Outback Steakhouse
3454 W 86th St
Indianapolis, IN 46268
http://www.outbacksteakhouse.com

I usually stay away from places like Outback Steakhouse just because reviewing them is so boring.   Everyone knows what the place is about, Bloomin’ Onion, etc.   However, I got an e-mail from the manager from my closest Outback and said that he loves the blog and that he would like to be reviewed.  He went on talking about how the vast majority of what they serve is made in house, etc.  This is my first e-mail from a manager of a chain asking me to come in, so I was suspicious.

I actually had Outback twice in the last month and I will just push them together in one review.

What I Ate: First visit, Prime Rib, 12 0z $18.95.  Second visit, Ribeye 12 oz $18.00.  You get a choice of two sides so I decided to vary my salads.

House Salad with Ranch Dressing: 

This was a pretty big starter salad.  I liked the ranch dressing, the croutons were pretty good, tomatoes were ripe…nothing to complain about here.

Bleu Cheese Wedge:

Sorry about the bogus picture, it was really dark.   Ripe tomatoes, red onion, bacon and bleu cheese crumbles.  I liked this quite a bit as well.  This would easily rival a $6.00 salad that you would get at the prime steakhouses in town.  It was huge too.  Hmm…

Ribeye Steak:

It was a little past medium rare, but not enough to send it back.  The ribeye was a very lean for a ribeye and I liked the flavor quite a bit.  Outback uses Choice grade (the same as Sullivan’s), so it is a good quality steak.  The sweet potato is always a favorite of mine and this did not disappoint.

The prime rib (not pictured) was actually my favorite.  It was a little bland as I like a salty crusty edge to it, but it was pretty good.  There is not a lot that I can say here, it is a standard cut of meat done really well.

Would I Buy It Again?  A very enthaustic YES!  You really don’t know how bad I wanted to slam them after the manager e-mailed telling me how great it is.  I say that only because my last five visits to other Outbacks were pretty bad.  This particular location is worth trying though.  

The service is exceptional, I mean really top notch (Mandy was particularly awesome.  We were greeted quickly with well paced meals and very friendly service.  Plus, I sent back the kid’s chicken and the manager was over in about thirty seconds making sure everything is okay and then we were comped a free app for that.  Totally unnecessary, but a nice touch.

This location really has their ducks in a row.  I figured out why the manager e-mailed me…because he gives a damn and is proud of his restaurant…and he should be.

-wibia

Jasmine Thai
4825 E 96th St
Indianapolis, IN 46240

This was my second visit to Jasmine and the first for lunch.  I had dinner there a few months ago with a large group and I didn’t love it, but also didn’t hate it.  Fellow blogger Indianapolis Restaurant Scene mentioned that she had an eggplant dish there that she liked quite a bit so I decided to give it another try.

What I Got: Lunch special Garlic Pork with Tom Yum soup, $6.95.

The Tom Yum was the mayor of Lametown.  In fact, I am not sure if it was even Tom Yum.  It had potatoes in it and I have never had that variation.  I am not sure if that is like beans/no beans with chili.  I am not going to tell you that I am an expert on Thai food.  In fact, it is some of my least favorite cuisine.  The soup was really bland and it needed salt in a bad way.

The garlic pork was actually pretty good.  Very straight forward with pork, scallions and thinly sliced cabbage.  The quality of the pork was nominal, but the sauce was garlic heavy (duh) and had a lot of black pepper in it.  I ordered it medium and I am glad that I did…not too spicy, but there was a little bite there.  I really liked the cabbage as it added the essential crunch.

Would I Buy It Again? I really could toss a coin here.  Better than the first time, but I didn’t love it.  I liked the garlic pork, but it surely wasn’t top notch Thai that I have had before.  They were packed on a Thursday lunch, so I assume they are doing something right.   I will reserve a Yes or No judging for the next time.

