Bar Food Lament and Recommendation

Jealousy. That is the feeling I get a lot since I've been watching what I eat. Now, I'm not saying that I'm starving myself. In fact quite the opposite. The plan I'm on doesn't really prevent you from eating anything, but if you do you have to make a tradeoff somewhere else. Most of the time I determine it isn't worth it. The only problem is as a pool player (my favorite hobby) I play in a league every week at a local watering hole that always has awesome and terrible for you food on the menu. It can be frustrating to see your teammates indulge in waffle fries, chicken tenders, breaded tenderloins, and wonderful wonderful beer without consequence. I imagine a lot of people in my situation feel the same way. The best way to deal with it? Eat dinner at your house before you go out. You can make yourself a nice meal the way you want it and you won't be hungry when you're at the bar. Also, when I'm playing league I just get a Diet Coke focus on my game. If you're really really craving it go ahead and get something and just try your best to make it sensible. See if someone wants to split the fries with you etc. Now that we have that out of the way let me tell you about a place where the bar food (if you decide to eat it) will not let you down.

Eddy's. It's a medium sized sports bar in Noblesville located in a strip mall on Mundy Dr. It definitely doesn't appear to be anything special, and it often plays second fiddle to the nearby Britton Tavern in the minds of most of the older crowd that patronizes bars in this area of town. However, in my experience it's a for sure go to if you want some good bar food. While this isn't a specific review I have ate there several times and I've never been disappointed so I thought I should share. The staff at Eddy's is great, and they have told me that everything on the menu is made to order.  The chicken tenders, tenderloin, and chicken sandwiches all look to be hand breaded and fresh showing none of the horrible uniformity that indicates frozen. Everything is always seasoned well, and the sauces pack a lot of flavor. Trust me if you get buffalo wings or a buffalo chicken sandwich you're definitely going to know it and so is everyone else at your terrible from the wonderful smell that permeates the nearby area. I hope to do a more detailed and specific review in the future, but for right now go check it out and let me know what you think.

P.S. One thing of note is that Eddy's still allows smoking so that is a downer for a lot of people wanting to go have dinner and a couple of beers, but I say if it bothers you get it to go and try it out.

Back From A Long Hiatus With a Stop at Conner Station Pub and Eatery

As you might have noticed I've had a little layoff from blogging as of late. I won't bore you with excuses, but let's just say Samuel L. Jackson stopped by my pad, told me he was "putting a team together" and I've been a little occupied ever since. But aside from my duties as Iron Man I've just been very busy and have been fighting a host of computer problems. But now that I'm back, baby, I want to share with you a little bit about my recent journey to what is perhaps Noblesville's newest restaurant, The Conner Station Pub and Eatery. 


Located in a building just off of Noblesville's downtown square Conner Station is a restaurant and bar that is just now 2 to 3 months old. As a Noblesville local and someone who enjoys many of the other restaurants and shops on the square I was eager to give this place a try. Also, I'm a sucker for the design features of restaurants like Conner Station. It's in an old brick building with an updated interior and large glass windows in the front. Unfortunately, this was one of those situations where the dining experience didn't necessarily live up to the pre-dinner excitement.


Let me say upfront that I think a lot of the issues we experienced are part of the regular growing pains of a new restaurant. We had tried to go once before and during the prior experience we couldn't even find a hostess to take our name let along seat us or tell us how long of a wait we could anticipate. This time (a couple months later) was a little better in that we were greeted by the hostess, but she still seemed a bit out of sorts. We told her we were a party of 2 and she looked around frantically as if she didn't know where or if we could be sat.  She finally glanced over at the bar area (never my first preference) and said we could take a table over there. She failed to actually walk us to our table or bring our menus.  Apparently such tasks are given to the bartenders in that section on top of their normal duties of serving everyone seated at the bar and making drinks for the entire restaurant. Due to their overwhelming responsibilities our service suffered. 


Once we finally got menus we gave them a quick once over and really didn't see anything that seems that original or interest-piquing. It is your typical lineup of sandwiches, salads, burgers, and pizzas. If you wanted a real entree with sides you would seem to be out of luck here. We decided to go with the appetizer of the 2 big soft pretzels, my main was a build your own burger with cheddar, bacon and bbq sauce, and The Girlfriend's choice was the breaded tenderloin.  

Despite being a straight out of the bag item the pretzels took a considerable amount of time to get to our table (the entrees did as well) to the point where it was almost comical, especially for a restaurant that was not overly busy.  The pretzels were warm and soft and served with a "spicy cheese", but it was honestly comparable to something you might get during the 7th inning stretch at Victory Field. This bares no resemblance to the homespun creation we had previously at C.R. Hero's. My burger was just ok. While I certainly ate it all it was cooked well done and calling it juicy would be a stretch. Most likely without the bacon and bbq sauce it wouldn't have been very palatable at all. The bun was soft and pillowy with some nice toasted edges, but it was almost too big for the burger underneath. The Girlfriend's tenderloin looked like a better play. It was hand breaded and fresh, but it did not come with the toppings she requested. Also, it seemed rather small even when comparing it to other "non-pounded thin" tenderloins I've seen.  Both my burger and her tenderloin were served with straight out of the bag potato chips. As you might know that is one of my food pet peeves. Just throw in the damn french fries. I "upgraded" to fries for the criminal upcharge of almost $2(!), and while the seasoned potato wedges were crispy and had a nice kick the penalty for ordering them felt only slightly more fair than a 70s Olympic basketball game against the Soviet Union.


