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/

The District Tap - Revisit

It has been awhile since we’ve been to The District Tap, and it’s right near my house so I am not sure why. But hubby and I came home from a trip the other day and just wanted a burger or something simple, and headed over there. And then I took my daughter and friend there one night for dinner as well. So this is a combo of a couple of visits.

I have mentioned it before, but my kids love pretzels, and we got their pretzel flight ($13) on the visit with the kids. I really love the fact that they serve their large braided pretzels with three kinds of beer cheese—there’s a stout, and IPA and a Scotch ale version. It’s fun to try all the different ones, and I greatly appreciate the fact that it’s not neon nacho cheese. My favorite was the Scotch ale version and my least favorite was the stout, but it was fun to try them all. The pretzels are tasty and really big (and it comes with two)—one is easy to split between two people. I like them—they are better than most.

On both visits I had a burger—the District burger ($11). It’s their basic burger with American cheese, lettuce, tomato, onion and pickle. I also ask for a side of their garlic mayo to put on there, which adds a nice additional creamy touch. They have a bunch of sides to choose from, but I tend to choose the tater tots because I have a little weakness for them, and they cook them just right. Nice and crunchy. I was good on one visit and got a side salad—it’s a nice salad with nice fresh mixed greens and homemade dressing (I got blue cheese). The burger is a very good burger—the beef is a custom grind of brisket, chuck, and short rib and they serve it on a brioche bun. It’s a really tasty burger that feels pretty high end. Since Recess and Barking Dog closed, I am always on the hunt for my next favorite burger. I can’t say it’s my absolute favorite, but it is a very good option. And I have had it twice in the last month or two, so obviously I liked it. My son also had one and liked it as well.

Hubby got the tenderloin sandwich ($12) and they serve it just the right way with lettuce, tomato, onions, pickle and mayo and also on the nice brioche bun. It’s a solid tenderloin for sure, but we both preferred the burger. It was just more interesting. They do their tenderloin on the thicker side, and not one of those super big, super skinny plate fillers. It was decently tender, but again, not as tender as that burger. 

My daughter had the chicken Madeira ($16), which she seemed to enjoy. It’s enormous—a whole breast, so two giant halves—covered with cheese and mushroom/Madeira sauce and served with mashed potatoes. She only ate about half of it, but thought it was good. 

All in all, The District Tap is a good place to keep in rotation for me for a burger or something along those lines. That is, if you can get over the sensory overload that sort of dominates the place with the multitude of TVs that are everywhere, including at the table. Service is good though and the food is solid. And it’s literally five minutes from my house, so I need to remember it more.

The District Tap

3720 East 82^nd Street

Indy  46240

317/ 288-8251

www.thedistrictindy.com 

A2Z Café

My Mom and Dad live near A2Z, and recently have rediscovered it—it has been under a couple of ownerships over the years (I went once ages ago under a different owner and wasn’t overly impressed). But not only have my parents told me to go, but so have a couple of readers recently. So the other day my daughter and I went to meet my parents for late breakfast/early lunch.

It’s a little strip mall place off of 96^th Street in an area where there are not a lot of mom and pops—it’s good to see one doing so well. At around 11:00 am on a Sunday, there was about a 20-minute wait. Everyone in this place—and I mean everyone from the hostess to the owners to the servers to the bussers are super friendly. Even the co-owner (the “pop” in the relationship) came out from cooking in the kitchen to greet tables. It was an atmosphere that was just pleasurable to be in. I think it rubs off on the customers too, as even they seemed very friendly.

Food-wise, I wanted to get a taste of some breakfast and some lunch, so we ordered a bunch of different stuff. We started with a small order of fried biscuits for the table ($4). These are similar to those that you get in Brown County except they are dusted in cinnamon and sugar, so they are sweet right out of the gate. A bit more like a donut hole. They do serve them with apple butter as well. It was good, but I don’t even know if you need it with the sugar. They were hot and fresh and tender. Very tasty and I nice way to start. My daughter particularly loved them (she has a huge sweet tooth).

