Super Bowl Update: Westside restaurants

Showing posts with label Westside restaurants. Show all posts

The Loft at Traderspoint Creamery--Revisit

3:02 AM | Labels: Independent Restaurants, kid friendly, lunch places, The Loft, Traderspoint Creamery, Westside restaurants, Zionsville

We finally got around to taking the kids to Traderspoint Creamery for lunch the other day—my in laws were in town and we thought it would be a nice place to go with everyone. I haven’t been since my last post and honestly, couldn’t wait to try the grilled cheese again. I remembered it being so good.

Since there were so many of us, we also got a starter—it was the “Bloomy Puff” ($14) which is one of Traderspoint’s cheeses wrapped in puff pastry and served with a bunch of fruit and veggies alongside—there were apple slices as well as zucchini, squash, and peppers. There was also a bit of fruit preserves on the side. The bloomy cheese is a fairly mellow cheese—it sort of has the texture of a goat cheese, although it is a cow’s cheese. It is light and has just a little tangy kick—and when you wrap any cheese in puff pastry, I am going to be a fan. I did think the portion of cheese, particularly for the price, was a little small. I was expecting something a little bigger.

To continue with the cheese theme (it is a dairy after all), I got the same thing I ordered last time—the grilled cheese with avocado and bacon ($9) and upgraded my side dish to the mac and cheese ($4). Sadly, I was disappointed with my sandwich. The bread was much thicker and not really grilled much at all (I would call it very lightly toasted) and there was nowhere near enough cheese (just look at the one I had in my first post, they look really different). The bacon and avocado were plentiful and tasty, but you really want to taste the cheese here. Last time, the bread was really thin and grilled even flatter with a nice crispy exterior. This sandwich made me a little sad, because I was so hyped up for it (and had recommended it to everyone at the table). The side of mac and cheese was my saving grace—everyone really liked it and I ended up having to share mine with hubby and both my kids. It was not over creamy, and had good flavor from the Fleur de la Terre cheese (which is a Gouda and also happens to be one of my favorite Traderspoint cheeses). I will say, I thought it needed a little salt and pepper, which I added, and then it was perfect. I picked up some of the cheese and am making my own variation of it at home tonight.

Hubby ordered the patty melt (we actually split half and half) ($12) and we both liked it much better than the grilled cheese. They raise their own cattle and the beef was great (and cooked to order properly). There was Swiss cheese and grilled onions as well as a “special sauce.” The meat was really super tender and juicy and there was more cheese here than there was on the grilled cheese. The thicker bread worked on this sandwich because there was a lot of filling—you needed it with that big patty. It was a good burger.

I like the atmosphere of the place—and the fact they have beer and wine. The interior is like the inside of a nice barn—woodsy but with modern tables. The service was good and very friendly. And my kids liked checking out the cows after lunch. I just wish they hadn’t changed my grilled cheese, but at least now I know I will try something else next time.

The Loft

Traderspoint Creamery

9101 Moore Road

Zionsville, IN 46077

317/733-1700

www.tpforganics.com

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Mug n Bun

3:34 AM | Labels: Independent Restaurants, lunch places, Mug n Bun, pork tenderloin, Westside restaurants

Hubby and I ended up at Mug n Bun the other day because frankly, we were trying to go somewhere else and it was out of business. I knew Mug n Bun was nearby and it had been on the list for awhile (admittedly the part of the list I often just ignore a lot of the time). It was my first time, and I didn’t realize this is a true drive-in still. They have picnic tables and in your car service. There is also a little building they have added next door, but literally, they make the food at the drive-in and carry it across the parking lot. Luckily it was a decent day, so we sat out at the picnic tables. Neither hubby nor I are particularly keen on eating in the car.

So I have read a lot of positive things about this place, and I appreciate the fact that this place is a kind of a legend and it has been around forever, but let’s face it, they are serving pretty much everything straight from the freezer. I even asked, and was told by our server that the only things made in house are the onion rings, the root beer and the chili sauce for the dogs. So why would you drive across town for a frozen tenderloin you could get a million places? That’s my question.

Anyway, we got the root beer ($1.50) and the onion rings ($2.90) because they are the specialty and made there. Hubby ordered the tenderloin (everyone else seemed to be ordering it around us) ($3.60) and I got the special burger ($3.30). I did enjoy the root beer. I haven’t had a root beer in probably 20 something years and it tasted good. Served in a frosty mug with no ice, I can appreciate the appeal of something like this. The order of onion rings was huge! So glad we just got one to share and not the “family size” hubby was contemplating. I can’t even imagine how big that would have been. So the rings were battered in a tempura-type batter and, while they weren’t bad, I can’t say they really wowed me either. The batter was a little too doughy and there was a bit too much of it. And honestly, they could have stood to have been a little warmer. I can see how if they were done perfectly, they could be very good. Too bad they weren’t. I also wonder about the huge list of other fried side items they have on the menu and why they can’t make some of them freshly as well. They had mushrooms and zucchini among other things and I bet they could taste pretty good fried in that same batter.

