El Taco Torro
79th and Michigan
Indianapolis, IN

My first review/visit was a mixed bag.  I liked the burrito, but some of the tacos were filled with low quality meat.  At the end of the review, I didn’t think that I could give it a wibia-yes or no.  I decided to give it another try thinking that a second visit would help me make up my mind.

The chips and salsa are still pretty bad.  They give you a red salsa and a green salsa and cold chips.  At Mexican restaurants, I commonly eat so many chips that I don’t have room for my entree.  Here, I just push them aside, not worth the calories.

I ordered two chicken tacos, an al pastor taco and a carne asada burrito.   The tacos are served with cheese, lettuce and sour cream…not an authentic preparation of just cilantro and onions.  However, I liked the chicken more than the al pastor and I would say that both meats were of average quality.  They use a full-fat sour cream and it makes the tacos a little too rich for my taste.  With the sour cream and cheese, I tasted more dairy than I did meat.

Mirrored from my last visit, the burrito was slightly above average.  This version had a lot more pinto beans.  The shell was warm and there was a good meat ratio to the beans and rice.  They throw a little lettuce in for crunch.   I wouldn’t say that it is significantly better than surrounding taquerias, but for $4.99, it is a great value.

Would I Buy I Again?  I hate to say it…Yes and No.  Overall, I would give this meal a 6/10…slightly above average.

Yes: A solid burrito alternative (to Chipotle and Qdoba) on the NW Side.  Cheap.

No: All the meats are average.  I prefer neighboring El Pastorcito for tacos (directly across the street).  Chips and salsa are horrible.

I wouldn’t have any reservations visiting El Taco Torro, but at the same time, it is not my go-to taqueria in the area.

-wibia

Dagwood’s Deli & Sub Shop
6336 Guilford Avenue
Indianapolis, Indiana 46220
http://www.dagwoodsandwiches.com/

An institution at the WIBIA staff’s alma mater, Indiana University, Dagwood’s has been in business since 1985.  The original location was in a basement of building on Indiana Avenue in Bloomington, Indiana and was every college kid’s dream.  They’ve finally moved their main location up to street level but they still have good and HUGE submarine sandwiches.  They deliver at all hours of the night, so any late night of…ahem, studying…could be capped off with having a sandwich delivered.  When I was at IU, I ended far too many of my nights that way, but it was worth it.

Anyway, Dagwood’s stayed in Bloomington only for most of their existence, but they opened a third location in the Broad Ripple area of Indianapolis within the past few years and that’s where I went recently to enjoy one of the treasures of my college career.  I will point out that I usually order the Italian sub, but for the purposes of this blog and introducing the restaurant to the blog, I went with…

What I Got:  Whole Dagwood Supreme (their signature and most popular sandwich) $8.94

Dagwood Supreme

I ordered my sandwich as it would be found on the menu for review purposes (ordinarily I’d play with the vegetables and other toppings), but the menu version is made up of Roast Beef, Ham, Turkey, Provolone and Colby cheeses, along with lettuce, tomato, onions, and Dagwood’s Special Sauce.

Outside of the special sauce, this thing is made up of standard sub sandwich toppings so there is nothing really out of the ordinary there besides the fact that they give you a generous amount of meat.  What really makes this sandwich is the special sauce.  It’s a tangy mayonnaise based sauce that it not as creamy as mayonnaise, but shares a lot of similar properties.  What makes it different than mayo is that it is slightly more runny and not nearly as thick (you can see the sauce in the photo above) and when you contrast this tangy sauce with the coolness of the vegetables, cheese and meat, you have a sandwich that is a sub sandwich lover’s delight.

Would I Buy It Again?  Heck yes. I would buy it again because it is good and also for the nostalgic purposes of taking me back to my college days.  Like I said, I usually order the Italian sub because of personal preference of meat on that sandwich but you can’t go wrong with either sandwich.  Both of them are  just so freaking good and that’s why both of them go into the Hall of Fame.

So, if you are in Bloomington or in Broad Ripple and aren’t afraid of something that is a little bit pricey, give this place a shot and you won’t regret it.

-IndianapolisEater

Papa Roux
8950 E. 10th Street
Indianapolis, IN 46239
317-603-9861
http://www.PapaRouxIndy.com

Just off the corner of 10th and Post Road this east side eatery is tiny with a capital “T.”  The menu is also brief and focused but in what might sound like a contradiction, but offers ton of combinations.  Your Po-Boy can feature Cajun Chicken, Roast Pork, Smoked Ham , Shrimp or Sausage, dressed or not, half or full and even breadless if you are one of those anti-carb freaks.  They even have daily specials to add to your decision making process.  Of course then you have to pick your sides…

What I had: Luckily I knew that I wanted:  Muffaletta.  Muffaletta is both a type of bread and a sandwich.  I’ve had several but never one outside of New Orleans where both were invented.  Typically the bread is round rather than loaf shaped as it was at Papa Roux.  Ham, salami and provolone cheese are stacked on the bread along with olive salad.  The olive salad is what makes this sandwich special.  It’s a combination of both green and black olives, olive oil, garlic, onion and who knows what else.  The olive salad at Papa Roux was a disappointment.  While the salad added the needed moist counter-point to the bread and cheese, it was just sort of bland.   The thing just lacked that huge blast of flavor that I expected.  The bread was spongy and light rather than crunchy and hearty.  There wasn’t enough meat for my liking either, just a couple of thin layers.

