Scratchtruck
Various Locations
Indianapolis, Indiana
http://scratchtruck.com/

I have been to Scratchtruck a myriad of times over the last six months.  I will post it on Twitter, but a review has never graced the long form blog.  They actually know me on a first name basis.  I usually go when they are at Upland Brewery Tasting Room every Thursday and Saturday night.  It is truly one of the best food and beer combos in the business right now.

What I Ate: 

Visit #1

Scratch Burger (1/3 lb custom ground burger, bacon marmalade, arugula and gorgonzola cheese served on a fresh, toasted soft roll) with fries; $8.00.

I really like this burger.  I am not sure what the grind ratio on it is, but I don’t think that it is 80/20, as it is crazy juicy.  To be honest, they could dial back the grease a little bit, but that it the only flaw.  I like the egg bun that it is on and the arugula gives it a little bit of pepper that I love in a burger.  The gorgonzola adds a level of richness that is a welcomed addition.

Visit #2

Scratch Royal (Pork Shoulder, Tilamook Cheddar, BBQ sauce carmelized onion and Mac and Cheese ) with fries was a special that week; $9.00.

It was amazing and should probably be on the regular menu.  Gotta love Mac on a sandwich.

Visit #3

Scratch Grilled Cheese (Munster & Colby Jack cheese, red wine braised short rib, carmelized onions and arugula, served on toasted honey white bread) with fries; $9.00.

This is my favorite thing on the standard menu.  They have a menu that rotates and one that has new items that change every week.  Check out their website for schedule and menu.  I am not 100% sure this should be called a grilled cheese.  The sandwich does have enough butter on the bread to remind me of my butter loving grandma, but it is really about the braised short rib.  It is a really good sandwich.

Would I Buy It Again?  YES.  Great service and outstanding food.  The fries are some of my favorite in the city.  They have killer poutine fries that are lights out.    I haven’t had a bad meal here and I doubt that I ever will.  My only recommendation would be more towards Upland’s side to where I think that it would be cool if they had suggested beers based on what you ordered on the truck.

Regardless, if it is Thursday night, I am usually trying to find a reason to make it to 49^th and College to partake in this magical combination.  I love the Upland Tasting Room as I think that Upland’s seasonal beers are there best work.  Dragonfly IPA (their most popular beer) is probably my least favorite beer from them, and I am a big IPA fan.

Either way, good honest food the way that it should be.

-wibia

Fat Dan’s Chicago-style Deli
815 Broad Ripple Avenue
Indianapolis, Indiana 46220
http://www.fatdansdeli.com/

Fat Dan’s has been around for a while and this was my first trip, although IndianapolisEater has done a prior review and gave the Italian Beef sandwich a great rating. It was a quiet lunch with my pal from Indianapolis Restaurant Scene, who is on a first name basis with Dan. The place is small, but comfortable om the inside. A Chicago Deli, the walls are filled with Cubs memorable. A born White Sox fan, I was a little out of my element.

What’s I Ate:  Chicago Italian Beef and Fries; $7.50 + $2.75

You can customize your order here to have it wet, dipped or the au jus on the side. The standard is dipped. There is really not a lot to say here about this sandwich, as it was pretty straight forward. What I look for in an Italian Beef is good quality beef and a that doesn’t fall apart right away.  This one delivered at the highest level. It needed a touch of salt, but that was my only compliant. There was a ton of beef here, I was stuffed after this and the fries.

The cheeseburger was really good as well. A fattier grind than the standard 80/20, this would be great after a bender in Broadripple. A really good burger and it makes you never want to get a chain burger again. Except for Culvers of course.

The handcut fries were fried in peanut oil. The fries are all different sizes. Fresh fries and beer, hard to beat. My only compliant is that an order of fries are too big. I would like a smaller size in case I am dining alone.

Would I Buy It Again? Yes, big time. To be honest, one of the better Italain Beefs that I have had. The food was top shelf and I barely scratched the surface of the menu. There are a ton of smoked meats on the menu and I am going that direction next time. Local beer is on tap as well. Fat Dan’s is rumored to be moving soon and I will surely follow wherever he is at. Good stuff here.  My only compliant is that it is a bit pricey and would like a cheaper fry option.  $12 for lunch is a lot, but it is a mighty fine treat.