So the tenderloin was one of those kinds that you just know is pre-made and frozen even without the server telling you so because it is so uniformly round. It was fine. As in, not bad for basically a fast food tenderloin. But when I recently heard of someone from out of town wanting to base their tenderloin experience on a Mug n Bun sandwich, I pleaded with them to try a different one. There are so many great ones, and this is not the one to experience a tenderloin for the first time (speaking of which, where would you tell someone who has never had one to go?).

My special burger was a burger patty with cheese and bacon served on toast. Sounded good to me, and again, it was fine, in a fast food kind of way. What can I say about it? It was your basic burger--the bacon was pretty good. If I had to choose between the two, though, I would say hubby’s tenderloin was probably better. But honestly, neither stood out for anything.

So I can see how this place could be fun in the summer sitting outside—even though the place is a little run down honestly. It is more about an old school atmosphere I think than it is about the food. I should say there were quite a few people there, even in the not so warm weather. And I guess if you lived nearby, and wanted fast food type food, at least it is locally owned. And our server was very very friendly. But I find it sad that the place has basically turned into a restaurant that just takes stuff out of a bag and fries it. I bet once, when it first opened, everything was made fresh, and I bet it was tasty.

Mug n Bun

5211 West 10^th

Indy 46224

317/244-5669

www.mug-n-bun.com

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Szechwan Garden

3:26 AM | Labels: Chinese restaurants, dim sum, Independent Restaurants, lunch places, Szechwan Gardem, Westside restaurants

I have been wanting to try out this place for lunch ever since I heard they have dim sum on Fridays, Saturdays and Sundays. I have been nagging hubby for a Friday lunch over there, and he finally gave in. I love dim sum, and while I enjoy the dim sum lunches at Shanghai Lil’s, variety is the spice of life right? And it is always nice to find something a little cheaper. Szechwan Garden is set in what looks like an old family style restaurant—it is quite large. When we got there, there weren’t many people in there and the menu they gave us was not the dim sum menu, so make sure if that is what you go for, that you ask. They brought us one, with pictures and everything. So we ordered the standards for us—the spring rolls, the shrimp dumplings, the sui mai, as well as a few other things—the fried dumplings and the scallion pancake.

Probably our favorite thing was the fried dumplings ($3.95)*—they were sort of like pot stickers in flavor, but the dumpling skin seemed less doughy and had amazing crisped edges. The inside was a pork filling but there were fresh bits of green onion in there as well that kept it from tasting like the filling of every other dumpling. But the skin was what really made it special. They were delicious.

The spring rolls ($2.65) were also quite good (4 come in an order, hubby had already taken one). They were the deep fried type, and filled with your standard cabbage type filling, but the wrapper on the rolls was more like a super thin type crepe—it had a great crisp texture, but with just a tiny bit of sponginess if you know what I mean. They were crazy hot when we first got them, and actually benefited from sitting a bit. We both enjoyed the second one better than the first. But they were also quite good and I liked that the insides weren’t all stringy like some are.

The shrimp dumplings were your standard shrimp dumplings ($3.95)—just the dumpling skin stuffed with shrimp and nothing really else. I always have to have an order of these when I have dim sum, and this time was no exception. They were probably middle of the pack for all the ones I have had. The scallion pancake ($2) was pretty good as well—a nice additional filler thing. I like to balance my steamed things with crunchy items and this served as a good crunchy item. However, this was not a dish that was served well by sitting around at all, so eat this one quickly if you get it. After a bit, it started to lose its crunch. It had a decent amount of scallion flavor.

By far our least favorite thing was the sui mai, ($2.95) or steamed pork dumplings. Honestly, as soon as I saw them, I had my doubts. The pork filling was dense and tough, like a bad meatball. The dumpling that the meat sat in just didn’t seem as fresh as everything else—actually the dish on the whole just didn’t have the freshness that everything else had. It tasted like it could’ve been made a few days ago. I like sui mai that taste like they have some other ingredients in them (they are sometimes made with shrimp as well as the pork) but these dumplings just tasted like pork to me.

All in all, it was a good experience, and I am intrigued to try the regular menu as well. There were several groups of people who came in for lunch and ordered communal dishes that all looked quite tasty. I was really eyeing the sautéed eggplant at the table next door. And I am hoping to get better about trying more places on the west side. There are so many options over there. What other Asian places do you like on that side of town?

