Britton Tavern

I live on the far North suburban side of Indy, and as I am wont to do I often seek out places to enjoy a good cocktail and music with friends that doesn't require traveling to downtown or Broadripple.  That place often ends up being Britton Tavern (14005 Mundy Drive, Fishers, IN 46038).  It's a big modern upscale bar with ton's of TVs, good live music, and with $2.75 23 oz. Coors Lights on Saturdays it has the best weekend drink special around.  Up until a couple of weeks ago one think I had not experienced though was their food.

I was there on a Saturday night with my friends to see one of the best local bands around, Through Being Cool.  I was hungry and I decided the time was right to expose my palate to a taste other than that of The Rockies.  I had the Patty Melt with my choice of side being tater tots.  The girlfriend got the bbq wings of which I sample a few as well.  I apologize in advance for not having very many pictures, but I didn't think about doing a review until I was done eating.  The patty melt was pretty much what would expect when ordering this dish.  The burger was flavorful and juicy and cooked through without being dry.  The cheese was melted and delicious and there was just enough caramelized red onions to add a little kick but not overpower the meat or take away from the texture.  It was also served on an interesting kind of marbled rye toast that had a sturdy texture that held up to the meat without becoming soggy.  Where was the sandwich lacking?  The dressing.  Maybe I'm alone on this one, but every good patty melt deserves it's fair share of 1000 Island dressing as a topping.  It was barely noticeable at all on my sandwich.  Maybe they think most people prefer it that way, but not me.  Now about the tots, I really thought they drove this dish home.  Britton is the only place I've ever heard of even having tater tots as a non-breakfast side item, and it was nice to have something different in texture than just fries.  The tots were fried very crisp and you definitely get a big portion of them.  Thumbs up all the way.

The wings that the girlfriend got however are a different story entirely.  My initial reaction to them visually was that they looked great.  Their size was above average and they gave you plenty in a single order.  However, my first problem with them was that when they were served they were right out of the fryer and way too hot to eat.  Normally that would be okay, but after we let these wings cool down the skin became soggy and not crisp which is a texture with chicken I can't get past.  As for the flavor the bbq sauce they put on the wings was so cloyingly sweet it was impossible to have more than 1 or two wings.  That is saying a lot coming from a guy that typically loves his bbq more on the sweet side.  As you can see from the picture, with the girlfriend and I both eating we still failed to finish the plate of wings.  This is something that NEVER happens with wings.  Anyway lets get to my ratings for this excursion.

Taste:  8/10 for the burger, 3/10 for the wings

Value:  10/10 for the Saturday beer special, 7/10 for the patty melt.  I can't comment on the wings since the gf paid for those on her tab and she didn't tell me anything about the price, but I'm guessing they were fairly pricey and you could do better with all the wing specials around at various places with better wings.

Randomness:  I'm giving points for this place being a non-chain and for them having tater tots, but this place is pretty well known on this side of town.  6.5/10