-wibia

Burger King
http://www.bk.com 

I travel around Indiana a good amount for my job.   There are times between meetings that I need to stop somewhere and grab a wifi signal.  There is usually a Burger King or a McDonald’s that I can pop into and spend an hour at if need be.   I always feel like I should get something, most of the time it is a pop, but I had a sweet tooth on this day.

What I Ate:  Burger King Cini-minis; $1.

Cinnamon rolls are usually pretty cheap.  To be honest, I am not going to hate on the Pillsbury ones that you can buy in the grocery store for about $2.00 or so.   The ones at McDonald’s ($1.69) are actually pretty decent for the price and what they are.

The Burger King version reminds me of the really bad cinnamon rolls that you get out of a vending machine that is at the Jiffy Lube.  These were barely warmed and were absolutely horrible.  I ate one and tossed them.   If you use the icing, you are looking at about 490 calories for this treat.

Would I Buy It Again?   No way.  Probably the worst tasting 490 calories that you can spend on eating something.  I like some items at Burger King (the double cheeseburger is still one of my favorites), but this was just plain awful.

-wibia

Hardee’s
http://www.hardees.com 

I rarely order chicken fingers because I always think that they are something that kids or really bad dates eat.   However, I got a sheet of Hardee’s coupons and noticed that they have Buffalo Chicken fingers featuring Frank’s Red Hot sauce.   I am a big fan of Frank’s Red Hot sauce.  I like a few dashes in my mac and cheese, eggs, you name it.

What I Ate:  Hand Breaded Buffalo Chicken fingers; small combo was $5.60 ($3.99 with coupon)

Upon opening the box, they were not messing around with the sauce.  The fingers were doused in it.  On a “Grubbing on the Go” scale (via Grub Grade) I would give these a zero.  They are actually served with a fork and knife.  I really thought highly on the quality of the tender though as the meat looked exactly how it should and not very processed.   As a comparison, the breading was thinner than the Prime Cut tender at Arby’s.  However, the problem is that the sauce didn’t allow any crunch from the breading to carry through as the breading was soft.    As a quick note, the tenders were served with standard ranch.

Would I Buy It Again?  I would try them again, but they need to have crunchy breading for this to work.  For a fast food chicken finger, I thought the quality was on point.  If I was to get anything Buffalo from Hardee’s, I would probably go with a sandwich instead.  I didn’t love them, but I also didn’t hate them.  However, if I need a Frank’s Red Hot fix, this would work.

-wibia

Monon Food Company
6420 N. Cornell
Indianapolis, Indiana  46220
http://www.mononfood.com

Monon Food Company has a prime location in Broad Ripple, a solid following and has made it past the first year.  I have been there a few times as I have a group of friends that are regulars.   They have a taco menu and a regular menu that has everything from sandwiches to entrees.   On my first trip, I tried the fish tacos.   Great in concept, but something was not on point and I couldn’t put my finger on it.  This time, I went for the sandwich side of the menu.

What I Ate:  Pulled Pork Sandwich; $7.69.  Potato salad was $1.50 extra and I scammed some Mac and Cheese from my girlfriend.

Upon arrival, it looked good, smelled good and the produce was fresh.  I thought that it was odd that lettuce and tomato were on a barbecue sandwich, but whatever.   The barbecue sauce was Kansas City-ish style.  Not that hot or sweet and pretty thick.  I wonder if it is made in house.  The sandwich wasn’t bad, but it wasn’t memorable at all.   I surely have had worse, but I have had better as well.  The pork was pretty lean, I barely could find any fat at all. It was a kind reminder that if barbecue is not the core of the business, I should skip it.

The potato salad was fresh, but again…I didn’t love it either. The mac and cheese was worth the price of admission.  The keep it pretty basic as a side.  My only complaint is that it could be cheesier and less oily.  It all depends on what cheeses they are using and they weren’t listed on the menu.

Would I Buy It Again?  It is a toss up.

Here is what I like:  Great location, locally focused, casual, interesting menu, honest pricing, most sides are really good, feels healthier than most places, good service.

What I don’t like:  The food could be a step better.  I have been there three times and liked everything that I have tried (excepts the chips and salsa, which were embarrassing), but nothing is memorable.

