A New "Best Burger in the City" at Fat Dan's Deli

Sobro. That's the annoying portmanteau of a phrase that people use to describe the area just south of Broadripple's main drag. When you get there you'll probably find a couple things 1. Annoying hipsters everywhere (You're a 25 year old man. Your handle bar mustache just makes you look like a moron.) and 2. a lot of cool independent restaurants with good food and good beer. Just in case you couldn't figure it out by my parenthetical commentary I go for the latter rather than the former. Over the weekend I decided to make the trek down there from my home on the far North side to find a gem known as Fat Dan's Deli.

As some of you might know Fat Dan's used to be located right on Broadripple Ave and is known for a being a place known for Chicago favorites such as Italian beef and real Chicago style hotdogs. After disappearing from that location for a few months they have reopened with a vengence at the new location at 54th and College across from the Fresh Market and right next door to Twenty Tap.  While the former location had limited seating and you ordered at the counter the new restaurant is much larger, has a bar area with good craft beers on tap (as well as the Chicago favorite Old Style), and table service.  The last time I visited Fat Dan's I got the dipped Italian Beef with melt-your-face gardinera and it was fantastic so this time I wanted to try something different. I had heard good things about the burgers so I wanted to see for myself.

I decided to go with the Wells St Fat Burger with an order of "The Best Fries in the Universe". This version of their "Fat Burger" line included grilled onions, bacon, bbq sauce, and gorgonzola cheese. At first you might think those are some pretty assertive flavors to put on one burger, and you'd be right but man it works in a great way. The onions had that wonderful sweetness, the bbq sauce added tang, the bacon was fairly thick and had a wonderful smokiness and great chew, and the gorgonzola probably would have been out of place on most burgers but here it was necessary to not get covered up by the other flavors. A slice of  Swiss or American would have just faded into the background.  Also, the burger itself was excellent and cooked perfectly to medium just as I asked. That in and of itself is a rarity in this city.  The fries, served in a giant pile on butcher paper with your sandwich, are easily a big enough portion for 2 or 3 and are absolutely delicious. They are not only the great fresh cut, double fried, variety but they are also perfectly seasoned. I also liked the addition of some cottage fry pieces in with the regular french fry cut variety.  The burger was $8.50 and the fries were $3.75. A little on the high side, but well within reason for the great quality you're getting. There are plenty of restaurants charging twice or 3 times that much for burgers that are of lesser quality.

Rating 10/10 Perfect score. I rarely hand those out, but this is literally a can't miss. The service was great. The burger is the best in the city. The fries are the best in the city. And it won't break the bank. Get there asap.

Catching The Burger Wave: Boogie Burger Review

"Eating seasonally." I think the general consensus of that term is the one that foodies, hipsters, and foodie hipsters most often employ and that is using ingredients in cooking that are currently in season and therefore taste fresher.  I can't disagree, but I think about that phrase in a different way also. When I say I'm eating seasonally I mean that there are certain types of food that I just associate with a time of year or a type of weather. As you can probably ascertain from my last few blog posts warmer weather to me means old school red meat hamburgers.

I don't know what it is.  I think I first and foremost associate hamburgers with warmer weather due to the grilling out factor. In fact I did have some fantastic outdoor grilled burgers on St Patty's at KTP's Bar in Broadripple (sorry folks it's a  private member's only establishment).  The combination of brown sugar, bacon, and green onion mixed into the meat was truly a winner despite any reservations you may have about such a concoction being overly sweet.  And while you may not get the chance to try those burgers there is a place in Broadripple that is making some truly badass burger creations that make for the perfect Spring/Summer lunch or dinner.  That place is Boogie Burger.

Truthfully, I've been wanting to try Boogie Burger for a long time.  Despite their new location being a stones throw from my friends' house where our group often hangs out I've just never made it in for a visit until now.  Man was I missing out.  As you walk in you are greeted a friendly face at the counter who is surrounded by a plethora of burger choices on the wall menu.  I went back and forth for a bit, and settled on one of my favorite combinations, the mushroom and swiss.  I also ordered a side of their garlic fries because I've heard good things and that it was kind of a signature item for them.  My order was ready in short order and my buddy and I ventured out on their patio to enjoy our burgers in this wonderful Spring weather we've been having. 

Everything about my burger and fries were absolutely phenomenal.  The burger was juicy, and the size of the patty was ample.  The swiss cheese was melted to gooey perfection. The mushrooms were in abundance on the top of my burger instead of just a couple of slices hiding underneath the bun that you sometimes get at other chain burger joints.  Speaking of the bun it was soft and pillowy and just the right size for the burger.  And although my burger was fantastic make no mistake I thought the real star of my meal was the garlic fries.  I know that is unusual since most of the time places have fries that are barely worthy of mention.  However, Boogie Burger's garlic fries are made with their fresh garlic parsley mix and are not to be missed.  Trust me on this one.  This is not fries tossed in garlic powder or garlic salt.  This is real deal fresh garlic, and it really delivers on smell and flavor.  Granted I am a big garlic fan, but honestly if you like flavor you should be a fan of these fries.  If not you should probably go read some pinko vegan blog about tofu.  All kidding aside, go to Boogie Burger andorder the garlic fries and please yourself now.  Brush your teeth and use some mouthwash to please your significant other later.

Taste 10/10 It took me awhile to make my first visit.  I assure you the time between now and my next visit will be much much shorter.

