Question of the Day

Why haven't more fast food restaurants followed McDonald's lead of offering any sized drink for a buck? 

A Fisher's BBQ Flameout

A bbq flameout sounds like some sort of awful entree or app that comes on a Chili's menu.  In this case though I'm afraid I'm talking about the closing of Bender's BBQ Pit in Fishers on the corner of 96th and Masters.  You might have remember my posting of a favorable review of it's cuisine earlier this Summer.  After my post I started noticing that a lot of people didn't view their bbq from Bender's quite as favorably as I did.  I made a couple of revisits that I never got around to blogging about, but keeping in mind that the restaurant recently closed after less than 6 months in business it seems appropriate to do so now.

I stand by my original assessment of the flavor of the food at Bender's.  I enjoyed my pulled pork, and when I later had the brisket I found it even better than the pork.  The sauce was good.  The coleslaw ranked among my favorite of all time.  The problem comes from the fact that little issues that I wrote off in the beginning as growing pains never really went away.  Bender's seemed to want to do too much too soon (moving to a bigger space, serving breakfast) and the details got left behind.  For example, every time I got a pulled pork sandwich from there the bottom bun was completely soggy to the point of being inedible.  I kept hoping they would solve that problem, but they never did.  One time the top bun of my sandwich was forgotten entirely. 

I think it's a shame to see any local restaurant close, but I really wanted an awesome bbq restaurant in that part of town.  From where I live, as it stands now, the closest bbq restaurants are either in Westfield or off of Binford, South of 465.  Not really close at all.  Hopefully someone will take up the reigns and not really try to run before they walk.

My Blogging Debut At PJ Lifestyle

It is with much pleasure that I get to announce that I was offered the opportunity to do some food blogging for the lifestyle section of Pajamas Media.  Today is the debut of my first blog: But I Love That Place: The 7 Most Overrated Fast Food Restaurants.  It was a piece that I had a lot of fun writing, and hopefull people will have fun reading it as well.  It's important to note that this doesn't mean Random Dude Eats Random Food is going on hiatus.  I'm still going to try to do reviews here with an emphasis on Indy/Indiana specific locations.  In the meantime come on over to PJ Lifestyle and check us out.  Here's a little taste.

French fries sizzling in hot oil. Fresh (at least at some point) hamburger searing on the flat top grill. Squeaky-voiced teen messing up our order and saying he’ll have to ask his manager. This is the fast food experience Americans are all familiar with. When we walk into a fast food restaurant we all have a certain set of expectations about the food and service based on our previous experiences. That’s why we continue to go back — no matter where in the country we are, we expect the same McDonald’s or Taco Bell meal.



However, it seems to be increasingly evident that fast food restaurants are trying new gimmicks marketing techniques to change both our expectations and perceptions of what they’re serving and how they’re serving it. If my business was being endlessly attacked by nanny-staters that want to dictate what I can and can’t serve my customers, I’d probably try almost anything to keep them coming in the door. But when you try to create the perception of better food and better value instead of actually giving it to your customers, you become a prime candidate for today’s list.

Sweet Treat: Paradise Cafe Coconut Chocolate Chip Cookie

Ok here were are again at the intersection of two of my favorite things in the entire world chocolate chip cookies and toasted coconut.  While one would think that very little could go wrong with a coconut chocolate chip cookie given my culinary predilictions I have to say that this was not immediately a slam dunk.  While I love chocolate chip cookies I'm a little particular about them.  I definitely prefer soft and chewy over crunchy and crumbly.  I believe this is also the reason why I almost like to eat cookie dough as much as I like to eat the cookies themselves.   Also, it's important to me that any good chocolate chip cookie have chocolate pieces that aren't too big (no chunks please) and evenly distributed.  As for the coconut I'm pretty cool with it in all of it's forms, but much like everything else in life being a little bit toasted is always better.  How did these cookies from Paradise Bakery and Cafe, a place I had never been, stack up.

Truthfully and honestly I have to say these were the best chocolate chip cookies I can remember eating.  The regular chocolate chip was fantastic.  It met all of the criteria I described above and then some.  It far exceeded expectations.  I was a little more skeptical when I tried the chocolate chip coconut.  I had never had this particular combination before, and just having ate the regular chocolate chip it was going to have a lot to stack up to.  It passed the test with flying colors.  The coconut was not simply sprinkled on top but seemed to be actually mixed throughout the entire cookie.  It was also nicely toasted despite the cookie still being very moist and chewy.  The chocolate chips were evenly distributed and had the perfect melted consistency.  I wish had one right now.

