CLOSED Review: Bender’s BBQ Pit
Author: indianapoliseater | Filed under: Food Reviews, Location: Indianapolis, IN
Bender’s BBQ Pit
7035 East 96th Street, Suite P
Indianapolis, IN 46250
www.bendersbbqpit.com
When I saw the coming soon sign go up for this place a few months ago, I got really excited because I’ve always been disappointed by the lack of locally owned barbecue joints on the northeast side of Indianapolis (Fishers/Castleton area). There’s always been my mainstay at Black Diamond, but that one is a bit of a hike for me and a bit farther south. When I saw this was opening on East 96th Street, I was hoping my desires for this type of barbecue joint would be fulfilled. They opened as a carry-out only joint, but just moved a few doors down in the same strip center within the past week to add a dining room option.
So, armed with a $25 Indianapolis Perks gift certificate, a huge appetite, a free Saturday and a glowing review from Random Dude Eats Random Food, I decided to give Bender’s my first ever visit.
When I first took a look at the menu (they have it available on their website; FYI, it changes weekly so make sure to check the website before going), I noticed that their prices were very affordable. Since I had a $25 certificate, I knew that I would be able to sample a wide variety of the menu in order to try to find my favorite items and/or their best items. In order to break this down, I’ll review this menu item by item.
What I Got: 1/2 slab Baby Back Ribs combo (served with two sides; my sides were macaroni and cheese and brisket hash); $14.99. Add Pulled Pork; $3. Add 1/4 chicken; $3. Cole Slaw side item; $1.50. Baked Beans side item; $1.50.
1/2 Slab of Baby Back Ribs: When I got these, I was given the option of sweet, mild or spicy barbecue sauce. I chose their spicy sauce and as far as terms of taste, it wasn’t too spicy, but it was the kind of spice that you didn’t notice initially but were hit by at the back end. As for the ribs, well, I’ve got to say I was disappointed. The ribs were tough, gummy and lacked a smoked flavor. They definitely did not have that “fall off the bone” quality as it took some work to get them off the bone. Maybe I just got a bad batch, but I would not recommend these.
Macaroni and Cheese: I’ve lamented on this blog before about how hardly anyone seems to get macaroni and cheese right and so has wibia, so when I ordered this, I didn’t have high expectations. Well, not only did they surpass my expectations, they hit this one out of the park. The macaroni and cheese was creamy (but not too creamy) and was tender with a strong, but not overpowering cheese flavor. Honestly, the only thing that upset me about this was that I wish I had more. I would definitely recommend this.
Baked Beans: These were just standard run-of-the-mill baked beans. They had bacon and onions in them, but nothing about them was memorable. I’m sure they were homemade, but they still reminded me of something that you would get out of a Bush’s baked beans can. Too bad, because I really do like baked beans and I would love to recommend good ones, but in this instance, I can’t.
1/4 Smoked Chicken: I’m sure you can figure out which one in the plate above is the smoked chicken. That said, the picture is about as dry as this chicken was. It lacked any sort of smoke flavor and it was really tough and dry as well. The skin was crispy and kind of flavorful, but the meat was dry and chewy. If you could just eat the skin, you might be happy, but eating the chicken would ruin it for you. Not recommended.
Brisket Hash (top of the plate): This was the one I was most curious about because I’ve never heard of Brisket Hash before. Bender’s Brisket Hash is made of soft potato chunks, cooked onions and beef brisket and after listening to them talk about it in the restaurant, this is clearly the menu item they have the most pride in and I can see why. When I took my first bite, I thought to myself that this was weird, but in a good and appealing way. Soft, chewy and all ingredients perfectly complimented each other. I’ve never quite tasted anything like this before and I can honestly say that I liked it quite a bit. Much like the macaroni and cheese, I would definitely recommend this.
Pulled Pork (bottom left of the plate): I was really excited about this one because of Random Dude Eats Random Food‘s review. Unfortunately, I was let down. Maybe I got a bad batch (is this a running theme or is this just the way all of their meat is?), but this was not really all that tender and didn’t have any smoke flavor (another recurring theme). Actually, it didn’t have much flavor at all. I had to douse it in my Famous Dave’s Georgia Mustard sauce in order to make it somewhat tasty. Major disappointment and unfortunately, I can’t recommend this either.
Cole Slaw: Much like the baked beans, this was pretty run-of-the-mill too. The cole slaw was crunchy, which was nice, but that was about it in terms of making it memorable. It had a white watery base, which doesn’t bother me at all, but outside of the crunch, I can’t really recommend this unless you have a craving for cole slaw or are one of the barbecue types that feel cole slaw is the mandatory side item for pulled pork.
Would I Buy It Again? Most likely not. I really, really wanted to like this place because of my aforementioned desires, but I just can’t do it. The prices are great, but the majority of the food is just average at best. It’s a nice husband and wife team that own Bender’s and I really hope they succeed because it is nice to have locally owned options, but I am seriously doubting that they get my business again. Please don’t let that stop you from giving it a shot though because maybe you’ll get better batches of food (assuming they don’t run out; they were running out of everything the night that I went) and if you do, you may become a frequent guest. When you do go though, make sure you order the Brisket Hash and/or Macaroni and Cheese.
