Show-Me’s
724 N. First St.
St. Louis, MO 63102
http://showmes.com/

I wasn’t planning on a visit here, but IndianapolisEater twisted my arm on Twitter the night before (it was only two tweets, but we all know his impeccable sales record). I had been there before, and for those unaware, Show-Me’s is an absolute Hooters rip-off. I remember when a group of us, IndianapolisEater included, went to the original location (this one) about nine years ago and our waitress told us the owner was a former GM at a Hooters and thought he could “do it better.”

Evidently “better” is basically having the waitresses less clothed.

From what I remembered, the food was nearly identical to Hooters (for me, that’s a plus … I love the wings, specifically the breading) and the outfits on the waitresses were eerily similar. Even the tables, plates and everything else was basically the same as Hooters. Fast-forward nine years …

Uh, wow.

It’s funny, I sometimes hear older women whine and moan about Hooters, only to later find out they’ve never even been inside a Hooters. I hate judging things you haven’t seen for yourself and I don’t see how a reasonable person can be overly offended by the outfits Hooters waitresses wear. Yes, they’re tight, but walk around a mall in the middle of the summer. Whatever, it’s a discussion for a different day/website.

If you walk into a Show-Me’s now, though, my guess is that this is actually what the complainers think Hooters is. Just look at the bottoms those girls are wearing on the front page of the website. And the tops I saw in the actual restaurant all revealed way more cleavage than you’ll see on the website. I was surprised there wasn’t a cover charge.

Anyway, let’s focus. I went there for lunch on a Thursday and it was completely dead. My service was fine, but the entire staff was a bit pre-occupied with planning for the evening. Considering it was the day of Game 6 of the World Series, I wasn’t about to be offended.

What I Got: 10 spicy BBQ wings, fries; $6.99.

The wings were Hooters/Show-Me’s wings. We all know what we’re getting there and I was pleased that they were good sized wings and had the signature breading that I love. If you don’t like the breading, you can get naked wings and they’re still better than Buffalo Wild Wings (then again, what wings aren’t?). I do like the spicy BBQ option because I’m completely burnt out on buffalo sauce at this point, no pun intended. It’s just been done to death. Enough already. But I do like spice and I love barbecue sauce, so this option sounded perfect. As it turned out, I was right. I really liked this sauce. If you’re a heat fanatic, these won’t be enough, because the kick was subtle. It was there, sure. You wouldn’t mistake it for Sweet Baby Ray’s (my choice at home) or anything. It just wasn’t overly hot. The chicken meat inside the sauce/breading was juicy and tasty, as per the norm at Hooters/Show-Me’s.

Would I Buy It Again? Yes, I would. It has to be the right fit, of course. There aren’t any surprises here. You’re going to have loud music, sports on TV, girls dressed in basically lingerie and greasy wings/burgers/hot dogs/breaded chicken sandwiches. And plenty of beer (they even had Natural Light on tap, which cracked me up). If you have a group of people who can handle that and want a quick bite of the aforementioned fare, it’s certainly reasonably priced. I’d imagine it’s a great time when busy, too.

As for this location, it’s in Laclede’s Landing, which has lots of restaurants and bars in just a few blocks’ radius and is walking distance from a casino and the Arch. I’d actually recommend this area for bachelor parties with all the bars and casinos (and another important fixture is across the river, if you get me). But that’s not what we’re here for, so I’ll stop now.

- Show

[Editor's Note: Show-Me's is a small chain with several locations throughout the midwest.]

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[Editors Note: Personally, after looking at the menu, I would have my eyes on this one.  I'm just drooling looking at it.]

[Editors Note:  This sponsorship is brought to you by Friday's® who we have partnered with for this promotion.]

Bender’s BBQ Pit
7035 East 96th Street, Suite P
Indianapolis, IN 46250
www.bendersbbqpit.com

When I saw the coming soon sign go up for this place a few months ago, I got really excited because I’ve always been disappointed by the lack of locally owned barbecue joints on the northeast side of Indianapolis (Fishers/Castleton area).  There’s always been my mainstay at Black Diamond, but that one is a bit of a hike for me and a bit farther south.  When I saw this was opening on East 96th Street, I was hoping my desires for this type of barbecue joint would be fulfilled.  They opened as a carry-out only joint, but just moved a few doors down in the same strip center within the past week to add a dining room option.

So, armed with a $25 Indianapolis Perks gift certificate, a huge appetite, a free Saturday and a glowing review from Random Dude Eats Random Food, I decided to give Bender’s my first ever visit.

When I first took a look at the menu (they have it available on their website; FYI, it changes weekly so make sure to check the website before going), I noticed that their prices were very affordable.  Since I had a $25 certificate, I knew that I would be able to sample a wide variety of the menu in order to try to find my favorite items and/or their best items.  In order to break this down, I’ll review this menu item by item.

