Rally’s
http://www.rallys.com 

I drive by a Rally’s on my way to work every morning and for the past few months, I’ve seen signs outside of the location advertising their new entries into the fast food market with their semi-upscale (for a fast food place) Cold Creations dessert line.  I went out to dinner at another place recently and on my way home, I was looking for something simple for dessert that wouldn’t require me stopping at Dairy Queen or one of the specialty ice cream shoppes (think Cold Stone Creamery, etc.), so I decided I’d spin by Rally’s and try out one of the desserts that I’d seen on my drive by so many times.  I like Rally’s, especially the fries, but it’s not exactly the first place I think of when I think dessert, so this was quite a step outside the box for me.

What I Got:  Apple Pie Layered Sundae; $3.69.

First impression as I pulled up to the menu board was that it was incredible how expensive these Cold Creations were.  I expected something similar to a McDonald’s sundae in the $2.00-$3.00 range, but when I saw the Rally’s sundaes pushing the four dollar mark, I was kind of taken aback.  That said, I was still willing to try and when they handed me my sundae, I understood the price because this sundae was exceptionally large.  So large, in fact, that Rally’s served it with two spoons in case you want to share it with someone, but since we all know that I’m a hog and a glutton, there would be no sharing here (plus, there was no one else with me).

After they handed this to me and I made note of the size of the entire sundae, I more closely inspected this sundae and was reminded of how I am always amused of how fast food restaurants take their ingredients on hand and just re-purpose them to make a “hot, new offering”.  Taco Bell does this all the time and when you look at this sundae, it’s exactly what Rally’s did as well.  There’s nothing wrong with it and in fact, if you can keep doing it without backlash, it’s actually ingenious.

They took one of their standard fried apple pies, split it in half, warmed it up and then put it as the base of the sundae.  On top of that, they put a couple scoops of ice cream and then topped that with whipped cream and a cherry.  On top of the entire creation, they added in a drizzle of caramel and a sprinkle of cinnamon.  I’m guessing they had all of those on hand, so this “new” creation is actually a thing of genius, because I doubt anything here is new at all.  And yes, I’m aware that “nice” restaurants do this too, but I just seem to notice it more from fast food joints.

Anyway, when I took my first heaping spoonful, I’ve got to say that I was quite impressed by this.   What made it so impressive was the simple step of heating up the apple pie, because the warm apple pie turned this basically into Apple Pie a la mode and when you think of it that way, it was delicious.  The apple pie was just a standard thing, but when re-purposed as an upscale dessert, it just all worked well in perfect harmony.  The ice cream wasn’t particularly wonderful or tasty, but it was definitely a semi-creamy version of vanilla and when you mix the “heat” of the cinnamon with the sweetness of the caramel drizzle, it made for a great combination on its own. Adding the apple pie and whipped cream to the mix just topped it all off and made this a solid dessert.

Would I Buy It Again?  I’m not going to make many special trips to Rally’s for desserts, but if I’m ever in the neighborhood of one and looking for something other than (or in addition to) their delicious fries, I would definitely buy this one again.  It’s a simple, yet tasty fast food spin on an American classic and with that, Rally’s has got a winner here.

-IndianapolisEater

Domino’s
http://www.dominos.com

According to our friends at dictionary.com, the definition of “artisan” is as follows:

“noun
1. a person skilled in an applied art; a craftsperson.
2. a person or company that makes a high-quality, distinctive product in small quantities, usually by hand and using traditional methods: food artisans.

adjective
3. pertaining to or noting high-quality, distinctive products made in small quantities: artisan beer.”

So, judging by this, Domino’s is clearly setting the bar high for its new-ish Artisan pizzas that they are advertising.  As you can see by the box above, they feel that their creations are so ideal that there are no substutions allowed on the pizza.  You have to like what they give you or else you are hosed, because they are not going to add or subtract any ingredients.  Kind of a funny premise, especially for a takeout/delivery chain, but I’m not one to complain and spurred on by the fact that I qualified for a free Artisan pizza through a giveaway on their Facebook page, I was willing to give one a shot.