Because everyone else was ordering breakfast, I wanted to get a lunch item just to be able to write about it all. I had the breaded pork tenderloin sandwich ($10.50). This is hand breaded and is one of those ones that is totally huge! I cut it in half and just used half for my sandwich, but if you’re a double decker kind of person, you could do two full-sized layers. The pork was very tender and I loved the lightness of the breading on the sandwich. The bun was nicely toasted and I ate it in the classic way, with mayo, red onions, pickles and lettuce. It was very tasty. I’d put it up there with some of the better versions in town. Honestly though, I really enjoyed just cutting bites of the extra part of the cutlet that I didn’t put on my sandwich. It was so light and crunchy. And you could really taste and appreciate the meat. It made me like the whole thing even more. I had a side of mac and cheese and it was good, but not mind-blowing. I liked that the pasta had a bit of firmness to it though—it wasn’t all mushy like some are. They also have a Reuben on the menu, which is one of hubby’s favorites, so we’ll have to go back and try it.

I had a bite of my Mom’s California omelet ($10.50) and it was also good. It’s the kind of thing that includes ingredients that can almost make me get excited about an omelet. There was avocado on top and inside it had bacon, tomato and American cheese. It was very bacony, which is always a good thing. Normally it comes with a side of sour cream as well, but mom didn’t get it—I would have liked it even more with the sour cream I think for that kick of extra tanginess. It’s still an omelet, which like I said aren’t my favorite things just because they’re a little dry for my taste, but overall this was a pretty darn good one.

My Mom got two sides with her omelet and she got fruit and I convinced her to upgrade one to a half order of biscuits and gravy for her other one (for only $1.50 more). They weren’t bad, but I would have liked a but more pepper and sausage flavor. They are very generous with the gravy though. You can see my Dad’s plain cheese omelet ($7) in the background. I didn’t try it, but he seemed to like it.

My daughter had the steak and eggs ($12) and pretty nearly cleaned her plate so I think she was good with it. They did her sunny side eggs perfectly. The steak portion of the meal was a skewer of beef tenderloin. She said it was good, but a bit cooked past the medium rare she asked for. This is one of the reasons I avoid meat on a stick in general—hard to cook it to order. But like I said, she pretty much ate every thing on her plate except all her toast, so I think she was good.

This is a very good option for a homemade breakfast or lunch—it’s not fancy and it’s not gourmet or anything, but they do have some interesting options besides just the standards and the food is very good. And they have a lot of fresh options like avocado and spinach and lots of different cheeses are used in different dishes. I look forward to returning to get my very own breakfast. And I would happily eat that tenderloin again. Plus, the staff alone makes it worthy of visiting. Most of the people working in there knew my parents by name. It seemed like they were like that with a lot of the customers. I would like to know for those of you who have been there, what else stands out on the menu?

A2Z Café

4705 E 96^th Street

Indy 46240

317/569-9349

www.a2zcafe.com

Friendly Tavern

Looking to meet up with my friend @wibia on the west side of Carmel, and realizing there aren’t many options there (you guys have any for me?), we ended up deciding on Zionsville. We ended up at Friendly Tavern, which has literally been on my list for years. Every time I do a “best of” type list, people mention it to me as a place to get a good tenderloin sandwich.

This is the kind of old school place you want to like as soon as you walk in—it was pretty well packed for a mid week lunch—mostly with older people and also some business people. I knew I wanted to try the tenderloin ($7.99), so we agreed to get it and split it and also to split something else. So we went with a regular cheeseburger ($6.49) as well.

Honestly, overall I appreciate the fact that they are making most everything in house. The burgers are made with ground chuck and are “hand-pattied” daily according to their menu. They also ask how you want it cooked, and pretty well kept it where I ordered it. The burger was straightforward, but it was a pretty solid one. The patty was tender and cooked close to the medium I ordered (I’d go with medium rare next time). They give you the necessary accompaniments to go with it—red onion and pickles and once I put some mayo, ketchup and mustard, I was pretty happy with it. It won’t blow your mind, and you’re not getting any fancy sauces here, but it’s a good burger. We had the standard fries with the burger, which were just that—pretty standard.

