Ale Emporium
8617 Allisonville Road
Indianapolis, Indiana 46250
http://www.ale-emporium.com/ 

Ale Emporium has become a staple to Castleton dining and rightfully so, because it is really good bar food.  They have been serving up quality food and craft beer since I have been in Indy (2001).  I used to go there to get and Anchor Steam and a slice of pie.  Not much has changed in the last decade.

We have talked about their Hermanaki wings.  I love them, but I can’t figure out why they can’t make them cheaper than $18.50 for a large order.  Their pizza rocks, lets chat…

What I Got:  10″ Pan Pizza ($10.50) and 14″ Pan Pizza ($19.00).   This is a 10” with bacon and ham.

I didn’t in fact order this, my on-again/off-again friend Taco did.  He is married now, so I will assume that this is the last pizza he will get with these toppings.  With a diminishing man card, I have a feeling he will be adding veggies to his pizza.  Time will tell.

They call this pan pizza, but I am more comfortable calling it Chicago Style.  This is nothing like the pan style that you get at Pizza Hut.  Crust, then meat, then cheese (a ton of it) and then sauce.  Perfect.

When you have this amount of meat, the crust can get soggy from the oils and fat, but not here.   Still a knife and fork pizza, but the crust held it’s consistency.  The cheese was stringy enough that you had to cut it with the spatula when served on the plate.

The toppings were quality, the sauce was rich, but not too much because Chicago style is really about the cheese.

Would I Buy It Again?  Yes.  To all of their pizzas.   No matter what crust you choose, you will be happy.  Their pizza is outstanding.  It is a cool place to chill and they have a great beer selection.  However, don’t try to order a fancy drink.

And lets do this…

HALL OF FAME.  Yeah, it has been a while.  They have possibly the best wings in the city, a great beer list and one of the best traditional and Chicago style pizzas in the city. Plus, they have bands, and I give props to any bar that supports local music.

-wibia

Wolfie’s WaterFront Grill
20999 Hague Rd
Noblesville, IN 46062
http://www.wolfiesgrill.com/

I was in Noblesville spending the day on Morse Lake recently and after a long day in the sun, some friends and I decided to hit up the deck at Wolfie’s for dinner and a few post-lake drinks.

What I Got:  Smoked Pulled Pork Sandwich, $7.99.

When I received my sandwich, my first thought was “Wow, that is a healthy portion size.”  Being that I was in the sun all day and hadn’t eaten in quite a while, I was quite pleased with that.  As you can see from the picture, the sandwich topped with pickles (the sauce was served on the side) and was also served with what appeared to be homemade potato chips.

In terms of taste, this sandwich was delicious.  The pork was tender, flavorful and not slimy or greasy as pulled pork can sometimes tend to be.  The bun was toasted (and huge) and served as the perfect compliment to suck up the barbecue sauce that I had doused my sandwich with.

The potato chips were also crunchy and delicious as well and if these are truly homemade, they do an excellent job with them.

Would I Buy It Again?  Yes, I definitely would if I was ever up in the area again.  The sandwich was very tasty and at $7.99, I got a solid value for the price that I was paying as well.

My sandwich did not appear to be an outlier either.  I was with a group of about seven people and all but one of the people was very pleased with the taste of their meal.  The one person who was not very pleased said his food was “okay”, so it’s not like they served us any bad food.

In addition to a good sandwich, Wolfie’s on Morse Lake also has an excellent setup.  Indoors, they have the traditional bar and dining area, but they also have an outdoor deck (you can look at the pictures on their website) that is large and spacious and overlooks the lake.  On a pleasant night like the night that I was there, you can really have a lot of fun.  If I lived closer to here, I would visit quite frequently.

Wolfie’s also has a non-lakeside location in Fishers on 96th Street as well.  It’s a smaller location and doesn’t have quite the setup, but if the food is as good as the Morse Lake location, I may have to start visiting frequently since it is closer to where I live.

-IndianapolisEater

Lennie’s
1795 East 10^th St.
Bloomington, IN 47408

http://www.lenniesgourmetpizza.com/

Facebook Page http://www.facebook.com/pages/Bloomington-IN/Lennies/156042808737?ref=sgm

If you live in Bloomington, are an IU student or alum, you have probably been to Lennie’s.  Located across from the Ashton Dormitory that is being completely rebuilt, it is a meeting place for family, friends and professors in the heart of the Indiana University campus.  Lennie’s is one of the many countless restaurants in Bloomington that adds to making it one of the greatest college towns in the United States.  Recently, I had a chance to visit Lennie’s to see how little things had changed since I graduated from IU eleven years ago.

