Road Trip: Carolina Barbecue

Went on a quick road trip to Raleigh to see a customer with one of our sales guys. I looked up some friends in Raleigh on Thursday night who are going through some of the highs and lows of life. Their daughter was born about two months ago, but the mom is now going through cancer treatment. So, we stayed in, had a really nice visit. After our sales call on Friday morning, I was hoping for and suggesting finding some Carolina Q. Instead, we ended up at a diner, so I had a very lame salad.

Anyhow, at the airport, I was still craving some barbecue, so... I got a plate full of smoked pork from some chain vendor that was in the terminal.

I spent a lot of time in NC at several manufacturing plants of my employer during an SAP implementation from around 1998-2002. This included a lot of time near the cost in New Bern - which happens to be the birthplace of Pepsi. Carolina barbecue tends to be primarily smoked pork, with a sauce that is much more vinegar-based than in other areas. Even though this was an overpriced plateful ($9.99), the smoked pork was still pretty good. I chose some brunswick stew as one of my sides, and it was really horrible (though, the genuine article from a better place is really good). But, what I found the most amusing was the Texas Pete hot sauce. It is a nice vinegar-based hot sauce, much like Tobasco. But, as soon as I was walking up to the condiments area, I immediately remembered Texas Pete's... which of course is bottled in Winston-Salem, no where near or inside the border of Texas. Anyhow, it must be a North Carolina tradition.

No rating here, especially when I took so little care as to not even remember the name of the place. I was just glad to get headed home, as I get a bit wore out on business travel. But, I do enjoy the window seat still.....


But, while I'm mentioning North Carolina, I'll mention the Avett Brothers (hailing from Charlotte), who I don't think I've placed in a review yet. I like their bluegrassy-folk-rock sound quite a bit. The song below is likely their most well-received, but check out "Head Full of Doubt/Road Full of Promise".

Illinois Street Food Emporium review

It is interesting how that once you start a food/restaurant blog, you finally get motivated to try some places that have been "on the list" for a long time. And, Illinois Street Food Emporium has been one of those places for me. I like the little cluster of shops and restaurants in this stretch around 56th Street and Illinois Street, in the Butler-Tarkington / Meridian-Kessler Neighborhoods.

I've always heard really good things about Illinois Street, so one day a few weeks back I found myself in the area at lunch time so I stopped by. There were 7 policemen having lunch there at the time, so.... well, that was a sign of something.... [I couldn't quite get the nerve to spin around and take a picture of all of them at the table]

I place Illinois Street into the "Panera Segment", which means that it is a mix of sandwiches, soups and baked goods (and, I realize that Illinois Street may have existed far before Panera first came to town). Anyhow, they also have some breakfast items, and some frozen entrees and sides that you can but to take home.

My first visit, I tried the California sandwich, and you can get soup, salad or a side. I had the cream of mushroom soup. The California is a grilled sandwich which comes with cheese, bacon, mushrooms and tomato (yes, I also assumed it would avocado - isn't that what most places throw on anything that is dubbed "California"?) Anyhow, it was a tasty little sandwich, and the bowl of soup is a really nice sized portion, and it was creamy, woody and savory. The meal costs $9.40.

I thought it was a place that the Better Half would definitely like, so we returned on a Saturday. She had a grilled cheese (and you can add two veggies to the sandwich), and I had spinach melt. Again, very tasty sandwiches. The soup that day was the chicken velvet, and while it came highly recommended from the counter person, I needed to add some pepper and some tobasco, otherwise it seemed quite plain to me.

We've also tried the chocolate croissant, a donut and a cinnamon roll from the baked goods counter, and they're all very tasty, fresh and indulgent sweets.

I really enjoyed Illinois Street, and I think it's now in the mix for simple lunch spots, and I definitely want to try their breakfast. And, while I don't really care for cold cuts, their sub sandwiches are just enormous.

I suppose the one down side I recognized is that the grilled sandwich & soup combo here is maybe a dollar or more than a place like the actual Panera. But, it is a wide menu, and, I think Illinois Street is a great local joint. It obviously has a lot of good local support, but if you're waited to give it a first try like I did, I think it is worth heading over and trying it.

The verdict: 4 belly rubs (out of 5). Warm, homey, tasty.

