In the Frig – Caribbean Cravings

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Dinner at Caribbean Cravings
4632 N. Post Road
Indianapolis, IN 46226
(317) 897-4241
No Website Available

 

I was chatting with a friend the other day and she was lamenting November:  bare trees, cloudy days and early dark evenings! By the end of the conversation, I was ready for an escape to a tropical destination. However, since I don’t own a jet, I opted instead for a trip to the eastside of Indy to Caribbean Cravings!

Caribbean Cravings is a new Puerto Rican restaurant, only open for four weeks, on the eastside of town.  If your Garmin or Tom-Tom is not programmed or you are not direction-savvy, you could drive right past it.  It’s quite unassuming, a small little place next to a barbershop. (Muy pequeno - meaning very small in Spanish – sorry I must demonstrate the little spanish I know!)  Caribbean Cravings is in a small dimly lit strip mall across the street from another small strip mall. 

Inside, the theme of “pequeno” continues – it has around 6-7 tables, a couple tables will seat 5 or 6.  There’s nothing fancy here – plastic tablecloths, silver napkin dispensers, salt, pepper and hot sauce.  The main wall of the restaurant is adorned with a large mural of a tropical paradise – like an image you might see on those “Island” Calendars.  There are no hostesses nor staff that seat you – and there are no big plastic menus with Margaritaville type views.  When you walk into this place, you are walking right into the line and ordering from a white board or a paper sign on the wall.  Not fancy enough for you? That’s ok, because what it may lack in that cheesy ambience you see in most tropical-themed restaurants, it makes up for in FOOD LOVE!!!

At first I was a little intimidated to order because there were no explanations of the offerings. The white board announced “Lunch Special” and of course, it was not lunchtime.  On the line, the chef was serving beans, rice and pork chops, but I saw nothing like this on the menu ( I assume it was the lunch special). A smaller menu/white board announced Mofongo  – con carne or camarones (meat or shrimp) and Flan. And the paper menu (pasted on the smaller white board) listed Alcapurrias, Pastelillos, Tostones (8) and Amarillos (10) – no explanations. You can either be really adventurous and order blind or use this cheat sheet:

• alcapurrias -  deep fried meat (fritter) shaped like a banana. I saw them deliver one to a table and I thought perhaps it was a plantain. Nope! Deep-fried meat
• pastelillos – like meat pockets – coin purses with yummy goodness. They may look like ‘Hot Pockets’ but I am bettin’ they don’t taste like ‘em.
• tostones - plantains which are pressed into flat patties and baked
• amarillos - plantains fried to golden-brown – crispy on the outside, tender on the inside

I finally gave up and just ordered “what the other person had with the rice, beans and meat.” My hubby ordered the Mofongo con carne (which was pork). We were warned it would take a little longer to cook the Mofongo. This is always encouraging because it means your food is cooked to order!

 
 
El Cuerdo Especial
After about 25 minutes, dinner was served. A young man first brought out my dinner, piping hot and …the smell was delightful. My dinner included two thinly sliced “pork chops,” rice and beans. Wow, it was so delicious! Right now, even after a lovely dinner of homemade tortilla soup, my stomach still rumbles at the olfactory memory of that lovely ham-my smell.  The chops were deliciously salty and perfectly tender and chewy at the same time.  They were out of sight!

Now for the beans! Savory, saucy, spicy and incredibly good. I added a bit of Louisiana hot sauce and holy frijoles, these are holy! These had to be eaten at the last supper! I mean, good! I mixed a few forkfuls into the rice, then slid my fork into the pork. Crazy good. The only problem is you don’t get a lot of beans. If you really love beans, get an extra side of beans OR invite a friend along who won’t eat their’s! You’ll be glad you did.

 

Mofongo!
Before we go any further, let me assure you Mofongo is not a Puerto Rican boy band (that was Menudo, which consequently is a Mexican dish made with tripe. More on some other culinary adventure). Mofongo is a dish made from fried plantains, garlic, olive oil and chicharrones (pork cracklings). Some restaurants serve it with chicken broth. It’s served in a dough-like mound and, on this occasion, was served con carne (large chunks of pork in this case) and rice.  The mashed plantains give the Mofongo a starchy texture – like potato mash with gelatin.  It was not pliable enough to construct Devil’s Tower (get it, as in Close Encounters?) and had some give. The chunks of pork were deep-fried and thus had more texture – more “chew.” However, my hubby loved the intense pork flavor. A direct quote from my husband, “the Mofongo was good and I imagine if you grew up with it, it would be comfort food you would crave, but I liked your chops better!”

 

What about the Alcapurrias, FoodieGal?
We ordered the alcapurrias (deep fried meat fritters) for our appetizer, but the restaurant got a little busy, so we received them after dinner. I am not sure I care for the deep fried meat fritter. Likely because it was a little heavy after a big dinner. But definitely very savory and actually, after a few bites, my hubby grew to like the flavor.

Save Room for Dessert!

We were just finishing dinner when a young lady brought us some flan to sample. Ok, if this wasn’t served at the last supper, it was served at the one before. I readily admit that I am not a fan of the flan. I just don’t like that wobbly texture. But this flan was – in the words of Ned Flanders (The Simpsons) - Flan-diddly-doodly! The texture was dense, like cheesecake, but very light and mild with that caramel coating on the top. It was so incredibly good. I cooed, oohed and ahhhhed. It was almost like a scene out of “When Harry Met Sally.”  Incredible – you must save room! Even now, I remember that creamy texture. Ooooooo, give me a moment!

Upon hearing my sighs of delight, the chef appeared at our table (it’s a small place, you could hear everythng!) He explained how much he had doubled his cooking workload, the demands for rice and beans outlasting his supply! He shared some recipes and thanked us for stopping in. He was very warm and gave us his card “anytime,  you can call to check our specials or order ahead!”

What You Crave
My husband and I really enjoyed our experience at Caribbean Cravings. It was food cooked with love. I loved the simplicity, the family atmosphere (everyone was talking together, it felt like a family dinner with distant cousins…that speak spanish!) and the pork! Vegetarians, I love ya, but seriously, how can you not crave pork. It’s food of the Gods! The check came to about $25. Two dinners, three drinks (just soda) and alcapurrias.  If you don’t stop for cash, no worries, they accept credit cards! (Not sure about Amex though, so bring your VISA or MasterCard). Caribbean Cravings was worth the trip.  If you can’t make the trip to Puerto Rico, or if you are craving PORK,  be adventurous and sample the cuisine of Caribbean Cravings! Work yourself out of your macaroni and cheese groove and get your Caribbean groove on!