What I Got:

Drink:  Vision Weiss (Imperial Pint 22oz. $4.75).  Lennie’s and the Bloomington Brewing Company are owned by the same owner and the beer selection adds to make the Lennie’s experience even more unique.  The Vision Weiss is a summer ale with a banana, clove and vanilla flavor.  You may be thinking it sounds weak, but it provides a lite summer taste with punch and comes highly recommended.  For only $9.75, you can order the half gallon Growler unique to Lennie’s and the Bloomington Brewing Company.  IU was not named the #1 party school for nothing.

Roasted Garlic Focaccia ($6.50):  The focaccia is homemade and is baked with garlic, rosemary, caramelized onions and kosher salt.  It is served with marinara sauce, a roasted garlic bulb that is so soft that you can smear it across the top of the bread and some extra virgin olive oil to top it off.  It’s a great appetizer for four people to split and share at the table.

Stromboli: ($10.25):  There are five different versions you can order, but I went with the Supreme including Italian sausage, pepperoni, green pepper, white onions and mushrooms.  I am not sure why it is called a Stromboli because it is constructed as a calzone.  The “Stromboli” was baked to perfection and I enjoyed the pocket it created to hold all of the filling.  Unfortunately, it was a bit dry and needed some cheese.  Although I still enjoyed it, I was disappointed in the fact that I was looking forward to a true Stromboli and not a calzone.

Mushroom & Chicken Tortellini ($15.00):  This dish is extremely rich with the cheese filled tortellini and alfredo spinach sauce mixed with fresh mushrooms and a herb roasted chicken that was tender and retained its seasoning through the richness of the dish.  It is baked and the cheese on the top creates a crust that tops the dish off.  A great choice for a main course and you will get two meals out of this $15 portion.

Would I Buy It Again?  Yes, 100%. I have only nominated one restaurant, another Bloomington favorite, Dagwood’s Sub Shop for the WIBIA Hall of Fame and Lennie’s comes close to earning a nomination.  Everything I have had there I would buy again, including some of their salads and excellent pizzas that I did not review.  Saving room for their homemade dessert is a must and I just did not have the room this time.

I like my coffee strong and Lennie’s delivers a stout tall cup of Joe that goes well with any of their desserts, making Lennie’s a meeting place for many student groups and professors.  Service is usually excellent provided by some of IU’s best students.  Lennie’s is small and long waits can occur during peak meal times.

If you are visiting Bloomington, want to support local business and are having a difficult time choosing a place to eat, Lennie’s has a little bit of everything for everyone.

-EatHSE

Scotty’s Lakehouse
10158 Brooks School Road
Fishers, Indiana  46038
http://scottyslakehouse.com/

Everyone knows about the rapidly expanding Scotty’s Brewhouse and recently the owner of the Brewhouse, Scotty Wise, partnered up and opened a new concept restaurant in the Geist area called Scotty’s Lakehouse.  The Lakehouse features some of the old Scotty’s Brewhouse menu favorites like Dill Chips mixed with some gourmet bistro burgers and also Cafe Patachou breakfast on the weekends.  Also, they feature an extensive list of Indiana brewed beers on tap, so it’s a nice eclectic mix of something a little different from your usual bar/restaurant.

We’ve done a couple of reviews on Scotty’s Brewhouse previously and being that I love burgers, beers and Happy Hour, some friends and I decided to hit up the Scotty’s Lakehouse after work on a Friday recently and give this place a shot.

First Impression (not food related):  This place was packed and people were everywhere (beautiful people, young people, old people, etc.).  Whatever Scotty is doing, he seems to have found the right recipe for success because every time I go to one of his places, they are packed.  Also, the place is non-smoking, so all ages are welcome.

What I Got:  Elk Burger ($8.00) and 7 Tidals Dip ($8.75).

