Ale Emporium - Revisit

I had a rare weekday lunch opportunity with hubby the other day, but he needed to stay close to home because he had limited time, and we were a little stumped as usual. As we started to drive somewhere else, we passed Ale Emporium and hubby was excited because he had never been. I wanted to try the wings since so many people recommended them after my last visit. I also didn’t realize that the big room that we sat in last time was not the only room and that there’s a smaller, slightly cozier bar area at the far south end of the building. I liked the vibe in this part of the restaurant a lot better.

Like I said, I wanted wings, but was totally overwhelmed by the amount of choices of types and flavors of them. (I am going to need your help here people). I asked our server about a couple of them but she was pretty vague in describing them so I just went with classic buffalo style. I had the small order, which is 2 pounds ($11.99). I had them with blue cheese dressing (you can choose this or ranch). The wings were outstanding for sure. I was so pleased to discover that something everyone had told me was so good really lived up to the hype. The wings are not breaded or anything—they are just deep fried and have wonderful crisp skin. They are then dipped in the sauce—but not overwhelmed by it, and the wings are nice and meaty and not dried out at all. I’d say they are definitely some of the best in town. I look forward to trying some of the other flavors—so you guys please tell me which ones are the best.

Hubby had the lunch combo of salad and a (large) slice of pizza ($8). First of all, when they say large, they are serious. The large slice of pizza is really like 2 regular slices. He had mushroom and sausage. The pizza is good here—I like the flavor of the marinara and the crust. It’s a pretty bready crust (still need to try the thin crust) though, and very filling. The salad was good—I appreciated that it wasn’t all crappy iceberg lettuce—there was a bit of shredded cheese and some toasty croutons as well. It was the same blue cheese dressing we had with the wings—a little tangier than most and with some big hunks of blue cheese mixed in. All in all, not bad for a pub pizza. 

The service was pretty efficient—we had to get there and back home within an hour and we did --just barely. They certainly do a good lunch business in there. I look forward to going back to try some of the other wing flavors.

Ale Emporium

8617 Allisonville Rd

Indy 46250

317/842-1333

www.ale-emporium.com