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As a subscriber you can listen to articles at work, in the car, or while you work out. Subscribe NowDorothy Gale said, “There’s no place like home.” The Dalai Lama said, “Home is where you feel at home and are treated well.” And I say there’s something about a homey, neighborhood restaurant that can’t be re-created in a corporate boardroom.
And so, when an east-side friend who is leaving town said he’ll miss one of his favorite restaurants, The Legend Classic Irvington Cafe (5614 E. Washington St., 536-2028), I decided to fill that gap in my Indy restaurant experience with a visit. I’d long been aware of the Irvington spot, but somehow hadn’t dined there. The closest I came was Penn & Palate, the Herron-Morton neighborhood effort by the same owners that recently closed after just over a year.
Casual without being sloppy and offering comfort food that doesn’t feel complacent, The Legend benefits from a covered, lattice-enclosed patio that allows for outdoor dining without the annoyance of pedestrians staring at your plates as they walk by. There’s also dining inside, of course, where a whiff of the fresh-baked cookies might encourage you to linger over dessert.
But I’m getting ahead of myself.
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Our meal started with a cup of The Legend’s signature Tomato Basil Soup ($3) and the Feta Cheese Torta ($7), a partnership I highly recommend. Yes, Tomato Basil Soup seems to be a default setting for some places, but few find the balance of depth and subtlety that the kitchen does here. And the Torta—with a whipped combo of feta, cream cheese and butter spread on fresh bread—had plenty of the latter available for dipping.
A neighborhood restaurant, by definition, is dependent on repeat business from locals. And a big plus for The Legend is that you can splurge on a Beef Tenderloin (still reasonable at $25) or enjoy the more wallet-conscious Dad’s Crunchy Chicken ($10). We opted for the latter, which demonstrated the care taken with even such “safe” dining choices. The crunch of the bread-crumb-coated bird didn’t dominate the boneless breast and the mashed-potato bed it was parked on (you get two sides) allowed for a satisfying, forkable mix. In addition to such staples, there are also seasonal additions such as the Zucchini Cakes ($13), dressed with just enough cucumber-flecked mint sauce.
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Now, about those cookies.
There’s something delightfully silly about the fact that you can order a single made-from-scratch cookie for $1 while two can be had for $1.75. Is there anyone out there who wouldn’t pony up $2 for two cookies, but would buy two if they could save a quarter?
Of course, you could just go for the Graham Central Ice Cream ($2.50 per generous scoop) and take a few cookies to go.•
—Lou Harry
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