Honestly, the tenderloin wasn’t bad, but it wasn’t one I would probably put on my “best of” lists for tenderloins.  It was one of the super thin giant sized ones that more than covers the bun. We ended up cutting it in half and stacking it on top of each other and then adding the classic toppings—onion, mayo and pickles. It tasted decent, and they are making them there, but it was a touch too dry for me. Overall, I would prefer the burger. Or those fried chicken wings I saw coming out of the kitchen later—they looked delicious. For our side with this one we had the Buffalo Chips. These were more interesting and better than the fries. They were almost like waffle fries but without any holes that are seasoned. I wouldn’t say they tasted a lot like buffalo-flavored things, but they were nicely seasoned. (There is a slight upcharge to get fries or other sides).

I can see why this place stays around even if the food doesn’t blow your mind. It’s a cool, in an old-school divey kind of way, kind of place. The people there are friendly and you can tell it’s a place with a lot of regulars. Even though none of it stood out particularly food-wise, you feel welcome there and you sort of want to go back. And like I said, I need to at some point just to try those fried chicken wings—these aren’t like buffalo wings (which they also have), these are like pieces of fried chicken, but in the form of just little drummies and wings. They looked delicious, so if any of you guys have had them before, please let me know how they are!

Friendly Tavern

290 S. Main Street 

Zionsville, IN 

317/873-5772

www.friendlytavernzionsville.com 

Squealers- revisit

We were excited to learn we would be getting a Squealers location near our house—they have opened up in Castleton in what was a Max and Erma’s forever, and then for a short time, a Mexican place that was just okay. The interior is pretty similar in layout to the places before, but with a rustic BBQ kind of feel.

We were with friends on the night we decided to try it, and so we got an order of fried pickles ($6) to start. They were pretty solid fried pickles and you could tell they were making them in house. They were not all uniform and the pickles inside were still juicy. The breading had a nice seasoning, and as it turns out, was the same that was on the fried tenderloin sandwich (more on that later). I was curious about the dipping sauce they gave us and it turns out it’s a mix of ranch dressing and bbq sauce. That’s a pretty good combo—giving you the coolness of ranch but a bit of spice and heat from the BBQ sauce. We all enjoyed them and I would get them again.

For my main dish, hubby and I split the pick 3 sampler plate ($22) with pulled pork, pulled chicken and baby back ribs. For sides, I had a salad and mac and cheese. Both the pulled pork and chicken are good, although not my favorite in town. They are not quite as tender as is my personal preference, but once you load them up with sauce (I got half sweet/half hot combo for my sauce), it really doesn’t matter. I didn’t eat the ribs, but hubby keeps them on the top of his list for baby back ribs in Indy.

My salad was ok—I liked all the stuff on it—boiled egg, mushrooms, cheese and onion (not a fan of giant croutons). Strangely though, there wasn’t much lettuce underneath it all. It was almost like a garnish to the other stuff. The blue cheese dressing was tasty though—pretty thick with some nice hunks of cheese in it. The mac and cheese is good. Again, nothing mind blowing, but a good match with the bbq. Let’s face it, to me mac and cheese and BBQ are perfect partners.

AND FRIED BISCUITS. I will always like Squealers for the fried biscuits, even if the rest of the food isn’t my absolute favorite. Take one of those delicious, hot, crusty and slightly sweet (we had an extra order of them to share for $4) and load it with some of the pulled meat and some sauce, and you are good. I love those little fried biscuit sandwiches. I think next time I would just get the pulled pork (it was more tender than the chicken) and biscuits and be a happy camper. They also give you apple butter to go with them, which is also good and I happily make a dessert of the biscuits with it.