The bottom line, it reminds me of so many restaurants here.   Good and trying to do the right thing, but it would be awesome if…

-wibia

Petite Chou
823 Westfield Boulevard
Indianapolis, Indiana  46220
http://www.cafepatachou.com

Patachou is consistently ranked among the best places for breakfast, but I always forget they serve dinner at Petite Chou in Broad Ripple and in Carmel.  To be quite honest, Patachou is really not my thing.   Mostly because when I want to go out for breakfast, it means that I am hung over.   With that being said, a bowl of fruit and a $13 omelet is not my go to hangover remedy.  Just for the record, a BLT from Zest and a Diet Coke can cure any bender from the night before.   Back to the review.

This is my first time at Petite Chou.  My girlfriend and I wanted a beer and fries, but Brugge was packed, so we walked right in on a Saturday night.

What I Ate #1:  Warmed Mushroom Duxelles; $6.95.  Locally grown mushrooms, shallots, wine cream (picture above).

I was a big fan of this in every way possible.  In fact, I am still craving it.  The mushrooms were served over two slices of their baguette.   What I liked the most was the attention to how the mushrooms were cooked.  Not too hard, not too soft.   The dish needed a little salt, but otherwise no complaints.   This was excellent and quickly one of my favorite dishes in Indy.

What I Ate #2:  Petite Chou Burger with Frites; $12.95.  Indiana chuck, brioche bun, aioli, leeks, mushrooms and brie.

For dinner, I went with the burger.  Mostly, because I still really wanted fries.   The burger was cooked to a perfect medium.  I really enjoyed the burger, but it was really rich.   Maybe the combination of a rich appetizer and the burger was too much, but I couldn’t even finish it.  I would’ve liked some additional leeks on it, but just my preference.

The fries were excellent as well.  The aioli is one of the best in the city and they were cooked perfectly.

Would I Buy It Again?  Yes, easily.   A $13 burger has to be top shelf for that price and it delivered.   The mushroom duxelles were excellent and service was great.  No complaints and one of the better meals I have had in Indy.  They have fried chicken on Wednesday nights.   I am going to give that a try and report back.

-wibia

Tavern on South
423 W. South Street
Indianapolis, Indiana  46225
http://www.tavernonsouth.com/

Tavern on South got a good amount of press when it first came out.  Some mixed reviews in there, so I thought that I would give it some time to get on their feet.    I like the location as there is ample parking right outside.  The restaurant itself is very nice.  Good pictures of the Indianapolis Motor Speedway and it is approachable.  You can feel equally comfortable wearing a suit or wearing jeans.

What I Ate:  Tavern Smoked Bison Burger; $11.50.  BBQ Glaze, Bacon on a Brioche Roll.

Let’s make this quick:  I didn’t like it.    Bison is a bit dry compared to 80/20 chuck.  I thought that the BBQ glaze was a nice touch, but there needed to be about two to three times as much on there.  The produce left a little to be desired as well.   The tomatoes were pretty white, the lettuce was a day past fresh.

However, I will admit that that smoked bacon was very flavorful.   They could make a killer BLT with this.

Would I Buy It Again?  Maybe.  The menu doesn’t excite me.  However, I like the restaurant, they have a good beer list and the service was good.  I will give it another try and report back.

-wibia

If you read my friend’s blog, Indianapolis Restaurant Scene, I am the “very indecisive friend” of this review.  The reality is that Erin usually recommends bullshit places that include fruit as a side and serve crepes at lunch.  I am a man, I eat like a man.

Big Daddy’s is the food equivalent to the Miller High Life commercials.  Very straight forward bar food done really well.  The servers call you “honey” and smell like Aqua Net.  This is about my fifth time to Big Daddy’s and I ventured out of my usual go to of Beef Stew and went for their tenderloin.

What I Ate:  Breaded Tenderloin Sandwich; $7.99.

I have had half a tenderloin from here before, so this was my second time.   This is a really good tenderloin.  My only issue is that this one was pounded a little too thin for my taste and it was a bit dry.  A swipe of mayo would put it back on track.  The odd part about this tenderloin is that they use Corn Flakes as the breading.   It makes the sandwich really crispy and a bit sweetish.

Chips are out of the bag and the bun is nothing to talk about.

Would I Buy It Again?  Yes, to both Big Daddy’s and the tenderloin.   It is not my favorite tenderloin in the city, but it is in my top five.  I really like Big Daddy’s.  The service is friendly, the food is always good and I wish that I had a reason to go there more.

-wibia