That said, I’ll be sticking with my old reliable Black Diamond. Back to the old drawing board for a Fishers/Castleton barbecue joint. This stinks.
-IndianapolisEater
Tags: baby back ribs, baked beans, barbecue, bender's bbq pit, brisket hash, Chicken, cole slaw, Food, Macaroni and Cheese, pulled pork
I’m really surprised at this. The pulled pork that I got was quite tender and juicy and had nice smoky bits to it. On another trip I tried the brisker sandwich and found it equally delicious. I also enjoyed the coleslaw. I am one of those people that has to have coleslaw with bbq and I thought their’s stacked up nicely against others I’ve tried.
@Brent: Maybe the difference was that you went at lunch when everything was fresher and I went at dinner time when everything had been sitting all day. I don’t know. All I know is that everything I had was flavorless and/or dry. Being a barbecue “expert” who usually smokes my own meats, perhaps I have higher (and unreachable) standards, but I was really not impressed by this place. It was average at best.
@indianpoliseater: as an expert, I would love to hear your recommendation for your favorite BBQ spot in town. Hubby and I have been on a quest lately. thanks!
@Erin: Like I said in my post, my favorite that I’ve had in town is Black Diamond. One of the things that I’ve always complained about is that there doesn’t seem to be a lot of local places that have good barbecue and I just can’t understand it (chicken wings are the same way). It’s infuriating that often the best can be found at chains, but sadly, that is the way it is in some cases.
I.E. and I disagree on this, but I think GT South’s is worthy of consideration. BBQ is kind of like so many things – people are passionate and have their own tastes and preferences. And I think by its nature, the product can be quite variable (depending on how consistently someone is running the pits/kitchen, how much Q they are putting out etc).
I personally love the pork products at GT South’s. The chicken, not so much (dry). I enjoy the brisket on the beef manhattan… not so much straight up. Excellent slaw, IMO.
@tom h: While I agree with your thoughts on barbecue tastes in general, I have to respectfully disagree with you on GT South’s (as you mentioned, we’ve had this conversation before). Personally, I find that place miserable. The only thing they have on their menu (I’ve had all of it to try) that I find even remotely passable is the pulled pork. Everything else is dry and/or chewy. Not only that, but they are overpriced. If I have to give Bender’s one thing, their prices were OUTSTANDING for the portion sizes you were getting. I can’t say the same for GT South’s. Not only are their prices high, but their portion sizes are tiny.
I have had the brisket sandwich and the pulled pork sandwich – both at lunch hour. I was really disappointed in both. The brisket was tough. It should pull away when bitten into and this did not. I had to chew and chew. This after having to remove the piece from the sandwich. The pulled pork was not really pulled. It looked like it had been cut off and then cubed. This is not “pulled”. I have tried two different items on different days and probably would not go back.
Thought we would give this new place a try for lunch today as we too are always looking for a “good” barbecue place…should have turned around and left when we saw only one customer dining. Initial service was prompt (of course it was, there were no customers). Our order was taken, we both order the rib tips, 15 minutes later the waitress returns to tell us they are out of rib tips and it would be 40 minutes but we could have ribs for the same price – opportunity number two to leave and we missed it! The meat did fall off the bone but it was fatty and the outside was so hard it was like a shell! BBQ sauce was uninteresting and the mac & cheese bland and dry. The best part of the meal, other than the ice water, was the Texas toast. The waitress never came back by and only one of the two waitress was apparently qualified to run the cash register so I waited 5 minutes for her to finish an order and eventually the expeditor came out and checked me out! A party of seven came in and were seated and were told not only were they out of rib tips, they were also out of smoked sausage. We will not be returning, in fact, a party came in while we were there and left because there were no rib tips – we later saw them at the grocery store and told them to save their time, money and stomach but not returning.
@PK: I didn’t mention it in my post, but they were also out of rib tips when I went. Based on your experience, it seems that rib tips are a “phantom” menu item. I also got the last order of ribs that they had and they only had half a chicken left as well; I was there at 6:00 p.m., so it’s not like it was closing time!
As for Texas Toast, I wouldn’t know because they forgot to include it in my order and I didn’t check the bag before I left. DOH! Major foul up on both the restaurant’s and my part.
Regardless, seems as if they are having a lot of trouble keeping up with customers and business. Moving to the dine-in space may have been a bit premature as they should have gotten their act together as carry-out only until they moved up to the big leauges.
Intrigued by the brisket hash, but if they’re so frequently running out of stuff so early after opening a business, that’s a problem.
Wow I feel like I ate at a different restaurant than everyone else. I’ve had the brisker sandwich at lunch and it was moist and flavorful and not at all chewy. Oh well more for me I guess.
We were in Kansas City recently. It’s pretty much spoiled me for BBQ in Indiana.