96^th Street Steakburgers
Indianapolis Airport Location
http://www.96thstreetsteakburgers.com/index.cfm

Let’s face it, a good burger is difficult to beat. There is no greater disparity between two things of the same name than a good burger and a bad burger.   I haven’t talked about 96^th Street Steakburgers since I first reviewed it in April of 2009.   People left a good amount of comments and I discovered you either love it or hate it.

What I Ate:  Double  Steakburger Combo; about $6.50

Toasted bun, awesome pickle, crunchy lettuce, cheese, tomato and secret sauce.  It is a great burger.  Nothing fancy, just consistent and always amazing.  I really enjoyed the pickles and the crispy edges on the burger.  They offer a triple, but I think that the double is the perfect ratio.

I originally ripped the milkshake, but it has grown on me.  I am not sure I would say if it is the best in the city, but if you say it is your favorite, I would not argue with you.

Would I Buy It Again?  Yes.  This is easily my favorite burger in the city under $8 and I might go as far as saying that it my favorite in the city regardless of price. I go there about once a month.  Before you start bitching about the fries, I like those too.  My wife has tried the Taco Burger and The Southwest and both of those are phenomenal as well.

I also think that it is a great value.   A $5.00 combo meal from McDonald’s or this?   Not even close my friends.  They had a Crusader Deals Coupon and when Crusader Deals went out of business and they still honored my coupon.  Awesome customer service as well.

I am repeating myself, but I really, really enjoy the burger here.

-wibia

Jack in the Box
http://www.jackinthebox.com/

This is the third review of a three part series introducing the Jack in the Box menu to the new Indianapolis market (first review and second review). The focus of this review is some of their unique sides and the value menu.

What I Got:  Three piece Stuffed Jalapenos (pictured above); ~$2.79.

Breaded, spicy jalapeños stuffed with a blend of melted cheeses and served with Buttermilk Ranch dipping sauce. I lost my receipt for this order but the three piece comes in at around $2.79. I must say that I liked the firm crunchy outside coating that did not allow for any leakage of melted cheese from the inside. However, at about ninety cents a jalapeno, if you need some melted cheese, go for the bacon cheddar fries instead.

Jr. Bacon Cheeseburger; $1.19  and Jr. Jack (pictured below); $1.00.

Jack has four burgers on its value menu. The Jr. Jack and Jr. Bacon Cheeseburger(pictured below) share the same type of bun, and a very bad one to say the least. It is a typical white enriched flour type of bun where the outside easily breaks apart, is dry, and tastes awful. The Jr. Jack has lettuce tomato and mayo, but as you can see from my picture, the mayo was lacking, the lettuce was soggy and the tomato lacked any taste. You pay an extra $0.19 for the bacon but the Jr. Bacon Cheeseburger was just as bad as the Jr. Jack. Stay away from both of these and choose The Big Cheeseburger for children and the Jumbo Jack for the adult appetite. Both come with a Sesame Seed Bun and are juicy in comparison to the other two dry Jr. burgers on the value menu.

Value Fry; $1.00.
I thought the portion was fair for $1.00. Jack’s fries are not great but good enough if you are there for some of their other menu items. A Jumbo Jack with a value fry is the cheapest way to get through Jack at $2.69 plus tax combined if you do not need a drink. Speaking of drinks, thankfully they have Coca-Cola products, but their drinks are nearly twice the price of McDonald’s and just do not seem to taste as good.

Egg Rolls(pictured above); 1 for $1.49 or 3 for $3.49.

Egg Rolls are one of my favorite foods, but considering the focus is fast food burgers, my expectations were low. Jack’s egg rolls are pork, were crispy, and contained the common ingredients you find in any other standard egg roll. The sweet and sour dipping sauce was the disappointment. The top ingredient in the sauce was high fructose corn syrup, which we know is bad for us and quickly disappearing in a lot of our food. The result was an awful overpowering sauce that was all sweet and no sour and inedible in my opinion. I was surprised to see a California based company still using a product that its primary ingredient is high fructose corn syrup and I would not buy them again until they get an improved dipping sauce.