What I Got:  Italian Sausage and Three Pepper Artisan Pizza; mine was free, but they are regularly $7.99 if you carry them out.

To quote Domino’s definition verbatim, this pizza is “Parmesan-Asiago cheese and sliced Italian sausage complemented by a trio of roasted red, green, and banana peppers, on an artisan-style crust, topped with a dash of oregano. (13” x 9” rectangular pizza. Serves 2).”  I’ll leave the serving size estimate alone because I already know I’m a large eater, but I can confirm (as can the picture) that all those other ingredients were on there.  One thing I will note is that prior to me tasting this, all I could smell was the banana peppers as it sat in the box, so the banana pepper taste was looking like it was going to be quite strong.

As I took my first bite, my estimate that the banana pepper taste was going to be strong was inaccurate.  It was present, but it wasn’t particularly strong.  It did add a nice bit to the pizza though because the Italian sausage, which can ordinarily be quite spicy, was not really spicy at all (it was kind of fun to see the sausage in chopped up link form as opposed to crumbled sausage form like you see on a typical pizza).  Neither were the red or green peppers, although I will note that those two peppers along with the banana peppers were fresh and brought some crunch to the pizza and that was something I did not expect.  In my past experiences with Domino’s pizzas, the vegetables on the pizza are usually canned or cooked so much that they have no crunch whatsoever.  Having that additional crunch on there was a nice and welcome change of pace because this pizza definitely needed it because the crust was so doughy and had no crunch at all.  In fact, it was as if I was eating a soft sponge and when you mixed all these ingredients together, the only impression that I was left with was “blah.”  The pizza lacked heat, it lacked crunch from the crust and everything else was pretty much just standard Domino’s stuff.  The sauce was sweet, which was nice and the cheese had a slight saltiness to it from the parmesan, but other than that, there was nothing particularly memorable about this pizza.

Would I Buy It Again?  Calling this pizza an artisan pizza is an insult to artisans and since I’m a food review blog artisan (note the sarcasm), I’ll say that I would not buy this again.  This pizza, while not overwhelmingly horrible, was just too boring and not worth another purchase because it did not deliver any sort of real heat or spice like you’d think it would based on its ingredients.  Frankly, I’d rather have a Tombstone frozen pizza than this.  They have a crunchier crust, have different varieties (I can switch toppings, unlike Domino’s) and are generally cheaper than this one.  Perhaps the other varieties of Artisan Pizzas that Domino’s has are better, but this one is not worth your time and I don’t know if trying any of the other options would be worth my time either.

-IndianapolisEater

Moon Dog Tavern
4825 East 96th Street
Indianapolis, Indiana  46240
http://www.moondogtavern.com/

Bar food can tend to be pretty boring and uniform.  What I mean by saying that is that what you can get at one bar, you can pretty much get at another bar with the same taste and quality and frankly, bar food is not worth reviewing in most cases.  That said, I was at Moon Dog Tavern on a Saturday night and perusing the menu and when I saw a section in the menu proclaiming “The Legendary Panini”, I knew that I had to give one a try to test out the claim.  Call it a marketing ploy or whatever, but I fell for the self-proclaiming legendary status hook, line and sinker and ordered one of these legends for my own personal consumption.

What I Got:  Panini Primavera with Ruffles-like chips; $9.25.

In the menu, the Panini Primavera is listed as being composed of “Fresh spinach, portabella mushrooms, artichoke hearts, red onions, roma basil sauce and our delicious blend of mozzarella, provolone and white cheddar cheeses.”  I can confirm that all of those were there and yes, I know there was not any meat in this sandwich.  I guess I felt like being a healthy-ish vegetarian.  I say healthy-ish because I poured down about twelve Coors Lights and a chocolate martini after this sandwich, so that pretty much cancels any aspirations of healthy out.  And yes, I am aware that consuming a vegetarian sandwich and a chocolate martini bring my level of manhood into question.  LOL.