What I Got:  1/2 slab Baby Back Ribs combo (served with two sides; my sides were macaroni and cheese and brisket hash); $14.99.  Add Pulled Pork; $3.  Add 1/4 chicken; $3.  Cole Slaw side item; $1.50.  Baked Beans side item; $1.50.

1/2 Slab of Baby Back Ribs:  When I got these, I was given the option of sweet, mild or spicy barbecue sauce.  I chose their spicy sauce and as far as terms of taste, it wasn’t too spicy, but it was the kind of spice that you didn’t notice initially but were hit by at the back end.  As for the ribs, well, I’ve got to say I was disappointed.  The ribs were tough, gummy and lacked a smoked flavor.  They definitely did not have that “fall off the bone” quality as it took some work to get them off the bone.  Maybe I just got a bad batch, but I would not recommend these.

Macaroni and Cheese:  I’ve lamented on this blog before about how hardly anyone seems to get macaroni and cheese right and so has wibia, so when I ordered this, I didn’t have high expectations.  Well, not only did they surpass my expectations, they hit this one out of the park.  The macaroni and cheese was creamy (but not too creamy) and was tender with a strong, but not overpowering cheese flavor.  Honestly, the only thing that upset me about this was that I wish I had more.  I would definitely recommend this.

Baked Beans:  These were just standard run-of-the-mill baked beans.  They had bacon and onions in them, but nothing about them was memorable.  I’m sure they were homemade, but they still reminded me of something that you would get out of a Bush’s baked beans can.  Too bad, because I really do like baked beans and I would love to recommend good ones, but in this instance, I can’t.

1/4 Smoked Chicken:  I’m sure you can figure out which one in the plate above is the smoked chicken.  That said, the picture is about as dry as this chicken was.  It lacked any sort of smoke flavor and it was really tough and dry as well.  The skin was crispy and kind of flavorful, but the meat was dry and chewy.  If you could just eat the skin, you might be happy, but eating the chicken would ruin it for you.  Not recommended.

Brisket Hash (top of the plate):  This was the one I was most curious about because I’ve never heard of Brisket Hash before.  Bender’s Brisket Hash is made of soft potato chunks, cooked onions and beef brisket and after listening to them talk about it in the restaurant, this is clearly the menu item they have the most pride in and I can see why.  When I took my first bite, I thought to myself that this was weird, but in a good and appealing way.  Soft, chewy and all ingredients perfectly complimented each other.  I’ve never quite tasted anything like this before and I can honestly say that I liked it quite a bit.  Much like the macaroni and cheese, I would definitely recommend this.

Pulled Pork (bottom left of the plate):  I was really excited about this one because of Random Dude Eats Random Food‘s review.  Unfortunately, I was let down.  Maybe I got a bad batch (is this a running theme or is this just the way all of their meat is?), but this was not really all that tender and didn’t have any smoke flavor (another recurring theme).  Actually, it didn’t have much flavor at all.  I had to douse it in my Famous Dave’s Georgia Mustard sauce in order to make it somewhat tasty.  Major disappointment and unfortunately, I can’t recommend this either.

Cole Slaw:  Much like the baked beans, this was pretty run-of-the-mill too.  The cole slaw was crunchy, which was nice, but that was about it in terms of making it memorable.  It had a white watery base, which doesn’t bother me at all, but outside of the crunch, I can’t really recommend this unless you have a craving for cole slaw or are one of the barbecue types that feel cole slaw is the mandatory side item for pulled pork.

Would I Buy It Again?  Most likely not.  I really, really wanted to like this place because of my aforementioned desires, but I just can’t do it.  The prices are great, but the majority of the food is just average at best.  It’s a nice husband and wife team that own Bender’s and I really hope they succeed because it is nice to have locally owned options, but I am seriously doubting that they get my business again.  Please don’t let that stop you from giving it a shot though because maybe you’ll get better batches of food (assuming they don’t run out; they were running out of everything the night that I went) and if you do, you may become a frequent guest.  When you do go though, make sure you order the Brisket Hash and/or Macaroni and Cheese.

That said, I’ll be sticking with my old reliable Black Diamond.  Back to the old drawing board for a Fishers/Castleton barbecue joint.  This stinks.

-IndianapolisEater

Dragon House Chinese Eatery
7260 Fishers Crossing Drive
Fishers, IN 46038
http://www.dragonhousefishers.com

Dragon House has been in a strip mall where there is frequent turnover of stores and restaurants at the corner of 116^th Street and Allisonville Road for over ten years.  About ten years ago just after the restaurant opened, I gave it a try and had a bad experience saying I would never go back.  Over time, they must be doing something right to survive in this location and have consistent recommendation word of mouth from many people who live in Fishers locally.