-wibia

Black Diamond Barbecue
6404 Rucker Rd
Indianapolis, IN 46220
http://www.blackdiamondbbqcatering.com

I’ve driven by this place on Binford Boulevard (it’s on a side street right off Binford) about a thousand times over the years and have never stopped.  In all honesty, when it first opened, I figured it would last about three months and then go out of business because it’s not in the greatest location.  Three years later, it’s still chugging along and has even expanded to include outdoor seating.  Good for them.

Ordinarily, I do all my barbecue smoking by myself, but I was feeling lazy one Sunday and didn’t want to spend my entire day waiting for meats to smoke.  So, seeing that this place recently expanded, I figured it must be good and finally gave it a shot (one of the owners was working and gave me a little ribbing by saying, “you know we’ve been here for three years right?”).

What I Got:  Hungry Man’s Special (not listed on the online menu), $19.99.  This includes three meats (I got ribs, brisket and chicken wings) and two sides (I got cole slaw and macaroni and cheese).

First things first, the name of this combo does not lie…this is a TON of food.  Any regular reader of this site knows that I can throw down some food from time to time, but even this was too much for me for one meal.  It was actually enough for two meals because they serve you ample portions of all the meats and all the sides.  As such, let’s address these individually:

Ribs:  I’ve got to say, I was really impressed by these.  You often hear the term “fall off the bone” to describe how ribs should be cooked and these ribs fit that description to the letter of the law.  They were tender and had a strong smoky flavor.  A little greasy, but when you smoke meats as opposed to grilling them, that is to be expected.  Honestly, these were the best ribs I’ve had in a while.

Brisket:  These were served in a separate container because there was so much of it (LOL) and much like the ribs, this was also tender and had a strong smoky flavor.  I prefer my brisket to have juice oozing from it when I cook it and unfortunately, this brisket did not have that.  That said, when compared to other barbecue restaurants in the area, the brisket was exceptional.  The only reason I can complain at all is because of my ego when it comes to making it myself.  Ha!

Chicken Wings:  I’ll admit, I don’t know that I’ve ever had smoked chicken wings before and since I am thinking of doing it on my own smoker, I decided to give these a try in order to see what I was in store for.  My first impression of the wings was that they were HUGE (a good thing) and there were A LOT of them (a recurring theme).  What I found interesting about these wings was that while they were meaty, tender and juicy on the inside, they had a crispy outer skin that provided a nice texture contradiction to the softness of the inside.  As with the ribs and brisket, these also had a strong smoky flavor and I liked them quite a bit.  So much so that I’m anxious to try this myself.

Sides:  Along the lines of the recurring theme, the sides didn’t come in little miniature cups…they came in sizeable containers as you can see in the picture above.  The cole slaw was obviously homemade (big positive in my book) and was more vinegar based as opposed to mayonnaise based, which I prefer.  It was crunchy and fresh, although it could have used a little something extra to give it some kick.  I would rate this as a B/B+ effort.

As for the macaroni and cheese, well, I’ve got some strong thoughts on this one.  I will be the first to admit that I’ve never been a huge macaroni and cheese fan because it is so often botched and lazily made (cheeses are too bland, not enough cheese, etc.) in so many different places.  Because of that, about the only time I will eat macaroni and cheese is when it is out of the Kraft box and yes, I know that is pathetic.  So, in what I thought at the time was an act of stupidity, I decided to give Black Diamond’s macaroni and cheese a try and I am so glad that I did because this was incredible.  It was easily the creamiest and richest macaroni and cheese that I have ever had and I loved it.  They certainly didn’t skimp on the cheese and unlike most places that I’ve eaten macroni and cheese, they actually used a cheese that had a little kick to it and I LOVED that.   Honestly, if you skipped all the meat and just got a huge order of macaroni and cheese, you would be delighted with your order.

Would I Buy It Again?  Absolutely and without hesitation. I can see why that despite an odd location, Black Diamond has managed to stay in business and actually expand in the three years that it has been open.  This is damn fine barbecue and it will always be my FIRST choice on the days that I decide to not make it on my own.  There are not a lot of great barbecue options in this city, so I would strongly advise you to give it a try if you are a barbecue lover.