First was the Elk Burger.  Since this place attempts to have an unconventional and eclectic vibe, I decided to adopt that mentality and go for something other than a traditional ground beef burger and that led me to this.  The Elk Burger is served with lettuce, tomato, red onion, your choice of cheese, a pickle spear and is served on a toasted bun roll.  For my cheese, I chose blue cheese (shocking I know since I’ve gone on and on about my love of blue cheese here before).  Scotty’s blue cheese is salty, sharp and quite good.  The elk meat was slightly dry (I ordered it at the lowest done-ness level available), but that was to be expected since elk is a drier meat to begin with.  It was still flavorful though.  The toasted roll and very fresh vegetables added a nice crunch to the burger and honestly, this whole burger was a winner.

Spurred on by our excellent meal and the unbelievably fun environment, my friends and I decided to have one too many of these:

That’s 24 ounces and they go down really fast.  Anyway, after a couple hours and one too many of these, all of us started to get hungry again, so that’s when we decided to order the 7 Tidal Dip (a menu item also on the Brewhouse menu).

Served with blue corn tortilla chips and celery, this dip is made with a chicken strips, a blend of cheese (I believe I could taste my beloved blue cheese again, along with cream cheese), buffalo wing sauce and a touch of Scotty’s patented (okay, maybe he doesn’t have a patent, but he should) Mo Fo Hot sauce.

All I can say about the taste about this stuff is, “WOW.”  Creamy, thick, hearty and flavorful.  My friends and I were basically knocking each others hands out of the way in order to get to the dip faster.  This one is not going to help any diets, but when you are hammering back multiple 24 ounce beers, you don’t really care at that point.  My only complaints were that there weren’t enough chips and the chips that we did have seemed like they came out of the bottom of the bag.  A lot of them were the little crumbled up tiny ones that you usually find at the bottom.  I guess I could have actually been assertive and asked for more chips because I’m sure the server would have brought us some, but instead, I just finished off the dip with a spoon while I was sitting at the table by myself while my friends went outside and smoked.  Their sadness (and my devil’s grin) when they came back and realized the dip was gone was priceless.

Would I Buy It Again?  Yes to both of these food items and also yes to Scotty’s Lakehouse. I never used to get why people loved the whole Scotty’s concept, but my last several trips to Brewhouse have been wonderful and my trip to the Lakehouse was one of my most fun trips to a new bar/restaurant in quite a while, so I now get it.  I will be back to the Lakehouse as frequently as I can and I can’t wait until the patio opens up when it gets warmer so that I can sit outside and spend my Happy Hour in the sun.  If you hit up the Lakehouse on a Friday at 6:00 or so, your chances are probably pretty good that you’ll see me sitting somewhere by the bar drinking too many 24 ounce beers and eating tasty food.  That could be your celebrity sighting!  Okay, maybe I’m stroking my ego a bit too much there.  Ha!

Speaking of celebrity sightings, while I was at the Lakehouse the one and only Scotty Wise came up and sat at the table next to me with his wife and enjoyed his dinner.  Being the impartial reviewer (I say that with my tongue planted firmly in my cheek) that I am, I didn’t introduce myself, but it was nice to see that Scotty is a frequent patron of his establishments as well (as well as one of the better social marketers I’ve ever seen).  Scotty, if you read this, I will definitely say hi next time.

-IndianapolisEater

These lists usually crack me up.  Anytime that it lists reader’s favorites, it is the same stuff year after year.  However, with the Final Four in Indianapolis, I thought that I would help out on trying to figure out where to eat.  I am well aware that many of these are quite the hike from downtown hotels, but Indy’s foot print is huge so whatever…

You are welcome to add more in the comments section as I am sure that there are some favorites that I left out.  After all, the list is only my opinion.  By the way, we have reviews for many of these places in our Review Archive, so you can check out our thoughts on them there or use the search function.  DB  and BRE also added to this list, I will  note thier picks.

After all, food is not a competition, these are just places that we like to go.

Best Restaurants of Indianapolis:

Pizza: Pizzology, Jockomo, Ale Emporium, Brozzini’s(db), Some Guys (BRE)
Fries: Taste Cafe and Marketplace, Brugge Brasserie, Five Guys (db), Capital Grille Garlic Truffle Fries (db)
Soup: Deeters, Sandra Rice and Noodle, Buda Lounge (Shrimp Wonton), Pho @ Egg Roll #1 (db)
Sandwich: Goose The Market, Hoaglin’s (db)
Taqueria: Taqueria Guanajuato, Burrito Joint, El Pastorcito, Tamale Place(db)
Sushi: Buda Lounge, I-Sushi, Naked Tchopstix.
Steakhouse: Eddie Merlot’s, St. Elmo’s, Fleming’s, Sullivan’s (db)
Cheap Eats: Sesame (Under $5.00 for lunch entree, egg roll and soup), Yats!, Scotty’s Brewhouse (Twitter coupons, ayce wings on Mondays), Tamale Place (db)
Indian: India Garden, Taj of India.
Unclassified good eats: OAKLEYS bistro, Taste, Meridian.