Szechwan Garden

3649 Lafayette Road

Indianapolis, IN 46222

317/328-2888

*note that I may have reversed a few of the prices-- on my receipt a couple were in English and a couple were in Chinese. I made my best estimate, and the total bill including two drinks was right at $20 if that is helpful.

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Squealers BBQ

2:25 AM | Labels: Barbeque, Independent Restaurants, kid friendly, Squealers BBQ, Westside restaurants

Hubby and I have been in the mood for barbecue lately, and now that we have started trying them, we are hoping to go to several in the near future so that we can compare them without forgetting them. Squealers has been on the list for quite awhile, and recommended a lot, so we thought we would start there. Several people told me the original location in Mooresville is the best, but is quite a hike for us, so we just went with the one out on West 86^th Street.

So we ate a lot of stuff, and I will get to it, but man, the fried biscuits? Freakin’ awesome. Seriously, I have been thinking about those biscuits ever since. They are super light and fluffy inside and fried just right to be a little crispy on the outside. A teeny bit of sweetness, but not much. I called them extremely tender, but not as sweet, doughnuts. I want to go back just for them.

Ok, let's get to the real reason we were at Squealers-- the barbecue. I ordered the pick 2 sampler platter ($15.50) with their “award winning” pulled pork and the “jumbo” chicken wings. You also get your choice of 2 sides. I chose mac and cheese and the Amish potato salad. Oh, and you get two of those biscuits with apple butter. Have I mentioned how much I like those things? They also give you several choices for barbecue sauce. I went with mixed (“smoky sweet” + “smokin’ hot”) on my pork and just the sweet on the wings. Anyway, my favorite thing meat-wise was definitely the pulled pork. They give you quite a healthy portion of it and top it with some sauce. If I had eaten all of it I probably would’ve wanted more sauce, but had enough for the amount of it I ended up eating. The pork is pretty tender, although not the most tender I have had, and had a moderate smoky flavor on its own. What I really liked was taking a little bit of it and piling it on a little piece of one of those biscuits. I thought the sauce was really nice with smoky flavor and a bit of spice, but not too much. The wings on the other hand were a write-off. I ate only one just because I needed to taste it, but they were small, dry and blah. Where they come up with “jumbo” as a descriptor, I do not know. I do really enjoy barbecue chicken in general and would be interested to try the half smoked chicken and see if it was better. I really enjoyed the pork, but was not so in love that I wouldn’t venture in another direction next time. I found the sides kind of average-- I really didn’t like the potato salad and the mac and cheese was fine, but not amazing (although of our sides, it is one I might order again). I am not exactly sure how “Amish” potato salad traditionally made, but after some research, I have found nothing but disagreement on the subject. This one clearly included a lot of sugar and tasted like it was probably made with a recipe similar to this, although I don’t think it had as many ingredients as this, it seemed mostly just like potatoes and celery in the dressing. (On the bright side though, while I was looking around, I found this recipe for warm goat cheese potato salad which sounds quite delicious.) The mac and cheese was nice and cheesy, and certainly seemed homemade with actual cheese, and not “cheese product.”

Hubby, on the other hand, had some pretty amazing ribs. He is the barbecue rib lover in our house and that is his go to item in a barbecue joint. He ordered the ½ slab of baby back rib dinner ($16.20 with up charge for onion rings). He got onion rings and cole slaw for his sides. He declared that these were the best ribs in Indy, and after having a bite of them I agreed. I wouldn’t exactly call them “fall off the bone” tender because you did actually have to pick them up and bite the meat off, but it came right off the bone when you did. Absolutely no resistance. They had a wonderfully smoky taste and were nice and “wet” in the mixed sauce. The cole slaw, again was too sweet for both of us. It actually tasted sort of similar to the potato salad (and look at the picture—it looks like mashed potatoes). The onion rings were good—your basic onion rings, as hubby said, there are really no bad onion rings, only better onion rings, and these were somewhere in the middle.

We also tried one of the cherry cobblers for dessert (not that we needed one more bit of food). Our server told us they made the cobblers there and they were only $1.95 with an extra $1 for ice cream. It was okay. The cherries were from a can and there was so much ice cream on top that the cobbler topping got lost and soft. I would ask for the ice cream on the side if I got another one. The service was friendly and efficient and our server checked back several times to make sure we didn’t need more sauce. The interior is pretty much what you expect—casual. There are several booths and regular tables. They also have a full bar.

Hubby really wants to go back to Squealers and get some more ribs, and I want to go back for the biscuits. But for now, we are setting out to try some other places first and compare them. Who really has the best barbecue in Indy? And do any other places do the fried biscuits? I would love to compare them too!