The sandwich also came with a choice of side, mine being Vegetable Creole.  It was OK.  Creamy and rich but lacking the real depth of flavor that I expected.  My wife had the red beans and rice.  A taste of that let me know I made the wrong choice.

Would I Buy It Again?  I have to say no.  At nearly $10.00 for my sandwich and drink and still having to leave a tip, I just wasn’t that satisfied with the meal.  I wasn’t hungry but I wasn’t satisfied either.  I’ve read other reviews of this place as well as signs in the restaurant itself that note the lengths to which they go to source good quality, authentic ingredients and I applaud that, but can someone honestly tell me why Cajun food is, in my mind, so expensive?  At its core, Cajun cuisine is peasant food with common ingredients.  I’m missing something.

-Smokin DB

Okay, reaching out to the WIBIA army on this one.  In my opinion, a pizza is defined as: sauce and cheese on a crust.  Someone very close to me (it may or may not be my wife)  thinks that cheese is a topping because when you order a pizza, they will ask what kind of pizza and cheese is an option. Furthermore, it is “on top” of the pizza as well.

My point, cheese is required to call it pizza, otherwise it is just bread and sauce. I understand there are so called pizzas without sauce and some without cheese.  Whatever.

Anytime that I look at a pizza menu, the pricing starts off with cheese pizza and then 1 topping etc, 2 toppings, etc.  It doesn’t start off with bread and sauce!!!!

Before someone asks, cheese is a topping if you order extra cheese.

If you want, list your favorite pizza toppings/combinations in the comments section.  My favorite, sausage and pepperoni.

-WIBIA

What I Got: Portillo’s Italian Beef Sandwich (part of the Portillo’s Party Pack for $23.70)

I’ve shared my love of Italian beef sandwiches and of Portillo’s on this blog before.  Needless to say, I love them both and have been looking endlessly for an acceptable substitute in Indianapolis (see my prior C.R. Heroes review; I may have found one).  But sometimes the planets align and I end up at a party where someone has gone and gotten Portillo’s at their Northwest Indiana location in Merrillville and brought back a party pack for the party that they are hosting and then life is good.  At a Super Bowl party this past year, a friend of mine did just that.

I know that there might be better Italian beef sandwiches in Chicago, but since I live in Indianapolis, I don’t have the time or convenience of trying them all out, so Portillo’s serves as my harbinger for everything that is good about this sandwich and I love it.  It’s VERY thinly sliced roast beef cooked and served dripping in au jus juices on Italian style roll and everything about it is delicious.  It has tender meat and the au jus juice is flavorful and peppery without tilting toward being too hot.  If you really want to get frisky, you can get it with either hot (Giardiniera) peppers or with sweet peppers and turn up the heat and/or sweetness of your sandwich just a little bit more.  Also, you can have them serve it dry (no extra au jus), wet (extra au jus dumped on the bread to make it soggy) or even dipped (they take the completed sandwich and dip the entire thing in the au jus; you need a fork to eat this one).

I usually choose wet so that I can somewhat hold the sandwich and allow the flavorful au jus to just run down my arms as I eat it.  I also had both hot and sweet peppers so that I can add even more kick, but if you don’t get any peppers, it’s not a big deal because it is still delicious.  You just have to make sure that you get it either wet or dipped though.  Having this sandwich dry is just not the same and whenever my order gets screwed up and I get it dry, it really makes me sad.

Would I Buy It Again?  Yes, absolutely, definitiely, no question, etc. I would list out every single word for yes in the English language, but that would take me hours.  This is truly my favorite sandwich in the world (and maybe even my favorite food in the world) and Portillo’s does it the best (remember, that is out of all the options that I have had).  I try to get it every time I go to Chicago or pass by the Merrillville location on Interstate 65 and I would HIGHLY recommend that you do the same.  You will not regret it.

-IndianapolisEater

Stuart’s Steakhouse
406 Main St.
Sheridan, IN 46069
Open Thursday-Saturday
http://stuartssteakhouse.com/

One of my best friends lives in Sheridan and my wife, mini-wibia and I had a chance to visit them on a Saturday night.  Sheridan is home to about 3,000 people.  When my friend told me there was a steakhouse in town and “its not all that bad,” I had to give it a try.