Situations:
Final Four 2010 Indianapolis Eats:
Downtown Indy Restaurants for the Final Four:  14 West, Euphoria, R Bistro, Buda Lounge.
Downtown Drinks for the Final Four:  Scotty’s Brewhouse, Kilroy’s, MacNiven’s (db)

Any other time of the year:
Downtown on a date (that you like):  14 West, Harry & Izzy’s (db)

Northside on a date:  OAKLEYS bistro.

I want to dress up and then step in a time machine that will take me back 20 years and have great food:  Glass Chimney (Carmel), St. Elmo’s (db)

Where do I find Chicago style pizza in Indy?  Nancy’s

I am hungry and I need to pick up a few groceries and something to eat:  Goose the Market, Saraga Super Mercado (db)

My grandma just died, where can I find her food? MCL Cafeteria, Jonathan’s Byrds (db)

I am really hungover:  Qdoba Breakfast Burrito (I know, a chain), Goldmine with all you can eat biscuits and gravy (db)

I like Man v. Food, what should be my first eating contest in Indy:  Wings, Etc.

I’m a $30k millionaire:  Northside Social.

I need to get out of here for a weekend:  Go to Bloomington.  Eat at FARM and Tallent.  Chicago:  Frontera, Everest, Blackbird, etc. (db)

I bitch and complain about the restaurant scene here and I want to start supporting local independents:  Recess (or any independents for that matter), Hoaglin’s (db)

I want a local beer:  Sun King Brewery.

It is Mardi Gras in Indianapolis:  Yats!, Papa Roux

Restaurant I wish that would come back:  Cafe Nora.

I’m commonly overlooked, and shouldn’t be:  Meridian.

I don’t get it:  Bub’s Burgers and Ice Cream, Brugge (db), Union Jacks (db), Jockamo (db)

I am sick of bad hot dogs, where do I find a good one?  King David’s Dogs.

I need to satisfy my sweet tooth:  Holy Cow Cupcakes (Carmel), South Bend Chocolate (db….from South Bend)

Beer and pizza sounds good:  Ale Emporium, Pizzology, Bazbeaux (db)

I am tired of the same old menu, where can I always try something new: R Bistro, Recess.

I was never meant to be popular, but look at me now:  Bonge’s Tavern.

My boss let me off early on Friday at 2:00, where should I go?  Brugge Brasserie, Rathskellar on the deck (db)

New Brunch:  Taste or Zest!

I want to go on a romantic date in Indy, Melting Pot seems like the place to go?  Wrong.

-wibia

I have a lot of family from the state of Wisconsin and North Central Illinois, so this one is kind of humorous to me personally (incidentally, they also LOVE to send ridiculous e-mail forwards and that’s how I learned about this).

Anyway, recently FloatingSheep did this report on the number of bars in America versus grocery stores and came up with this map.  The areas in red are where the number of bars in the area outnumber the number of grocery stores.

As you can see, nearly the entire state of Wisconsin and most of North Central Illinois is shaded red.  I knew I came from good stock!  Also, the area northeast of Indianapolis (where the majority of the WIBIA staff resides and drinks) is shaded red too.  Hmm…

Anyway, the study does point out that a lot of these places have stores like a Wal-Mart Supercenter, Meijer or whatever that would take the place of multiple grocery stores (Northeast Indianapolis is infested with these), but it is still an amusing site to behold.  I’ve always known that there were a disproportionate number (compared to the town’s population) of bars in the towns my relatives are from, but this just proves that it wasn’t just their towns or my town that this applied to.

So, maybe this will make you laugh if you like to drink and have family in these areas that fit these heavy drinking qualifications or maybe it won’t make you laugh at all.  Either way, it is interesting to see how alcohol focused the Midwest is.