One extra tip and recommendation - if you can't justify the prices of a Colts game, and if Purdue, IU and Notre Dame are too far away (or too expensive), but you'd like to get out to a little bit of football on a crisp fall afternoon - give Butler a chance (their schedule here). Yes, it is quite a bit lower level of football, but it is a great little setting over there, the team has been improving in the last 3 years, the crowds are getting better, they actually even do some tailgating there, too. And, it's a really affordable game. I especially recommend going if you're taking kids that are not quite yet into the full experience of a more expensive football experience. I believe they let kids still kind of run around behind the end zone. Give the Bulldogs a chance, there are still 4 more home games this year, including this Saturday against Campbell University at noon.

Taylor's Bakery

With the Better Half away for the weekend, I was doing some work around the house. This brought about the inevitable trip to Lowes. We used to live downtown, and earlier this summer we ended up moving into the Nora area (I miss downtown dreadfully, but love our new place, too). Anyhow, the Lowes on Keystone near Glendale Mall is where I went to pick up some supplies.

[By the way, I've heard some anecdotal tale that Lowes has done surveys of customers as they arrive at a store and survey them regarding how much they plan to spend, and then they find them when they are leaving and there is some crazy statistic that the average customer leaves having spent like $40 more than they originally expected. I completely fit it with this group.]

Anyhow, seeing as I have a constant sweet tooth, I zipped over on 62nd street to a little plaza on 62nd and Allisonville to try Taylor's Bakery. I've gone by it numerous times, and wanted to finally drop in.

Before I had left and driven home from Taylor's, I noticed at least 2 people eating some sweet, baked good in their car in the parking lot.... so, I had high hopes. As you walk into the bakery, it is as though the air is perfumed with a super fine, sifted powdered sugar. It just smells that sweet. There is likely about 40-50 feet of glass casing, with all of the cases being two-tiered. They have donuts, eclairs, cinnamon rolls, ... about any baked good you could want. So, I bought a whole collection of stuff - a large eclair, two cinnamon rolls - one frosted, and a small little donuty-thing that was filled with cinnamon. This whole plate cost me all of just $4. That's a diabetic bargain!

Okay, now, I didn't eat all of this in one sitting. All of it was good, but the eclair seemed to me like it had possibly been there for a bit and wasn't tasting all that fresh (the Better Half worked in a bakery through high school and college and said that their bakery baked fresh each day, but with as full as Taylor's cases were in the early afternoon - can that possibly be true? Wow, if so, either they have a huge rush in the afternoon or they have a ton of waste each day). The cinnamon rolls were nice but more like a donut, not a rich buttery cinnamon roll. I like that the place feels so local, and that, according to the website, it is in a 4th generation. There's a ton more to sample here, so I'd definitely go back and try some other items.

The verdict: 3 belly rubs (out of 5). Homey, huge selection, affordable.

This below has nothing to do with baked goods (well, they so have a brief clip of Sweetness), but it sure is great to have fall here. Love the feel of the air, the slant of the sun, the crunch of the leaves. And love that football games require a sweatshirt now. And, does anyone else think that Sean Payton sounds like ESPN's Stuart Scott during the preample to this video?

A couple links

Serious eats has a small interview with Alton Brown here.....

and, mostly, as a big Converse All Star fan and a fan of Dr. J, there is this commercial from Converse using a very cool White Stripes song....

Nick's Chili Parlor review

The Better Half is away for a long weekend to see her sisters up in Toronto, and also visit her grandmother. So, I'm hope alone, doing some house projects. Anyhow, while she's gone I decided to finally pay a visit to a somewhat local legend in Nick's Chili Parlor. The Better Half has generally voted thumbs-down on Skyline Chili, as I think that mountain of cheese (mmmmm) that is loaded on to your food kind of leaves her feeling a bit ill at the mere sight of it (though, I'm happy to report the dear lass is a-okay with hot dogs or chili). Anyhow, worked late one day and dropped down the the near west side to get to Nick's.

The restaurant is currently under construction, and they have an illustration of what the restaurant will eventually look like, and it looks like an impressive face lift. I had looked this place up before, and I don't remember a website, but there is now the nice, clean website that I linked to above. I didn't ask many questions, so I'm not sure if there is new ownership, or merely a push to upgrade the facilities, but it looks like it will be a nice addition. Otherwise, the current location seems like a pretty simple, older-style fast food restaurant.

