Indianapolis Restaurant: Reviews & Recommendations

[huiray]

On 5/28/2016 at 5:56 PM, huiray said:

 

Heh.

I *might* grab a tenderloin from the Pawn Shop Pub or KSR, and maybe watch some of the race, but we'll see... :-)

 

But, yes, a good Indy Tenderloin Sandwich is a thing of beauty. :-) 

 

Well, I did. :-) 

 

Pawn Shop Pub Pork Tenderloin sandwich with everything plus fries (rather than chips).

Nice. Happy.

 

Onion rings.

Ooh. Yum.

 

The race (Indy 500) in progress on the screen close to me.

 

Location on Googlemaps.

 

This is one of the better places for a pork tenderloin in Indy.

[Smithy]

All the fried food in that post looks done to perfection: crispy and golden, not too dark. I can almost taste the crunch from here.  

[IndyRob]

1 hour ago, Smithy said:

All the fried food in that post looks done to perfection: crispy and golden, not too dark. I can almost taste the crunch from here.  

Yeah, but here's the problem - IMHO...(and I feel the need to point out that I did not grow up here, but...)  If you look at the tenderloin in the pic above and compare it to the bun that is nicely loaded up, you'll see that it just doesn't fit.  The bottom bun is presumably below the tenderloin but you can't even see it.

 

Nobody would accept a burger that's three times the size of the bun.  But it seems to have become the norm here as some sort of point of pride.

 

But here's the dirty little secret, as I imagine it - if you know what a pork tenderloin is, you'll also know that no amount of pounding will make it that big.  It must, therefore. be a pork loin sandwich.

 

And is it even a sandwich if, in fact, most of the sandwich filling is not between bread?

 

I call Shenanigans!

 

Edit - I need to say that a properly sized pork tenderloin sandwich is one of the best things ever.  I'm just objecting to the Tenderloinus Rex versions.

Edited May 30, 2016 by IndyRob (log)

[huiray]

Oh, hush, IndyRob. 

 

For myself, the sprawling size of the pork piece has become part of the charm of the "sandwich" (note the double quotes, HEH). It's part of what it is. As for whether it is a loin or a tenderloin piece pounded out - eh, I suppose it might depend on the place and how thick a slice of tenderloin one starts out with?  :-)  I embedded a video on this "sandwich" back in this post here on this thread. ;-) 

 

I've not infrequently eaten it entirely deconstructed - meaning I chomp away at the pork piece, picking up bits of the fixin's as I go along, with bites of the two halves of the bun as well, without ever actually "putting them together into a stacked sandwich". :-)  Fine dining it is not - everything is done using my hands, with dips into ketchup and mayo and whatever else as desired, plus the fries and this and that - all eaten by hand.  Fork & knife?  Heaven forbid. Only certain politicians (and a certain billionaire) do such outrageous things.

 

Anyway, here's a really blurry pic of this pork tenderloin sandwich I had mid-way through when I *did* put the pieces together after chomping around the edges. :-) I didn't post it before because it WAS so blurry - but maybe it might be entertaining in the context of the discussion... :-) 

Yes, that's my left thumb at bottom left.

Edited May 31, 2016 by huiray (log)

[huiray]

A simple but OK meal at Pho Tasty in Indy.

 

Gỏi cuốn (soft spring rolls) w/ a peanut sauce. Hot green tea.

Yes, there were lots of shrimp on the other side of the rolls.

Yes, it was about 85+ ºF outside, air-conditioned inside, but hot tea is still my desired drink.

 

The "House Special Pho" (a.k.a. phở đặc biệt).

The broth was tasty yet light - I drank every drop. Needs more basil & other side fixin's – I mentioned to the waitress that next time I *would* be asking for more. The on-site menu differs slightly from the online menu descriptions. On the physical menu at the restaurant this item lists brisket as well - and I got a mixture of beef meatballs, brisket, tendons, tripe; and barely any non-rare "steak" beef (hardly any) but I didn't mind.

 

Condiments and utensils on the table.

 

I asked and was told they get special bread for their bánh mì.  Next time.

 

Out-of-focus shot of the interior.

 

The outside.

 

Location on Google Maps.

[huiray]

Dim sum at Lucky Lou.

 

Bean Curd Roll w/ Oyster Sauce (their "name" for it: 蠔皇鮮竹卷) (a.k.a. "fu pei quen")

 

Har Gow, shrimp dumplings. (蝦餃)

 

Deep-fried taro "cake" (蜂巢炸芋角), shrimp siu-mai (針尖蝦燒賣), steamed chicken feet (醬汁蒸鳳爪), my plate w/ their chili oil/paste & a dash of soy sauce.

 

[Thanks for the Crepes]

On 6/3/2016 at 4:34 PM, huiray said:

On the physical menu at the restaurant this item lists brisket as well - and I got a mixture of beef meatballs, brisket, tendons, tripe; and barely any non-rare "steak" beef (hardly any) but I didn't mind.