Squealers

5515 West 86^th Street (another location in Mooresville)

Indy 46268

317/871-7427

www.squealersbarbeque.com

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Chef Mike's Charcoal Grill

3:18 AM | Labels: Burgers, Chef Mike's Charcoal Grill, Independent Restaurants, Westside restaurants

I am sort of torn about the whole Groupon thing—I mean, who doesn’t love a deal right? But sometimes Groupons and coupons in general (but particularly when you have paid for them) just make me feel guilty. I keep seeing it, knowing it is going to expire at some point, and then forgetting to use it. Maybe it’s just me. I bring this up, because I had a Groupon to Chef Mike’s Charcoal grill, had had it for about a year, and I finally got around to using it recently (about a week before the expiration date). It is a bit of a haul for me, particularly during rush hour, so we were pretty hungry by the time we got there.

Unfortunately, upon arriving, and it was one of those ridiculously hot days, we found out their air conditioning was not working. Of course, I can’t blame them for this, as it wasn’t their fault, but it made for quite a warm dinner (we sat next to the portable air conditioning unit for our dinner and the thermostat read 91 degrees). I did find it humorous that I had my daughter bring a sweater because we are both usually always cold in restaurants, but obviously, she didn’t need it this time. The staff was extremely gracious about it though and worked hard to get us the coolest spot in the place that they could.

Chef Mike’s specializes in charcoal grilled items, and I went with a burger ($9.75) and hubby the grilled chicken wings (buffalo flavor) (6 for $6.99) because we thought wings sounded interesting since they are usually deep fried. We both started with a salad, which was probably a mistake, but it was so hot, it sounded good. The lettuce was fresh, but the blue cheese dressing was clearly bottled and had that sort of fakey sweet flavor that a lot of bottled dressings have.

My burger was outstanding though—I ordered it medium rare hoping it would be a little pink (no one really seems to be willing to cook a burger medium rare) and it was. My problem with grilled burgers is usually that they are dry—this one was not. And it had a wonderful charcoal smoky flavor to it. I had ordered the bacon cheddar burger, and the cheddar was nice and melty and hot, but the bacon a little hard. They actually use a mixture of Bourbon and chives in their burgers too—hard to say exactly how they impacted the burger, but the burger was moist and tasty. I got what they called “potato skins” on the side, which are not what you think of when you think of potato skins. They were red skinned potatoes that were sliced with the skin on, and deep fried. Not as thin as a potato chip, but fairly thin. They were also delicious, and fresh. The light batter they use on the fries and skins was really light and crunchy and had a unique flavor with a little bit of seasoning and a healthy dose of salt. My kids had the fries, which were also very good—hand cut and fried in the same batter. At first I couldn’t chose which I preferred, but by the end, I think I liked the “skins” the best because they were a little crispier. Hubby preferred the fries.

Hubby’s wings were interesting. They were pretty meaty and were also charcoal-grilled, having even more of that distinctive smoky flavor—I think you could taste it even more with the wings because the meat has a more mild taste than the beef. There was just a drizzle of buffalo sauce on them, and it didn’t really add much. I would be tempted to try one of the other flavors, like the spicy garlic sauce. My skins came with my burger, but we also tried the potato salad ($2.50) just because. It was your standard potato salad (although certainly homemade) with red potatoes, egg, mayo and celery. Not bad, but not super exciting.

I also liked that kids under 6 eat free, so my son got his meal for no cost. They both liked it ok, although they were a little grumpy from the heat. The service was quite friendly, especially considering they had to work in that heat. And I was impressed with how many people came in anyway. I might have changed my mind if it weren’t such a haul, and if I didn’t have that Groupon. Oh, and on the subject of the location—just so you know in case you want to check it out, it is a little challenging to find. It is located on the west end of 71^st street just inside 465—in a little strip mall behind the Holiday Inn. We drove by a couple of times before we spotted it. But you know, if it were in my neighborhood, I would certainly add it to my local, kid friendly list. The food was good, the people nice, and it is one of the only non-chains in the immediate area that I saw. I hear they also have decent lunch specials.

Chef Mike’s Charcoal Grill

7102 Woodland Drive

Indy 46278

317/295-9490

www.chefmikescharcoalgrill.com

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Caracas Arepas Grill

3:52 AM | Labels: Caracas Arepas Grill, Independent Restaurants, Latin Food, lunch places, Westside restaurants

****As of 2/6/12, Caracas has closed.****

I know it is said often these days, but it really is true that Indy has so many ethnic restaurant gems scattered throughout the city and I think Caracas Arepas Grill is certainly one of them, and quite a unique choice as well. The menu just calls itself more generally a “Latin restaurant,” although most of the press you see calls it specifically Venezuelan. Regardless of where it comes from, it was all pretty good.