All in all I think it was worth trying, but I don't think we'll be rushing back anytime soon...at least until some of the kinks get worked out.  



Taste 5.5/10 My meal was completely average in almost every way. They get the half-point above average for the slightly above average quality of The Girlfriend's tenderloin.


Value 3/10 I could have spent the same amount or less and had a much better meal and experience. DOWN WITH UPCHARGES!! GIVE US FRIES!!


Misc Comments: Service issues and food timing issues here. Also, a tip for the restaurant: have a real hostess station and waiting area so it's not so hectic.

Revisit: Rosie's Place

I'm going to let you know right off the bat that this is somewhat of a strange post to write for me.  If there are two things I don't do much of that other food bloggers do it's write revisit reviews and write breakfast restaurant reviews.   I tend to shy away from the former because most of the time I feel that my opinion the first time was pretty spot on and there really isn't much else to say.  As far as the latter truthfully we just don't go out to breakfast very much because I don't get up early enough on the weekends or I just say screw it and make something at home.  In this review I'm breaking my rules and doing both of those things because let me tell you Rosie's is worth it.

Those of us who live in or near Noblesville are very lucky to have such awesome breakfast choices when the mood suits us.  While Best Bet tends towards the awesome and quirky, Rosie's trends warm and comforting. Kind of like a plush blanket that serves farm fresh eggs, homefries, and homemade well...everything.  When The Girlfriend and I showed up at Rosie's on  Sunday we were lucky enough to beat the rush and were promptly greeted with a warm smile and a good table.  Our server, Jeri, was very nice and quite on her game considering how busy the place eventually became. She explained some very tasty sounding specials including a couple varieties of quiche and a breakfast burrito that sounded rather badass.  However, I had my heart set on pancakes and that is exactly what I got.

Ever since I was a little kid I've been somewhat of a connoisseur of pancakes. I'm not of the opinion that all hotcakes are created equal.  I tend to prefer big buttermilk pancakes without the crispy edges that develop in some cases.  I have to tell you that Rosie's absolutely nailed my pancakes. Soft, pillowy, and large without that dry "cotton" quality that can  sometimes occur in big pancakes.  And besides my pancakes being almost as big as the plate a standard serving includes 3 pancakes. Plenty of food.  No eggs, sausage, or bacon necessary.  My one and only minor complaint is that the small cup of syrup they give you isn't really enough to adequately coat the 3 hotcakes. Also, as a side note I tried a bit of The Girlfriend's country eggs benedict, and that's probably what I'll get on my next visit if for some reason the brown sugar and oatmeal pancakes slip my mind.


Taste 10/10 If you told me something from here wasn't good I just wouldn't believe you. Period.
Value 10/10 Our breakfast tasted great, was plenty of food, and came in under 18 bucks before tip including drinks.

Red Robin Review: Patty Melt Obession Part I

Everyone who is into food or at least those who are pregnant get cravings for things sometimes.  And since according to basic anatomy and physiology I fall into the former camp I've had an obession lately with the basic diner staple of the patty melt.  The patty melt usually has a little bit of everything that anyone as an American would enjoy (What about you tofu and beansprout people? You're at the wrong blog.). Red meat ground and shaped into an ample hamburger patty, melted cheese, onions grilled to bring out their natural sweetness, and dear Lord yes all of this is on YEAH TOAST!  I get it as a go to when I'm trying a burger joint for the first time.  It shouldn't be too hard to do correctly.  And I've had success getting it before at Britton Tavern and The Stacked Pickle.  My next quest to find out if Red Robin could be as successful.

The first thing I want to say about Red Robin is that if you are under 21 or have children with you Red Robin might be the most annoying restaurant in the known universe at which to dine.  When The Girlfriend and I walked in I almost turned around and walked out due to all of the screaming kids, general busyness, and crazy crap on the walls.  Think Uncle Moe's Family feedbag for you Simpsonites out there.  Luckily because we were both 21 we were seated on the bar side (Who is going to this place to drink??) and promptly ordered our meals.

My patty melt with fries came to the table in the expected amount of time and at first everything about it looked normal, but biting in immediately made me aware of two problems.  First of all when I ordered they asked me if I wanted "some pink" or "no pink" in my burger.  Despite the fact that a restaurant that prides itself on burgers can't for some reason understand the concept of well, medium well, medium, medium rare, and rare I ordered mine with "some pink".  You can alreadly probably guess that my patty melt came out with less pink in it than Chuck Norris' wardrobe.  I know I've said this before, but if you can't cook burgers to the right temperature then just don't freakin' ask.  It's insulting to your guests.  The second thing I noticed was that the bread was way over toasted.  It was so crunchy in fact it was a little hard to eat without the feeling that you were tearing the roof of your mouth apart.  All that being said the flavor of the meat, cheese, onions, and house made Thousand Island was good.  The bread was so offputting though it was hard to focus on much else. Also, I would be remiss without saying that I normally detest fries of the fat "steak fry" variety, but Red Robin has these down to a science.  They were crispy, light, and delicious.  Probably the only place where I would say I've ever enjoyed them.