The surprise of the evening for me was my friend’s pork tenderloin sandwich ($10). It was one of those huge ones that hangs off the bun in every direction, but it was really, really delicious. And I wouldn’t have thought of ordering this at a BBQ joint (we kind of teased her about this), but they do designate it as one of the house specialties on the menu, and for good reason. It is really thin, but still amazingly tender and is breaded with that same slightly grainy, well-seasoned mix that was on the pickles. Also, she ordered cheese on it, which I have never done, and I can’t lie—it was pretty darn good as well. The fries that came along with it, well, they’re big steak fries and not my thing.  

Hmmm….I wonder if it would be weird if I ordered a fried tenderloin sandwich with a side of fried biscuits…

Squealers

5899 East 86^th Street

Indy  46240

317/915-7777

www.squealersbarbeque.com  

Hopcat

Yet another in the line of restaurants with a zillion kinds of beers, this one a small chain out of Michigan. I am not a big beer drinker, but had heard some good things about the food, so we grabbed our favorite beer-loving friends and headed out. First of all, it was PACKED. Every inch of the place. And it was loud—it’s a big place and with all those people, there’s quite a din.

We did manage to get a table without waiting (beware, some of the tables are picnic type seating if you aren’t into that) and our server approached us quickly. I was surprised she thought we would know what we would want to drink that quickly considering there are over 130 beers in the place. We finally figured it out and also placed an order for loaded crack fries ($7.50). A few minutes later we also added some buffalo rolls ($9). The crack fries are so named because they are supposed to be addictive. They were good—but honestly if you’ve ever had seasoned, battered fries (these are beer battered), you can imagine them. I did like the loaded aspect—there was warm beer cheese, jalapenos, onions, and bacon. The fries held up pretty well to the toppings. We actually didn’t get our buffalo rolls until after being served our entrées, but I appreciated that due to the screw up, they just took both appetizers off the bill (I like that kind of proactive service even in the early days of a new place). I would take a pass on the buffalo rolls in the future. They were basically large egg rolls filled with chicken. There is some buffalo sauce drizzled on top and a side of blue cheese dressing for dipping. The rolls were a little dry and didn’t have a lot of flavor without getting a good dunk in the blue cheese. The blue cheese sauce was tasty though—lots of big hunks of cheese in there.

For main dishes, hubby and I shared a couple things recommended by our server. The enormous fried tenderloin sandwich and the chicken tacos ($10). I think the tenderloin might be an Indiana-location only thing, but I’m not sure. Ok, it was huge for sure, but honestly other than that, I wasn’t that impressed. The pork was pounded pretty thin and is coated with pretzel crumbs making what was a dry tenderloin just a touch dryer. And I totally don’t get the English muffin as the bread. I know a bun is often small in relation to tenderloin, but not sure I see the logic in picking something extra small. The fried onions and spicy slaw on top were the best part I think, to help with the dryness. There was also a slice of cheese. We shared it and didn’t even finish half of it. I wouldn’t order this one again.

As for the chicken tacos, I guess I wasn’t paying attention but was surprised by crispy (and brightly colored) taco shells. Been awhile since I saw those. Fairly tender chicken inside, lots of cheese sauce, cilantro lime ranch, and pico de gallo. And more crack fries with beer cheese dipping sauce. Oh and sides of sour cream and salsa. This one certainly had its share of gooeyness. I liked the tacos better than the tenderloin--they were certainly easier to eat. But did they wow me? Not really. And again, battered fries. Not really much different than others. A bite of my friends burger was also not bad, although also really gooey and with a pretty soggy bun.

The interior to me feels like a college bar and like they are trying to jam as many people in as possible rather than make for any type of interesting atmosphere (or conversation for that matter). There are some velvet pictures of various rock stars on the walls. The food is slightly more interesting sounding bar food that I thought was underwhelming as executed. It’s insanely loud and service was choppy (although our server was pleasant). Even though it was early days after opening so maybe the service will balance out a bit. Feels like another typical Broad Ripple restaurant, and probably not one you will find me frequenting often—not that they need me based on the crowd I saw.