Taste 10/10 As far as flavor combinations and chocolate chip cookies go this was it for me. 

Value 6/10  These cookies are pretty fantastic, but they dont come cheap.  They were running a special where you bought 3 cookies and got 1 free and the total came to almost 5 bucks! Yowza!  If the taste was anything less than a 10 the value score probably wouldn't have been dragged down significantly.

Burger Time (And I Don't Mean That Oldschool Videogame) Review: Houlihan's

Just in case you never noticed before the DUDE part of Random Dude Eats Random Food is more than just some word that rhymes in a blog title.  The truth is that I'm a guy and sometimes a guy just wants a damn hamburger.  But in my travels I seem to find a really good burger a little hard to come by.  Granted I've had some solid burgers, but none that rise to the level of the place with the little green door with the neon sign that says burger (If you get that cultural reference...good on ya).  That is to say, I can't find one that really sticks in my memory as the go to place for ground beef.  When I went with friends to Houlihan's a couple of weeks ago my primary motivation was the half-priced drinks, but was burger an added bonus or just a waste of money I could have used to buy more cheap booze?

First, before I get to the food, I want to voice a couple of impressions I had about Houlihan's as a restaurant.  Upon entering I have to say that my first thought was that this place is trying way too hard.  I mean, come on, it's a chain causal restaurant with a "'s" on the end of it's name.  Stop trying so hard to look cool with the semi-open kitchen and somewhat retro decor.  Just because you don't have all kinds of crazy crap on the walls doesn't make you that much better than Applebee's, Chili's, etc etc etc.  Looking at the "good Lord we have everything under the Sun" menu with no clear direction only reinforced my skepticism.  Add to that there was only 1 server working the entire bar area, on what was a busy Friday night, then you might begin to understand why Houlihan's had a lot to overcome to impress me.

I looked over the menu and decided on the Burger 72.  It has apparently had a quite a bit of press on the local and national blogosphere lately being reviewed at both Would I Buy It Again and Serious Eats.  To break it down it's an 8 oz burger with an garlic and herb fried mushroom cap, parmesan, horseradish and watercress on a challah bun.  I ordered mine medium, and despite the time it took our food to come out, I was pleasantly surprised.  Hell, maybe I was just craving some ground beef.  I don't know, but I do know that it was cooked  properly and was way better than any other chain burgers I've had in a while.  I was suspicious of the watercress seeing as it was a pretty unusual burger topping, but I actually to found that it added a nice contrast to all of the richness of the cream, cheese and beef.  The two aspects I were disappointed in were the size of the mushroom cap and the horseradish.  I had my sights set on a larger portabello mushroom cap almost covering my burger patty.  Even if my expectations in that regard were inflated (I'd mainline mushrooms if I could) I still thought it was smaller than it should have been.  It did add a nice flavor element however.  The horseradish on the other hand not so much.  Maybe again this is a personal taste preference that others don't share, but if you tell me something has horseradish it in something there better be enough to give me more than a little kick.  This kick was more Mike Vanderjagt style, off the mark and not coming through when you needed it the most.  The fries were pretty standard, but they did taste very fresh and crisp.  Delicious.

Taste 8.5/10 The quality of the burger alone might have been worthy of a 9+ in my opinion, but the toppings needed to come through here.  Not at the upper limit of it's complete potential, but I'll probably get it again the next time I'm at Houlihan's.

Value 5/10  It was a good burger, but for 10 bucks for a burger and fries it should be.  Not a great value.  Average I'd say.  The drink specials are a really good value especially for a place that isn't primarily a bar. 

Fast Food Review: Taco Bell Bacon Ranch Chicken Flatbread Sandwich

Ok let's admit something right up front.  I am a Taco Bell junky.  You can talk trash about it all you want, but there is nothing short of telling me that Taco Bell meat is people that would make me stop eating there.  That being said I'm not always a fan of their "new products" aka the stuff they make out of stuff they already have on hand.  The new kid on the block is the Bacon Ranch Chicken Flatbread Sandwich.