They don't have any "value meals" at Nick's, but they do have a daily special. I had tried to prepare during the day for this meal, so I had oatmeal for breakfast with some fruit, and at lunch I'd had a PB&J on Brownberry whole wheat bread, and an apple. I ordered the footlong with chili and cheese and an order of their "natural trim" fries.

The hot dog was a pretty thin wiener, but it had a nice ladling of chili, a fair dusting of cheese (no comparison to the mounds from Skyline) and onions. The chili is fairly standard and, dare I say it, a bit "Hormel-ish" in taste. But, the onions and an addition of some hot sauce helped it. The fries may have had some skin on them, but they certainly seemed to be the frozen-out-of-a-bag variety to me, and while airy and crisp, nothing very exceptional. The meal put be back about $7.15, and I wasn't really full (I also tend to have to spend too much at Skyline, too - so maybe it is me). I considered a bowl of chili to better gauge the chili on it's own without the hot dog, but I passed. Being a mere mile or so from the Long's Donut's on 16th and Lafayette Road, I also considered a stop there... but, I knew I had some cookies and cream ice cream at home, so held off.

The Nick's website touts the slogan "home of the Not Yet World Famous Chili"... and, well, I guess they're being a bit self-deprecating and yet honest at the same time. It has a lot of local lore and followers, but I wouldn't put this chili up there as anything special on it's own. And, I guess you can call me picky, but to pay $7.15 for a footlong, fries and a soda that didn't leave me full, well... I don't think that is very good value either. If I would have added a 5-way, a bowl of chili or just another chili dog, this meal would have been in the $9.50-$12 range, and that is way too much.

The verdict: 2.5 belly rubs (out of 5). Homey taste, but mostly middle-of-the-road.

New Steak n Shake signage?

I passed this Steak n Shake today, and is it just me or are they rolling out new signs? I definitely like it......

Kalbi burger?

Man, I'd love to stumble upon this place, a joint serving both Korean and Vietnamese styled burgers! I'm all for it...

While I don't get too crazy at home, the most common burger I serve anymore is a half lamb/half beef Greek-style burger with homemade tzatziki sauce.....

Saigon review

While this is not along the lines of a Mr. Obvious revelation like "the sky is blue", I feel like I'm stating the obvious when I tell you - Saigon restaurant on the near West side is really good!

The Better Half really likes Vietnamese food, so we've tried a handful around the city. She was a bit spoiled from 6 years in Toronto and the great, little authentic places in the Asian neighborhoods, so we've had a bit of a struggle in matching the easily found quality that Toronto had to offer. So, after finally getting to Saigon twice now, it is definitely the top of the small collection here in Indianapolis in our opinion.

While the Better Half loves the bun dishes....

I really prefer rice-based dishes.....

And, we both love the grilled pork spring rolls.....

But, most importantly, Saigon serves a great example of the Banh Mi, or Vietnamese sandwich. The Bahn Mi is served on a small French loaf, with just the best marinated grilled pork that I think you'll find in the city. There are multiple ways to build this sandwich, but our favorite is the straight forward one with just the grilled pork. Some additional fish sauce and hoisin, along with the herbs and carrot-radish "slaw" and.... Mmmmmmmm..... fantastic. [Sorry, tore into this one before taking the picture]

The Better Half was really craving a Banh Mi this week, so we stopped in on Monday. But, alas, they were out of the bread. Another couple arrive after us and also were not able to get the Banh Mi. When the owner came back around, I mentioned something about the sandwich, and I think he was initially annoyed thinking I was complaining about the lack of the bread. Actually, what I suggested to him was if he'd ever considered having a food cart serving nothing BUT the Banh Mi at a downtown corner. He didn't seem to keen on it, but.... this sandwich is just $4. It's a fantastic deal.

Saigon has fantastic flavors, great value (most entrees under $8) and really no flaws that I can think of.

The verdict: 5 belly rubs (out of 5). Tastes great, great value.

Chain-O-Rama: Donato's Homestyle Garlic Gread Pizza

I would say that when it comes to nationally franchised pizza chains, Donatos is my favorite. Plus, if I'm not in Chicago, I generally prefer thin crust pizza. And, since I'm a big fan of quadrangles, I like the slicing method at Donatos.