Hopcat

6820 North College Ave

Indy  46220

317/565-4326

www.hopcat.com 

Bourbon Street Distillery

Fresh from getting my haircut downtown and starving, I ran next door to Bourbon Street Distillery. I had never been there before but several people have mentioned it whenever I get into an online discussion of where to get a good pork tenderloin sandwich. So naturally, that is what I tried (although tempted by the po boys, anyone had those?).

The sandwich ($8.75) was a good tenderloin for sure. It was a good size but not ridiculous compared to the bun. The menu says they use ½ pound of pork—it is a decent thickness, not the kind that are so thin that they are often dried out. It was fairly tender and the coating was nicely seasoned and crisp. It was fresh and hot. I liked the way that they brought all the toppings on the side to dress as you wish, particularly since I only ate half of it and took the other half home. Not having mayo on the half I took home helped it stay crisp when reheated. I like mine with mayo and onion (and this time I used a bit of the lettuce and the pickle as well, which was nice and added some more crunch). The red onions were perfect—super thinly sliced which is exactly how I like them so the onion doesn’t overpower. Nice pickle spear on the side too.

The sandwich comes with fries or chips and I went with fries. They tasted decent for foodservice fries. The service was very matter of fact, but very efficient for a quick weekday lunch. And even though I was sitting outside, the server checked on me just enough. I only poked my head inside the place, but the bar in there looked a bit nicer than I was imagining and was quite crowded (as was the outdoor area).

All in all, the sandwich hit the spot, and I would feel comfortable recommending it as an example of a good tenderloin in Indy. I’m still wondering about the po boys though. And anything else good there?

Bourbon Street Distillery

361 North Indiana Ave

Indy  46204

317/636-3316

http://bourbonstreetdistillery.com/ 

George's Neighborhood Grill- Revisit

After a recent back to school event the family and I decided to hit George’s again. It’s in our neighborhood and it had been awhile. I appreciate having a large family style restaurant that is independently owned, even though it isn’t a place I frequent on a regular basis.

Luckily, it was a nice night and we had decided to sit outside (they have a nice patio) because when I walked in to get a table, there was a band playing in the bar and it was pretty darn loud. Even in the non-bar part of the restaurant, conversation would have been a bit difficult.

We were all arguing over which appetizer to share and couldn’t agree so we splurged and got a sampler platter (not cheap at $15.99 but basically three different things for the price of two apps). I appreciate that you can choose pretty much any of the appetizer choices. As it turns out, they basically give you three full sized apps, so it is a good deal, although a more appropriate choice size-wise for a larger group. We had quesadillas (daughter’s choice), onion straws (son) and fried mushrooms (me and hubby). I have had their fried mushrooms before and really enjoyed them. I am pretty sure they are making them in house and they have a nice crunchy exterior and I like the horseradish dipping sauce. Last time I had them they were much smaller though, which I preferred, making them easy to pop in your mouth. These had to be cut making the crunchy exterior fall off a bit. Quesadillas were surprisingly good—the tortillas nice and crisp. The onion straws were food service I’m guessing and were pretty much what you would expect. We had a lot of these left over.

So we had had the pork tenderloin sandwich ($8.49) in the past and enjoyed it—so hubby and I agreed to share it (he ordered it) and I would try something new—the fish tacos ($8.99). They’re soft tacos filled with grilled tilapia, a cabbage slaw, pico, jack cheese and an avocado cream sauce (so says the menu).The thing I really didn’t like about the tacos was the pico. I was expecting a classic pico with tomatoes and onions and this was full of cucumber. Not a fan. To be fair, it was on the “healthy option” part of the menu, but these were just not that good. I even tried to squeeze some lime and improve them, but it didn’t really help.