Navigating to Caribbean Cravings
The restaurant is located just south of Pendleton Pike on Post Road. If you are driving south on Post, it will be on your right. It’s a small place next to a Barber, and you might miss it. Plug the address into your Garmin and take a drive!

In the Frig – Ichiban’s Noodles and Sushi Restaurant

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Dinner from Ichiban’s
8355 Bash St
Indianapolis, IN 46250
(317) 841-0484

 

It’s a blustery fall day and we want noodles! Not chicken and noodles, but noodles in a lovely asian broth. So out we headed to Ichiban.

Several years ago, after an extended visit to the annual New Year’s car show, hungry for sushi, we visited Ichiban. I remember it being small, but not as small as it was on this evening’s visit. It’s the size of 1/2 a house. It has a three-seat sushi bar when you walk in, and two very small dining areas. If you have more than 4 people in your party, you will likely run your waitress ragged.

We were seated quickly in the one of the dining areas. There were three waitresses working and all seemed to be bustling. I think there were 10 people in the place, maybe 12. But remember, it’s a small place, so they were hustling about. For such a small place, the menu was fairly big. Ichiban offers several appetizers – most you have likely seen in other Japanese restaurants in Indy. They had several entrees, noodle dishes, sashimi dinner, nigiri sushi dinners, and bento boxes. It seemed they had something for almost every taste.  If you like Japanese food. 

Ichiban also had a selection of rolls and sushi. If you are a sushi enthusiast and have been to Sakura, Ocean World or Naked Tchopstix (NT’s), you may be disappointed with their roll offerings. Ichiban offers a few rolls, spicy tuna, scallop, Bob’s roll, a soft shell crab roll and a few others as well as the typical sushi. But they do not offer an equivalent to NT’s playboy roll (to die for) or anything that resembled a rainbow roll (various fish wrapped around rice with avocado and Krab with a K). They keep it simple with a few rolls and sushi offerings.

For starters, we ordered the shumai, steamed dumplings filled with shrimp and served with ponzu sauce.  We also ordered a spicy tuna roll and a Louis Roll.  The spicy tuna roll was pretty good. It wasn’t at all spicy, but it was smooth and cut into perfect bite-sized pieces. A rookie with chopsticks will have no problems managing the spicy sushi rolls. The Louis Roll is tuna and tempura chips in a spicy mayo sauce and was also good.  If you have been to Ocean World or Sakura, it will almost remind you of the soft shell crab roll, sans the crab. The crunch of the tempura batter was nice, and you could taste tuna, but it was a little heavy on the spicy mayo sauce. By the way, this roll also was not spicy. I think ‘spicy’ refers to the preparation of the spices in mayo more than it means ‘hot.’

Next on the list was the shumai. Now as dumplings go, I am a fan. Most times I have them fried and to be honest, you could probably dice up shoe leather, wrap it in dough and fry it and it would likely be tasty. However, these dumplings were steamed, which mean you actually taste something more than the “fry.” They were quite good. These little pearlescent dumplings were very delicate and pretty. One might expect to see these lovely little packages at a lady’s tea party.  They were a little hard to pick up with chopsticks as they wanted to slink out of the grip of my chopsticks. I finally gave up trying to show off my skills at the sticks, so I just pierced the dumpling with my stick and dunked it into the sweet ponzu sauce. WOW! Very nice. Again, very delicate, sweet but cooked perfectly. They were not doughy or too dense. Just light, mild and sweet. Without the sauce they are still very good, the texture of the dumpling against the flavor of the shrimp is very lovely. We gobbled them up quickly!

Noodles!
  

Within about 10 minutes of our appetizers, our noodle entrees arrived. (Ramen Shoyu on left, Seafood Udon on right). I do not think these pictures do the size of these bowls justice! These are big steaming bowls of noodles. When my waitress put my Udon in front of me, I sighed and said “No way I can eat all of this!” After my hubby received his Ramen Shoyu, I knew we could have split an order. But oh well, we’ll take one for the team, so we can share with you, the hungry inquisitive reader!

Noodle Knowledge for your Noggin’
Ok, short break to explain noodles. Ichiban serves three kinds of noodle dishes; ramen, udon and soba. The Ramen noodles are what most of us are used to seeing in packages, those thin stringy noodles. Udon noodles are thick white noodles made from wheat flour.  They have much more of a bite than ramen noodles. Then there are soba noodles. Soba noodles are made from buckwheat flour and resemble spaghetti. The things you never knew about noodles! Now back to the food!

My seafood udon had a large scallop, shrimp, and fish in a very light, very slightly salty broth. It was not what I expected. I think when you order noodles and you see the big pieces of seafood and the vegetables, you expect something intense in seafood flavor. But it was not. It was very light on the palate. It was warm and brothy and I immediately thought “this is something one would have the morning after one to many martinis.’ The scallop was large but mild and had poached nicely in the broth. The fish was also very good. They used tilapia which is a very mild fish. It had also cooked quite nicely in the steaming broth. The shrimp however were a disappointment. Shrimp are so hard to cook. It takes very little to overcook shrimp. You can almost just show shrimp to a fire, grill or burner and they will cook. I don’t know if they put the shrimp in a little too early or if the broth just cooked them too quickly, but they were a rubbery. I am not sure if you can order uncooked shrimp, but if you can, perhaps you order a few cleaned raw shrimp and plop them in as you eat. I ate them because, well, they ARE shrimp, but I didn’t enjoy the texture. To kick up the intensity of the broth, I added some light soy and some chili pepper which ultimately gave my noodles the ”umph” I felt they were missing.

My husband had the Ramen Shoyu with crispy fried pork. Shoyu is a broth with soy sauce, chicken stock, dashi (a Japanese soup stock) and sake. It is a very mild broth. The pork, surprisingly enough, was actually crispy. The ramen was thin and stringy and my hubby struggled for a while with his chopsticks and ladle. But, he finally conquered and slurped the noodles while grabbing bites of pork with the chopsticks. It had a different flavor than my dish, although it was still very unassuming, given you had crispy pork floating in this brown broth.  He also added soy and chili pepper to give it some kick. At the end of it, I got too full. My husband decided mine was better, pushed aside the remaining bites of ramen and slurped up my amber-tinged broth!