Anyway, the real question here is not about my drinking ability, diet choices or manhood, but instead how did the sandwich turn out?  Well, for a vegetarian sandwich, it wasn’t half bad.  The panini was pressed (obviously) and the bread added a nice crunch to what turned out to be a soft and gooey interior of the sandwich.  All of the veggies wilted together and formed a soft vegetable “compound”, but I will say that I could taste all of them with each bite.  What made this sandwich a winner though was the plethora of cheeses throughout.  With each bite, the cheese oozed everywhere and added a nice creaminess to the entire mix.  The soft veggies, mixed with the hard bread and the gooey cheese made for an appealing combination.  That said, this sandwich was slightly oily because of the bread, which I assume was buttered prior to the panini press, and also the cheese which secreted a lot of oil. Also, it lacked more of a “salty” component to balance out the oil and goo of the cheese and vegetables, so I added a squirt of mustard and we were back in business.

Would I Buy It Again?  Yeah, I would.  The sandwich definitely had a couple flaws (needed salt and was slightly oily/greasy), but all in all, it was a tasty sandwich.  If you are a vegetarian, need a change of pace from a meaty behemoth or at least want to dupe yourself into thinking you are being healthy prior to a mass consumption of alcohol, this sandwich is a winner and definitely one that is worth ordering.  Not a Legendary sandwich, but a fairly tasty one.

-IndianapolisEater

To my detriment or not, I follow a lot of random stuff on Twitter and Facebook.  On my Facebook feed a few minutes ago, this article on the “10 Quintessential American Meals” popped up via Skyline Chili’s news feed.  At first I laughed and thought no way, but sure enough, I clicked on the link and there it was at #5 on the list of ten best American meals.  I realize that chili is what they are focusing on and I agree that chili is a quintessential American meal and belongs on the list, but the best example they could come up with was Skyline Chili?!

Now, I like Skyline Chili a lot and have done reviews on their 4-Way Chili and also on their Cheese Coney Dog here on the blog and gave them both positive reviews and said how much I liked them.  That said, not even I am dumb enough to think that what I was eating was one of the ten best meals in America.  Totally absurd and I think most, if not all, people would agree with me that Skyline Chili does not belong on this list as the best example of chili.  I’m not going to sit here and pretend that I’ve actually eaten the best chili in America and name the place that provides it, but what I am going to say is that I know if I did eat the best chili in America, it wouldn’t be at Skyline Chili.

Anyway, just some food for thought (like the pun?) today to hopefully entertain you on a random Tuesday.

-IndianapolisEater

Steak ‘n Shake
http://steaknshake.com/

A couple of weeks ago, I was reading my Facebook news feed and I saw a post by my brother noting how he had just had a great lunch at Steak ‘n Shake and topped it all off with a Nutter Butter milkshake.  In case you didn’t know and you probably don’t unless you’ve read my review of the Dairy Queen Nutter Butter Blizzard that I did last year, I feel that Nutter Butter cookies are the most underrated cookie that there is.  In my mind, they are better than Oreo cookies. I know a lot of people don’t feel that way, but that’s just my opinion.  Anyway, after reading my brother’s post and having no prior knowledge that these existed, I knew I HAD to get my hands on one of these as soon as possible to give it a shot and compare it to the Dairy Queen Blizzard version.  I know milk shakes are different from Blizzards in some respects, so it’s only a loose comparison.

You may wonder why I’d put of a review of something like a milk shake, but since I’ve put up plenty of reviews of ice cream places, yogurt places, milk shakes, Blizzards, McFlurrys, etc. around here, meaning that me reviewing one of Steak ‘n Shake’s newest milk shake offerings shouldn’t come as that big of a surprise, so here we go…

What I Got:  Regular Nutter Butter Milk Shake; $3.49.

This is a “premium” milk shake (as opposed to chocolate, vanilla, etc.), so this one costs a bit more than a standard milk shake.  I was willing to pay the price for Nutter Butter though, so as this seemingly gigantic, ice cold glass of milk shake arrived at my table, I was anxious to dive in.