I went with the BFF and we decided to split a ton of stuff to get to try lots of things. The first thing they brought, and probably a favorite for both of us were the “Patacones con Esmechada o Pollo” ($6). These were fried green plantains topped with shredded beef or chicken, onions, cilantro, white cheese and their house sauce, which seemed to be made with avocado and cilantro-- among other things I am sure. They also bring you a big squeeze bottle of this sauce, as well as a bottle of very spicy red sauce to use throughout your meal. A lot of the green sauce was used on this visit. It is delicious. I found a little of the red sauce went a really long way, and it was pretty much just pure heat without a lot of flavor in my mind, so I only used a bit to taste it. Anyway, the patacones were obviously cooked to order, as the plantains were very hot—these are green plantains so they do not have the sweetness the ripe plantains have. I liked the combination of these with the tender shredded meat (we had some with chicken and some with beef) and the fresh raw cilantro and onion. They were almost a little like nachos in a way, but very unique and with a lot more variation in flavors. They were lovely in their presentation as well as the taste. These would be on the must order list again.

We also tried a cachapa filled with ham and cheese ($7). A cachapa is a sweet corn cake that is cooked on the grill (obviously with some oil) and then folded around other ingredients. I really enjoyed the flavor of the corn cake itself—there were obvious bits of corn in the mix, and it was really sweet, but in a good way, like perfect corn. We were both sort of torn about how we felt about the fillings—the soft cheese was good, but the ham was just like pretty basic deli ham. It wasn’t bad, but it wasn’t overly exciting either. Maybe one of the other fillings might be more interesting, or even just cheese on its own. My only other complaint was they seemed a little greasy maybe, like maybe when they were grilled; a little too much oil was used. But I would certainly try them again.

Probably our least favorite thing was the empanada that we shared, which was filled with cheese ($2.50). It wasn’t bad, and the deep fried corn batter had a nice sweet corn flavor, but it just didn’t compare to the other things. They didn’t have any complexity I guess—it was really just the two ingredients, and even after doctoring it up with more of that yummy green sauce, I didn’t see them as something I would likely order again. It definitely would have benefited from a few more ingredients inside.

Finally, we shared the “Reina arepa” ($4.50). I mean it is called an “Arepas Grill” right? So we had to get at least one arepa. There are several different fillings for these little sandwiches—the one we chose is described as shredded chicken, avocado and a little bit of mayo. It was delicious. As soon as BFF bit into it, she said, “Oh, you’re going to like this,” and she was right. It sort of reminded me of a chicken salad that was made with pretty much just shredded chicken and avocado—the avocado mixed with a bit of mayo and onions just turned into a green-ish mix that tasted heavily of the avocado. The onion flavor was also certainly there (our server warned us if we didn’t like onions not to order it). It was creamy, smooth and quite filling. The arepas are on the small side of sandwiches compared to U.S. standards (I mean come on, does anyone really need a foot long sandwich?) but I only had half of it (of course with a lot of other stuff), and I was full. I think you could make a nice lunch of one, but others might disagree. The bread here is different from the other things, in that it is more like bread, well, sort of like an English muffin consistency really. The round piece of bread is sliced, but not all the way through (and then filled). The bread could also be compared to a slightly thicker pita. This one was a little tough to cut in half in order to share. Actually, all the other items we had were fairly large in size—the empanada and the cachapa were like the size of a tortilla folded in half. It was hard to tell from looking at the menu what the size was, but they are pretty large.

The interior of the restaurant is extremely clean, and quite a bit bigger than I expected. There are booths and regular tables as well. Our server was very friendly and helpful in answering questions. The recommendations she made were quite good. The service and atmosphere were a positive part of the experience, although don’t go here looking for anything fancy. The food is the reason to go, and it is reason enough (and I think they even have margaritas).

Caracas Arepas Grill

7940 N. Michigan Road

Indy 46268

317/228-9550

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Saigon - Revisit

3:25 AM | Labels: Independent Restaurants, lunch places, Saigon Restaurant, Vietnamese, Westside restaurants

Ugh, I hate the sophomore slump. You know, the second time you go somewhere you really liked the first time (applies to movies and bands a lot too) and it lets you down the next time. I don’t know, maybe it was all our fault and I ordered wrong (I am confident I will hear about it from you all if that is the problem, and go ahead and start yelling at me for not trying the Pho now) but I was not nearly as impressed this time with Saigon this time. Nothing was bad, but let’s just say, I am glad it wasn’t my first time. Because I might not head back if it was.