 

huiray,

 

Was the brisket in the pho beef, and was it first cooked to tenderness before adding to the soup? 

[huiray]

13 hours ago, Thanks for the Crepes said:

 

huiray,

 

Was the brisket in the pho beef, and was it first cooked to tenderness before adding to the soup? 

 

Do you mean if the brisket was cooked IN the stock? (answer: I don't know)

Was it cooked separately from the stock that became the broth in the bowl? (that too I don't know, but it was tasty enough IIRC)

Was it cooked to tenderness? (Yes)

"...before adding to the soup" --- well, it was placed in the assembled bowl of food brought before me, as shown in the picture, which comprised noodles, the beefy items including the brisket and cartilaginous stuff, soup/broth, onions, scallions, coriander leaves, ground black pepper. 

[huiray]

Skyline Chili.  :-) 

 

I had my usual: large 4-way, onions. YUM.

Obligatory oyster crackers, automatically brought to the table. I also had iced tea. Skyline hot sauce not shown, forgot to park the bottle of it nearby before taking the pictures.

 

The Skyline location in Indy I usually go to, on E 82nd Street, when I have the yen to stuff my face with one of these.

(The one on W 86th is not as good, for some reason)

 

PS: The Sterns talk about Cincinnati Chili in their "Real American Food" (Knopf, NY, 1986) starting on pg 242 and give a recipe for it on pg 244 with the title "Queen of Chilis". It has been called one of USAmerica's most quintessential and/or iconic foods.

Edited July 27, 2016 by huiray (log)

[huiray]

Dinner at Recess.

 

Hamachi crudo – with herb oil, lemon, cucumber & carrot salad and black salt.

 

Pork tonkatsu – with miso glazed shredded cabbage & broccoli.

 

 

Spanish mackerel – with rigatoni, tomatoes, sweet corn & herb mussel broth.

 

Fischer Farms tri-tip – with crisp parmesan potato cake, porcini mushrooms, haricot vert.

 

Black & red raspberry cobbler.

 

Plus excellent french-pressed coffee, from Tinker Coffee.

 

Nice meal. The natural flavors of the ingredients shone through, with minimal aiding-and-abetting and a light hand with the seasonings.

The potato cake had me asking the kitchen what was in it – the elusive taste was dill.

 

Location on Google maps.

Edited July 28, 2016 by huiray (log)

[Thanks for the Crepes]

@huiray,

 

Beautiful meal! I usually find fine dining a little frou-frou and unappealing, but your meal looks very solid, if on the expensive side. Glad you enjoyed it.

[gfweb]

On 7/26/2016 at 3:00 PM, huiray said:

Skyline Chili.  :-) 

 

I had my usual: large 4-way, onions. YUM.

Obligatory oyster crackers, automatically brought to the table. I also had iced tea. Skyline hot sauce not shown, forgot to park the bottle of it nearby before taking the pictures.

 

The Skyline location in Indy I usually go to, on E 82nd Street, when I have the yen to stuff my face with one of these.

(The one on W 86th is not as good, for some reason)

 

PS: The Sterns talk about Cincinnati Chili in their "Real American Food" (Knopf, NY, 1986) starting on pg 242 and give a recipe for it on pg 244 with the title "Queen of Chilis". It has been called one of USAmerica's most quintessential and/or iconic foods.

 

 

 

It looks horrifying, Huiray. 

 

[huiray]

4 minutes ago, gfweb said:

 

It looks horrifying, Huiray. 

 

 

Heh. Well, I LIKE it. More for me and others like me who like it, then, when in the mood. 

[gfweb]

A lot of folks must like it. I will try it one day.

[blue_dolphin]

On July 26, 2016 at 0:00 PM, huiray said:

 

Skyline Chili.  :-) 

 

 

8 hours ago, huiray said:

 

Dinner at Recess.

 

 

@huiray, I very much enjoyed the juxtaposition of these last two meals.  Thank you for sharing.

[huiray]

1 hour ago, gfweb said:

A lot of folks must like it. I will try it one day.

 

@gfweb – If you do, you MUST keep in mind that it is NOT Texan chili. Or even Chili con Carne, according to some people. You need to approach it as something that is distinct in its own category, a Greek-origin meat sauce MEANT to be served over soft spaghetti.

Edited July 28, 2016 by huiray (log)

[huiray]

@blue_dolphin, glad you enjoyed the high-low portrayal. :-) 

[Thanks for the Crepes]

17 hours ago, gfweb said:

It looks horrifying, Huiray. 

 

It sounds horrifying, and perhaps looks so if you are not used to this regional food concept. I thought so too, but the first time I tried it, I was a convert. I would take exception to the "soft spaghetti" huiray mentioned, because I think it's better with al dente pasta as usual, and that's the way I serve it.