Chicken Nuggets (pictured above); $1.29 for five nuggets.

The nuggets were white meat and had a flavorful crisp coating on the outside. My daughter loved them and so did I. Jack’s nuggets are a winner, especially when comparing them to their competition and one of the better value menu items.

Would I Buy It Again? Of Course. If you have not been to Jack yet, it is time to give it a try. Just like any fast food burger stops, it has its winners and losers. For the price, you can’t beat the Jumbo Jack and it is worth the forty cents to add cheese. Breakfast items are almost all winners and so are their sourdough sandwiches. Jack has a couple of deli sandwiches, some good looking salads and even a chicken teriyaki bowl that I have yet to try giving it some unique menu items and creating niche for itself here in Fast Food City of America (Indianapolis). Although Jack is a nice addition to the Indianapolis market, I still long for the king of west coast fast food, In-N-Out Burger to come here. Its eastern most location is Texas, so I think we will be waiting for a while.

-EatHSE

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

Wendy’s
http://www.wendys.com/

I like Wendy’s burgers and I’m not really ashamed to say it.  In the realm of drive-thru burgers, I really think that Wendy’s has the best tasting product.  Apparently, I am part of the minority with this opinion because the scientists at the Dave Thomas test kitchen have decided to completely overhaul their long-standing burger recipe.  I am not kidding you here…they called it “Project Gold Hamburger.”  They called in pickle chemists and focus groups.  They traveled the country sampling competing national chains and local burger stands.  Employees working the grill have been instructed to only press the patty twice instead of the usual eight times.  Lastly, and I’m really not making this up, they sought federal approval to store the cheese at a higher temperature to ensure better melting on the burger.

So I’ve already said it, but I like (or rather liked) Wendy’s burgers.  After discovering that my local Wendy’s was offering the new “Hot ‘N’ Juicy” burgers ahead of the October 3^rd nationwide launch, I thought I’d see if the changes were for the better.

What I Got:  Bacon Deluxe Single Cheeseburger; ~$4.00.

As you can hopefully see, there are FIVE slices of cheese on my burger.  FIVE.  I do not want, nor do I need, five slices of cheese on a single-patty burger.  After shedding the excess dairy, I began to notice the subtle differences.  The patty was much larger and less processed-looking.  The bun, my favorite improvement, was well-toasted and slightly crunchy around the edges.  The onions had changed to the red variety and apparently the crinkle-cut pickles won out.  Nothing has changed about the bacon, but that’s great because I liked it just the way it was.

Would I Buy It Again?  Well, the changes certainly didn’t have a negative effect on the taste, so yes, I would.  The price tag is a bit much, but I would still rather have just one of these than two of any other fast food burger.  I wasn’t aware that there was anything fundamentally wrong with the old burgers, but this was certainly very good and still head-and-shoulders above the other common drive-thrus.  If they hadn’t made such a circus of the changes, I’m not sure that anyone would’ve even noticed!  They’re so subtle that they have really only served to make an already good product just slightly better.   I would recommend, however, that they ditch the silly “Hot ‘N’ Juicy” moniker.  It didn’t work for the “Big ‘N’ Tasty”, so why go there again?

-Indy Food Geek

Fireside Brewhouse
997 East County Line Road
Greenwood, IN 46143
317-859-9505
http://www.firesidebrewhouse.com

Fireside is located in a little vortex of good chow what with Brozinni Pizza and India Diner just across the street and Sammy’s Pizza in the same strip mall at the corner of S. Emerson and County Line Road.  Fireside takes its name from the three fire-pits on the outdoor patio as well as the fireplace located inside.  The decor is pretty cool and definitely feels upscale.  There is a huge bar with lots of seating and a separate family dining area and banquet space.  After 10:00 p.m. the entire restaurant is 21 and over only.  I’ve been here several times since the opening while the menu has seen some alterations, they finally seemed to have found their niche.  With a glasswalled “Show” kitchen, this is a locally owned restaurant where food is taken seriously.