So we started with the steamed dumplings ($2.95). These were actually fine—a lot like a classic pot sticker, minced pork and seasonings inside a slightly thinner wonton wrapper than a lot of pot stickers. I preferred this slightly thinner wrapper so that you didn’t feel like you were totally bloated after eating them—and there were 6, so between 2 people, I was already starting to feel pretty full after eating 3 of them. But they were fresh and hot, and all in all, probably the best thing we had on this visit. But they weren’t amazing. (You can also get them pan fried if you want that crisp edge).

Before we had even arrived, hubby was excited about trying their version of Shaking beef (here called “shaky steak” or Bo Luc Lac for those following along in Vietnamese) ($8.50). We had had the Cambodian version recently at the Asian Grill, and had really enjoyed it, and it had awakened the need to try it again at a Vietnamese place. So, it was pretty disappointing. The beef was cubed, and of good quality and fairly tender, but there was little to no seasoning flavor. There were some onions, green peppers and tomatoes stir fried in as well. But I know from making it myself that there are a lot of differing seasonings and ingredients used (at least in the recipe I used), and I couldn’t really taste much of any of it here. It also didn’t have that slightly crispy edge on the meat that comes from frying it at a really high heat and then adding the sauce, which is something hubby really likes about this dish at other places. So this is a dish I wouldn’t order again.

We also had their version of the Vietnamese pancake ($5.25), which is also something I have really enjoyed at several places. It was better than the beef, but only average in comparison to others I have had. The “pancake” is sort of like a crepe that is heavy on the egg, and is served with thin sliced pork, shrimp and a ton of bean sprouts inside. Again, there was nothing inherently wrong with the dish; it just didn’t get me as excited as some others. It was served with a sweet fish sauce on the side that really brightened it up—dipping the pancake in it certainly made me enjoy it more. Actually, I started dipping the beef in there too. It wasn’t overly sweet, not thick and syrupy or anything. It was a thin sauce and tasted like it had a fair amount of lime, as well as I am assuming fish sauce, some red chili and some sweetener, but not too much. I enjoyed the sauce with it all. The fresh lettuce and basil with the crepe was nice as well to give it a fresh crunch with the crepe.

So that’s it. Nothing was terrible, but honestly, in almost each dish, I can think of a place, in Indy no less, that does it better. So I will go back and try other things (and the menu is freakin’ enormous), but like I said, I am sure glad this wasn’t my first visit. Let’s hope the third time’s a charm.

Saigon Restaurant

3103 Lafayette Road

Indy 46222

317/927-7270

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Iron Skillet

3:29 AM | Labels: fried chicken, Independent Restaurants, Iron Skillet, kid friendly, Westside restaurants

I have this problem. Once I get hooked on an idea (i.e. finding the best fried chicken in the Indianapolis area), I have to keep going until I have closure. Actually, I have a closure problem in general, but that’s another story. I have had A LOT of people recommend Iron Skillet as the end all be all of fried chicken. So of course, I have been itching to go.

They are only open on Sundays for lunch, so we had a babysitter one day and decided to make the trek over there. It wasn’t actually as far as I thought, only about 20 minutes or so from my house. So this is another one of those restaurants in the genre of Hollyhock Hill and Copper Kettle where everything is family style, it is set in an old house, and basically has been serving the same stuff for decades (in Iron Skillet’s case, since 1953).

So you get cottage cheese, pickled beets when you sit down (ok, this stuff doesn’t really excite me, so I am not going into details, hubby thought the cottage cheese was good for cottage cheese). You then get your salad which was slices of iceberg with a bit of seasoning (looked like paprika) and that traditional sweet vinegar salad dressing that somehow is the same at all these places. I like a little more excitement with my salad, and don’t care for sweet dressings so I just had a bite and moved on.

The soup was better (you have a choice of soup or tomato juice). It was a creamy onion soup with croutons. It tasted like cream of chicken soup (definitely a chicken base, not beef) with onions adding a bit of flavor. There were several large croutons floating on top that were dense enough that they kept their mass even after being in the soup for a few minutes which I liked. It tasted pretty good on a cold day, it was thick and hearty—I would have loved a few more onions though.

But really, was I there for any of that stuff? No. I was there for the chicken. They brought us out three sides (bet you can guess what they were…). Mashed potatoes, green beans and corn. And a giant plate of chicken. I tell you, it sure did look pretty, that chicken. We had the mixed light and dark plate which was basically a whole chicken for the two of us. So how was it? It was okay. The best part about it was the chicken meat was super juicy. Someone knows just how long to cook it so it isn’t dried out. Even the breast was exceptionally juicy. The downside—well it was the complete lack of seasoning on the skin. So maybe this is a style that people like, but for me, I like some flavor on my chicken. It was nice and crispy, but that was about it. Other than the inherent flavor in chicken skin, there wasn’t much else.