As you can see the top of the milk shake is littered with ground up Nutter Butter cookie bits piled on top of whipped cream.  Underneath the whipped cream is milk and vanilla ice cream.  All of this is topped by a cherry and frankly, I’m not quite sure why I’m describing how a milk shake is built.  What I should be talking about is the taste and honestly, I was majorly let down.  The Nutter Butter dusting that you see on top is the only Nutter Butter in the entire milk shake.  There’s nothing mixed in the shake, there’s nothing at the bottom of the shake, there is just nothing.  All this really consists of is a vanilla shake with a tiny bit of Nutter Butter on top.  I was expecting a mix of Nutter Butter throughout the glass, but instead, all I got was a tease at the top and that tease was clearly not enough to give this a strong Nutter Butter taste, even after I mixed all the cookie bits in myself.  What a letdown.  The vanilla part of the shake was fine, but really, there’s not a whole lot for me to say here…it tasted like a thick vanilla milkshake.  What faint amount of Nutter Butter I did get was nice, but there just wasn’t enough.

Would I Buy It Again?  NO, not unless they allow you to basically order it with more Nutter Butter stuff on top (and maybe they do).  Frankly, I was mad and disappointed after this and the fact that my waitress hyped this up in my mind talking about how good it was when I ordered it made me even more upset.  The whole idea of this milk shake is so much better than how Steak ‘n Shake delivers it.  This is a failure on all ends and the only reason I bother to bring this review to this blog is so that you readers out there don’t make the same mistake I did and waste your money on an inferior product.  If you still want to try it yourself, see if they’ll let you order it with an extra heaping amount of cookie bits so you don’t end up as disappointed as I did.  I’m not going to risk it though and I’ll just steer clear of ever trying to order this again.  Chalk this one up to another case (recurring theme) of the enjoyment of a ice cream-related product directly correlating to the person that made it and not necessarily the product itself (perhaps).

I like Steak ‘n Shake in general, just not this milk shake as it was served to me.  Too bad.  Now, if only Dairy Queen would bring back their Blizzard version, I would be in heaven.

-IndianapolisEater

Buttitta’s Pizzeria
12664 East 116th Street
Fishers, Indiana 46037
http://www.buttittaspizzeria.com

I was sitting at home like a loser on a recent Saturday night wondering what I was going to have for dinner and one of my dork friends kept texting me about how he was going to have an awesome night of eating Ale Emporium pizza and wings at his house since his wife was out of town and he was at home watching their infant daughter.  After thinking about it for a while, his pizza and wings dinner started to make me hungry for the same thing, so I decided I had to get my hands on some as well.  Since I wanted something that was not a chain and also something that was from a place I had never been, I was led to Buttitta’s Pizzeria.  Buttitta’s is a small family-owned shop that replaced a previous pizza place in the same location and their specialty is thin crust, New York-style pizza.  Their tagline is “Real Italian, by Real Italians!”  With that kind of tagline, you’ve got to be intrigued, right?  So, I ended up going to their store (they do have in store dining for about 40-50 people, by the way) and ended up ordering up some pizza and wings from their moderately diverse (for a pizzeria) menu.  When I was leaving with my carryout, one of the servers asked me if this was my first time visiting and I said it was and she said that I was going to love it.  With that ringing endorsement (there was also a decent crowd dining in the store), I was anxious to get home and try it out.

What I Got:  Individual (10″) Fungi Pizza; $11.95, as well as 15 chicken wings; $10.50 ($0.70 each).

Let’s start with the pizza first.  I was feeling frisky, so I went with one of their gourmet pizzas called the “Fungi.”  The Fungi is made up of mushrooms, sausage, onion, garlic olive oil and mozzarella cheese and when I saw those first two ingredients, I knew I had to have it because those are my two favorite pizza ingredients.  Unfortunately, what I didn’t realize when I ordered because my reading comprehension skills are obviously lacking is that the garlic olive oil is actually the “sauce” for this pizza.  That’s right, this pizza does not have tomato sauce.  Oops.  When I opened up the box, I’ve got to say that I was very disappointed that there was no tomato sauce, but since this was caused by my own stupidity, I’ve got no one to blame for this but myself.  That said, the pizza did smell DELICIOUS and once I got past the lack of tomato sauce, it wasn’t that bad.  The ingredients that were on the pizza were delicious and the sausage and garlic provided a nice spice and kick to the flavor.  The crust itself was thin, flavorful and flexible like  you would expect a New York-style pizza to be.  Unfortunately, the lack of tomato sauce ruined this one for me and I didn’t like it.   That one’s on me though and not Buttita’s, because everything was executed exactly like they said it would be.  It was just a matter of personal taste.  By the way, a 10″ individual pizza (I question that measurement) is not a good sized pizza for someone that is a fairly decent eater like myself.  It almost felt like I was eating a small appetizer.  Just another disappointment that I had to chalk up.