Now, honestly this isn't completely new.  The regular Chicken Flatbread has been a limited offering in the T-Bell lineup before, and although I didn't blog about it then I remember having it and I was not impressed.  The components are all stuff we've had before: chicken and melted cheese folded into a warm flatbread similar to what is used for T-Bell gorditas.  Those ingredients are all ok, but I found them boring and really in need of some sort of sauce.  Taco Bell must be creepily reading my thoughts because that is exactly what they accomplished with the Bacon Ranch Chicken Flatbread.  It's the same ingredients with a bacon ranch sauce added that really adds a lot of pop in the flavor department.  Don't be mistaken.  We're talking about Taco Bell here.  There is not actually bacon in the flatbread.  However, the flavor is jankily infused in the sauce Taco Bell style and it works.  That smokiness actually comes through and makes a boring sandwich pretty a lot better.  My only complaint is that it's a little on the small side (more or less soft taco size).

Taste 8/10 In terms of Taco Bell menu items this is up there.  The softness of the flatbread and the sauce brought it home.  Still not up to the level of my favorite item, the Cheesy Gordita Crunch.

Value 8/10  Right now this is being marketed on special for only 99 cents.  At this price I feel it's an above average value, but if the price point was higher I think I'd probably pass for other things on the dollar menu taking the smallish portion size into consideration.

Review: Naked Tchopstix

Contrary to popular belief Naked Tchopstix isn't what your drunk coworker plays on the piano in the lobby at your office Christmas party.  It's actually a local chain of sushi restaurants, and a couple of weeks ago I went to finally check it out.  Personally, I'm a big fan of sushi, but being that The Girlfriend is not going to a sushi restaurant can sometimes be contentious.  Not that they don't have non-sushi menu items because they do, but sushi is something that is meant to be shared to try several different things and that model breaks down if I'm the only one eating it.  Luckily, a couple of friends of ours tagged along for this trip.  Let's get to the food.

I decided to get 2 different kinds of rolls.  I'm a big salmon guy so I got the standard salmon roll, and I also got a special roll called the Maui roll.  The Girlfriend got a fried pork dish served with a teriyaki style sauce and fried rice.  I have to say my rolls could not have been farther apart taste wise and quality wise.  The salmon roll couldn't have been more of a let down.  The salmon seemed warm and had an almost slimy texture as opposed to the semi-firm piece of fish I was craving.  It was rather bland, and it isn't something I would order again.  The Maui roll on the other hand was a total game changer.  The roll consisted of fried shrimp, asparagus and cream cheese on the inside while avocado and mango were layered on top.  It was an absolute symphony of flavors coming through in distinct layers yet all coming together perfectly with the help of the sauce that was drizzled over top.  Toasted almond slices also provided a great texture difference by adding crunch to the creamy elements of the cream cheese and avocado.  I believe my statement at the restaurant was "I could eat my weight in Maui rolls, but then my weight would keep expanding until my sushi consumption rose exponentially and I would die."  It would totally be worth it.  It was that good.  The Girlfriend's dish was good, but when I'm going here I'm ordering sushi...bottom line.  My friend tried the Corona roll (spicy tuna, avocado, shrimp tempura, tempura chips, white tuna and lime), and he was nice enough to let me sample a few bites.  I enjoyed it as well.  Again, a lot of layered flavors going on and the lime really let itself be know at the finish of each bite almost like a delayed reaction. 

One interesting note about the restaurant itself, the seating arrangement at the table can be...unusual.  While regular tables were available with standard pull out chairs, we were seated at a table in the middle of the restaurant at a table surrounded by a backless bench.  I know it's supposed to provide a unique "faux Asian" look, but  I have to say I found it a bit uncomfortable.  That being said, I found the interior and atmosphere at the restaurant preferable to nearby competitor Miyagi's.  Don't get me wrong Miyagi's is cool on the inside, but I prefer something a little more laid back.  That's what you get at Naked Tchopstix.

Taste Usually I give a blanket score here, but this is a unique case.  For the 2 special rolls I tried (Corona and Maui) I feel compelled to give Naked Tchopstix a 10/10.  The flavors were wonderful, and I eat them every day if I could.  However, the regular salmon roll I tried was no better than 3/10 for the reasons I discussed above.  My advice is to go with friends, split the bill, share the rolls and get the special  rolls.  It's worth it.

Value 6/10 I'm giving one point above average here because I found some of the food  to be so good, but don't expect to be getting a steal here.  Prices aren't inflated, but they are in-line with what you'd expect to pay for sushi.