I arrived at just after 4:30 and no food was on the buffet.  By 4:45PM, it was fully stocked and ready for me to try at its freshest best.

What I Got:  Dinner Buffet; $9.25.

Plate 1:  Sorry for the blurriness of the picture.  Spicy Sour soup is a favorite of mine and although this was not my favorite ever, it was one of the best and I ended up have two cups.  The fried rice was what you would expect with good ratios of everything that comes in fried rice and well done overall.  The buffet had an abundance of deep fried breaded items (too many for me), but the crab rangoon was solid with good size pouches of crab.  The crab claw on the right side of the plate was a two bite treat that I got each trip back to the buffet.  Although I like dark meat chicken, I do not like it deep fried for sweet ‘n sour chicken and the lack of white meat was a disappointment.  With the fried rice, I got a fresh mushroom bourbon chicken that I enjoyed, with a sauce that was not too salty.  Overall, plate 1 was a winner.

Plate 2:  This time I tried the Egg Drop soup and although it was not as good as the spicy sour, it was still above average.  I like how there is a bowl of fresh green onions on the buffet next to the soup you can add to garnish and give your soup a little more taste.  The Lo Mein was not as good as what you can get from China Wok in Fishers, but did the job and was still above average.  The Szechuan chicken was done well and the vegetables were fresh but lacked spice.

Would I It Again?  Yes and No.  Although I liked what I had in general, there was little I loved so much that I would want to go back very often.  The buffet had too many deep fried items and not enough traditional dishes to eat with rice and that was a big problem for me.  There was also no seafood to be found and I have been to better buffets than this that at least offered fresh shrimp.  There was a small dessert bar, but they did not look appealing to me.  With these problems and a $9.25 price, I cannot recommend the dinner buffet.  However, at $7.25 for lunch that also includes dumplings not found on the dinner buffet, you can have some good soup and a good rice and chicken dish and walk away satisfied with your Chinese food craving having been met.

-EatHSE

China Wok
11681 Brooks School Road # 7
Fishers, IN 46037-9758

With more time on my hands during the summer to eat out and try new places, I have begun a mission to find a place that offers consistently good Asian cuisine for a reasonable price in the north suburbs and far north side of Indianapolis.  The first stop in this series of reviews is China Wok in Fishers.  China Wok was busy even at 8:30PM on a Tuesday night and has a commonly found large menu of over one hundred menu items.

What I Ate: Crab Rangoon (6); $3.00

Too often I find Crab Rangoon over deep-fried with too small of a pocket of crab in the middle.  This Crab Rangoon had neither of those problems and the only problem I had is that I wish I had ordered my own instead of sharing with my wife.

What I Ate: Curry Chicken with Onion; $8.95 a quart with steamed rice.

I like spicy food and the first thing I did was scan the menu for spicy options.  With about 25 spicy options on the menu, I had plenty to pick from.  I am always hesitant to get curry at a place that does not focus on Thai food but decided to give it a shot.  The curry in this entrée was not overdone and provided some good kick.  The problem I had with this entrée was the ratio of onions, 50-60%, being too high in comparison to the chicken.  I love onion and this dish had several kinds including green and yellow, but in the end, the ratio of too much onion to everything else left me disappointed.

What I Ate: Shrimp Lo Mein; $7.45 a quart.

My wife went with the Lo Mein and I will admit, I rarely get Lo Mein as it I find most places serve it lukewarm or with the noodles are overdone.  China Wok is an exception to the rule.  The noodles were done perfectly and they had a good ratio of green onion and other greenery to compliment the noodles.  Some places skimp on the shrimp but I found shrimp with almost every bite.  I only wish I had gotten my own Lo Mein.

Would I Buy It Again?  Yes. Prices for quantity are comparable to other restaurants and it is always a bonus to have leftovers for lunch the next day.  I like how you can stand near the counter and see your food being made fresh in what is a clean and well-kept kitchen giving me confidence in the quality of the food I am purchasing.  Although I was not satisfied with the Curry Chicken & Onion, there are many other spicy choices on the menu to pick from in addition to the above average Lo Mein and Crab Rangoon that will have me retuning to China Wok in the future.

-EatHSE

Wendy’s
http://www.wendys.com/

I’ve never publicly expressed this opinion before, but I really do feel that Wendy’s has the best breaded chicken sandwich in the fast food market.  I think the quality of the meat is first-rate and they manage to keep it surprisingly juicy.  So when I saw window stickers go up for “Flavor-Dipped Chicken” at Wendy’s, my interest was piqued.  I recall seeing the “Flavor-Dipped” schtick a few years back but couldn’t recall ever trying it.