Next up was the chicken wings and as you can tell from the picture, these are some healthy sized wings so that was a major positive.  They’re also baked as opposed to fried wings.  There’s also no breading on these as it’s just the crispy skin, so I suppose that makes them “healthier” when you compare them to a lot of wings that you get at other places.  They are also seasoned with what I believe to have been garlic and Italian herb seasoning, but I could be mistaken as the flavoring was not powerful enough for me to discern their flavor.  What got me on these though was that they offer several dipping sauces on the side (I chose honey and sweet barbecue sauce; FYI, the sweet barbecue sauce tasted exactly like Sweet Baby Ray’s), but the wings themselves are served “naked”.  I was definitely not expecting that, but again, my lack of reading comprehension skills probably screwed me over on that one.   Regardless, these large wings were tender, meaty and flavorful, so that was very welcome and an excellent taste for my meal.  Also, since these were baked, they weren’t greasy like you might expect from chicken wings (that’s not grease in the picture, it’s one of honey dipping sauces that I spilled), so that was a nice change of pace.  All in all, I wouldn’t rate these wings as being as good as the Ale Emporium’s wings, but they are pretty darn good and definitely better than most places, especially anything you are going to get from a chain delivery place.

Would I Buy It Again?  Have you ever gone to a place that you just know is good but you ordered the wrong thing and didn’t like what you had?  That’s what happened to me at Buttitta’s.  I didn’t like the pizza that I had and the wings were fine, but I just know that if I ordered a more traditional pizza, I’d definitely have a better experience and for that, I’ll say that I’m going to give it another shot before I issue a final yes/no answer.  I have a feeling that this may turn out to be a yes, but I don’t want to say anything official until I actually find out.  That said, judging by the cult like following that it had from its guests and servers, I would definitely say that you should give it a shot and see what you think of it yourself.

-IndianapolisEater

The Lakehouse Tavern
20805 Hague Road
Noblesville, Indiana  46062

I’ve been looking at my past several reviews and I’ve noticed that most of them two things in common:

1.  I’ve reviewed a club sandwich or some sort of derivative.

2.  If it wasn’t a club sandwich, it was a wrap of some sort (or a club wrap).

I’m starting to think that I only really eat two things and maybe I should start another blog called either “Club Sandwiching Around the World” or “Wrapping Across Indiana” or maybe a mix of the two because I’ve seemingly become the wrap/club sandwich beat reporter here on this blog.  Absurd.  Anyway, I was at The Lakehouse Tavern in Noblesville recently watching some NCAA tournament action and you can probably guess what I got (especially since you’ve seen the picture at the top of the post).

What I Got:  East Coast Buffalo Chicken Wrap (that may not have been the exact name, but I had consumed a couple beers, so sue me), a side (I chose waffle fries, YUM) and a pickle; $8.99.

It was a little dark in the bar, but I got the best picture I could with my trusty iPhone 4 camera (not sure Steve Jobs would be proud if he were still alive).  As you can hopefully see, the wrap contained fried buffalo chicken tenders, lettuce, tomato, cheddar cheese and blue cheese dressing (the menu said ranch, but I substituted due to personal preference) inside a tomato basil tortilla.  Not sure how all of that entails “East Coast”, but who am I to argue naming semantics, despite the fact that I seemingly do it all the time on my other blog at CrazyFoodDude.com.