Taste 5/10 Lagging far behind previous other patty melt entries on this blog.  I'm still yet to see why people say they love Red Robin so much. 

Value 4/10 The price was average here and pretty much exactly what you'd expect.  Execution issues with the food hurt the value score.

Review: Kobayashi Sushi and Asian Kitchen

"I don't believe in unwinnable scenarios." That's what James T. Kirk said in response to cheating on and winning the Kobayashi Maru exam at Starfleet Academy.  What does that have to do with this restaurant I'm reviewing other than the first part of their names are the same? Absolutely nothing, but I felt like showing off some of my nerd cred and I wanted to throw a bone to those lonely souls I may have insulted in my Valentine's Day post.  Chin up sparky. Some day some girl will let you set her phaser on stun.  In any case Kobayashi Sushi and Asian Kitchen is a relatively new restaurant on the scene in Noblesville.  At the corner of Greenfield Ave and Highway 37, it inhabits what used to be a Dick's Bodacious BBQ.  In fact when you go in, despite their efforts to redecorate, you can definitely tell this was not always a space intended for an Asian dining experience. That being said when the food comes out of the kitchen there won't be any doubt what experience you're about to have.

The Girlfriend and I went in on a Saturday night and there was a decent crowd for a place that I assume people in the community had just started hearing about.  While sushi bars may seem to pop up like Starbucks in some far Northside locales that really isn't the case in Noblesville so I thought if the food was good Kobayashi might have something here.  We decided to start off with an appetizer of gyoza. They are little wonton dumplings that are stuffed with a pork mixture and pan fried.  We have had them at several places and the quality varies, but they are still one of our favorites.  Here at Kobayashi they knocked them out of the park.  Not only was the flavor of the filling wonderful, but the texture on the outside was perfect, just the right mix of crispy and chewy.  If you go I highly recommend them.  The problem The Girlfriend and I run into when we go to these types of places is the issue of the entrees.

Sushi is something that is meant to be shared.  If you are sharing you can order more and try a variety.  This is an issue with us because even though she has tried it The Girlfriend is not becoming a sushi fan (any variety) any time soon.  We solve this issue by her ordering off of the other menu while I probably get enough sushi for 2 people. (No judgements) She ordered her go to chicken with broccoli which ended up being a healthy portion with a lot of fresh stir fried veggies in a lighter brother than what I was used to.  I tried a little bit, and it was very good.  If you want to go here and have people that don't want to get their "roll" on (ha!) they won't be disappointed. I ordered the basic tuna roll and I decided to order a special roll as well called the Golden Roll. The tuna roll tasted good and very fresh.  Basic, but for only $4 I wasn't complaining.  The Golden Roll was smoked salmon, avocado, and cream cheese with a light tempura fry on the outside and a drizzle of spicy mayo and eel sauce.  I know people tend to have very divergent views on both smoked salmon and cream cheese, but if you're a fan like I am you would have to say that this was pretty awesome. The creaminess balanced nicely with the crunch on the outside, and the flavors were very good even if I was expecting a little more hint of smoke on the salmon.  Overall, expectations exceeded.

Taste 8.5/10 The appetizer was very good and so were our main courses.  In my opinion it rivals any sushi I've had in the area.  The only one I could think of enjoying more was the Maui Roll at Naked Tchopstix.

Value 9.5/10 The Girlfriend and I got an app, 2 sushi rolls, and an entree and the meall still was under $40. Try doing that at a lot of other sushi places.

Quirky With A Side of Breakfast Review: Best Bet Breakfast and Lunch

I think one of the main reasons that people choose chains over local places is because people have a tendency go with the safe familiar pick over something quirky and new despite the fact that the "safe" pick probably isn't as good and certainly isn't giving you anything special.  However, if you are reading this blog I imagine you might be the sort that revels in quirky local restaurants like I do.  If that is the case then you need to get your ass over to Noblesville for some grub at Best Bet Breakfast and Lunch.

Image courtesy of urbanspoon.com

Best Bet is a small diner-esque place that is situated on the end of a stripmall.  On the inside there is a counter, a handful of tables and chairs, and holy crap TONS of poker/casino themed crap EVERYWHERE! I mean even the cash register looks like a casino cage.  The menu items even have kitschy poker names like "the flop".  In my opinion all of this amounts to awesomeness before even tasting one bite of anything.  One thing you should beware of though is that Best Bet is small and they do get busy on weekends.  There isn't exactly a lot of room to wait for a table.  But if you're patient the owner will probably bring around a basket of house-made cinnamon sugar donut holes while you wait.

After The Girlfriend and I were seated we overlooked the menu while munching on our toast from Best Bet's signature endless toast basket (like a churrascaria just turn the card to green when you want more).  I decided to go with a traditional savory breakfast called The River with 3 eggs, bacon, sausage, and Best Bet's signature Ava Potatoes.  I asked for my eggs over medium and they came out perfectly.  If you are touting yourself as a breakfast place you better nail the eggs obviously, but actually its the other little things that Best Bet does that makes it special in my opinion.  The bacon was thick and delicious just like bacon should be. However, the sausage at Best Bet is actually grilled fresh and not frozen.  They actually take a ball of local pork sausage and smash it on the flattop. How many chains are doing that?  Not many.  The result is breakfast sausage that just plain tastes better.  The other thing that stands out to me are the Ava Potatoes. More than just homefries, these potatoes are cooked in a pile on the flattop with onions and seasoned well.  They have a lot more flavor than your average hashbrowns.  A lot of people, including myself, often say that they don't enjoy going out to breakfast because it's basically the same stuff they can make at home.  At Best Bet that just is not the case.