Value 10/10 The price of my meal with a burger, fries, and drink was around 11 dollars.  Some of you might say that's a bit steep, but the fries are easily a large enough portion to split (that's what we did actually) and the food tastes great.  If you're willing to pay that at Five Guys paying it at Boogie Burger, which I actually liked more, feels like a steal.

My Chow Down Midtown Experience: Moe and Johnny's

Okay so I know I haven't posted much...well I guess at all...this week, but after spending Monday at the zoo with The Girlfriend I guess I've just kind of been working at my less fun real job and coasting through life.  Today I want to break the cycle by letting you all know about my Chow Down Midtown experience.

Just for a little background in case you have missed my earlier posts Chow Down Midtown is a promotion for restaurants in the Broadripple and Meridian/Kessler areas to promote themselves with special 30 dollar for 2 meals or 30 dollar per person menus.  For our adventure The Girlfriend and I called up a couple of our friends and got together with them for a meal at Moe and Johnny's.  If I didn't know that MandJ's was doing the Chow Down promotion I doubt it was a place I would have ever thought about going to for dinner.  From the outside it looked like a cool place to have a drink, but given it's bar appearance I would have expected typical bar food on the menu.  This was hardly the case.

When we arrived we were seated and waited on promptly which was much appreciated especially I assumed they might be experiencing more diners than average due to the promotion.  The option for outdoor dining was available, but we decided to forgo it due to the heat.  The Chow Down menu consisted of a tasting plate for 2 including the choice of 2 proteins, choice of 2 cheeses, roasted red potatoes, locally grown tomatoes and asparagus, toasted baguette, sliced apples and sliced strawberries.  The kicker to this setup was that also offered with the meal was each person got to choose either a tasting of 4 beers, 3 white wines or 3 reds.  The choices for The Girlfriend and I were sliced sirloin steak with caramelized onions, grilled chicken with mushroom sauce, baked gorgonzola, smoked gouda and the beer for me and white wine for her. 

The tasting platter was served all at once on a large wood cutting board brought to the table.  Even though it took up a lot of room on the table with the beer and wine glasses I still enjoyed this presentation a lot.  It made me feel like I was getting a special meal instead of the normal plated dishes at other restaurants.  Also, even though this was a tasting platter make no mistake it was a lot of food.  I'm sorry for not having pictures, but my camera settings were malfunctioning and I couldn't get any shots that were bright enough to make out the food.  The sirloin was cooked medium just as we requested, and despite being sliced was still quite juicy.  The caramelized onions piled on top were the perfect sweet accent flavor.  The chicken was also perfectly cooked and coated in plenty of the mushroom sauce.  I found the sauce delicious, but it seemed somewhat thicker almost to the point of almost being a gravy.  The Girlfriend with her unnatural hatred of mushrooms  was not as appreciative.  I found the smoked gouda to be maybe my favorite thing on the platter.  It had a lot of smoky flavor and went well with the steak, bread and even as a nice compliment to the sliced apple.  I also enjoyed the baked gorgonzola, but it was very aggressively flavored (think severe blue cheese funk) and I don't think it melded as well with the rest of the flavors.  The bread was a sliced baguette and it was toasted and coated with a little olive oil.  I liked it, but I think it would have better if they had just left it as is.  Our friends had a piece that was so heavily toasted it bordered on burnt.  The other highlight was the asparagus.  The spears we were served were very large and retained a nice snap to them.  It was a nice green addition to the plate.  The beers were pretty much what I expected, a dark beer, a wheat, an IPA etc.  I enjoyed the Upland Wheat most of all, and the Bell's Two Hearted the least.  However, I expected that going in.  I'm just not a hops guy.  Sue me.  Despite what beers were served the awesomeness of including them with the meal can't be overlooked.

As for the service I found it to be very pleasant, and we were in no way shunned or ignored because we ordered off the special promo menu.  The manager even came around to check on us a couple of times which I don't think happens at enough restaurants. 

Normally this would be the section where I assign my numbered taste and value ratings.  Being that this was a special promo menu with a flat price I'm going to avoid that here this time and just go all Jerry Springer on you and throw out some final thoughts.  Chow Down Midtown for us I would have to say was quite a success.  Moe and Johnny's really made an effort here to provide a unique experience.  We got plenty of food.  We got to taste several well prepared items.  I much preferred this over 2 or 3 plated courses.  The atmosphere was casual and relaxed.  I don't really know what is on the M and J's regular menu, but whether it's for drinks, dinner or both I think I'll be going back to find out.  Remember, take care of yourself...and each other.

Picture of restaurant via helloindianapolis.com

Chow Down Midtown

Double posting day!  What up!  I know I haven't posted as much this month so I guess this is like brushing your teeth a lot the night before you go to the dentist.  Anyway, I wanted to make sure you all do know about the upcoming event of Chow Down Midtown.  It's similar to the twice yearly even of Devour Downtown where select restaurants offer special deals for a week long promotion.  The difference is that for Chow Down Midtown all of the restaurants are in Broadripple and the surrounding northern areas rather than downtown.  This is especially convenient for those of us on the North side, and especially appropriate for all of the culinary attention that area has gotten as of late.  Some of the restaurants have posted their menus on the website, and some places are having a 2 meals for $30 deal and other more expensive places will be offering other $30 deals.  It's something of which I'm certainly going to take advantage.  Take a look at the menus and see if you see anything that sounds particularly good and if you do let me know.  Chow Down Midtown runs from June 6th-11th.

Hat Tip:  Erin of Food Obsessed In The Midwest.  I found out about it from her quite enjoyable Indy food blog.