Anyhow, we wanted to get some pizza, and I'm always apt to try something new. So, we ordered a medium Founder's Favorite on thin crust and also picked up one of Donatos new Homestyle Garlic Bread pizzas. On the Garlic Bread pizza, we had ham and onion.

I put the can of Coke in the picture to give some sense of relative size perspective. I found the coupon flier touting the new pizza style to be a bit funny. It said "2 pizzas feed 4". Okay, and since I'm not fractionally challenged, I figured 1 pizza would feed 2. Now, I suppose that statement is true, one of these pizzas could feed 2, but it certainly would not FILL 2 people. Of course, I have a fair sized appetite, but I could have polished this thing off quite easily on my own.

The crust on the Garlic Bread pizza has a nice crisp crust and is about 3/4ths of an inch thick (okay, perhaps 5/6ths). On it's own, I don't believe the crust has much garlic bread taste, it is just pizza dough. But, on top of the pizza, they do seem to sprinkle an herb and garlic salt that adds some garlic taste to the pizza. Overall, its pretty good, especially since I like garlic salt. The quality of the ingredients is consistent, the presentation of the pizza is good, it is just another consistent product from Donatos, which I find to generally be a well run chain. They must provide good systems and training to their franchisees.

But, I didn't really think this was a great menu addition. I like many of Donatos specialty pizzas, and prefer the thinner crust. So, I'll stick to those, but I liked trying something new. At $5.99 for a one topping, though, that isn't bad for what I would call is a very filling lunch for one person.

The verdict: 3 belly rubs (out of 5). Consistent with Donatos quality, one pizza is big meal for one person.

Now, I don't go to Donatos enough to know if they use the box the Garlic Bread pizza comes in for another item, but I think it is pretty fascinating what all goes in to the creation of new items. I mean, I am sure Donatos packaging engineering partner bends over backwards to keep the account, but it seemed like the pizza box itself was even a new item. I just found that interesting.

Istanbul Cafe review

Last week, we made a first visit to Istanbul Cafe, in the plaza at 86th and Ditch Road. Mom was having a small procedure on her knee the next day, so we were taking her out. Now the funny thing is, that while I was sitting with her in the recovery area, at one point the nurse was checking in on her, and Mom mentioned, "we had Turkish food yesterday, it was really good...".

And, truly, the food was really good at Istanbul Cafe. It was not busy at all when we arrived, though it was Tuesday evening. The interior is quite trendy and pleasant, and I especially liked the veneer wrapped vertical posts in the dining area.

The service was friendly and quite prompt. We started with a small appetizer platter, which included tabouli, hummus, babaganoush, ezme, and dolmates if not a few other items. And, they were all great. The babaganoush variation here is a bit different, and you can taste the mayonnaise they put into it, tho it is still very tasty. I'm not sure I would have picked out the mayo, but it was noted on the appetizer's menu. I'm not sure there was much tahini in the babaganoush, or at least I couldn't pick it out. But all of the items on the appetizer sampler were great, and they provide you a full basket of warm pita, so you don't feel like you have to conserve the pita you're given.

Mom had the mixed kebab platter, which came with all of the meats they offer. The Better Half wanted the gyro (doner) kebab, and I had the stuffed cabbage. All of the grilled meats were really tasty, but I wouldn't go back for the stuffed cabbage. I guess I am used to stuffed cabbage with more rice and tomatoes in them, and these were just some meat. They were okay, but nothing very special. The yogurt sauce provided has a great taste, but was more watery than I prefer, but had lots of good garlic and spices in it, and wasn't overdone with the cucumber taste.

The prices are in line with most other Mediterranean places locally, with most entrees in the $15-$18 range. And, the portion sizes are ample enough to definitely leave you feeling sated. As we were talking about Istanbul Cafe, I wondered if, from my perspective, that Mediterranean isn't some of the most consistently well performing restaurants of any cuisine type I most likely frequent in the city. You have a few good choices just on the NW side of the city alone, between Athens at 86th and Istanbul Cafe. I still feel like Santorini's in Fountain Square is my favorite, but Saffron Cafe is my favorite gyro/shwarma in the city.

The verdict: 4 belly rubs (out of 5). Tasty, filling, savory, no real low lights.

And, how can you not have a mention of Istanbul without bringing up the old Istanbul (not Constantinople) song by those smart rockers They Might Be Giants. And, if you want a different version, check out this jazzy one.