Not your Average Ice Cream

Unfortunately my husband and I never seem to save room for dessert. But this time, I pushed away my noodles early enough to have some ice cream. Most Japanese restaurants will offer fruit or ice cream for dessert. I have seen the odd offering of cheesecake, but that seems a strange dessert to offer in a Japanese restaurant, so I usually steer clear. Ichiban offered six flavors of ice cream: green tea, red bean, lychee, mango, black sesame and cappuccino. Green tea and red bean are usually typical dessert fare in the Japanese restaurants in Indy. Mango may or may not be standard, but it’s a more common flavor these days. But the black sesame? I have never seen this on a menu, so it was on my list to try. SIDE NOTE: I am not sure where cappuccino fits in – I am guessing it was selected to provide a more palatable flavor for the skeptical diner.  Well, we had to go with something different, so for our two scoops, we selected lychee and black sesame. 

You know what? We ordered well.  The lychee ice cream tasted like pear. For those of you unfamiliar with the lychee is a berry, reminiscent of a grape, only sweeter. At first, I wasn’t quite sure what it was. I couldn’t place the flavor. Don’t let that stop you from enjoying it.  I have had to learn to give the flavor a chance to develop on your palate before making a judgment. Sometimes an unfamiliar flavor can turn you off. But after my second bite, I thought, wow, it’s mild, sweet and reminds me of a pear. I am not a huge pear fan (unless the pear is poached in a lovely wine, then oh yeah, it’s on!), but I did enjoy the flavor.

Next, the black sesame ice cream. Sounds totally weird, right? First, I smelled it and yes, it smells like sesame. I was put off because sesame flavored ice cream sounds like an accident. I can tell you though, it is quite good. You get the taste of the sesame, but it’s not as overwhelming as you think. It’s there, oh yeah, but in the ice cream, it’s almost like a coffee flavor. The texture reminded me of Lindner’s chocolate chip ice cream. Lindner’s was a local ice cream store, back in the day. If you are younger than oh, 35 or not from Indy, you won’t remember Lindner’s. But trust me, the black sesame scoop looks like chocolate chip ice cream. It was really interesting and I really enjoyed it. I highly recommend it.

The Damage
The bill was very reasonable, in fact, surprisingly reasonable, at $40. Most lunches for two at Ocean World or Naked Tchopstix will easily set you back $35-$40.  Ichiban was very reasonable – their rolls were very cheap, running on average around $4-$5. My seafood udon was only $10.95.  So for $40 we had shrimp shumai (5 pieces), spicy tuna roll, the Louis roll (both 6 pieces), two big bowls of noodles, two good-sized salads with ginger dressing(comes with entrees), and ice cream. Not bad for a Saturday night. The service was good, not overly intrusive and friendly enough to make you feel at ease.

My husband asked me for a grade, which I have never given in my reviews. I don’t think in terms of grades. But he really wanted to know and suggested I rate from 1 – 10.  Hmmm, I give Ichiban a 5 – 6. The rolls were fine. They were not “OH MY GOD” good, but they were good. I didn’t talk about the salad, because, well, it’s salad, but I did like the dressing a lot. And they were generous with the dressing and the salad. I thought the shumai were very good. The noodles were ok. They were not bad at all, and on a cold day (or after a 3-martini evening), they would be good for what ails you! But if you are looking for something really flavorful, I don’t think the noodles will quite do it for you. The black sesame ice cream was most memorable to me.  But you know what, it’s a decent meal for a good price with good service. If you have a craving for sushi and noodles, but cannot afford the $60-$70 dinner at H2O Sushi or Naked Tchopstix, Ichiban will like scratch your …itch!  But the only way you will know is if you leave the comforts of your neighborhood! Be adventurous and wander off your beaten path!

Directions
I ALWAYS say the same thing, google map it. Then I give you general directions. Well, this time, I am going to be REAL general. Ichiban is in the Castleton area on Bash Street. I’ll give you a vicinity. Bash is just west of I-69 off 82nd street and east of Castleton Square.  If you turn on Bash, left or right, you could still miss Ichiban because it’s a small house. Do yourself a favor and google map it or put it in your Garmin.

In the Frig – Bub’s Cafe

Breakfast at Bub’s Cafe
220 2nd Street SW (Right off the Monon, around the way from Baxbeaux’s)
Carmel, IN 46032
www.bubsburgersandicecream.com/cafe/about.html

One Saturday morning I convinced my husband to join me for a walk on the Monon. I thought it would be a great, healthy way to start the day. It never crossed my mind that we would stop and eat. After all, it was walk done with ”health” in mind. However, while walking back from the Farmer’s Market, my husband persuaded me that we needed sustenance for the journey home. So we stopped at Bub’s Cafe. (NOTE: since I had no plans to stop for breakfast on my “healthy” walk, I did not have my iPhone, so the above picture is the only one I feature on this post, sorry! I will give you some verbal cues when it’s time for you to imagine the food! See if you can identify them!)

Bub’s Cafe vs. Bub’s Burgers and Ice Cream
For those unfamiliar with these two Monon icons, Bub’s Cafe and Bub’s Burgers are owned by the same people (no way, get out!). Bub’s Cafe specializes in breakfast and lunch while Bub’s Burgers and Ice Cream specializes in burgers and ice cream. Bub’s Cafe is only a block or so south of her sister on the Monon. Now, when Bub’s Burgers is open, you smell it before you see it.  The smoke from their grill permiates the air with that intoxicating burger smell! Bub’s Cafe emits no such odor, but simply advertises its’ presence with a friendly red awning and a sign with a stack of pancakes.

My husband and I were in the mood to battle bees, so we opted to dine on the patio. (We watched a father dutifully kill the bees buzzing around his daughter’s fruit-topped pancakes). The patio is set far enough back from the Monon so passers-by don’t smell any pancakes, but they can still catch a glance of you – so make sure and take a oversized bites of food so you can make the passing joggers green with food-envy!

The Menu
The Bub’s Cafe menu is reminiscent of the menu at Cafe Petitchou (Clay Terrace Mall, Carmel IN), without some of the French-osity! (sorry…but French-osity sounds cool to me. If you adopt this word, give FoodieGal props). It features the standard breakfast fare: eggs, bacon, pancakes, waffles, french toast, etc. Bub’s also has daily specials, like pumpkin pancakes and quiche of the day.  There were also a couple of interesting items on the menu like Elk Sausage and Bub’s Holes.

Eyes Bigger than Stomach?
 My hubby ordered the pumpkin pancakes, link sausage and Bub’s holes and I ordered Quiche Lorraine and Elk sausage. Ok, so we ordered a lot. But we did it for you, the reader. We took one for the team because we are givers! Well – and - because things smelled good and we wanted to try a lot of stuff. Walking made us hungry!