The tenderloin was as good as always—really crispy fried with a fair amount of seasoning. There was a nicely toasted bun, slightly undersized for the meat, but that’s classic right?

The kids both had burgers—one of them really liked it and the other one didn’t. Hubby (whose opinion I trust more) thought they were quite good. They asked how they wanted them cooked (medium) and they were nice and slightly pink.

All in all, as I suspected, I’m still thinking George’s is a place to stick with the basics—the fried stuff that is made in house is well done. Venturing beyond that can be more questionable. The menu is quite large too, so it’s easy to get curious about other things. Although if you have a favorite non-fried item, I would love to hear about it!

George’s Neighborhood Grill

6935 Lake Crossing, Suite B-12-15

Indy 46220

317-577-1600

www.georgesneighborhoodgrill.com 

Guest Post: Bearcats

Hi Indianapolis Restaurant Scene readers!  I am Megan from the NapTownDiva Blog.  I am filling in for Erin today who is taking some time off to let her wrist heal.  Poor thing!  No fun to have a broken bone in the middle of summer.  Lots of well wishes headed your way, Erin!

Just like Erin I love to eat at local Indy restaurants.  I live/work downtown and consider myself an expert of eateries in this area.  A hidden gem I would love to share with you is Bearcats.  It is located just south of 11th St. and Senate Ave. in the historical Stutz Building.  Quick history lesson for you if you haven't heard of the Stutz Building.  Harry Stutz owned and operated Stutz Motorcar Company here from 1911-1919.  It was here he built the 'Bearcat' which raced in the very first Indianapolis 500.  Talk about history!  Now the building is home to all kinds of businesses including Bearcats Restaurant.

I frequent Bearcats as it not too far from where I work.  Only a block east of the canal.  They are open for breakfast, lunch, and dinner and have a nice bar area.   They have a variety of food such as soups, salads, sandwiches, wraps, and burgers.

I would say their pork tenderloin sandwich ($7.99) is their specialty.  It is big enough to make 2 sandwiches!  My friend enjoyed this feast and had plenty of leftovers.  I have had this sandwich before and it is the best tenderloin in town!

I decided to try one of their new sandwiches, the Grouper Po' Boy ($8.99).  Oh man was it delicious.  So fresh and that breading is out of this world!!!  It was topped with chipolte mayo and onion straws.  It just was amazing!  And those sweet potato waffle fries.  They really topped the meal off.

Another one of my favorites here is their Endless Soup and Salad.  For just $7.99 you get a bottomless bowl garden salad with all the fixins.  You also choose from one of their 3 soups which change daily.  My co-worker and I like to go here when we are in the mood for a good soup.  Their onion rings and breaded mushrooms are heavenly.  I'm telling you anything batter dipped here is going to make your taste buds dance.  Their bar offers 16 beers on tap including some from Indiana.

If you decide to give Bearcats a try, let me know what you think. Please connect with me at NaptownDiva Blog. Happy Eating, Indy!

Bearcats

1055 N. Senate Ave

Indy 46202

317/602-3509

www.bearcatsindy.net

The Local - Revisit

I have heard little things here and there about the Local but haven’t personally been in ages, so I thought it was a good time to follow up and see what’s going on-- so I met my friend Suzanne up there for lunch. I like that they now offer a seasonal menu of offerings, although most of the dishes seem like they might be better suited for dinner—they seemed to be larger things.

We decided to at least get an appetizer to share from the seasonal menu—so we started with the fried zucchini ($8.50).  Hmm… we were kind of torn about this one. The first thing we both notice was it needed salt, which we promptly added. I liked the breading quite a bit on the pieces that were crunchier. Unfortunately, many of the slices of zucchini were a little too big and thin and got really soft before you could get to eat them (and some were a lot less breaded than others).  I really liked the remoulade that was served alongside—it had a bit of heat but also some nice chunks of green onion I’m guessing…and some herbs.  Great slightly hot, slightly tangy, flavor. Overall, we liked them, but they could be improved with a dusting of salt out of the fryer and if they were maybe cut in a different shape that didn’t get quite so soft so quick.