What I Got: BBQ Flavor-Dipped Chicken Sandwich; $4.50-$4.89 (somewhere thereabouts).

For no reason in particular, I chose the BBQ bath for my breaded chicken fillet.  The pickle and onion adornments seemed appropriate, albeit sparse.  As you can see, my sandwich was put together hastily and proved quite hard to eat during a lunch break at work.  I found myself rushing through the sandwich so I could start cleaning myself up.  Sauce on my hands, sauce on my face and sauce on my shirt.  The sauce also did a number on the breading, turning it soft and mushy.  Without more than two slivers of onion, I really couldn’t taste much BUT the sauce after a while.

Would I Buy It Again?  Nope. This sloppy mess costs dangerously close to $5 and I can’t figure out why.  I love BBQ anything so I guess it tasted all right, but it ranks very low on the value scale.

A couple of years ago, the WIBIA team would offer an “Instead” suggestion and I’d like to bring that back up for this review.

Instead:  Try the Asiago Ranch Chicken Club (with the spicy fillet).  Just like the flavor dipped sandwiches, it is in the $5 range but it is worth every penny.  The bacon, cheese and sauce are a great addition to the already stellar spicy chicken fillet sandwich.  I highly recommend it.

-Indy Food Geek

Gray Brothers Cafeteria
555 S. Indiana St.
Mooresville, IN 46158
http://www.graybrotherscatering.com/

My first review on Gray’s Borther’s was pretty rough and well deserved.  If you watched Man v. Food and read my rant, you would easily realize that I am still on my soapbox.  This was a lunch meeting with a client and they wanted to go to Gray’s Brothers.  I was trapped.

I couldn’t believe the line for this joint.  A Wednesday lunch and they were about forty people deep.  Keep in mind this is cafeteria food, so it moved quickly.

What I Ate: Chicken and Noodles, Corn, Green Beans; around $8.

Last time I had dark meat chicken, mac and cheese and corn.   I kept the corn on the plate as I felt like I needed some veggies to add to my chicken and noodles.

The chicken and noodles should’ve been named noodles and chicken.  I would say that it was 85-90% noodles with very little dark meat chicken sprinkled in.  However, it tasted pretty damn good.  I am not sure if it hit the spot since this warm meal balanced out the six degree winter, but it was pretty tasty.  The noodles were homemade and with a little salt and pepper and it was pretty good.  There was so much sauce on the plate, I had to eat it with a spoon though.  I would appreciate if they didn’t flop everything on the plate because all three sections were trying to get it on with each other.

Green beans had a little bit of bacon in them and the corn wasn’t bad either.  Nothing interesting to report here.

Would I Buy It Again?  Upgraded from “No Way!” to “Maybe.” The food wasn’t bad, but I walked away wondering why people wait fifteen minutes in line for a weekday lunch.  The chicken and noodles needed a lot more chicken in it, but if you are looking for comfort classics to balance out the freezing cold Indiana winter, you can get your fix at Gray Brothers.

-wibia

Chick-fil-A
http://www.chick-fil-a.com/

Much like the last time they debuted a new menu item, Chick-fil-A once again used their reservation system to debut their new breakfast item, the Spicy Chicken Biscuit.  Since I love free food and attempt to write for a food blog, I felt it was necessary to go try one out.

What I Got:  Spicy Chicken Biscuit; free with reservation.  Not sure how much these will go for on the normal menu.

As you can see, this is Chick-fil-A’s spicy chicken patty, albeit a smaller version than the full sandwich size, served on their customary biscuit.  Nothing too out of the ordinary and if you like, you can use one of their myriad of sauces to change up the flavor.  Since I was going for a “pure” review, I had it with just the patty and the biscuit.

As for the item itself, the chicken tasted just as I would have expected and was the same as my previous review on the spicy chicken sandwich.  The chicken was moist and the spice was not powerful, but you could definitely tell it was there.  The real drawback to this was the biscuit; it was pathetic and basically re-affirmed all my previous reasons for not liking biscuits.  It was dry, flaky and fell apart as I was eating it.  After I was done, I could have used a vacuum to suck up all the biscuit pieces that fell all over the front of me.

Would I Buy It Again?  Definitely not.  While the chicken was flavorful, the biscuit was just pathetic.  Like I said, it basically re-affirmed for me all the reasons why I prefer muffins over biscuits when it comes to breakfast.

Plus, spicy chicken and breakfast just don’t seem to match with me.  I can deal with spicy foods for breakfast (spicy chorizo, salsa, etc.), but this one is not a combination that I’m a fan of.   I applaud Chick-fil-A for the effort to try something new, but it’s just not one that I like and I think there will be many people who agree with me.

-IndianapolisEater