Steer In - Revisit

If you read my blog regularly, you know I get into food kicks that have me craving certain types of food. Fried chicken, burgers, whatever. Right now I am on a sushi binge as well as a breakfast search.  I have always loved breakfast food, but we seem to be trying a lot of places lately with the kids on the weekends.  I am realizing that even when you order pretty much the same thing breakfast-wise, the quality varies greatly.

The other day we decided to head to Steer In for a lunch/breakfast combo. I have been there once before but I was by myself, and hubby has always wanted to try it too.  We got there around noon and I was a little nervous that it would be packed—I was happy to see that while it was busy, it wasn’t so packed that we couldn’t get seated immediately.

Hubby and I made our usual negotiations, and I got breakfast ($5.79) and he got a pork tenderloin sandwich ($7.29).  We agreed to share.  The kids got French toast from the kids menu ($3.99) and a side of tater tots ($1.79).  So the highlight here was definitely the pork tenderloin sandwich—it was one of the best I have had. And it was unfortunate that it was placed in front of hubby because I certainly did not get my fair share of it before it disappeared.  It didn’t need a single thing.  Soft, not too big, toasted bun with a thicker cut, extremely tender, breaded and fried tenderloin.  It wasn’t pounded so thin that it lost its juiciness and it was perfectly cooked. It was topped with just the right amount of shredded lettuce, a very thin slice of tomato and mayo (and usually I like onions, but it didn’t need them).  The lettuce gave it the right extra crispy veggie crunch without being too much. Seriously, they know how to make a tenderloin.  It came with potato chips that were standard.  My son had a bite of it and loved it and now wants to order them everywhere—it’s hard to explain to him how greatly the quality varies from place to place.

My breakfast was eggs, bacon, toast and a side of potatoes—I upgraded to the cheesy potato casserole that is only available on the weekends (I think it was a $.80 upgrade).  The eggs were cooked exactly over easy and the bacon wasn’t bad.  Not as bad as some I have had recently, but nothing great about it either—your basic slightly softer than I would like bacon.  I had hopes that the cheesy potatoes would be like this cheesy potato casserole that hubby’s family makes, but it wasn’t.  It is basically shredded potatoes that tasted like they were cooked with some sort of creamy soup and a bit of cheese.  Honestly, they didn’t seem that cheesy to me. Maybe just because I had something in mind, and this wasn’t it, I was just going to be disappointed.  You know what potatoes I did like though? The kids’ tater tots.  Man, they have those down. I mean, I know if you are getting tater tots, they’re coming from food service, but they were super crunchy and just really hit the spot. If you are a tater tot fan, these are some of the best (what? They can really vary).

The kids French toast looked a little weak, but I didn’t try it so I can’t really comment on it.  They seemed happy enough.  My daughter would probably tell you she would have liked more powdered sugar.

Our server was mainly business-like, but did her job with little fuss.  The lady at the register is really friendly—I remembered that from my last visit. The atmosphere is friendly dive, and I love the map on the wall with pins and notes from where their patrons hail from.  My guess is that map has gotten a lot more action since their appearance on Diners, Drive-ins and Dives awhile back.  The food is solid, and that tenderloin is top notch.  But….since we’re talking about breakfast (and I am thinking about it a lot lately), any suggestions for me?

Steer-In

5130 East 10^th Street

Indy  46219

317/356-0996

www.steerin.net