What I Got: We started with the M-80’s which is a paper cone filled with extraordinary lightly breaded domestic shrimp fried perfectly and tossed with a sweet chili-garlic sauce.  As I looked around the room, nearly every table had a serving of these and there is good reason why:  they rock.  I’ve seen this appetizer in other restaurants but I’ve never had them better prepared.  On a bed of cool, crunchy cabbage, my wife and engaged in a chop-stick war over the last shrimp.  Really good.

The menu has everything from soups and salads to sandwiches, burgers, steaks and a decent BBQ pizza.  On this visit, I was feeling cheeseburger-y so I had the “Cool Hand Luke” which is essentially a patty melt.  The Fireside version differs from others in that it includes a fried egg on top.  I passed on the fried egg this time.  Served on marble rye with Swiss cheese, Thousand Island dressing and grilled onions, this big (Was it 1/3 of a pound?  I’m not sure) burger was fantastic.  It was cooked to my liking at medium, just slightly pink. Yeah, I know you are supposed to only eat ground beef well-done.  Well I like it when places ask me how I want my burger done and then actually cook it that way.  (I’m looking at you Red Robin)  I could go all, “grind your own beef like I do and you don’t have to worry about cross contamination on you,”  but I won’t.   I’m not sure how they season this burger but it really tastes good.  I’m not talking about the condiments, I mean the beef itself.  Let me get technical here for a moment:  it tastes BEEFY.  Yep, I’m a carnivore.

The fries were good too.  Better than average but not really the star on this plate.

If I were to complain about something and this is sort of petty, but it’s the presentation.  Look at the picture and the plate is not that appealing.  When you walk into a restaurant that has so clearly put a lot of thought and money into the visual experience, you just expect the presentation to match.  How about a lettuce cup for the fries or something?

Would I Buy It Again? Yes. This is just really good solid food in a really nice setting.

-Smokin DB

Schroeder’s Drive-IN
Danville, IL

Traveling for work, I decided to jump off the exit in Danville and take five minutes more to skip past the chains and see if I could find a local gem.  I drove past Schroeder’s and was intrigued by the sign and pulled a U-turn.   Normal fast food setup at the counter and there wasn’t a drive-in to be found, so I was a little confused.  The menu board looked super cheesy and there was a suspect salad bar behind me so…I set the bar pretty low.  But at 12:15, the place was packed.  Hmm…drama.

They didn’t have any combo meals, so I ordered:  Double Cheeseburger 99¢, Small Fries $1.69 and Small Coke $1.49.  They filled the soda for you, so I am unsure if there were free refills.

Burger arrived in a clear plastic bag.  The fries were unbranded as well.  As far as the taste, it tasted exactly like McDonald’s.  I have had a lot of meals at McDonald’s and I am not sure if I could tell the difference.  The burger was the size of McDonald’s double cheese and I thought that it was pretty tasty.

A lot of people say that McDonald’s has the best fast food fries, but Schroeder’s could give them a good run for the money.  For a small, there were a lot of fries.   Then again, for $1.69 I thought that the fries were correctly sized.   I found the fries to have a little more salt on them then I would prefer, but they were awesome.

Then I got up and started looking around the pictures on the wall and then I realized….holy crap, this is a active-living BURGER CHEF!!!!!!!! So if you ask, are there any more burger Chef’s…well, kind of.

Burger Chef:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Burger_Chef
http://www.lostindiana.net/Lost_Indiana/Lost_Indiana__Burger_Chef

Most of you local folks know about the Indianapolis born Burger Chef.  Burger Chef had a good run, started in 1954 and was purchased by General Foods (Hardee’s) in 1982.  It was the first to invent the Happy Meal and a few other fast food breakthroughs.  They once had 2,400 locations (second to McDonald’s) and then just fell off the map after the buy out.

Correct me if I am wrong, but Schroeder’s is just one of two working Burger Chef locations and is still serving the same menu at least?

Would I Buy It Again?  For the nostalgia alone, yes. It wasn’t the best burger that I have had, but it was a solid fast food meal with good customer service and a true pride of keeping history alive.  I enjoyed my visit to Schroeder’s and if I am back in Danville, I will probably stop by.

-WIBIA

Want to bone-up on your Burger Chef reading?  Try this: