Indigo Smokes Up Some Tasty BBQ

Maplewood residents have another reason to be happy about the ever-growing, bustling village. There’s a new bar (which is big news in its own right): Indigo Kitchen and Bar, which happens to serve up some pretty smokin' barbecue as well.

The restaurant opened its doors in September (editor's note: this is the second Indigo Smoke to open in Maplewood. It had a previous location on Springfield Ave. See here for background), and the response has been positive from the start. Indigo’s long, curved bar is one of the main draws to the modern, swanky establishment. Exposed silver air ducts, partial brick walls, and a glass fireplace set off to the side add to the hip, industrial atmosphere, as do the indigo blue paint shades and the bar's bright under-lighting and well-placed purse hooks. Whoever designed Indigo’s bar really thought it through.

The bar menu features “Happy Time” specialty drinks, and there is wine by the glass at two prices ($6 and $10) or by the bottle ($20 or $35). Most of the vintages are from Italy, California, Germany, and Australia, and I have to commend Indigo’s interesting price structure. The bottles are extremely affordable, and for those of us who are not sommeliers, lumping the choices into just two price categories certainly helps narrow the field.

The restaurant draws a significant crowd as well. Thursday nights through the weekend are the busiest, causing wait times north of 30 minutes if you don’t have a reservation. But is the wait worth it? In my opinion, Indigo is still working out the kinks of virtually all new restaurants—but it’s well on its way and frankly, you'd have to drive pretty far afield to beat its barbecue.

Indigo’s appetizers range from a “kitchen platter for two” consisting of hummus, artichoke dip, olives, a couscous salad, and pita ($9), wings in a choice of sauces ($10), fried okra ($6.50), smoked tomato and vegetable soup ($5), and their Indigo blue cheese salad ($6).

To start off my meal, I asked for bread, which had a light, fluffy brioche texture but left a sour, unpleasant aftertaste. Though it wasn’t a great beginning, I had already turned the page and was looking forward to Indigo’s deluxe macaroni and cheese ($7), which was supposed to be served with mini meatballs and roasted tomato.

Unfortunately, our waiter (who couldn’t have been nicer) had entered the dish in the computer incorrectly, and what came out of the kitchen was Indigo’s standard mac and cheese. I sent the dish back, and it soon returned with meatballs but alas, no roasted tomato. Three times the charm, and when it arrived again less than a minute later with all the advertised components, I dug in. Indigo’s mac and cheese was creamy, and I have to say the meatballs were much more flavorful and appealing than they looked. However, there was a pretty large pool of grease at the bottom of the dish, and I couldn’t help but think the chef had merely slapped meatballs and roasted tomatoes on top of the plate instead of providing me with a new dish (see photos). All in all, it wasn’t the most satisfying mac and cheese experience.

Moving on to the main course, I was pleased to see a variety of casual to more refined entrées on the menu. Indigo offers a house smoked turkey sandwich ($8), a crab cake sandwich ($12), a build-your-own turkey/beef burger bar ($8.50), blackened halibut ($17), and brisket rubbed skirt steak ($19)—in addition to three award-winning barbecue items.

Indigo Smoke, its sister restaurant in Montclair, won New Jersey Monthly’s 2008 Readers’ and Critics’ Choice Restaurant Poll for “Best Barbecue.” Its “Kansas City Q” entrees feature a half rack of baby back ribs ($14), pulled beef brisket ($14), and half a barbecue chicken ($12). All three items are smoked in a blend of hickory and apple woods and finished in what Indigo calls their “backyard Q.” All of the barbecue meats are served with whipped sweet potatoes, cabbage and collard greens, and half a piece of corn bread.

Following the advice of a fellow diner, I chose two house favorites: the ribs and the “Company Fried” chicken breast and leg ($12) and soon discovered that Indigo won its title for good reason. The ribs were outstanding. The meat fell off the bone and carried a deep, smoke flavor. The sauce wasn’t too sweet and had just the right amount of tang. I especially liked Indigo’s addition of pickle chips to the plate. This was good eating—finger lickin’ good.

The buttermilk and herb coated fried chicken, which “Mom Knowling served to company” was also sensational. The skin is extra-crispy without being greasy, the meat is juicy, and the portion is enormous. Mom Knowling (the chef’s mother) definitely knows her stuff. If I could cook like this, I, too, would serve it to company any day of the week.

Indigo does have room for improvement in the side dish arena. The sweet potatoes were overpoweringly spiced with nutmeg, the half a piece of cornbread carried that same unpleasant aftertaste as the restaurant’s other breads, the chicken gravy was bland, and the mashed potatoes were pasty and over-worked (which was surprising considering there were home-style potato chunks in the mash). On the plus side, the collard greens were a bright spot, especially the smoky bits of meats that were combined into the dish, as were the carrots and the four (I counted) accompanying green beans.

Despite Indigo’s shortcomings, I must reiterate how well the Maplewood newcomer fares with the main event: barbecue and down-home country cooking. At present, it is the only barbecue option (never mind award-winning) in downtown, and the upscale feeling-yet-affordable bar/restaurant definitely fills a gap in both the culinary and beverage categories. With a few tweaks and a little more polish, Indigo Kitchen and Bar will certainly establish itself as one of Maplewood Village’s go-to places for adult beverages and top-notch, finger-lickin’ good food.

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Indigo Kitchen and Bar

177 Maplewood Avenue, Maplewood

(973) 327-2247

Hours of Operation:

Lunch, Monday through Friday, 11:30 am-2:30 pm

Dinner, Monday through Thursday, 5-9:30 pm

Dinner, Friday and Saturday, 5-11 pm

Dinner, Sunday, 5-9 pm

Brunch, Saturday and Sunday, 10:30 am-3 pm

Bar & Lounge open later than the kitchen.
Happy Hour, Monday through Friday, 5-7 pm

Visa & MasterCard accepted. (AMEX will be accepted at a later date.)

Catering available.