Taste 10/10 This is place is tied with Rosie's in downtown Noblesville for my favorite breakfast joint at the moment.  As far as I'm concerned I couldn't think of a single thing I was served that I didn't like. Try it out.

Value 8.5/10 I'll be honest.  At Best Bet you're not going to get the ultra-cheap breakfast that you can get at other places.  However, what you do get is more than worth the price, which is still in no way prohibitively expensive. It's all about bang for your buck here.

Service comments: I forgot to mention that the uniqueness of this place goes right down the service. Best Bet is the only restaurant I've ever been to ever where the server doesn't just tell you their name, but asks you what your name is too.  It's a small thing, but it's nice and memorable. Also, it seems as if the servers are enjoying their job, and service has  always been friendly and prompt every time I've been there.

Commendable Service at Chili's In Noblesville

If you were to ask me how often I eat at places like Chili's or Applebee's I'd answer by saying almost never.  There are far too many restaurants with better food and better value that are locally owned to waste time eating at places like this.  The only time I will ever order anything from there is if I'm part of a larger party that decides that's where they want to go or if I have in some way acquired a giftcard for one of those places.  The latter was the case today when I tried to get some chicken tenders to avoid the bane of my existence, the grocery store, for one more day.  Unfortunately when I presented my giftcard to pay for my meal it was rejected due to not being properly loaded when it was purchased from a 3rd party retailer.  I was upset because I'd have to pay out of pocket, and The Girlfriend's grandparents who gave me the card for my birthday wasted their money.  Surprisingly, the manager offered to give me the food for half price despite the fact that she was under no obligation to do so.  If she hadn't done this I wouldn't have been upset.  After all the issue was not their fault, and they had prepared my food in good faith.  I thought it was very nice of the manager to do this for me without any needed complaining on my part, and I thought it was worthy of a little shoutout here at RDERF.  Moral of the story here if you are purchasing giftcards of any type from a 3rd party retailer for Christmas gifts beware that they might screw it up.  When you're buying Christmas gifts in a tough economy like this every dollar should count.

P.S. The food isn't really worthy of comment, but if you're curious the tenders in the honey chipotle sauce weren't bad.  The chicken was juicy.  The coleslaw wasn't bad, but definitely nothing special.  The fries were borderline awful as they usually are at Chili's.  No excuses for that.

In My Own Back Yard Review: Courtney's Kitchen

"When another man's grass looks greener water your own yard." The songwriter who penned that line definitely wasn't talking about restaurants, but that doesn't mean I can't be a shameless hack who uses other people's prose for my own purposes.  What I'm talking about precisely is that fact that I've often lamented the fact that I've traveled all around the Indianapolis metro area to eat at various restaurants, but I far too often neglect some of the restaurants that are in my adopted home town of Noblesville.  I don't really have a good explanation for why that is.  Partly it is due to the fact that I try to seek out things I hear about from other people and in doing so I forget that there are some pretty cool places right near by.  What is the first place on my Noblesville eating adventure? It's a little place just off the Noblesville downtown square called Courtney's Kitchen.

This photo courtesy of Urbanspoon

The Girlfriend and I arrived early on a Saturday night for dinner at Courtney's, and when we arrived the small restaurant was empty but filled up quickly after we sat down.  A good sign for sure.  While the outside of the restaurant looks rather unspectacular the inside was warm, comforting, and nicely decorated with black and white photos of people and sights from around the town.  Courtney's is a family run business and the message is conveyed nicely.  The menu is simple and consists mainly American comfort food classics and a variety of sandwiches.  In fact, a banner at the front of the restaurant proclaims the excellence of their breaded tenderloin sandwich.  I decided to put that claim to the test.

While the breaded tenderloin may very well be the state sandwich when you order one at a restaurant I've come to find out that you can never be exactly sure what you're going to get.  Fresh? Frozen? Thick? Pounded thin? Heavy breading? Light breading? Panko??? Any of the preceding can have their merits, but truth be told each Hoosier has their own preference.  I tend to prefer fresh hand-breaded tenderloins in their non-pounded-thin form. I usually always get pickles, sometimes mustard, sometimes mayo.  On this particular night I decided to go with pickles and mayo, but unfortunately my sandwich arrived with mustard instead.  I'll give the waitress a pass here due the fact that I enjoy mustard as well, but still it was somewhat frustrating.  This particular tenderloin comes pounded thin and is almost the size of the plate. Not my preferred style, but the flavor was still really good.  The meat was juicy, the breading wasn't too thick, and you could tell it was fresh and hand pounded and breaded before being fried.  A winner in my book.  The sandwich is normally served with chips but I upgraded to fries for an upcharge.  I was glad I did because the fries were fresh cut, nicely fried, and seasoned wonderfully.  While I wish places would just scrap the chips and include fries in the price I didn't mind it here because Courtney's is actually a place doing exceptional fries.  Not enough places do that. 