-IndianapolisEater

Ale Emporium
8617 Allisonville Road
Indianapolis, Indiana 46250
http://www.ale-emporium.com/

What I Got:  Large Order of Herman Wings and Large Order of Hermanaki Wings ($18.25 each)

Some friends and I were watching some basketball and were craving some wings, so we decided to get some carry-out from the Ale Emporium in order to tide us over.

Ale Emporium has their standard buffalo wings for $17.50 for a large order, but if you are feeling adventurous you can get them in either Herman style or Hermanaki style for an extra 75 cents.  Herman style (on the right) is a spicy wing and Hermanaki style (on the left) is a sweet and spicy combination of a wing that has a twinge of teriyaki flavor (thus the Hermanaki name).

The Herman wings are somewhat similar to what you might find in a traditional chicken wing.  They are hot, but they get their heat from traditional spices like pepper (you can see the pepper on the wings in the picture) and seemingly not from anything out of the ordinary.

The Hermanaki wings also have large flakes of crushed red pepper on them, so not only are you getting the sweetness of the teriyaki sauce but you are also getting a nice spicy blast from the red pepper flakes.

What makes these wings so special and interesting is that they are LARGE (some of the meatiest wings that you can get), and they are not really all that messy because they seem like they are more of a grilled wing than a fried wing.  I don’t know the exact process of how they do it, but I suspect it is not only the traditional way of only frying the wings.  Speculation online is that they fry them first and then finish them on the grill, but no one knows as it is a restaurant secret.

While eating them, you’ll get a little grease on your fingers, but it is nothing like Hooters wings where you are covered in grease from head to toe when you finish eating them.  They are also extremely tender as well.

The wings also get served with the usual garnishments of carrots, celery and blue cheese dressing as well.  And if you’ve never had Ale Emporium’s blue cheese dressing, you are missing out.  It has huge chunks of blue cheese in it and is about as creamy of a blue cheese dressing as you can find.  I honestly could sit around and eat just this dressing as my meal as if it were a bowl of soup because it is that good.  I believe it to be homemade, but I cannot speak definitively that it is, so I’ll just leave it with my speculation.  I just wish I had been smart enough to snap a picture of the dressing as well.

Would I Buy It Again? Undoubtedly yes. I would argue that these wings are the best wings in the city of Indianapolis and would recommend that everyone cruise down to the Ale Emporium to try them out.  They can get kind of pricey for a large order (a large order is three pounds of wings), but in this case, the price is really worth it as you are getting a unique and really excellent tasting chicken wing.

Also, Ale Emporium has outstanding pizzas, so if you and a group of friends are ever in the mood for pizza and wings, you can’t really do much better than this place.  The pizzas are also huge, so no one is going to leave hungry.  They’ve also got a great beer selection and a large party room in the back as well.  This is a really good place to hang out.

-IndianapolisEater

Upland Brewing Tasting Room
49th and College
Indianapolis, IN

Hours:
Monday – Thursday from 2 – 10 pm,
Friday – Saturday 12 – 10 pm., and
Sunday 12 – 8 pm

Okay, I know this is a food blog, but guess what most guys in their 30’s like…beer!  The problem is, I haven’t spent enough time learning about beer.  Beer and food pairings, etc.  What I know is that I don’t like really dark beers (stop rolling your eyes).  I am not interested when it gets darker than Newcastle.  If I was subjected to a blind taste test, I think that I would be able to tell you if it is an ale, porter, ipa, hefweizen, about 7/10 times.  If there was money involved, I would probably say 5/10 times.  Enough about me.

For the national audience, Upland is from Bloomington, IN (Indiana University).  If you are form Indiana, you surely have heard of Upland, right?  The tasting room offers tastings (duh!) pints, growler service and that is about it.  Growlers were $8 to fill and a flight was right around $6-$7 (I can’t remember).

My go to Upland Beer is the Dragonfly IPA.  However, after the tasting I realized that my new favorite Upland selection is the Rad Red.  Of course I didn’t like the Porter, but I don’t like any Porters.  I liked going through the flight and if you are one of those people who are not really sure what kind of beer you like, then this would be a good place to start without having to kick back 6 entire beers.

Would I Buy It Again?  Yes. It was a cool place to chill and grab some great local beers.  If I lived close, I would be there at 12:00 for a pint and to read the Sunday paper.  If you are into beer and actually want opinions from people that have a deep understand of beer, check out our friends at Hoosier Beer Geek…quite possibly the best beer blog on the web.

-wibia