What are Bub’s Holes?
Bub’s Holes are basically donut holes. They come in four flavors: cinnamon-sugar, powdered sugar, glazed and chocolate (if you put some French-osity on it, it’s SHOH-CO-LAH!). But these donut holes are a little bigger, more dense and look like hush puppies!  They were not bad. And by that I mean, I liked some more than others. The cinnamon-sugar ones were really the best, mostly for the lovely crunchy sugary coating. After that I favored the glazed. Believe it or not, the chocolate one was my least favorite. It didn’t taste bad, but to me, it reminded me of getting a too-dry cake donut with chocolate sauce in the box of expired pastries from a supermarket bakery.  I took a couple of bites, just so I could give back to you. They smell awesome and look pretty. I don’t think you will slobber yourself over them, but they are enjoyable. Besides, it feels good to pick up these little doughy golden-brown confections and eat them slowly as the runners labor down the Monon!

The Food, Get to the Food!
If you are not familiar with Quiche Lorraine, it’s like egg pie with swiss cheese, bacon and onions. The serving size of quiche at Bub’s Cafe is HUGE! When the waitress brought out my quiche, I thought it looked like a monster piece of cheesecake! The waitress commented that the slices of quiche had grown considerably since she had started working at Bub’s.  Either the chef is just an exceedingly generous guy or some country in the axis of evil is conspiring with him to keep Americans jolly. Yeah, it’s that big!

In the case of the quiche at Bub’s cafe (sounds like a Scooby Doo mystery, doesn’t it?) I think less would have been more. It was too big and dense for me to get a great bite of egg, bacon and crust. I finally gave up trying to cut a piece of the quiche in the “upright” position and rolled it onto its’ side, eating the crusty bottom and the middle. When quiche gets that big, you tend to taste more egg than the other ingredients. I used a little extra salt and pepper to season the egg and it wasn’t terrible. However, I didn’t finish it (neither did the lady sitting at the table next to us). I would not order the quiche again unless I just had an out-of-control egg-pie craving.

Pumpkin Pancakes and Elk Sausage
For most of us, pumpkin pancakes conjour up images orange-tinted stacks of dough with that familiar sweet pumpkin flavor (you know, your co-worker Sally’s pumpkin bread at the annual pre-Christmas pitch-in). These pancakes are not “pumpkin-y” sweet. They taste like, well, pumpkin. It’s a nice flavor.  Add the butter and the sweet maple syrup and actually, not too bad. If you have kids and they think they are going to dig into a huge pancake and get a mouthful of sugary sweetness, you better doctor up the pancakes first or they will be disappointed. It’s more about the pumpkin flavor than the sugar! If you like pumpkin, you will probably like these pancakes.

Now, here’s the deal with Elk sausage: there’s something to be said for fat!! I have had reduced fat Jimmy Dean’s sausage in gravy with biscuits and in sausage-egg biscuit sandwiches for dinner (one of my favorite winter dinners). Reduced-fat sausage is not at all similar to its’ full-fat cousin but it’s not bad. But Elk Sausage? You can taste what is missing. If that pattie could talk, it would say “please, I wanna be a sausage!” It’s the Jan Brady of sausage! If you are a carnivore, but are inflexible on eating fats, then get the elk sausage. It will “look” like you are eating sausage, but it will remind you that you really just want pork!  To really get some flavor out of this meat, you need to douse it in maple syrup and take a deep breath as you fork the meat into your mouth. Only then will you get more of the sausage effect. If you love breakfast meat, skip the elk and the links and get the bacon! Bacon dredged seductively in a glossy amber pool of maple syrup will drive those Monon Running-Junkies crazy! (Oh yeah, and make sure and eat it like one of the models on the Hostess cupcake commercials – come on, you know what I am talking about. Really ENJOY that bacon).

So, What About Bub’s?
You know, nothing was bad. The service is friendly, the view is nice and Bub’s has that friendly neighborhood vibe going on. I would go back, but would stick to the traditional breakfast fare or opt for the Belgian waffles (smelled awesome). I personally think it’s hard to make breakfast a memorable and extraordinary meal, but I think maple syrup is a great accoutrement to any breakfast. Plus watching those sweaty spandex-clad race-walkers lust after your breakfast makes everything taste ever so sweet! 

Be adventurous!  Get off your couch, throw on those sweats or pack yourself in the car, and try something on the beaten path! Right off the Monon, just south of Carmel Drive in downtown Carmel. Check out the website for directions: http://www.bubsburgersandicecream.com/cafe/contact.html.

RUNNERS, WALKERS, GYM RATS AND FIT PEOPLE: I consider myself a member of this group. I love to walk and jog on the Monon. I train at least 4-5 times a week. The reference in my blog to making runners jealous, well, it’s more about aesthetics than it is snarkiness – although I do feel a bit of a snark coming on. Since I don’t have any photos, I thought references to dredging bacon in glossy amber syrup was a great cue for a visual image. All those commercials of people eating those big Hardee’s Angus burgers lovingly, well, it does conjour up images of gluttony. So again, I opted for the images of jealous joggers eyeing greedily the plates and syrupy mouths of Bub’s patrons to provide visual stimulants to my readers! Remember, because I am a giver!

Bon Appetit!

In the Frig – Peppy’s Hamburg Grill

Lunch from Peppy’s Grill
1004 Virginia Avenue
Indianapolis, IN 46203
No website found, sorry!

Yes, you will see signs that liken “airports to…assholes” and celebrate bad attitudes! And yes, you might see a grouchy-looking lady fry cook, sporting a Peppy’s apron. (I think the irony is intentional). But what you will not see? Valet parking, beautiful perky hostesses and a table set with salad forks! This is a typical diner! Small, non-descript, with a small counter and tables fronting the grill. They do have a bigger “dining room” which features an animated picture of a lovely beach, just what you thought you might see outside of a small, greasy diner!

What’s on the menu?
There’s no fusion cuisine or scallops done with delicate herbs in some foo-foo wine reduction. Just food cooked on a grill or in a fryer. Fries, hamburgers, eggs, bacon; all of these high-fat, warm and greasy lovelies are available 24 hours a day! It’s a beautiful thing! For our “appetizer” we had mozzarella cheese sticks, deep-fried and served with a small microwaveable marinara sauce. No, the cheese sticks were not homemade, but they were deep-fried, so what’s not to like? And no, the marinara was not homemade either. It was not so delicious, but it was tasty and a good complement to its frozen companion.

Hamburgs!