By the way, Black Diamond caters (one of the owners made sure to let me know that) and also has coupons on my new favorite website, Coupons4Indy.com.

-IndianapolisEater

Tomato Pie
9611 North College Ave
Carmel, IN 46280
http://www.tomatopiebistro.com

Pizza is a magical thing.  It’s a dish that delights the young and the old and it can be prepared in numerous ways with very different outcomes.  And like the saying goes:  even when it’s bad, it’s still pretty good.  With this in mind, I’m always excited to try a new pizza place.  One place I’ve driven by several times on my way to Broad Ripple is Tomato Pie on College Avenue right near the Interstate 465 overpass.  I’d read a few good comments about it and wanted to try it out. 

What I Got:  A friend and I went for lunch and I had a pepperoni pizza ($10.50 for a ten-inch pizza) while my friend had a stromboli ($8.50). 

The pizza was a reasonable size for a single person and had a nice thin crust.  The sauce was slightly sweet and maybe a bit spicy as well.  The cheese appeared to be fairly generic mozzarella and they were generous with the pepperoni.  It was pretty good pizza, but not good enough to draw me in again just for the pizza.  There are other styles of pizza in town I prefer more, so I probably wouldn’t head here just for that.  I also think it’s a bit overpriced for a lunchtime meal.  For example, Some Guys has a pizza/salad lunch combo for $7.95.  Pizzology also has a lunch special for a measly seven dollars that includes a pizza, salad and a soda.  Given a choice, I think I would go to one of those places instead for both the taste and the value.

My friend remarked on how good his stromboli was and that he really enjoyed it.  It came with plain potato chips (like a basic bagged Lay’s chip) and appeared to have a good variety of stuff inside it with large chunks of pepper and sausage (heartburn at no extra charge!).  They also have a meatball sub in a similar style that I’d like to try in a future visit.

Would I Buy It Again?  Maybe.  I would go there with someone else if that’s what they had a hankering for, but I think I would try one of their pasta dishes next time.  They feature lasagna, meatballs with artichoke, seafood ravioli and several other pastas that looked good.  I would like to try one of those because the only thing better than finding a good pizza place is finding a good lasagna place. 

Outside of the food, the service was also quick and courteous.  There was nothing wrong with the restaurant or with our food, but at the same time, it wasn’t a standout.  Given what I had, I’d give them another chance with a pasta dish.

-BigRedEater

[Editor's Note: This is the first post in our "Tenderloin of the Month" feature mentioned in a post by wibia this past Friday.]

Broad Ripple Tavern
745 Broad Ripple Avenue
Indianapolis, Indiana  46220
http://www.broadrippletavern.com/

Some friends and I were wasting our lives drinking beer in Broad Ripple on a lazy Saturday afternoon and it came around dinner time, so we decided to peek our heads into Broad Ripple Tavern (an old favorite) for a bite to eat.

Broad Ripple Tavern is part of Lux Restaurants, which is made up of several local bar/grill type places.  Since they are all part of the same group, they all share similar menu characteristics and since I’ve had the Breaded Tenderloin at some of their other establishments and have liked it, I decided to try it here.

What I Got:  Breaded Tenderloin sandwich (comes with chips, but I substituted fries for $1.00 extra), $8.99.

First impression:  Like any true Breaded Tenderloin sandwich, this one was huge and if you can get that part of the execution down right, you are off to a good start in my mind.  It was thick and oddly shaped too, which was also a good sign in my book because that means that they hand pounded and shaped it themselves, which always leads to a better sandwich.

Second impression:  The breading on this sandwich was like a breading that I have rarely encountered on tenderloins in the past and I’ve had a lot of them.  It was crispy, as you would expect, but it had the consistency and flakiness of fried chicken and that was incredible.  Once I tasted it, it tasted like fried chicken breading too, which was particularly awesome because like any other good, red-blooded American male, I love fried chicken.