The Girlfriend got the special that was the pan fried chicken that was served with veg, mashed potatoes, and a dinner roll.  The pan fried chicken was juicy and nicely seasoned, but I think we were a little surprised it was served as chicken cutlets rather than actual on-the-bone chicken.  The gravy on the mash had a little bit more of a peppery kick than most. I really really enjoyed it, but The Girlfriend was less than thrilled. Personally, I thought it was something that sat it apart from other cream gravies.  The Girlfriend was also a little disappointed that she was served green beans as her veg when she ordered corn.  Other than those couple little quirks service was friendly and fairly good.  We thought about trying some of their homemade ice cream or pie, but we were really both too full to be able to eat it.  If you've had the dessert at Courtney's please leave a comment.

The more I eat out in Noblesville the dumber I feel for ignoring a lot of these places for so long in favor of places a more considerable distance away.  Noblesville may not have a ton of non-chain choices, but what is there that I have discovered so far has been on point.  I'm going to make sure there are more of these reviews to come in the future.

Taste 9/10 If I peg my ideal breaded tenderloin sandwich as a perfect 10/10 this was easily every bit of a 9. It was a different variety than what I normally like, and it didn't come with the exact toppings I requested and it still won me over.  That's hard to do.  Also, don't forget the fries were excellent.  Why are more small places not making their own fries.  It's such a huge positive difference from other places.  It sets the restaurant apart in a great way.

Value 8/10 The Girlfriend and I both ate dinner (a lot of food here) with sodas for $23 dollars before tip.  The upcharge on the fries and cost of the sodas drove up the ticket a little bit.  All in all you can't complain about bang for your buck here though.

A Good Breakfast Isn't Hard to Find: Rosie's Place Review

"Yes. It's homemade."  Those are the words that are printed on the backs of the some of the shirts that the waitstaff at Rosie's Place in Noblesville.  In today's world that is undoubtedly a bold statement.  Far too many restaurants, chain and local, use frozen, pre-made, and pre-packaged ingredients.  Though we lament this fact it does leave an opening for restaurants like Rosie's Place to use their homemade items as a selling point.  The question is do they live up to their own words?  After my breakfast today I believe that answer is yes. 

Rosie's Place is a breakfast, lunch, and bakery spot located right on the town square area of downtown Noblesville.  Before we even set foot inside the restaurant The Girlfriend and I both commented on how nice the downtown area of Noblesville is and lamented the fact that we don't venture there for lunch/dinner as much as we should.  When we finally stepped inside of Rosie's we noticed immediately what a warm and inviting feel the restaurant has.  It's small enough to feel cozy, but not so small it's hard to get a table or move around.  Also, I don't know much about interior design, but I think most people would agree that the hardwood floors and semi-distressed looking brick walls were a nice touch.  Additionally, before you're seated at Rosie's you get to check out all of their delightful homemade baked goods near the cash register which always gets my mouth watering.  We were greeted warmly by the staff, and seated promptly.  This is a big plus in my book considering how crazy places like this can get on Sunday for breakfast.

After we were seated the first thing I noticed was that the menu we were given was imprinted with Fall 2011.  It was a nice touch to know that even a small cafe like this cares about being seasonal.  After looking over my options I decided I was in a "savory breakfast" mood and decided to go with a bacon, mushroom, and cheddar omelet with a biscuit and their country potatoes on the side.  The Girlfriend went with the biscuits and gravy.  When out food arrived I noticed quite a few pleasant surprises.  First of all I have said before how biscuits can make or break a breakfast place for me, and seeing as how Rosie's is also a bakery they had more at stake here than most.  Rosie's won the day though because the biscuit was just great.  It was light and fluffy yet substantial enough not to crumble.  If I had any slight criticism it might be that my biscuit may have been sitting around for a bit before it was served, but the taste was not affect by this since I found it to be delicious.  Rosie's even went the extra mile here of bringing me homemade strawberry preserves when I asked for jelly instead of just bringing me crappy Smucker's packets.  Major cool points. ::makes salute motion:: The omelet was equally delicious and I could tell that I was getting fresh mushrooms and fresh real cheddar cheese.  One forgets how much this adds to a dish after having subpar canned mushrooms and pre-packaged shredded cheese on so many occasions.  The bacon was perfectly cooked and plentiful.  Also, I want to give big props to Rosie's for actually using fresh diced red potatoes as their country potatoes instead of the same old boring frozen homefries.  One note though is that my potatoes were slightly under-seasoned. They were begging for some more salt and pepper and perhaps they could have been just slightly crispier.  The Girlfriend was equally pleased with her B&G.  I gave it a little taste and I have to agree.  The sausage gravy was the perfect consistency and the flavor was spot on.  We both left the table satisfied as well as full.

Taste 9.5/10 Just a fantastic restaurant experience overall.  I love finding places like this.  I'm excited to go back and give their pancakes, baked goods, and eggs benedict a shot. This is a Noblesville gem.  Don't sleep on it if you live in the Northern suburbs. Also, how does Rosie's ultimately stand up to their claim of "Yes. It's homemade"? I'm pretty sure the only think not made in-house was the butter for my biscuit.  'Nuff said.