If you watch Three Sheets on the Fine Living Channel (Zane Lamfrey recent travels took him to Hamburg), you will know that the city of Hamburg is in Germany but was not named after a hamburger, but after a castle called Hammaburg.  The hamburg steak was introduced to America by the Germans as a hamburger, which means of Hamburg.  So a hamburger is really just a ground beef pattie of “Hamburg.” Thus the name! WOW FoodieGal, that’s great, but what does it have to do with Peppy’s?” Nothing really, it’s just a good transition from the last paragraph to talk about the hamburgers.  The hamburgers are really good and you can get them loaded up with bacon, onions and other standard items such as lettuce, tomato, pickle, etc.

My husband ordered the cheesy-meaty item above – sans the fixins! (he’s a purist and just eats his cheeseburgers plain!).  Note to the burger connosieur: your peppy fry cook (who may look grouchy) will smush the burger onto the grill with the spatula. The connosieur reading this  just flinched at the image of flattening the hamburger, juices pouring out of the burger and onto the spitting grill. This is not the proper way to cook a burger. THAT SAID, the burger was still good. It still retained some juiciness and it tasted like a “diner burger” for it’s juice joined blood of a thousand others and thus was endowed with the hamburgs of years past!

Alongside my hubby’s cheeseburger were Peppy’s seasoned “fries.” Now, these were not the skinny fries you get at McDonald’s or In-n-Out burger (YUM, by the way, total YUM), these were home fries, french onion flavored home fries served with …ranch dressing. Sounds a little odd, right? Maybe gross? But no, actually pretty good. Again, the ranch dressing came in on of those small little peel back packages you get with your salad at the airport, but the marriage of the french onion taste and the ranch dressing was pretty good. I can only imagine how good it would taste at 2am after an evening of consuming cheap cold beers and bowling! I bet it would taste like food of the Gods!

I had to have a diner classic and so ordered a patty melt (above). It was pretty good. The hamburger wasn’t so juicy, but the grilled onions gave the appropriate “patty melt” flavor. I dunked bites of the crispy burger in thick globs of  mustard, and it was pretty fulfilling! I got it with chips, but didn’t eat them. I instead helped my hubby gobble up the seasoned fries.

Overall, it was a good experience. I originally ordered the chili and unfortunately, they had run out. Their chili is homemade so I bet it’s ridiculously good in its simplicity and beany saucy goodness.  The bill was a little less than $20, so a great cheap meal.

We went on a Saturday around 1:30pm, so it was relatively empty. The guests that were there were a might crusty, perhaps just waking up from a long night of rowdy drinking and multiple hands of Texas Hold ‘Em. We were told by another pierced and tatooed fry cook that it “gets interesting around 3am.”  But I am sure that only lends to Peppy’s “je ne sais quas.” (French for a certain ”I don’t know” Although, there’s nothing French about the Hamburg grill). This place has great character – a place where you will see every walk of life, 24 hours a day, seeking out good food. So be adventurous, leave the comfort of the suburbs and check out Peppy’s! It’s open 24 hours a day- so you have no excuse about finding the time!

How do you get there?
Seriously, I would google it. I only know how to get there by just driving. What I would do? I would hop on the interstate, find my way to 70West and get off on McCarthy – near Eli Lilly – then I would hunt and peck my way there. It’s easy to find if you know the area and have a Garmin! It’s just north of Fountain Square proper off of Virginia Avenue!

In the Frig – Pancho’s Taqueria

Dinner from Pancho’s Taqueria
9658 Allisonville Road
Fishers, IN 46250
http://www.panchosmexicantaqueria.com/

Grandes Esperanzas! (Great Expectations) This is what I had before a recent trip to Pancho’s Taqueria! I am happy to report I was not disappointed.

First, let’s clarify on locations. There are two locations, one in Indy around 71st and Michigan Road and the other is in Fishers at 96th and Allisonville Road. My husband and I, northsiders that we are, visited the Fishers location. Although, I don’t know that location matters, it’s the food that matters! And OMG, does it matter!

When we pulled up to Pancho’s, we saw specialties in neon lights! Upon entering, it’s reminiscent of your favorite neighborhood strip mall Chinese restaurant – you see a huge list of menu items and vibrant photos of meals! Now, I did a lot of homework before we went, so I had an idea of what I wanted. But if you are not sure, you can just choose from the photos or, be brave and ask for a recommendation.  They might not recommend the more interesting dishes, but I don’t think you can go wrong!

Botanas (Appetizers)
Pancho’s doesn’t have the huge list of over-cheesed, gringo-ess appetizers (no taquitos or double-stuffed nachos). You can get chips and salsa, queso or beans, or guacamole. We ordered the queso and helped ourselves to the salsa bar. The queso was OUT OF SIGHT!  A lovely pale yellow cheesy soup. It was so rich and gorgeous – a little spice, but so warm and creamy. This queso did not come from a big yellow and red can of cheese you find at your local grocery store. This queso is the real deal! The salsa bar features mild, spicy and XXX hot (habanero). The habanero salsa definitely has heat, but it’s not just hot, it’s flavorful. If you have ever pondered what an habanero tastes like, try the XXX salsa!

 Oh, what about the chips?
Forget about those giant, dry sometimes salty chips at Don Pablos! No way man. These are corn tortilla chips, deep-fried to golden perfection. They ACTUALLY crunch in your mouth. They remind me of crunch you get if you eat a really good sopapilla. After you try these chips, if you ever prefer those Don Pablos or Cancun Mexican Restaurant chips again??? Well, a turn of phrase for you: Loco en la cabeza! No translation will be given, figure it out crazy person!

Sopas
On Saturdays and Sundays, pozole (hominy) and menudo (tripe) are the special soups. I wanted to order menudos (tripe), but we decided we would save tripe for another trip! (Sorry, if you cannot stomach my bad food jokes – oh God make me stop!) We decided to try to the pozole, which was very good.
(WHAT THE HECK IS TRIPE? The stomach lining of a sheep, cow or pig!)

Pozole is soup made with hominy, pork, chili peppers and other spices.  Hominy is dried corn kernels. In the US, the dried kernels are soaked in a lye-based solution. Don’t worry, it won’t kill you.  Many cultures use or have used lye as part of their preservation process (like lutefisk - which is a Scandanavian dish – seems kinda YIKE-SY to me).  The pozole was served in a good-sized styrofoam bowl – enough for both my husband and I to split. The pork was incredibly tender, salty and really…PORKY! My husband didn’t care for the hominy part of the dish. Don’t be confused, it won’t taste just like corn, it will have kind of a dense, bite-y texture. It’s not a strange taste, just different. I liked the texture along with the tender pork and warm spicy broth! It was delish!