The mashed potatoes were really good and very homemade tasting though—just the right amount of creaminess without being runny and with a nice pat of butter on top. One of the highlights of the meal. Canned corn and canned green beans? I can take a pass on those (even with the little bits of bacon on top of the green beans—honestly even the bacon tasted funny). So here’s the thing, and I am not going to belabor this too much, but I was wondering, back when these places started, a lot of people canned their own veggies, and I am wondering if maybe that is how this started, and then morphed into just buying them in cans because it is cheaper? Can you imagine how cool it would be if there were places like this that served their chicken, etc (preferably with a little more seasoning) and a seasonal veggie to go along with? Fresh corn, green beans or tomatoes in the summer, and other things in the fall and winter? I don’t know, call me a dreamer, but I think that would be potentially great. And way better than canned. If I want that I can do that at home. And for a lot cheaper (this meal was $18.95 per person).

The experience is similar to the other places too—large dining rooms with a lot of large tables decorated how Grandma would have back in the day (or what people think of when they think of a 50s Grandma). Lots of flowery stuff, lace and doilies. I know a lot of families have been going for years to get this exact same experience each time, but it would be so awesome if you could get the kitschy décor with kick ass food. I am going to stop going on about this, because another local blogger recently wrote a post on this exact subject (only about Hollyhock Hill), and you should go read it. She said it perfectly, better than I would. Anyhow, our server was super friendly, and very attentive and I also loved that while we were seated on the large expansive porch, it was not cold. There were some seriously modern windows in there, and for that I was grateful.

You also got a scoop of ice cream with dishes of various kinds of sauces--chocolate, butterscotch, strawberry and creme de menthe. It was pretty much what you expect--nothing unusual. The sauces were pretty clearly from a bottle/can, and the ice cream didn't taste like it was anything other than what you might get in a grocery store. I was pretty full at this point so I just had a couple bites.

My favorite part of the meal was when hubby leaned in to me and said, “do you think anyone in the kitchen says, 'hey, maybe we should put something new on the menu?'” It’s a good thing when after this many years, your husband can still make you laugh.

Iron Skillet

2489 West 30^th Street

Indy 46222

317/923-6353

www.ironskillet.net

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Sizzling Wok

2:51 AM | Labels: Chinese restaurants, Independent Restaurants, lunch places, Sizzling Wok, Vietnamese, Westside restaurants

I had been having a lot of different people recommend Sizzling Wok to me for different reasons, and I was in the mood to give Pho another go, and someone had just told me that the Pho here was good, so we were off.

First of all, I hadn’t been to the West side for quite awhile and we got stuck in some killer traffic at 38^th and Lafayette Road because of construction. I am not sure when it is supposed to be done, but if you are looking for a fast lunch, you may want to take this fact into consideration.

We finally made it and sat down to try and figure out what to order. I had read that the Vietnamese pancake was good, and it sounded good to me, so we ordered that as a starter. This thing is huge and full of lots of stuff, so honestly, it would be a very filling lunch on its own. It was a very light eggy pancake/crepe type thing that was filled with sliced of tender and flavorful pork as well as a few small shrimps and lots of sautéed bean sprouts. The pieces of pork were not tough but had nice crisp seared edges. The shrimp were also tasty. The sprouts gave a nice crunch. The whole thing was served on top of large Romaine lettuce leaves which our server informed us you were supposed to rip off and fill with the crepe (as well as some fresh basil leaves on the side) and then dip the whole bite into a sweet chile sauce. Hubby was complaining that we had obviously ordered too much, but as it turned out, not only was this pancake really good, it was also the best thing we ate that day, so we were glad we had order it.

I ordered the rare beef Pho. They did a good job with the beef—they obviously just dropped raw beef slices into the broth to keep it from overcooking. The strips of beef were quite tender; they just lacked much flavor, which is the overall problem I have with Pho. This broth had some richness to it, and got a little more spicy and flavorful after I immediately added all the fresh peppers served alongside as well as most of the basil. But honestly, I still just can’t get that excited about Pho. It is hard to eat (all those noodles and all the broth—spoon or chopsticks? You can’t get both at the same time). I think I would rather have some flavorful noodles fried with some veggies and eat my soup separately. I just haven’t met a Pho that has changed my opinion on this issue yet. This is probably the best one I have had, but compared with the pancake, it was boring.