For my lunch, I ordered the chicken Panini ($10). I can’t say that I really liked it that much, other then the bread. I liked the way the bread was nice and crusty and had a good flavor.  It was supposed to have grilled chicken, bacon, tomato, fennel, asiago cheese and mayo. But it was pretty dry. You could barely taste cheese and certainly no mayo.  Honestly it was mostly like a chicken and bacon sandwich.  I did like that the chicken breast was sliced into smaller pieces, but it seemed like several ingredients were missing or in short supply. I finally asked for a side of ranch (their dressings are housemade, and housemade ranch makes me very happy) just to get a little moisture (and some extra flavor) into it.  I had the tater tots on the side and they were very good tots. Nice and crispy.

Suzanne ordered the pork tenderloin ($9.50), which was a way better way to go. The breading was much like that on the zucchini and is very tasty.  The pork is the right amount of thick vs. thin keeping it nice and tender. They use a “special sauce” in place of the common mayo and I like it—enough to give it a little moisture without making it soggy.  I have had the tenderloin before and have enjoyed it and this was no different.

The complaint I have heard fairly frequently is about the service though—and our experience was not great. It started out good because they weren’t too crowded when we got there.  But as lunch progressed, our server seemed a bit in the weeds (she appeared to have all the outside tables). And I think the kitchen was too. 

Even though it wasn’t a stellar meal for me, I am intrigued to try some of the seasonal menu items for dinner (they have skate!). At some point I need to get back up there with hubby and give it another go. I like what they seem to be trying to do with changing things up by the season, and using lots of local ingredients. I just have yet to have a top to bottom great experience.

The Local Eatery & Pub

14655 Gray Road

Westfield, IN 

317/218-2786

www.localeateryandpub.com 

Aristocrat - Revisit

We had not been back to the Aristocrat since it has been remodeled after a fire, and after our last visit, which really annoyed hubby.  But we figured we should give it another try, check out the new digs, and I really needed to try the tenderloin because I had never had it.

The first thing I noticed was how incredibly friendly the people were the whole time we were there (which may have been more noticeable after our last bad service experience there).  The hostess was really friendly as was our server.  We ordered our drinks and got them right away.

I decided to get all designated “Pub Favorites” for the entire meal. Guaranteeing me the best meal possible right? We started with the beer cheese dip with apples and pretzel bread ($8). We had our son with us and I thought he might dig it too. It was fine. The cheese had a little more flavor than your typical nacho cheese type dip (the beer, I guess), but not a ton more.  I liked the apples with it—I thought it gave it an interesting little kick with the slight tartness of the apples. The pretzel bread wasn’t very good.  I never would have guessed it was pretzel bread until I looked back at the menu.  It was very soft and it had a kind of funky taste to it and wasn’t salted, which I sort of expected. Hubby and I mainly stuck with the apples.

Like I said, I really wanted to try the pork tenderloin sandwich ($9) but hubby wanted to order it, so we agreed to split it and I would get something else. It is very good—the meat is very tender, and not pounded too thin.  The coating is the classic seasoned breading.  My only complaint is that I think it could have stood to be cooked just a little crisper. Hubby said in the past when he has gotten it, it was always a little darker in color.  But the toasted bun and the accompaniments were right (mayo, red onion and pickles for me).  He got the kettle chips on the side which were heavily seasoned with black pepper. So depending on how you feel about a lot of black pepper, you may or may not like these.

I got the Cobb salad ($11). Honestly, I was kind of disappointed in it overall.  The lettuce was one of those mixes with hard matchsticks of carrot in it and a lot of iceberg hearts. And there wasn’t much lettuce considering it was a salad.  There was a ton of alfalfa sprouts, a few very thin slivers of avocado, a boiled egg, crumbles of blue cheese, diced tomatoes, very small bacon crumbles that kind of tasted a little fake to me and a grilled chicken breast.  The chicken was nice and tender though, although not overly seasoned.  As we left, I saw some friends who had ordered other “Pub Favorite” salads and they looked much better—with field greens and spinach. If I were to be with someone who wants a salad, those would be what I would recommend.