Taste-wise, this was about what you’d expect, although I will note that the buffalo sauce used on these chicken tenders had a bit more zing than a lot of the buffalo chicken wraps that I’ve sampled over the years.  There was more pepper in this buffalo sauce and while I appreciated that because I like things that kind of knock you over with heat, a lot of people would not.  The one saving grace for that though is that the lettuce, tomato, cheese and blue cheese dressing are all there to cool you off and they certainly did that in this wrap.  The tortilla, while adding some additional flavor, was really a non-starter here, although it certainly did bring something more than a boring flour tortilla would have.

As a quick note, the waffle fries were seasoned waffle fries and brought an additional punch to the entire meal and I absolutely love that since I’ve professed my love for Rally’s fries on this blog before.  My question is, why don’t all place (or at least more places) serve seasoned fries, waffle or otherwise?  They are so much better than just basic fries.  I just don’t get it and it has been something that has started to drive me batty, although that doesn’t take much.

Would I Buy It Again?  Sure, why not?  Not the greatest wrap that I’ve ever had (I’m not even sure I could name the best), but certainly one of the better ones that I’ve had in recent memory.  Combined with the seasoned waffle fries, this was an above average meal that I’d be pleased to order again.

One complaint I do have though is the parsley garnishment on the plate in order to make it more “artistic.”  Several other friends also ordered food and their plates had this garnishment as well.  It’s completely absurd, in my opinion, and I just don’t understand why someone would do it, especially in a bar.  Rant aside, still a decent meal though.

-IndianapolisEater

Nickel Plate Bar & Grill
8654 East 116th Street
Fishers, Indiana 46038
http://www.nickelplatebarandgrill.com/

When people talk about the Nickel Plate Bar & Grill, they usually mention the breaded tenderloin sandwich because that is what they are known for.  I’ve personally had it several times in the pre-blog and have enjoyed it each time that I’ve had it, but I’ve talked to and read posts by several people that did not enjoy their experience with the sandwich.  Based on the fact that the breaded tenderloin was in the Super 46 Sandwich Contest, I ventured to the restaurant with my mom and her husband recently with every intention of having one and reviewing it for the blog. Sometimes our best intentions get foiled though and that was the case in this visit.  My mom, as per usual since she thinks she’s figured out the restaurant “game”, immediately asked the server what menu items were best.  The server recommended the several things, including the Buffalo Chicken wrap, and while I had every intention of getting a tenderloin, my eyes kept gravitating toward the wrap on the menu and I finally pulled the trigger.  I know I’m a weak-minded dope for doing that, but it’s my problem, I suppose.

What I Got:  Buffalo Chicken Wrap with Fries; $7.99 + $2.99 = $10.98

If I had any sort of intelligence (my waffling on menu choices has already proven that I don’t), I would have done the smart thing and gotten a picture that shows the interior ingredients of the wrap.  Since I lack several brain cells, I’ll just use Nickel Plate’s description from their menu:  “Breaded strips of chicken dipped in buffalo sauce and diced with salad greens, cheese, red onion and tomato, wrapped in a flour tortilla shell.”  I can confirm all of that was in there and it was in good size proportions and I didn’t feel shorted on anything.

In terms of the taste, this one was actually pretty good.  There was nothing surprising and the vegetation was fairly fresh, especially for February, so all in all, this was a good combination.  The buffalo chicken tenders were moist and perfectly cooked and the heat level was spicy, but not particularly overwhelming.  If you ate this alone with out any sort of dipping sauce, the heat might affect you a bit, but if you use some Ranch or Blue Cheese dressing (I used Blue Cheese), the coolness of those dressings is going to perfectly offset that spice that the Buffalo sauce brings to the table.  The whole wrap was a fairly large size as well, so you certainly are getting an ample meal with this, especially when you add the serving of fries (they were standard, salty stuff like you’d expect fries to be).  All in all, I have to credit our server because her recommendation was fairly dead on.

Would I Buy It Again?  Yes, I would get this wrap again, although next time I go to the Nickel Plate, I hope I am mentally strong enough to get the breaded tenderloin and do a review for the site, because it seems like one of the real gaping review holes that we have on this site.  Of course, if I’m mentally weak again, as I often am, I wouldn’t feel one bit bad about drifting back to this wrap because it was a thoroughly enjoyable meal.

-IndianapolisEater