Platillos (Entrees)
There are so many combinations and options, it’s almost overwhelming. BUT, as I shared above, we had done our homework! The plan? LENGUA!! Que pasa, Linda? TONGUE my friends! After watching hours of Bizarre Foods and Rick Bayless on Top Chef Masters, tongue was definitely on our list of items to taste. This in mind, we opted to try the three taco combination of lengua, pastor (spiced pork) and carne asada (steak).  I am relatively new to mole, but I have had some good moles, so chicken mole was on my list.

Tacos

  (Close-up – La Lengua)
I won’t spend too much time on the steak taco – which was really good –  because you have to hear about the others. Okay, you must open your mind and try tongue. It was awesome! Andrew Zimmern (Bizarre Foods on Travel Channel) has said that beef tongue tastes like roast. Seriously, it does! It tastes like a tender juicy roast. Now, does it look like roast? Yes and No. The meat does look like roast – but the bumpy part of the tongue was still attached to pieces of the meat (looks like the fat on roast). However, it doesn’t taste or feel strange in your mouth. If I invited you for Sunday dinner and served tongue with mashed potatoes, carrots and gravy, I doubt you would know the difference between tongue and roast. You must try it. Come back and tell me if I am wrong!

The pastor tacos are made with pork marinated with peppers, spices and herbs and served in a tortilla with pineapple, lime, and cilantro. I apologize up front for the use of the phrase, but HOLY CRAP BATMAN (exactly what I said by the way), so incredibly good. I know the mix with the pineapple may sound odd (although how many times have you seen an Easter ham served with slices of pineapple), but truly a wonderful flavor.

Mole, Mole, Mole, Mole!
(Sorry, I don’t have the keys to add the accente!)

A close chicana friend of mine says she never judges a restaurant by its mole because the best mole she ever had was made by her mother. And I believe her (because I have mole prepared by her and her mother, and I have never had mole since that was so good! My friend does like mole recipe by Rick Bayless,  so if you have a day to kill and the utensils and patience to prepare it, check out his recipe in Rick Bayless’s Mexican Kitchen.) BUT ALL OF THAT SAID – I ordered the chicken mole anyway. It was very nice. Complex with the chocolate, peppers, cinnamon and other flavors. Silky smooth over perfectly cooked chicken – the meat fell off the bone! It’s not low-fat, so you need to suck it up and plan to give 30 – 60 extra minutes to the gym, but it’s worth it!

The Damage?
The total cost was not bad. Around $25-$30 for queso, big bowl of soup, tacos, chicken mole dinner and a large drink! Sometimes the little off-the-beaten path places have surprised me as it relates to cost, but I thought Pancho’s was reasonably priced. I was very satisfied. I feel like I really experienced authentic Mexican food – right here in Indiana at Pancho’s Taqueria.  My experience at Pancho’s was comparable to my experience at a little restaurant in downtown Zihuatanejo.  Que buena comida! (Forgive my Spanish – no es perfecto!)

Be Adventurous…and Drive!
Not to slight the bigger, chain restaurants as there’s a time and place for Abuelo’s, Sullivan’s, Maggiano’s, Uno’s. Because at the end of it, a memorable meal is also reflective of the company you keep! (even if you are the sole guest!). However, if you want to try something different (TONGUE) and authentic, sometimes you have to plan the time, enter the directions in your GPS and drive! Vamanos!

Where’s it at?
If you were paying attention, you now know there are two locations – 71st and Michigan road-ish and 96th and Allisonville in Fishers. Instead of repeating my “from here and from there” bit, just google map it or call. The website is listed at the top!

In the Frig – Oakley’s Bistro

Lunch from Oakley’s Bistro
1464 West 86th Street (northwest corner of 86th Street & Ditch Road)
Indianapolis, Indiana 46260
Phone: 317-824-1231
Fax: 317-824-0938
http://www.oakleysbistro.com/

When Steven Oakley left Something Different & Snax several years ago, it was like an old friend had left the neighborhood. Those restaurants were never the same. It was awesome when I learned that Oakley’s was opening and so close to home and work.

I have dined at Oakley’s many times – more for lunch than for dinner.  The lunch menu is very nice and not as pricey as you might think.  I went with friends a few weeks ago and for three of us, it was just around $40-$50! Not bad if you want to do a lunch that feels more upscale.

My friend had the soup and salad with French Onion Soup! A pleasure for the eyes and the palate. The French Onion soup doesn’t come out as the cheesy, over-oniony generic concotion you get at Lonestar Steakhouse or an O’Charley’s. (not that they are bad when you are hungry, but there’s no comparison!) It’s a beautiful presentation of deep golden-brown broth with lovely carmelized slices of onion. The lovely crouton is not dumped in the soup, but served on the side as a “vermont white cheddar grilled cheese.” OMG! Awesome. Each time I get the French Onion soup, I am giddy and anxious until it arrives and I always want more!!! (By the way, Oakley’s French Onion soup is being served at the St. Joan of Arc market Saturday, September 12, 2009. If you want a preview, go and be ready to wait in line and lick your lips in anticipation!)

The Meatloaf Rocks!
My other lunch mate opted for the meatloaf! Now, it sounds like I am gushing here, but the meatloaf is very good! Whodathunk you could get something that resembles meatloaf at a nice bistro? You are likely expecting me to explain some multi-layered tower of meat and unknown herbal components – but nope folks, it’s meatloaf in it’s most lovely form! It has a lovely barbecue glaze and comes with whipped potatoes. It’s so incredibly good. I recommended it to my friend and I believe he said “Wow, this is really good!”  I have had the meatloaf several times and I always scrape my plate!

On this visit, I had the Kobe Beef Stroganoff. I have to say I was intrigued by Kobe Beef and was looking forward to another of Oakley’s homeruns! It had a great flavor and I loved the noodles, but believe it or not, the beef was a little too chewy. You have to be careful when you have a leaner cut of meat because cooking it longer usually makes it tough, but in the case of Kobe Beef, the meat should be tender! It really wasn’t and I ate around the beef and savored the sauce and noodles. I still left some behind though. If you go to Oakley’s and try the Stroganoff, come back and let me know what you think.

Other Lunch Visits!

On other visits to Oakley’s, I have had the tart, which was ok, if a little extra crumbly. But the salads are great and the soups are awesome! When they change the menu, look for the Butternut Squash soup! It’s a must order. It’s creamy, buttery and a gorgeous rich orange. I ordered a quart for a party I hosted at my house. You should have heard the coos of delight from my guests. It’s truly delicious. I have even asked if they would share the recipe in their newsletter and it was “sorry, everyone asks but we can’t share.”