The pork tenderloin meat was also quite good as well.  Like I said previously, it was thick and ample, so it was quite filling.  It was also cooked perfectly as each bite gave me a little bit of juice oozing out and I couldn’t have been happier. 

The fries were good too, but there was nothing outstanding about them.  Just your typical crunchy fries.

Would I Buy It Again?  Hell yes.  Like I said, Lux Restaurants share a lot of similar menu characteristics and I’m glad that the tenderloin has made it to many of their establishments because this one is damn good.  Not only would I order this again from Broad Ripple Tavern, but I’ll also order it again at the other restaurants in the conglomerate.

As a quick aside, has anyone ever seen anyone order a grilled tenderloin in their entire life?  I guess this applies most to Indiana residents since the Breaded Tenderloin is the state sandwich and is more prevalent here, but I’ve never seen a grilled tenderloin ordered EVER.  I even asked the waitress and while I don’t remember her exact response, I think she said something to the effect that she rarely, if ever, has seen one.

-IndianapolisEater

I was excited to hear that Man v. Food was coming to Indy.  I have watched every show since the show started and I would easily say that I am a fan.  However, they really dropped the ball on Indy…or should I say crashed and burned since they tried to reference the race…at every turn.  Let’s take a close look at every segment.

Edwards Drive-In
I have been there pre-blog and there is a reason why I haven’t returned.  Let’s reference this post by our dear friend The Tenderloin Connoisseur.

He gave the tenderloin a 3/5 and said that he wouldn’t drive across town for it.  Just like every review on his site, I agree 100%.  Also, why would they freeze a fresh cut tenderloin?  The term “Frozen Pork Fritter” is a dirty word in these parts and it’s almost as bad as “Kelvin Sampson.”

With that being said, WouldIBuyItAgain.com will promise to review or make a segment called “Tenderloin of the Month” from here on out.  I would like to restore some confidence back in our state sandwich.

[Editor's Note:  We will run our first Tenderloin of the Month review on Monday.]

Grays Brothers Cafeteria
Here is my review.

I understand the story of telling about a down-home-cafeteria-style-middle-America-meal, etc. (good idea).  However…MEATLOAF?  We are now known for f’ing meatloaf?!?!

Not to mention, if you are going to be on TV mixing meat, wear gloves!  The strawberry pie was lame too…strawberries with…a strawberry glaze and homemade whipped cream.  One guy on the show said that he drove twenty miles for the pies…really?!  So you are telling me that you can’t make that pie?!  Trust me, it is easy as…pie!!

Bub’s Burgers & Ice Cream
Here is my review.

For two years, I literally lived one hundred yards from Bub’s…and I went there ONLY four times.  In one of those times, both IndianapolisEater and I easily conquered The Big Ugly (one burger each).  Despite that, I am not going to really rip on this choice.  There are very few eating challenges in this city and The Big Ugly is the king.  Bub’s gets a good amount of hype and is in the perfect location.

However, I am disappointed in Adam’s effort. The burger patty is 22 ounces pre-cooked, he completed 2.25 burgers.  That is three pounds of meat and maybe and extra pound of toppings and bread.  LAME!!!  This is coming from a guy that has ate a four pound milk shake (in addition to a large sandwich with it) and consistently eats five pounds plus.  To me, this is him just not giving a shit and wanting to get out of town.  I have never seen him perform so poorly at a challenge.

Therefore, I am starting a challenge to the beloved WIBIA army. Eat more than Adam at Bub’s…and you will get your picture on the blog and a special Hall of Fame section solely for you.

In a weird way, I am disappointed in Man v. Food.  It was a poor attempt to showcase this city.  Honestly, I think Kendra “Having a Baby” showcased the city better than Man v. food.

Next week, I’ll show you a review of another place that Man v. Food visited that Adam was reallly excited about (Phoenix episode).   I have been to five Man v. Food restaurants and I’ve liked only one of them quite a bit (Ike’s Place in San Francisco).  

