Muldoon's - Revisit

Took the picture after it was finished... ;)

Holy moly, I can’t believe I haven’t written about Muldoon’s since 2011. The other night we met up with one of hubby’s oldest friends who was in town for his daughter’s soccer tournament. It was a kind of last minute thing on a Saturday night in prime dinner hours in Carmel/Westfield area, so it was challenging to decide where to go. I mean, let’s face it, Carmel is a bit of a food desert. I mean there are some places I really enjoy, but hard to find a quality place that takes reservations and still had one available.

We started with Pizzology, but they only take reservations very early or very late and we didn’t want to get stuck waiting for an hour with not much around. We decided on just meeting on Main Street in Carmel, thinking we might do the Pint Room because hubby’s friend really likes craft beer. However, when we walked in, even though there were probably 6-8 open tables, they were on a 40-minute wait because they said their kitchen was really behind. So I appreciate that they didn’t just seat us and make us wait forever for bad service, but it seemed like a bad situation for a restaurant on a Saturday night. We saw many, many people turned away.

We ended up just going across the street and getting a table at Muldoon’s. I haven’t been there in ages. We got there before hubby’s friend, so we went ahead and ordered an appetizer. We had the buffalo chicken dip ($9.75), which is a family favorite. I make it a fair amount for buffalo chicken-type occasions, and it is one of my son’s favorite things. This one tasted a lot like mine—buffalo hot sauce, cream cheese, cheese and chicken. Mine also has ranch. It’s an easy recipe to make, but I appreciated that this one was nice and tasty. It really hit the spot. The chips were good (not great) but were tasty with the hot, creamy dip. There were also carrot and celery sticks, but seriously, who really wants veggies with their dip? Only a couple got eaten. I do think for nearly $10 the portion of dip was a tad on the pricey side, particularly when you consider the size of the tenderloin, which is similarly priced.

Speaking of, for our main dish, hubby and I split the tenderloin sandwich ($10.95). This is one of those giant tenderloins that Indiana is so famous for. This is one of the thicker versions and they know what they are doing. It’s got good flavor, pretty good moisture and good crispiness. You sort of need a bit more mayo than they give you because the tenderloin is so big. Love topping it with some red onions, and they have nice crunchy pickles as well. I was a little sad when I saw my daughter’s mini tenderloin version ($8.95) because it was on a little brioche looking bun. Much more attractive looking than our bun. If I were ordering there on my own, I would definitely go with the mini. Hubby and I barely finished our regular sized one that we shared. As for sides, I think my daughter won that one as well. She got the loaded baked potato—you can’t really go wrong there right? We just stuck with chips because I remembered not loving the fries. The chips are just your standard ruffled chips from a bag. I did order a house salad to start—which was a large salad for the price. I liked the really big chunks of blue cheese in the dressing too.

Hubby’s friend had the shepherd’s pie ($12.95), which is a bowl filled with the ground beef, veggies and topped with mashed potatoes. I didn’t get a bite, but he seemed happy and ate it all. My son had a burger that was just pretty standard from my taste. Nothing overly unique about it.

I have a hard time not ordering the tenderloin when I go, considering I seem to only get there every 6-7 years, but I would be interested to know what else is good as there are several items on the menu that are intriguing. So if you have any suggestions for me, let me know. 

Muldoon’s

111 West Main Street, Suite 100

Carmel, IN 46032

317/571-1116

http://muldoons.net/