Value 9/10 Without including drinks (coffe and soda) our ticket would have been around 13 or 14 dollars.  I know some people may ask how is that a good value since I can make breakfast at home?  My answer is that unless you're spending a ton of time and have some great recipe's you aren't doing what Rosie's is doing. You're getting a lot in terms of food and dining experience here for a reasonable price.



P.S. If anyone has been to Rosie's and had the pies or baked goods leave a comment.  I'm thinking of getting a pie from a specialty bake shop for Thanksgiving, but I haven't decided where from yet.


Interior pictures courtesy urbanspoon and google.

Review: Nigiri Sushi a la Marsh Supermarkets

I wanted to write a blog tonight about our recent Groupon induced trip to highly vaunted North side sushi restaurant Miyagi's, but being that it's U.S. Open week my after work activity primarily consisted of watching golf on the DVR.  I make absolutely no apologies for that.  After all there are worse things you can do than waste time watching sports.  Isn't that right Rep. Weiner?  Anyway, I just wanted to take a small amount of time to jot down a little review of another sushi experience I had that should serve as an interesting comparison to Miyagi's.

Note:  Originally contained 8 pieces...yeah I couldn't wait.

Marsh Supermarkets.  When its former CEO and namesake using the company funds to take trips with various mistresses, Marsh puts out several fresh ready made foods at several of its central Indiana locations.  To distinguish itself one of these items is several varieties of sushi made in house.  Over the years I've developed quite a taste for sushi and salmon nigiri in particular.  The Girlfriend doesn't share such sentiments so if I have a craving picking up some quick sushi from Marsh is not terrible option.  On this night I did in fact decide to get the salmon nigiri.  I wasn't sure how it was going to taste being that it was from a grocery store, but I had seen the sushi chef in the store and I knew it was at least fresh and not shipped in.  The portion size was quite nice and left me perfectly satisfied.  I thought the taste overall was fairly good.  It did not blow me away, and I've certainly had better.  The main issue was actually that I thought the salmon was sliced too thin and too large.  It was more wrapped around the rice ball instead of sitting on top.  Also, the rice ball itself showed a propensity for coming apart too easily when I grabbed them with my chopsticks.  When the food is just rice and fish and the rice doesn't hold up that means that pretty much the entire dish disintegrated. 

Taste 5/10  Perfectly average.  It had some problems, but almost exactly what I expected.  I'm not necessarily totally opposed to picking up some in the future if I'm really wanting sushi and there are no other options.
Value 2/10  While I did get several pieces the cost was almost 9 dollars.  Nigiri pieces can be a little pricey at dedicated sushi bars, but I didn't feel like I got bang for my buck here.  I have had better salmon nigiri at the Teppanyaki Grill in Muncie as part of the buffet.  The entire buffet meal there with sushi included doesn't cost much more than what I got from Marsh.

Pre-Movie Eats Review: Saku Japan Grill

As I discussed in a previous post last weekend The Girlfriend and I decided to go see the superhero blockbuster, Thor.  I was pondering what exactly our pre-movie eats would be.  I thought now would be a good time to do a little update post/review.

I know this is a food blog, but I wanted to at least mention that I thought Thor was awesome!  It had an interesting story, good characters, humor, good writing and good action.  Go see it!  Anyway, what was really important is what and where we decided to do dinner.  Since we were going to a 7 pm show I thought it would be a good idea to grab something before the movie seeing both of us were really to hungry to eat at 9 pm.  We also decided that we weren't really feeling a sit down meal due to timing issues, but we also did not want to just grab fast food.  We decided to find a place to grab some good eats near the theater so we decided on Saku Japan Grill located in the Hamilton Town Center shopping mall.

Going in, I wasn't really sure what to expect.  I was somewhat in the mood for sushi which was indeed on the menu at Saku, but when I arrived I didn't see anyone making or eating it so I rightly or wrongly questioned its quality.  The Girlfriend and I decided to go with the special instead which consisted of a combo of orange chicken and chicken teriyaki, steamed veggies and white rice.  I readily admit that this was not the most exciting or adventurous meal, but I will say this wasn't really your typical mall food court Asian food.  The veggies had wonderful crunch and flavor that I definitely wasn't expecting.  The orange chicken was pretty much every orange chicken you've ever had.  It was sweet and slightly tangy, but I thought it had much better flavor and a fresher taste than say a place like Panda Express.  The chicken teriyaki was surprisingly grilled to order instead of just dished out from a pre-prepared batch.  My advice would be to skip the combo special and just get the teryaki by itself if you're into those sort of flavors.  The portions were also quite large.  Each of us had enough left over for lunch the next day.  One criticism is that having part of the name be "Japan Grill" is a little misleading.  Yes they are doing sushi (maybe?), but most of the dishes seem like standard Americanized Chinese.  Then again expecting authenticity at mall food court is like expecting Kirstie Alley to let you have the last slice of pizza.

Taste 7/10  Not really very sophisticated, but pretty enjoyable for mall food.  It was way better than grabbing burgers before going to see the god of thunder.
Value 4/10  I had a bit of sticker shock when our bill for our 2 "specials" and 2 drinks came to 22 dollars.  The food was good, but not better than I've had a my favorite Chinese takeout.  Also, when we get takeout we get egg rolls and a separate order of crab Rangoon and I still don't need a whole Jackson to pay the bill.  We did get 2 meals out of it, but pre-diet me would have easily ate it in one sitting.