 

My husband thought I had lost my mind the first time I made it for him, but he's another firm convert now. He just doesn't want any raw diced onion on his, but that is why it's served 5 ways.  I like mine all the way, and I add crushed red pepper.

 

This is slated to come up again soon on the dinner rotation, thanks to @huiray's mouthwatering post on it.

[huiray]

4 hours ago, Thanks for the Crepes said:

I would take exception to the "soft spaghetti" huiray mentioned, because I think it's better with al dente pasta as usual, and that's the way I serve it.

Heh. Well, I've never had Skyline or Cincy chili with spaghetti that is truly al dente in the Italian-Italian manner, but rather a bit softer than that (but definitely not mushy), which is why I said "soft spaghetti". 

 

4 hours ago, Thanks for the Crepes said:

the first time I tried it, I was a convert

Glad to hear that! 

 

Edited July 29, 2016 by huiray (log)

[huiray]

19 hours ago, Thanks for the Crepes said:

and I add crushed red pepper

 

Skyline and other parlors have their "signature" (or otherwise) hot sauces. I mentioned it in the original post above. Many (if not most) people put it on their Cincy chili. I do it sometimes, sometimes not, sometimes interspersing chugs of it onto portions alternating with no-hot-sauce portions. At this last meal (above) a guy at the next table was lacing his plate of what looked like a 4-way too with COPIOUS amounts of Skyline Hot Sauce. Heh. As I was leaving I took note of his wiping the heavy sweat off his face. :-) 

Edited July 30, 2016 by huiray (log)

[huiray]

"La speranza!"

 

"Si! La speranza che delude sempre!"

 

Lunch at Shapiro's downtown in Indy.

 

Reuben. Lentil soup. Marinated mushrooms.

The Reuben was as unremarkable as before although it looked good. The sauerkraut was also as insipid as before.

The mushrooms were probably just waved over some flavored water.

The lentil soup (Tuesday special) was fine.

 

General view of the inside.

 

Location on Google maps.

 

[Thanks for the Crepes]

A Reuben with unmelted cheese is just  to me. Glad the lentil soup redeemed the meal. 

[huiray]

8 hours ago, Thanks for the Crepes said:

A Reuben with unmelted cheese is just  to me. Glad the lentil soup redeemed the meal. 

 

Oh well. And the reuben (by itself) was $14 too.

Shapiro's has decent stuff, sort-of; but there are failures too, IMO.

[huiray]

Lunch at Sushi Bar in Broad Ripple.

 

Complementary salad and soup.

Pretty standard and ho-hum.

 

Vegetable tempura.

Mostly onion rings, one lonely piece of broccoli and a couple slices of yam. Crunchy enough but pretty forgettable. The dipping shoyu was mainly just salty.

 

"Zaru Soba", served sans zaru and on a plate (with orange slices???). Huh.

Not the best quality soba. The orange slices got promptly tossed overboard.

Also, why call it Zaru Soba - it would be better listed simply as "Cold Soba Noodles". Again, the shoyu lacked ...something.

 

Chirashi.

Not on the menu, but by "request". A simple, standard item that requires no additional cooking on the part of the chefs, simply assembly of the components that they would already have at their bar. Will reflect the quality of the components. The cooked shrimp was...not very good...I set it aside after a bite. The fish was...OK but just that. (Well, I will allow it was a Monday)

 

I walked up to the sushi counter (as the waitress finally noticed I wanted to leave and scrambled to get me my bill) and mentioned to the "chef" standing there at his station my comments about the "Zaru Soba" and the shrimp. He just stared at me and half-nodded with a blank half-smile.

 

An ostensible "Japanese" joint but really an Americanized Chinese place. Not cheap, even for "Japanese" food, considering the quality of the stuff served. My personal take, of course. I've dropped by here a few times over the years; I used to like the place but think I've become less and less interested in eating here. Mind you, perhaps their rolls (Fanciful Americanized sushi rolls seem to be dominant at this place) are great (I don't know) but I don't generally care for rolls and can't remember if I even had one of their rolls on a previous visit or not.

 

Location on Google maps, with links thereof to photos of the outside and so on.

[Thanks for the Crepes]

@huiray,

 

It sounds like the place was mostly a waste of time and money. I have to say, from the looks of your photo of it, I could have happily eaten the veggie tempura without dipping sauce, IF the oil it was fried in was not too old.

 

The images for zaru from your link did nothing for me, as a person ignorant of what a zaru is, to explain why you were dissatisfied. After looking at this link, it became apparent that the zaru is an attractive bamboo draining basket also used to serve the soba noodles on.  Yes, they named their dish inappropriately for the way it was served to you. Pitiful that in an expensive place like that the shrimp was inedible, and that the cook was unresponsive to your comments. It sounds like the kind of place that makes one even more thankful for their own cooking skills and access to quality fresh ingredients.