Hubby had a lunch special from the Chinese side of the menu (they have a Vietnamese side as well as a Chinese side). He had his perennial favorite, General Tso’s chicken. He also got a cup of hot and sour soup with it and a spring roll and fried rice (included as part of the lunch deal). The soup was not particularly hot or sour, and was quite eggy. There was a bit of pepper in it, but not the real peppery and sour flavor that a good hot and sour soup has. It was ok, but again, a little bland.

As for the chicken, he hated it. I think the word he used was “horrible.” The sauce was really gloopy and sweet and according to him tasted like it was straight out of a bottle. He literally ate one or two pieces and didn’t touch the rest. The fried rice was basically “brown with peas in it.” (Again, hubby’s words). He described it as flavorless. He gave up and just finished off the pancake.

So while we started out well, and I would totally get the pancake again if I ever went back (questionable), I would stay away from the Chinese side of the menu and try and stick with the Vietnamese side. Based on our limited experience, it seems a bit more finessed. But as my fortune cookie said that day, “It is proper to speak the truth.” So there you go. The truth is, other than the first course, which I really liked, it wasn’t that good.

Sizzling Wok

4351 Lafayette Road

Indy 46254

317/297-3441

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Perugini Pizzeria

2:15 AM | Labels: Independent Restaurants, kid friendly, lunch places, Perugini Pizzeria, Pizza, Westside restaurants

Several months ago, a reader sent me an email recommending this place to me because she liked it so much. I put it on the list (I really do put them all on the list, it just takes awhile to get to them sometimes) and we finally got around to trying it the other day. The pizza on the website looked pretty good, and you know I am always looking for good New York style pizza.

The first thing we noticed (we went for lunch) is that it was completely empty which always makes me nervous, but the owner, who also does the cooking, was very friendly and greeted us warmly. The one pizza they had available (cheese) was not overly appealing looking because it had been there awhile, but he said he would make up whatever we wanted, or we could have an entire pie (with one topping) for $5.00. This is a regular lunch deal there. This is a great deal for a 14 inch pizza with 8 slices. Now, if you want more toppings, they are $1.75 each, so you can quickly get more expensive, but still, $6.75 for this much pizza was a great deal. We got my favorite, mushroom and red onion.

But of course, because I am easily convinced to try lots of things, we also got an order of breadsticks. They make them plain, stuffed with pepperoni, or stuffed with mozzarella. We got the cheese stuffed ones. I was impressed to watch him get the dough out and make the breadsticks (rolling the dough around the cheese) and the pizza, right then and there. He told me he makes the dough and the pizza sauce from scratch. It took a little longer than running in for a slice for lunch, but watching him toss our pizza fresh was worth it.

So I really enjoyed the breadsticks. They were soft with a nice crisp edge and obviously as fresh and hot as was really possible considering they just came

out of the oven. I am guessing it is the same dough used for the pizza crust, but I liked this version of it better because it was slightly chewy with a crisp and seasoned outer crust. They served them with parmesan cheese in a shaker as well as a side of bright orange cheese dipping sauce (which was maybe slightly better than most bright orange dipping sauce, but I am guessing this stuff is not being made in house). But I really didn’t need to dip my cheese stuffed breadsticks into another “cheese” sauce, but a little container of marinara might have been nice (or even garlic butter).

The pizza came out looking much better than I expected (I told you I was nervous by the lack of clientele). It was good pizza. The crust was very thin and crispy, and the sauce was savory and in just the right proportion to the rest of the pizza (I have said before, I am not a fan of really saucy pizza). The other ingredients were in just the right proportion as well. You got the cheesy pizza experience without it being mounded too high and making the crust soggy and not allowing you to taste it. It was maybe just a little too crispy for true (as I see it) New York style pizza. But it was good enough that if it were in my neighborhood, it would be in the rotation.

The décor is minimal. Hubby described it as “1984 pizza parlor.” It was plastic booths and a couple of video games and half of the place was painted in what I would call a disturbing shade of greenish. Not an overly appetizing color shall we say. I did enjoy that the soundtrack seemed to go along with the 1984 theme; we heard Michael Jackson, Whitney Houston and the Go Go’s while there. (OK. I am being sarcastic about enjoying the music, with the exception of the Go Go’s.) But it was humorous. Several people came in and carried out while we were there, and my guess is they sell more pizza for dinner. And maybe there just isn’t an overwhelming desire of people to partake of the ambiance, but the pizza is certainly being made with care, the owners are quite nice, and overall the quality of the food was very good. If you live on that side of town (West), I would give it a go. (And you know I am always looking for more recommendations for pizza, so keep ‘em coming!).

Perugini Pizzeria
3350 N. High School Road
Indy 46224
317/405-9386
http://www.peruginipizzeria.com/

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