen tv centered was distracting and out of place with the other warm, charming decor. The fire place and wall mounted wine rack were charming as was the "gated" dining section.

Service -
HORRIBLE!!!!!!!! Our young server continued to hang around our table like a puppy waiting on a treat. She talked about herself WAY TOO MUCH-we know she is a criminal justace major, got 5 tickets in one night, wants to become a drug user psychotherapist, her ex-boyfriend didn't pay car insurance which she gave him the money for, that her ex is her baby's daddy - TMI!!! Shut up already - we're here to have a Girls Night Out - but she remained clueless as to oppressive, suffocating, and obnoxious presence.

Until the next bite -

Italian Connection

2725 Taylor Street
Fort Wayne, IN
46802-4620

This was the review I wrote on another site immediately after the "experience":

August 13, 2009
My friends and I had heard amazing things about this place so we had to check it out. We had made reservations a week in advance for an early Thursday evening. Here are the facts - you decide for yourself. First, we were shoved in a table at the foot of the stairs. Above our table was a hanging light that looks as if it hadn't been washed since the place opened - yuck (same goes for the vent in the RR - super gross)!! The waiter was sporting a gangster baseball cap with the bill off to the side. The bread basket was just average - nothing fancy nor wonderful - totally below expectations; however, the butter was amazing! The seafood ravioli was in an amazing sauce (flamingo sauce) and was very good except the ravioli wasn't done. The chicken cavatini was drowning in red sauce. My friend who ate it enjoyed it - though it wasn't something she would come back for. I had the lasagna because the waiter said said it was the most commonly ordered item. It was a reasonable portion - nothing inflated like most restaurants would serve. It too was drowning in red sauce. After we ate, we had to ask for more water several times - which was served in little plastic cups like kool-aid at bible school. After dinner, dishes were not removed promptly and some were not removed at all. The "Adams L" had to literally hand her plate to the waiter 3 separate times before he finally took it. Some of the reviews talked positively about the owner - if you would have seen him on the street, you would have thought he was a crazed homeless man - dirty, disheveled, just not the imagine the other reviews had painted. My friends and I aren't planning a return trip here.

The "Allen L" insisted I add how pathetic the salad was - think Dole bagged salad - boring, uninteresting, and far from the meal opener we were hoping for.

Debut of Honesty!

Hello food lovers! This blog will provide you with the honest, and sometimes harsh, evaluation of some of Fort Wayne, Indiana's more elegant restaurants. The 3 Elles (so named because our names all begin with "L") enjoy sampling the high life about once a month. We've experienced everything from "heaven in our mouths" and "service fit for royalty" to "pathetic" and "terrible". Visit this blog to learn the truth about where to eat and where to avoid in Northeastern Indiana. We've been at this for about 18 months so I'll spend the first few posts catching everyone up on where we have been. Then in the future, the posts will be more timely. Soups on!