If you ever had the pleasure of dining at Snax, then you appreciate the Chef Oakley’s talent at creating tasty tapas that look like little culinary works of art! The shrimp corndogs are awesome (although I do believe they used to be lobster corndogs!),  the suckling pig is outta sight in porky goodness and the lobster waffle is tasty.  As far as mains, I have had the meatloaf (also served as an entree at dinner) and the duck. Both very good.

How can Creamed Spinach be so Good?
Side items? Oh yes, the mac-n-cheese is a must-try. My husband couldn’t quit gushing and was very greedy over sharing too many bites! And believe it or not, the creamed spinach was good. I am not a fan of creamed spinach! I have flashbacks of a green slimey amalgamation slurping out of a white paper box into a pan of bowling water! YIKES! But Oakley’s Creamed Spinach? Salty, creamy and a gorgeous vibrant green. In fact, though my husband is a certified carnivore -  he stole several bites of the creamy spinach! Don’t let the scars of your childhood dinner experience deter you from ordering this lovely dish. Let out your inner Popeye and enjoy!

Sweet Finishes
As far as desserts, I have indulged on a couple of times. Once with the Creme Brulee, which I thought tasted quite good. Although, someone in the kitchen was a little heavy-handed with his/her kitchen torch, and the sides were a little too crunchy.  The banana crepes with the pine nut brittle was very good – if you like the taste of bananas, you won’t be disappointed. And if you can get something with the vanilla bean ice cream, do it! Your tastebuds will thank you.

Oakley’s has a great wine list and selection of specialty cocktails and beers. If you prefer non-alcoholic beverages, they have their share. I think their espresso is quite good if you want a nice jolt after dinner or lunch.

A Great Place to Dine
Overall, my experiences at Oakley’s have been consistently quite good. The service is pleasant, attentive, but non-intrusive. It makes for a great place for a business lunch as you are not constantly interrupted by someone asking if you “is everything okay?” I appreciate a friendly waiter/waitress, but I hate constant interruptions.  Now, my table did once get a visit from Chef Oakley himself – which was a welcome interruption to speak with someone who apparently has a great love and respect for food and the fine-dining experience.

You don’t need reservations for lunch. Although if you have a big party, I would take the time to make them. I don’t believe you are required to make reservations for dinner, but it’s likely a good idea.  The menu changes seasonally and they accept credit cards! Casual dress is fine! No jacket required.

Google-mapping is easier, but here are some easy directions!

From the westside or south, you can follow 465 North to 86th Street and head east on 86th to Ditch Road. Turn left on Ditch Road and then turn left into the strip mall. Oakley’s sits next to Lulu’s Electric Cafe and Global Gifts!

From the eastside, you can take 465 North to Meridian. Follow Meridian to 86th street, turn right and follow to Ditch Road.

If you live downtown or are in Broad Ripple, just drive north on Meridian and turn left on 86th street. If you are in Carmel or Westfield, just reverse, follow Meridian south to 86th street.

In the Frig – Mama’s House

 Korean Dishes from Mama’s House
8867 Pendleton Pike
Indianapolis, IN 46226
(317) 897-0808
(Sorry, the website commonly listed for this restaurant doesn’t link you to their website. Not sure they have a website)

The other day I was chatting with some friends about dining.  Generally speaking, we were all in agreement that if you want to find interesting tasty food, you have to venture out of northside suburbia. That’s what we did Saturday night at Mama’s House!

Mama’s House is located in a strip mall on the far east side of Indy off of Pendleton Pike. It keeps company with a neighborhood bar (Chip’s Lounge), a laundrymat, hobby store and liquor store. When you are greeted at the door, you will be asked whether you want the barbecue table or dining. What’s the difference? If you sit at the barbecue table, your dining experience will be more interactive as you will be grilling your meats on a small grill in the middle of the table. If you choose dining, you will be seated at a regular table.

Feeling particularly lazy, my husband and I opted for the regular dining table. We were greeted by a very friendly waitress who took time to explain the very large menu after we shared that we were virgins to the Korean food experience. She explained the more popular items for first-timers but shared that no matter what we ordered, we would be eating traditional korean cuisine.

The appetizer list was extensive and offered mixes of seafood (the scallion pancake featured a mix of various seafoods, but was rather pricey), meat and oddly, miso soup (I ordered it, but skip it! Save your room for savoring other items). We ordered the Yook Whe for $14.99.  (Many of the appetizers were a little pricey). When we ordered, our waitress warned us that we were ordering something more rare – not cooked – was that okay? We enthusiastically shared that yes, we were more adventurous eaters!  

And were we rewarded! The Yook Whe was awesome (above)! It’s basically a Korean steak tartar; shredded raw beef, pine nuts and special sauce topped with a raw egg yolk. It’s served with crunchy pear. It was delicious. The waitress mixed it up for us and demonstrated how to eat it – a bite of beef with the crunchiness of the pear! We gobbled the gooey, beefy goodness down within minutes…and wished for more! If you are not squeemish about raw meat, it’s a definite must! And even if you are, take a chance – you might be pleasantly surprised.

After that tasty appetizer, we became even more stoked for our dinners. My husband ordered goat meat saute, something not on the menu, but posted on green poster board hanging on the wall. I ordered the Dolsoet Bebeem Bop. Ok, if you cannot pronounce the name (like me), then no sweat. Just ask for #39.

I had no idea when I ordered my dinner (#39) what a feast I would be getting. The waitress brought out a buffet of small bowls filled with interesting and familiar items – bean sprouts, spinach, fish cake, dried fish, spicy cucumber, regular cucumber, potatoes with jalapeno, mushrooms, shredded turnip, zuchini, spicy turnips and kimchee! A parade for the eyes! Dolsocet Bebeem Bop (dish on left, above)  is a traditional dish with the rice, vegetables and meat served in a sizzling hot pot. It’s topped with a lovely fried egg and a bowl of beef broth (to refresh the palate after several bites). It was spectacular! I had it cooked spicy, but the spice is very different – it’s less about the actual burn than it is about the intensity of spice! As the dish sits in the sizzling pot, the rice on the bottom gets crispy and carmelized! Wow – what a treat. It’s fun to take your chopstix and pry up the crispy rice at the bottom of the bowl.  YES!

The goat meat saute was really delicious! It was the first time my husband had ever tried goat and he liked it.  It’s hard to compare it to something (like it tasted like chicken) because the meat really picked up the taste of the spices. It had a “beefy” texture – not exactly like beef.  And to be honest, if someone hadn’t told you it was goat, you likely wouldn’t know. It served with rice and vegetables! (right above). It was tender, savory and spicy (not hot spicy though). I don’t think it was as interesting as my dish, but it was still good – my husband managed to pick out every little piece of goat from the melange of vegetables.