I do like the interior remodel.  They have done a nice job of opening the space up and making it feel like a cohesive restaurant, but maintaining the pubby feel (although like almost every restaurant in Indy in the summer, it was freezing in there). And our service was really, really great.  I guess I am a little disappointed that they didn’t really seem to make any changes/improvements to the menu and from what we had, I probably won’t rush back.

Aristocrat Pub

5212 N. College Ave

Indy, 46220

317/283-7388

www.aristocratpub.com 

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

Tie Dye Grill

One kid at camp, and the other with not much to do, I convinced my son to be my lunch date to try a new place with me.  No matter how obvious it is to them how much I like to try new places, my kids like to torment me by always wanting to go to the same places.  Luckily, I was convincing on this particular day.  Unfortunately, when we got to the Tie Dye Grill, the place was already jammed and there was a wait (it was like 11:30 too).  My son was not overly impressed with my choice so far.

Somehow I convinced him to stay (mainly because I had no idea where to go close by as an alternative) and it wasn’t too long before we got a table.  The service staff pretty much completely ignored the people waiting for tables though, and there was no sign in sheet or anything, which was a little awkward because there were two doors and people coming in the whole time. We ended up talking amongst ourselves to determine who was there first. A sign in sheet or a hostess or something might be helpful here.

It was a Tuesday, which is their pork tenderloin day, and one of the reasons I wanted to go on that particular day.  I sort of like the fact that they only do them once a week, and it made me believe that are working hard to make them fresh and to order if they are only making the effort once a week.  I am not sure if that is why it was so crowded, or if they have this kind of crowd every day, but I will say that pretty much everyone was ordering the pork tenderloin sandwich that I could see.

Naturally I went with it, and ordered it along with onion rings as a side ($7.95 for the sandwich, not sure on the onion rings, but must have been close to $5).  Like I said I liked that they are making the tenderloins to order and it was very hot when it came out, unfortunately, I think maybe they are making so many of them, the oil got a little cold and the breading wasn’t as crispy and crunchy as I would like (and it was a little greasy). It had a nice “chicken fried” flavor, with decent seasoning to it, and the bun was a good size and nicely toasted, but the breading was just a little underdone and a little soft.   They serve it automatically with shredded lettuce and mayo, which was fine with me, but on my son’s burger, oy, not so much.

My son wanted a burger, which I have heard they are also sort of known for, but strangely was not a choice on the kids’ menu. I told him if that is what he wanted, he could just order a regular burger ($7.95).  He also got fries which they must have charged a fair amount for as well. The burger was very good.  My son was thrilled to that it was still pink in the middle (he is very strict about medium rareness in beef). Honestly, other than the mayo and lettuce, which I had to scrape off very thoroughly, he loved this burger and is still talking about it. He really wants to take his Dad here.  I have to say, it had a great flavor of charcoal and it was very tender and juicy.  It was clearly not overworked when formed into a patties—it was very irregular in shape and very tasty.  The fries were just your typical foodservice fries—hot and crisp though and honestly, just as good as the onion rings.  Overall I would probably skip either one and try a different side.  Again, the bun was nicely toasted which is always a plus in my book.

Like I said, just watch your prices. We ordered way too much food, and I didn’t realize how big the portions were.  But what I mentioned here (and the fries were a half order) plus two drinks was close to $25 in all, which is a little crazy for lunch if you ask me, especially with a kid (regular kids meals are only $3 and come with fries, but like I said he wanted a burger).  But I like the family vibe in the place, and the fact that a local spot in a sea of chains is doing so well. 

Tie Dye Grill

1311 North Shadeland Ave,

Indy 46219

317/353-9393

http://www.thetiedyegrill.com/