The restaurant holds about sixty people and I would guess there are twenty tables. It was Saturday night and it was packed, I am pretty sure the wait was around an hour.

What I Ate: Delmonico, 16 oz $19.95.
Choice of two sides; I picked the salad wedge and garlic mashed potatoes.

Initially, I was impressed by the prices, but Ponderosa is cheap too.  Lettuce wedge arrived and all the salad toppings were separated on the plate.  I didn’t love the bleu cheese dressing, the bacon was a little overcooked for my taste and I would’ve liked the plate to be chilled.  At times, a salad or a starter can be a good precursor to the rest of the meal.  In this case, I couldn’t gauge the rest of the meal.

The Delmonico arrived and it was cooked perfectly.  I would put the quality of the steak at the same level as major chains like Outback.  The steak could’ve used a little salt/seasoning, but it really wasn’t all that bad…my friend was right.   The garlic mashed potatoes needed more garlic and the consistency was too thick for my taste.

Would I Buy It Again? Geez…um….

Yes: Based on local competition, Stuart’s is the best thing going.
The prices and the portions were honest.
Good alternative to the chains.
Relatively kid friendly.
Smoked Prime Rib was great (my wife had that).

No: The wine list is limited.
It’s not a true steakhouse experience.
Scatted service issues, but nothing major though.

All in all, we had a great time at Stuart’s.   The bar was set pretty low, but I walked away having a good time.  I learned a valuable lesson,  there is nothing like a true top of the line steakhouse meal – it is worth the extra money.

-wibia

P.S.  It was too dark for food pictures.  This is the only one that remotely came out.

Thai Papaya
3905 West 96th Street, Suite 1000
Indianapolis, Indiana 46268

WIBIA and I had been working together to help him move and we saw this place nearby.  Since I had never eaten Thai food before and wanted to try it (the food education of IndianapolisEater is a never-ending process), we decided to pop in here for a visit. 

What I Got:  Kao Padd Gra Prow (Pork) $9.95
Spicy Thai fried rice served with eggs, banana peppers, green and white onions and Thai basil.  Comes with your choice of soup, a spring roll or Thai salad (I got the spring roll).

Kao Padd Gra Prow

Since this was my first venture into Thai food, I figured I’d order something that seemed vaguely familiar, so I got this dish served with pork (chicken and beef were the other options).  You can also choose the temperature of the dish and the options were mild, medium, hot or super hot.  Since I’m semi-adventurous when it comes to hot food, I chose the hot option.  Despite this, all I can really say about this dish is “blah.”  It was pretty much just a pile of all the foods listed in the description with a nice spicy kick.  There was nothing really special about it and I must say that I was bored after eating it.  The pork was also a little dry, so that definitely subtracted from the dish as well.  If this had one thing going for it, it was a healthy portion size which was good because I needed it after the pathetically small spring roll that came with the dish.  Check out the picture below…that thing was barely bigger than a AA battery and was covered with grease.   It was not really appetizing at all.

Thai Spring Roll

Would I Buy It Again?  Definitely not. For my first venture into Thai food, I was not impressed.  Maybe it was the dish that I ordered, maybe it was the particular restaurant (this place does get positive reviews online.  Hmm…) or maybe it was just the food not being something my palate prefers, but I’m definitely not in a hurry to eat Thai food again.  It’s too bad too, because I really would like to expand my horizons and try all different kinds of cuisines.  

-IndianapolisEater

Over a year of reviews and this if our first review of Panera.  You will soon see why.   I used to go to Panera when I worked right by it.  I thought it was convenient and inexpensive.  This was pre-Paradise Bakery as well and Panera was the first fast-casual resto in this area.

I decided to go with the “You Pick Two” menu.  I ordered the Chicken Bacon Dijon and Broccoli and Cheese soup.  What I like about Panera is that they have their calories posted by the menu items.  However, it is depressing to see 420 calories in 1/2 a sandwich.

The sandwich was thin and pretty small.  A few scattered pieces of chicken and bacon between two tasteless pieces of bread.  I quickly realized that of course they need to smother it in fat (bacon, cheese, etc..) because the over processed tasteless chicken could not carry the sandwich by itself.  I could’ve used some lettuce or tomato on this.

I can’t imagine that the broccoli cheddar soup is made in house.   Was it horrible?  No.  Was it better than a good quality canned soup?  No.  Dipping the piece of bread into the soup was a good comfortable combination, almost like yuppie biscuits and gravy.

Would I Buy It Again?  No.  For close to $8.00, I didn’t see a lot of value or more importantly…taste.  If I didn’t eat the bread, I would be starving after this almost 800 calorie meal.  My lunch partner ordered a salmon salad and at first glance I thought they forgot the salmon as the portion was tiny.    I am not going to totally diss Panera though as I do like their Cinnamon Crunch Bagel and almond cream cheese.  I also applaud Panera for putting nutritional information on the menu.

-wibia