Breakfast Review: Ginger's Cafe

Going out to breakfast on the weekends is one of the small pleasures in life that I enjoy the most.  I know that a lot of you might say that breakfast out isn't that special because it mostly consists of simple items you could prepare at home.  This is true, but sometimes dining out is as much about the experience as the food.  Knowing that I slept in somewhat late on a Sunday, went to an awesome diner  and had someone else prepare for me a hearty meal just really makes my day.  There are a couple of places near my residence that tend to fit that criteria and the one I visited most recently was Ginger's Cafe on Conner St. in Noblesville.

As I walked in on Sunday morning I noticed that while all the tables weren't full business was still brisk for being late morning and past time for the breakfast rush.  This is a true small mom and pop place.  There was no hostess so I grabbed a seat at a small table near the door.  The downside of this was that it took several minutes longer than normal to get noticed by the waitstaff that I was indeed there to eat and had just sat down.  The wait gave me time to look around at the interesting decor.  I found it really interesting that the tables and chairs in the restaurant are all mishmash and unique almost like they were donated or purchased at various garage sales.  Even though it meant my chair was slightly uncomfortable I was a fan.  The rest of the decorations on the walls like various old license plates and knickknacks gave it a very homey feel.  Eventually though I was noticed, and I was hungry and ready to order.

The difference between the biscuits is quite clear even in this picture.

I decided to go with the Ginger's Breakfast which was 2 eggs (over medium for me), home fries, 2 pieces of bacon, and 2 biscuits.  Absolutely everything I wanted and nothing I didn't.  This was not a sweet breakfast kind of morning.  My food didn't take long to come out of the kitchen and I was fairly pleased when I dug in.  My eggs were perfectly over medium, which I was most worried about.  The whites were cooked through and the yolks were the perfect combination of custardy and runny.  The home fries were nicely seasoned and tasted fresh.  I have had bad previous experiences were home fries so I was really glad these were a winner.  The bacon was good, but not outstanding.  It was just a little less crispy than I would have preferred and also a little thinner sliced than what I would consider really awesome bacon to be.  The part of the meal that confused me the most was the part I usually most look forward to, the biscuits.  The two biscuits I was served couldn't have tasted more different.  One biscuit was delicious, fluffy and fresh while the other tasted like a rubbery Pillsbury biscuit that had been sitting out a while then reheated.  One delicious.  One practically inedible.  I have no idea what accounted for the difference, but the lack of consistency was slightly annoying.  Really good biscuits are one thing that I can't make at home so I'm further disappointed when I get let down at a restaurant.

Overall though I have to say I love places like Ginger's.  They're local.  They're cozy.  They're kitschy and they're putting out some pretty good food.  Though there were a few problems here or there I definitely plan on going back and you should go try it out too.  Let's make like a Nascar fan's pickup truck and put some numbers on this bad boy.

Taste 6.8/10  I would definitely consider this place above average taste wise, but because of the biscuit I got and the consistency issues going with that I didn't feel like it deserved a full 7. 
Value 6/10  My meal was one of the bigger ones on the menu and it cost $6.95 cents plus an additional 2 bucks for the Diet Coke I ordered.  It didn't seem like either a really good or a really bad value to me.  It was an adequate price for an adequate meal.

Matteo's Ristorante Italiano

Being that time of the year the girlfriend and I headed out for what we hoped to be a lovely Valentine's Day dinner.  Luckily with the help of an intelligently placed dinner reservation on the Friday before Valentine's Day we made the evening as enjoyable and stress free as possible.  Our destination on this culinary journey?  Matteo's Ristorante Italiano in Noblesville.

Now it's a little unusual to say this, but whenever I think of Matteo's I'm always reminded a little of the Tardis from Dr. Who.  Matteo's from the outside looks like a small quaint little restaurant.  Certainly not that impressive visually from the street.  However, once you go inside you'll realize why I thought this to be a nice romantic Valentine's Day choice.  The colors are warm and  inviting, each table is decked out with a lovely setting with a candle included, the dining room is expansive with a very tall ceiling but it still feels  intimate.  Soft music serenades you in the background while you dine.  To me, part of enjoying the restaurant is enjoying the experience along with the food and Matteo's certainly has a leg up in that department.

We were seated promptly after arrival.  Even though we had a reservation it was nice to see it was held properly.  As Jerry Seinfeld once said, "Anybody can just take 'em!"  When we sat down we were greeted by our attentive server who took our drink orders and gave us some freshly baked bread an oil.  The bread is phenomenal.  It is served warm right out of the oven, and it has that perfect combination of crusty outside and soft inside.  The oil is an olive oil with a nice mix of herbs and spices.  It has a little heat but not too much.  At most places I would prefer butter for my bread, but there is something about the oil and spices at Matteo's that makes it just that much better.

The last couple of times I had been to Matteo's I had ordered pasta dishes and had enjoyed each one, but I thought in the interest of food bloggery and my own enjoyment I'd step out on a bit of a limb here and  go with Matteo's twist on Chicken Marsala that they call Pollo Amore.  It is two chicken breasts sauteed in a Marsala wine sauce with mushrooms and cream then topped with a thin layer of prosciutto and mozzarella cheese served over rice pilaf.  I also ordered a side dish of what Matteo's calls  panzerotti, but what actually amounts to flash fried potato cakes served with a side of marinara.