Now, what about the bowls of goodies? Ok, the fish cake, not a bad flavor, but a strange wobbly texture. I think this is an acquired taste. But the dried fish was awesome! Little strips of dried fish, both sweet and spicy with a strong hint of sesame! Whatever your aversion to idea of “dried fish,” cast it aside and try the dried fish. It was like chewy candy! Now, to me the kimchee was interesting. I had never tried kimchee before and I was looking forward to trying it. It was okay. Crunchy and spicy, but I think the pickling flavor of the dish was a little overwhelming to me. It may be that it was a traditional flavor but it was just a little much for me. Texturally the spicy turnip and the fish cake were the least favorite items to me, but overall, I really enjoyed all the taste treats!

The damage? Our tab came to around $57.  That was without any alcohol, so not cheap! But it was worth it! The waitress was so friendly and very helpful!  And the service was excellent – I was truly impressed. What would I do differently? I would skip the miso for sure (I thought it tasted funny) and try the barbecue table! And whatever you do (we didn’t), don’t order teriyaki chicken or anything you can get at Golden Corral or PF Chang’s. Be adventurous!

And if you are really looking to have interesting food experiences, be willing to leave the comfort zone of your neighborhood and try something different!

Did you read my last review and still are too lazy to Google map it?

From the northside: Take 465 south to Pendleton Pike. Turn left on Pendleton Pike – turn into the strip mall RIGHT BEFORE Post Road. It’s on your right.

Southside? Come on – reverse it.

Westside: Hop on 70 East, follow to 465 North to Pendleton Pike. Turn right and then…you got it. Just as I say above.

Eastside: Where are you at? If you are east, you are already so close. Find your way here!

In the Frig – Mississippi Belle

Soul Food from Mississippi Belle in Broad Ripple

2170 E 54th St
Indianapolis, IN 46220-3434
(317) 466-0522
(Sorry, can’t find a website!)

It’s hard to watch Food TV’s”Diners, Drive-Ins and Dives” and not want to go explore the town for some great eats. After a marathon session of watching “Triple D,” (Guy Fieri-speak) my husband and I got a craving for food cooked with love. After combing a few Indy websites, I called a friend and asked “Where can I get some good soul food?” My friend recommended Mississippi Belle. (Well, first he said Country Kitchen, but he said only go in the daytime and it was almost evening!)

Mississippi Belle is not in the ‘hood, but somewhere between the ‘hood and Broad Ripple in Indy. It’s located in a very non-descript strip mall which features a laundry mat and a tax assessor.  The sign says “Mississippi Belle, You Have to Eat Here.”  It’s nothing fancy. The tables are covered in the old style rubber tablecloths your Mom used when your toddling family-members joined you for Sunday dinner. Your drinks are served in plastic glasses you may remember from elementary school. 

We were greeted right away by a pleasant waitress who took our drink order. We both ordered the house wine of the south, sweet tea. (Alcohol is not served.) The dinner menu was reminiscent of my Grandma’s line-up for dinner after church: fried chicken, fried chicken smothered in gravy, meatloaf covered in tangy red sauce. roast, and ribs! Each meat came with two sides. My husband ordered fried chicken, mashed potatoes with gravy and mac-n-cheese. I opted for the ribs with collard greens and sweet potatoes.  Our dinners were rolled out on a cart –  with a host of other dinners for the big 13-person table next to us – within 10 minutes. BLINDINGLY QUICK!

While I thought some of the items could have been a little warmer, dinner was tasty!  The first bite? Mashed potatoes with gravy, of course. We both stabbed our forks into the potatoes swimming in a caramel-ly salty sea of gravy! You cannot help yourself! They look so EVIL that you have to take a bite. Salty, beefy smooth goodness! Once my blood pressure settled down, I dug into the ribs. Now, these ribs are not BBQ – meaning, charcoaled or drowning in red sauce. They are cooked in a wonderful rub until the meat falls off the bones.  Now I know why people say “slap your mama good!” Truly tender, succulent and bathed in juices!

It took a few minutes before I made it to the collard greens. Carnivores like my husband will skip the greens. Although he did take a bite, he quickly swallowed and stuck out his tongue with a “BLAH!” I thought they were quite tasty – bitter, richly green and meaty tasting. I did add some salt, but I am big fan of sodium, so you might not need it! 

You may notice I am not spending a lot of time on the sweet potatoes or mac-n-cheese. They were okay. The sweet potatoes were, well dare I say, sweet and may bring back memories of past Thanksgiving holidays. They were not bad at all, just not something I would go on and on about…like those mashed potatoes! (Seriously – stupid good!) The mac-n-cheese was okay as well. To me it could have been more temperature-hot. However, if you have a magnetic ribbon on your file cabinet at work that says “I Support Macaroni and Cheese” (like my husband does), then you will probably dig the mac-n-cheese.

OH YEAHHHH…the chicken, what about the chicken? It was good. If you have been fortunate in life, as I have been, it’s a rarity to have bad fried chicken.  And you will not have bad chicken here. The piece I had was crispy and  really juicy. I cleaned off my wing in a matter of seconds! But let me say this: if you are craving fried chicken – get it. If not, skip it and try something you haven’t had for a long time.  I saw some awesome looking pieces of meatloaf on the dinner cart for the 13 person-table! I also saw beef manhattans! Then I was like “damn, why didn’t I order that?” (Oh, and they have something called “fried cabbage.” I didn’t try it but if you do, come back and let me know what you think).”

On the whole, it was really good! For both of hubby and I, it was about $40. That seems pricey for soul food, but you get FREE REFILLS. That’s right folks! Free refills of the sides AND THE MEAT! Now, I guess one would say it’s not really free, because you ultimately pay for it. But still, when I saw the lady at the big table say “honey, we need more mac-n-cheese and more greens, oh and some more chicken!” – I was like “HONEY, FREE MEAT!”

If you are in Indy and you are really hungry, check it out. It’s not the place to go if you want a snack! Go hungry, go for a while and take your family and friends. Oh, and take CASH (caassshhh – what is caasshhh?) because Mississippi Belle DOES NOT ACCEPT CREDIT CARDS!

If you are too lazy to Google-map it…

From the northside: follow Keystone Avenue (431 South) to 54th street and hang a right. Go past Marco’s Restaurant and another pub and you will see Mississippi Belle immediately on the right in the strip mall.

From the southside: Seriously, reverse the directions above.

From the eastside: Depends, you can follow 70East to Keystone Avenue and turn right on Keystone. Or come out Binford Avenue to Keystone Ave, take a right, then left on 54th.

From the westside: What I said above, but from the west!