All in all, I know that I am playing arm chair quarterback here (race theme = back seat driver), but there was a better story to tell about the city.  How about the Tenderloin at Big Daddy’s (S. Meridian), Shrimp Cocktail at St. Elmo’s (spicy tradition) and then wrap it up with Bub’s? 

Rant over.

-wibia

El Pollo Tapatio
4112 N High School Rd
Indianapolis, IN 46254

I can say with a good amount of certainty that I have tried the majority of taquerias in Indianapolis.   El Pollo Tapatio has been on my list for a while, so I decided to cross it off on a rainy night, dining by myself.  I kind of chuckled at the name as it basically means “A Chicken from Guadalajara.”  Tapatio is also a brand of hot sauce as well.

I walked in about 35 minutes before closing, but they said they were open.  The waitress spent the majority of the time talking to her boyfriend which was the only other person in the restaurant at the time.  Chips and salsa were provided.  The chips were straight out of a bag and I found the salsa to be good for a taqueria as I usually dislike taqueria salsa.  This one had a hint of dried chile de arbol which I didn’t love, but overall it is better than the majority I have had.

The menu is straight forward.  A good amount of seafood which I wasn’t 100% trusting, so I decided to stick to what I know.

What I Ate: Super Burrito $4.00. Mixed meat, carnitas and carne asada, lettuce, pico, sour cream,

The waitress advised that I could combine up to three meats in a burrito.   I went for the above mentioned two.   I would think that they would split the burrito half and half, however they put the meats side by side in the burrito.   I can’t say that I enjoyed this and it was difficult to tell the difference between the meat.  Both meats were shredded, but they neglect to fry the carnitas before putting it in the burrito to achieve a little bark on the outside.  Basically, they were pulled out of a roasted pan, grease and all and sat the meat in the burrito.

The pico, sour cream and lettuce were really non-factors.  It was a very meaty burrito.

Would I Buy It Again?  No to the burrito. My problem is that this burrito was really greasy.  The grease made the shell transparent and when you squished the grease out of the meat, it just wasn’t that flavorful.   However, maybe to El Pollo Tapatio. Four tables after me ordered the same thing, Whole Chicken for $10.95.   It appeared there were two whole roasted chickens accompanied with tortillas and fixings.  I saw a few families eating just this and loving it.

All in all, it wasn’t a horrible meal, but I literally had to stop and get a few napkins to wipe off my steering wheel because or residual grease on my hands…and yes, I washed them after I was finished.

-wibia

King David Dogs (Airport Location)
7800 Col. H. Weir Cook Memorial Drive, Suite 100
Indianapolis, IN 46241
http://www.kingdaviddogs.com

King David Dogs is a favorite of mine.  It is easy to respect the tradition of these dogs and if I am downtown and need a quick lunch, King David is a go to spot for me.  We actually had a Get to Know segment with the owner Brent.

I don’t think that I can call our airport “new” anymore, but I appreciate the emphasis on local restaurants that are located in the terminals.  It was 7:30 a.m. and I was starving.  Kind David was in my terminal and I was secretly hoping they offered a breakfast dog.  Luckily, they did.

What I Got:  The Bomber; hot dog, poppy seed bun, eggs and cheese; around $5 (hey, it’s an airport…).

I stood there and watched the clerk make it.  She whipped up a cheese omelet and then placed it on the side of the dog and then added more cheese!!  The hot dog is pretty garlic heavy, which I like.  However, this was missing something for me.  I could only taste hot dog and cheese.  I could’ve used some veggies or a sauce on this.

Would I Buy It Again?  The Bomber, no. King David Dogs, yes.  I really like their hot dog, but this was not one of the better variations of it.  However, they have a bacon, egg and cheese breakfast sandwich that was quite nice (my wife had it).

King David Dogs is an Indy tradition and if you are at Indianapolis International Airport, you should stop by.

-wibia