I had reservations about getting the panzerotti when I ordered it because I had a feeling it might be a throwaway dish.  However, I thought it would be a nice functioning appetizer for us and I thought it would be seasoned well.  Unfortunately my  first inclinations were correct.  It was little more than bland fried potato balls served with red dipping sauce.  If it weren't for the sauce they would have had  no flavor at all.  This is too bad because I think with a little more salt and herbs this could be a simple yet still tasty dish.  Now, on to the main course.

I quickly forgot about anything else I had ordered as soon as I laid eyes on my Pollo Amore.  A healthy portion of chicken breasts covered in everything that is good in the world.  The sauce had a perfectly creamy texture and just a hint of the bit left over from the wine that cut the richness nicely.  The mushrooms added a great earthiness and texture to the dish.  The chicken was  moist and perfectly cooked and the prosciutto on top was the perfect element of saltiness.  I couldn't get over how well the flavors both stood out individually and also made a complete coherent dish.  I even enjoyed the rice which is usually something I barely even notice when I get anything that comes with pilaf.  I could have this dish again a million times and still be happy.

Taste:  9.5/10  Almost a perfect meal.  Half point deduction for the potato cakes.  I should have stuck to ordering what they do best, but "panzerotti" didn't have to be bland.

Value:  8.5/10  We paid 60 dollars including tip for 2 entrees and a side and 2 Diet Cokes.  We aren't much for wine and I  wasn't feeling a cocktail that night.  If you do add booze it will add quite a bit to your bill.  Still I've paid a lot more for meals I have liked much much less.




P.S. I apologize if some of the pictures are a little hard to make out.  It was a little on the dark side inside the restaurant.

Mo's..No, not the crappy burrito place...No, not that steakhouse either...Yes, the quasi-Irish one.

Last weekend the girlfriend and I decided to go out for our usual Saturday night dinner, and we had decided to go to the Olive Garden near Hamilton Town Center because it was both close and free (the only reason to actually go to Olive Garden) since we had gift cards.  Apparently people in the Noblesville/Fishers area really dig Olive Garden because there was a 40 minute wait and it was only 6 pm.  As a consequence we abandoned this idea and headed across the street for a meal at Mo's Irish Pub.

Aside from having a similar name to other restaurants Mo's isn't a bad place at all.  It tries to have a nice Irish pub look to it with a dimmer atmosphere and a lot of dark hardwoods used on the interior.  However, I couldn't help but think the place seems a little confused.  Part of the interior design says pub, but then you see all the neon signs and 40 billion televisions and I think sports bar.  The menu is similarly fashioned.  You see some traditional fare on there like fish and chips, shepherd's pie and corned beef and cabbage.  The problem is the menu also has chicken tenders and ugh...quesadillas.  Now I realize they are a chain, and they're trying to appeal to everyone.  It just seemed strange to me.  I guess if you want a more authentic experience go somewhere else. 

Now on to the food.  I decided to go with my old standby of fish and chips.  Not real adventurous I know, but in my opinion if you can't do that dish right then the your restaurant isn't worth coming back to.  Well, my verdict was that it was good, but not outstanding.  The fish was served in several smaller pieces with standard out-of-the-bag fries on the side.  The fish had good flavor, and the tartar sauce that came with it was very creamy and delicious.  Truthfully though I prefer my fish and chips served as one big piece a la the Claddagh or Broad Ripple Brewpub.  There was nothing special at all about the fries.  The menu claims they are "seasoned" which I suppose they were, but when I see that I'm expecting more than just salted fries.  My meal was also served with coleslaw and a warm piece of pumpernickel bread and butter.  The coleslaw, which I know I can be picky about, was very good and was neither too creamy nor too vinegary.  The bread and butter was a very nice touch.  I wish they would have brought a basket to the table instead of just 1 piece with the meal. We also decided to split a dessert.  There weren't very many dessert options (only 3 I think) and the only one I can remember is the one we got which was the apple crisp with ice cream.  It was good, but again pretty standard stuff.

Our total bill including our two entrees, 1 drink (I got water.), and dessert ran us $35.00 not including tip.  I didn't think that was too bad at all.  My fish and chips entree was a healthy portion and competitively priced at $12.99.  The girl got a roast beef and swiss with au jus and I think her's was around 9 or 10 bucks.  They also let her substitute the fries that came with her meal for garlic mash without an extra charge.  Alright, let's get on with the ratings.

Taste:  7.5/10  Overall pretty good.  I consider the food just a shade below some of the other Irish pub places I've been to.  The fries could use a little improvement.

Value:  7/10  Not good or bad really.  I got exactly what I paid for exactly the price I would expect to pay.  One suggestion I would make is for the restaurant to go ahead and serve that delicious bread to every table while patrons are waiting for their meals just to give everyone a little more bang for their buck. 

Addendum:  I didn't speak much about the service because it wasn't really noteworthy.  Again keeping with the theme of this place not especially bad or good.  The manager did seem present and involved which is nice, and he came by to check on each table as well which was a nice touch.